Go Cotswolds – as seen on ITV News at Ten!
Well this was a bit exciting… Go Cotswolds was on ITV News at Ten last night! The piece was all about why Americans love the Cotswolds, and we were chuffed to be included.
The ITV crew came to chat to our good friend Gemma from Cotswolds Tourism, and to Go Cotswolds’ very own Tom about the rise in visitors from the USA. In the past couple of years, more and more American guests have been joining our tours – so much so that we’ve actually tripled the number of tour buses in our fleet to keep up!
Apparently, it’s not just us who’ve spotted this trend – the news report mentioned that former US Vice President Kamala Harris has holidayed here, Republican Vice President JD Vance will be heading over in the next few weeks, and several US celebrities including Beyoncé and Taylor Swift have made The Cotswolds their temporary home while touring the UK. Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi have even moved here permanently!
Clearly, the Cotswolds is the place to be!
So… why do Americans love the Cotswolds?
If you’ve ever been here, you’ll probably know the answer already. But from what our guests tell us, it’s things like:
- The scenery: Rolling hills, honey-coloured cottages and villages that look like a film set (except they’re real!).
- The history: Castles, churches, manor houses – there’s a story on every corner.
- The food: You can’t beat a good bangers and mash after a day exploring.
- The atmosphere: Peaceful, slow-paced, and less than 2 hours from London.
- The people: Warm, friendly, welcoming – Cotswolds country folk are some of the nicest you could meet!
A little ITV News twist of fate
One of my favourite moments from the TV segment was when they interviewed a family from the USA in Bourton-on-the-Water. They told the reporter how much they loved the Cotswolds – they’d never seen anywhere like it! They even admitted to loving traditional English food!.
Here’s the lovely part: a couple of days later, that same family – the Collins’ – turned up on one of our tours! They joined our Bath & Southern Cotswolds tour to explore even more of this beautiful region with our wonderful guide Elaine. Elaine was star-struck when she realised!
Small world, eh?
Come and see for yourself
It’s no surprise to us why Americans love the Cotswolds – we get to see that “wow” moment in our guests’ eyes every single day.
If you missed the ITV News piece, you can watch it here (video starts from the Cotswolds piece):
And if you fancy discovering what all the fuss is about (whether you’re from the USA, the UK, or anywhere else!), hop on one of our tours – we’d love to show you around!