Honeyed high streets, caves and cuties
Pick a path through all manner of farmers’ markets, honeyed country houses and gardens, independent-rich high streets, spectacular summits, and homely pubs. Let kids drag you off to the Cotswold Wildlife Park, the Cotswold Water Park, the caves at Cheddar Gorge and the little cuties at the Cotswold Farm Park.
Country kids
Check out the country’s only grade II-listed model village. Head to Bourton-on-the-Water for a one-ninth scale model, complete with model village within the model village. Or walk the wilder side at Cotswold Wildlife Park, home to giraffes, rhinos and lemurs, plus Bella the Train.
Cotswold Water Park, set in 42 square miles of glorious countryside, presents 180 lakes offering birdwatching, angling, off-road cycling, an inland beach, and lakeside walks. Not to mention every water sport you can imagine: sailing, stand-up paddle boarding, kayaking, windsurfing, water skiing and wakeboarding.
Take the wildlife walk at the Cotswold Farm Park, ride horses, trek the Enchanted Light Trail after dark, and meet cute piglets, foals, calves and goat kids in the animal barn. Then see the Cotswold countryside in comfort from the Avon Valley Railway or the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway.
See Shakespeare brought to life at The Everyman in Stratford. Get up close with vultures, hawks and buzzards at Cotswold Falconry. Explore the caves at Cheddar Gorge. Take a trip through 20th-century transport at the Cotswold Motoring Museum. Or meet, greet and walk with furry friends at Cotswold Alpacas.
For the grown ups
If the idea of a Cotswold farmers’ market appeals, you’re not short of choice. Pick from Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water, Chipping Norton (watch out for Jeremy Clarkson), Cheltenham and Cirencester. After you’ve eaten, keep the wholesome vibe going with a pint of Bateman’s in Britain’s Best Village Pub, The Ebrington Arms.
Before you get too wobbly, consider games in the garden such as football on the mini-pitch, croquet, petanque, trout or carp-fishing, paddleboarding and wild swimming in the spring-fed lake. Or just take the boat out to drift and dream. Get the blood flowing again with yoga at the Bamford Wellness Spa.
Get out and about for cultural history that includes Court Barn Museum, celebrating the talented designers and craftspeople of Chipping Campden and the North Cotswolds, and Chastleton House, an ancient country house full of myths and memories and offering a compelling time capsule of 400 years of family life.
Walk to the summit of Dover’s Hill or Broadway Tower, visible from the garden. Play a round at Broadway Golf Course. Wander Chipping Camden’s honeystone high street. Potter the gardens at Hidcote Manor, an Arts and Crafts-inspired landscape with intricately designed outdoor spaces. Or take a tour and a tasting at Little Oak Vineyard.
