We spent a wonderful few days in Chipping Camden and surrounding villages last month, and want to thank the local residents who maintain the ambiance we enjoyed.

Highlights included our walk across fields and through woods to Broadway, discussions at a Quaker coffee and book sale at Chipping Camden town hall, and the beauty of the homes and other buildings in the villages.

We live across the bay from San Francisco and travelling helps us see both what we have and what we lack.

We especially appreciate the Cotswolds' successes at preserving the countryside and historical buildings, and in nurturing a polite and soft-spoken culture.

You are wise to limit sprawl outside town limits, and to build bicycle paths that provide future generations with healthy alternatives to car travel.

Bill and Cynthia Tilden, Oakland, California, USA.