The breathtaking part of England that will soon be home to Prince Harry and Meghan

According to a report from Us Weekly, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex (a.k.a Harry and Meghan) have signed a two-year lease on a home in the Cotswolds, an ‘AONB’ (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) that crosses five counties in the UK.

The home, called “Westfield Large”, is on the same 1,620-hectare grounds – Great Tew Estate – as a country home owned by David and Victoria Beckham, and Soho Farmhouse, the über-trendy members’ club and hotel where Meghan celebrated her hen do.

The Great Tew Estate website speaks of “Spring lambs playing in rolling grassland, oak woods with a carpet of bluebells, chocolate box thatch cottages…” but you could say this about so many parts of the Cotswolds, famous for its bucolic countryside and honey-coloured stone buildings, and the setting for so many Jilly Cooper bonkbusters.

If you’re planning to visit this utterly charming part of the world, here are some places to put on your list:

The Royal Gardens at Highgrove

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Say hi to Harry’s dad at Highgrove, the private home of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, located near Tetbury in Gloucestershire. On selected dates each year you can take guided tours of the spectacular gardens – but be warned, tours must be pre-booked. 

Castle Combe

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Not far from Chippenham in Wiltshire is this beautiful, quintessentially English village, often dubbed the prettiest in England.

Blenheim Palace

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This World Heritage Site features more than 2,000 acres of landscaped parkland and formal gardens, but its real drawcard is the fact that it was the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

Gloucester Cathedral

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This stunning cathedral features a great Cloister famous for its magnificent fan vaulting – and the fact that it featured heavily in a number of Harry Potter films.

Cogges Manor Farm

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Another star of the screen, you might recognise this historic Cotswold farmstead as Yew Tree Farm from Downton Abbey.

Naunton

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Naunton was mentioned in the Domesday Book (as Niwetone), is home to a famous dovecote erected in 1660, and is as picturesque a village as you’ll find in the Cotswolds.

Dyrham Park

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The National Trust’s Dyrham Park is an elegant late 17th-century mansion, garden and deer park set in acres of rolling countryside about 20 minutes’ drive from Bath.

Bath

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Famous the world over for its natural hot springs and 18th-century Georgian architecture, this lovely town was once the home of Jane Austen.