There’s not just water at Cotswold Water Park: as well as wakeboarding, windsurfing and all manner of watersports, you can play golf, rally-drive, walk, picnic and more. Or head to Cotswold Wildlife Park to get eye-to-eye with giraffes, watch rhinos graze, walk with lemurs or ride Bella the Train.
Discover a Cotswold-stone model village at Bourton-on-the-Water, the only grade II-listed model village in the country. Hear music in the tiny church, peer into the buildings and admire the miniature beeches, cherries and chestnut trees. Or ride horses, trek the Enchanted Light Trail, and meet animal cuties at The Cotswold Farm Park.
Find the UK’s largest tropical butterfly paradise at Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm, showcasing hundreds of the world’s most beautiful butterflies flying around splashing waterfalls and fish-filled pools. Or admire 14 miles of Cotswold scenery from the comfort of the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Steam Railway.
Head to Cheddar to see England’s largest gorge at 400 feet deep and three miles long. Watch out for the feral goats. Catch some Shakespeare at The Everyman Theatre in Stratford. Have a laugh at the cars mum, dad and grandad used to drive at the Cotswold Motoring Museum. Or book a walk with a difference with Cotswold Alpacas.
Learn a new skill with wreath-making on site. Or head out by car to discover Blenheim Palace, Charlcote Park, Warwick Castle and more lovely gardens at Hidcote, whose owner inspired the gardens at Kiftsgate. Or climb to The Cotswolds’ highest castle, Broadway Tower, for great views, walks and eats.
All’s well that ends well when you visit the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon: get there early and make a meal of it in the Riverside Café or Rooftop Restaurant. Catch the latest flicks at The Regal in Evesham. Or feel fabulous at Dormy House spa, perched prettily above Broadway, a classic Cotswold village.
See behind the scenes at the world’s prettiest brewery, Donnington, and take home some Cotswold Gold. Take a tour and tasting of The Cotswolds Distillery, home of single malt whiskies, gins and liqueurs. Or get indulgently foodie at farmers’ markets in Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Chipping Norton.
Enjoy lovely views across the Vale of Evesham at Broadway Golf Club, even if your fairway game’s falling short. See the work of talented local designers and craftspeople at Court Barn Museum. Or potter Chipping Campden’s honeyed high street for offbeat independent shopping.
