Tetbury

Tetbury feels different from other Cotswolds towns. It's perched on a hill, the streets are steeper than you'd expect, and it has a kind of quiet confidence that comes from being genuinely posh without trying too hard. This is where Prince Charles has his organic farm shop, where antique dealers actually make a living, and where you'll see more Range Rovers per capita than anywhere else in Gloucestershire.

The town's been here since Saxon times, made serious money in the wool trade, and never really looked back. Market House in the centre the one on stone pillars that looks like it's floating, dates from 1655 and is still used for markets and events. The whole town is a conservation area, which means almost every building you see is listed and protected, and the result is a place that looks almost exactly as it did two hundred years ago.

The Woolsack Races happen every spring bank holiday and are genuinely mental. People sprint up Gumstool Hill carrying 60-pound sacks of wool on their backs, a tradition that dates back to when Tetbury was one of the most important wool markets in England. It's steep, it's brutal, and locals take it very seriously.

For shopping, Long Street and Church Street are where the good stuff is. The Cotswold Cheese Company does exactly what it says, local cheeses, cured meats, condiments that actually taste of something. Highgrove Shop sells Prince Charles's organic produce and Duchy Originals biscuits if you're into that. The antiques trade is still thriving here there are proper dealers, not just overpriced junk shops, so if you know what you're looking for it's worth an afternoon.

Trouble House on Cirencester Road just outside town is the pub locals go to when they want something reliably excellent without the faff. Michelin Bib Gourmand, seasonal menu, duck fat roast potatoes that are dangerously good. Book ahead. The Snooty Fox on Market Place is the town centre option it's a 16th century coaching inn, open fires, decent food, and a bar you can just walk into for a pint.

Westonbirt Arboretum is about three miles outside Tetbury and is one of the best tree collections in the world, 15,000 trees across 600 acres, spectacular in autumn when the maples turn, worth visiting year-round if you're into that sort of thing. They do evening illuminated walks in December which sell out months in advance.

Chavenage House just outside the town is a proper Elizabethan manor that's been in the same family for centuries and is open for tours in summer. It's been used as a filming location for Poldark, so if you recognise it from TV, that's why.

Come on a weekday if you can. Tetbury gets busy at weekends with people driving in from Cheltenham and Bath, and parking becomes a nightmare. There's a free car park behind the Fire Station on Old Bristol Road that most visitors don't know about.