The Cotswolds – Places to Visit
You can find out about the Cotswolds, some of its history and what it has to offer the visitor by clicking on the buttons below.
Farmers Markets
Cheltenham: 2nd & last Fridays 9am – 3pm
Cirencester: 2nd & 4th Saturday 9am – 1pm
Evesham: 4th Friday 9am-3pm
Gloucester: every Friday 9am – 3pm
Malvern: 3rd Saturday 9am – 2pm
Ross on Wye: 1st Friday 10am – 2pm
Stroud: 1st & 3rd Saturday 9am – 2pm
Tewkesbury: 2nd Saturday 9am – 1pm
Winchcombe: 3rd Saturday 9am – 2pm
Antiques
Malt House Emporium – Antiques, home furnishings and accessories (Pamela sells her furniture here)
Cirencester Corn Hall: Antiques Market – Fridays 9.00am-3.00pm weekly
Gloucester Docks –Antiques Centre Website
Gloucestershire antiques – Information Britain website
Cotswold Cotswold Antique Dealers Association website.
The National Trust
Crickley Hill Country Park – Crickley Hill is a prominent spur of the Cotswold escarpment. It overlooks the Severn Vale, with magnificent views towards Robinswood Hill and May Hill, and the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountain beyond.
Dyrham Park – a William and Mary mansion sited in an ancient deer park. House collections reflect the Dutch fashion of the time. Elegant gardens.
Hailes Abbey – founded 1246, Cistercian abbey ruins with dramatic cloister arches.
Minchinhampton Common – acres of great walking.
Newark Park – Tudor hunting lodge perched upon a 40 foot cliff.
Prior Park – 18th century landscape garden, centres around the Palladian Bridge; superb views of Bath.
Tyntesfield Victorian Estate – unrivalled collection of Victorian decorative arts.
Woodchester Park – secluded Cotswold valley, 5 lakes, a ‘lost’ garden.
Sherborne Lodge and Estate – Lodge Park was created in 1634 by John Dutton as grandstand for deercoursing. 4000 acres of Cotswold countryside. Much of the pretty Sherborne village is owned by the Trust.
Chedworth Roman Villa -1700 years old Roman villa, surviving bath houses and mosaics.
Hidcote Manor Garden – a superb garden, plenty of outdoor’rooms’, old roses and unusual plants and trees from around the world, stunning views across Vale of Evesham.
Snowshill Manor – various fascinating collections of almost anything Charles Paget Wade could gather. Lovely gardens.
Westbury Court Garden – only restored Dutch water garden in the country.
Here is a selection of other places of interest in the Cotswolds
FLYUP 417 PROJECT – Mountain bike facility. Located just opposite Crickley Court cottages, Flyup own 100 acres of private land for downhill mountain biking, with indoor and outdoor pump tracks.The 417 Project is the biggest privately owned mountain bike facility in the country offering a variety of riding disciplines within one venue.
Sudeley Castle – has had Royal connections –Queen Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s surviving wife, Henry VIII himself, Anne Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth 1, Charles 1, have all lived or stayed at the castle. Destroyed by Cromwell’s troop, it lay in ruins until 1837 when bought by the Dent family since when there has been an ongoing restoration programme of castle and grounds.
Colesbourne Park – magnificent snowdrops displays at home of Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. Garden tours. Restoration project. Plant sales. Snowdrops Open days in February.
Stanway House – Jacobean manor house, gatehouse, 14th century tithe barn, water garden, canal, 8 ponds and a 300 foot single jet fountain – highest in UK and highest gravity fountain in the world.
Painswick Rococo Gardens – Near Painswick, 6 acre garden of the brief but flamboyant period of English Rococo design. Lovely roses, superb kitchen garden.
Kelmscott Manor – Tudor farmhouse built 1570. Loved by William Morris, the house contains many examples of his work and designs.
Cotswold Farm Park – Adam Henson (of country file fame) has his own farm park here, where all children and adults are welcome.
Gardens
Some of the Gloucestershire Gardens are below, you’ll find others on our links page.
Sezincote – great gardens surrounding a fascinating manor house in the Regency Indian style, lavishly restored in the Kleinworts’ ownership since 1944. Gardens open on Thursdays, Fridays & Bank Holiday Monday afternoons 2.00pm-6.00pm. House open, on Thursdays and Fridays, from May until September.
Kiftsgate Court Gardens – a garden developed by three generations of Muir women since the 1920s set on the Cotswold escarpment and renowned for its use of colour. Right nextdoor to Hidcote (see NT properties above.) Open Sunday, Monday & Wednesday afternoons in April, August and September, Saturday-Wednesday from May to July (ie, not Thursday and Friday).
Westonbirt Arboretum – 600 acre arboretum with one of the finest collections of temperate trees in the world, run by the Forestry Commission. Open 9.00am-8.00pm.
Batsford Arboretum – 50 acre arboretum containing over 1,500 trees, established in the 1880s by the Redesdale family and home to the Mitford girls during the Great War. The arboretum was considerably developed under the Wills family’s ownership between the 1960s and the 1980s, recycling the tobacco fortune organically in a sense, before bheing turned over to the charitable Batsford Foundation in 1984. Open daily 10.00am.
Cotswold Motoring Museum (Bourton-on-the-Water) – run by the Civil Service Motoring Association contains a substantial toy collection in addition to the main motor-car exhibition. Open daily from mid-February until early December.
Here are a few links to local sights and attractions in our area..
English Heritage
English Heritage maintains a range of local ruins and remains. Enjoy the beauty, tranquility and wonder of England’s Heritage.
Click here to visit the English Heritage site
The Everyman Theatre
Founded as the New Theatre & Opera House in 1891, Cheltenham’s re-christened Everyman Theatre returned to its roots as a touring theatre in 1995.
National Hunt Racing – Cheltenham Race Course
A great opportunity to see some horse racing superstars.
Click here to visit the Cheltenham Racecourse site
Royal International Air Tattoo
RAF Fairford held every year in July. Check link for latest dates.
Walks
Cotswold Way
Cotswold Way runs between the market town of Chipping Campden in the north and the city of Bath in the south.
Gloucestershire Way
The Gloucestershire Way is a long-distance footpath, in the English county of Gloucestershire. Going from Chepstow to Tewksbury and linking into Worcestershire Way.
Visit these site for more information:
Countryside Matters
Gloucestershire Ramblers
Visit Forest of Dean
Arts
Cheltenham is the venue for a range of arts festivals.
For actual dates check out Cheltenham Festivals
| Cheltenham Festivals | Dates |
| Jazz Festival | May |
| Science Festival | June |
| Music Festival | July |
| Literature Festival | October |
Other Festivals:
Performing Arts – May
Wychwood Music Festival – May
Cricket – 11th – July
Ballroom Dancing – August
Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design – August
Greenbelt – August
Screenwriters – August
Gloucester Guides
www.gloucestertouristguide.com
www.gloucestershirerevealed.co.uk
www.soglos.com
Cities, Town, Shopping, Farmers Markets
Visit these sites:
http://www.cotswolds.com/inspire-me/food-drink/farmers-markets
http://cotswoldcraftmarket.co.uk/
http://thecotswoldgateway.co.uk/
http://www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk/whats-on
http://www.fresh-n-local.co.uk/