A caravan holiday in the Cotswolds could last a lifetime!
Things To Do
Walk along the Cotswold Way, a 102-mile National Trail between Chipping Campden in the north and Bath in the south. The route follows much of the main Cotswold escarpment in the west of the area, with outstanding views of the hills and valleys, including the Severn Vale below and the Malvern Hills and Wales beyond. Find a high spot for a great view at Dover’s Hill, Broadway Tower, Cleeve Hill, Leckhampton Hill, Painswick Beacon, Minchinhampton or Selsley Commons, or Uley Bury.
Make a night of it at The Pudding Club in Mickleton, home and saviour of the traditional British pud. You’ll get to try seven different puddings throughout the evening, with much pomp and ceremony to celebrate each one, including favourites such as Steamed Treacle Sponge, Eve’s Pudding and Jam Roly Poly. Loosen that waistband!
Follow the trail and legacy of the Arts and Crafts Movement and Pre-Raphaelites throughout the Cotswolds. Good places to start include the Court Barn museum in Chipping Campden, the Gordon Russell Design Museum in Broadway, Rodmarton Manor, Kelmscott Manor, Owlpen Manor, and the churches of Eaton Hastings, Buscot and Selsley.
Visit an arboretum to explore the wonderful world of trees. Westonbirt, the Forestry Commission’s jewel near Tetbury, is unique to the Cotswolds. Planted over two different soil types, there are two distinct areas: the Old Arboretum containing many rare and exotic specimen trees from around the world and the Silk Wood, with themed groups of oak, ash, cherry and national Japanese maple collections. Batsford Arboretum, near Moreton-in-Marsh, is a much more personal affair, with the largest private collection of trees in the UK. Algernon Freeman Mitford designed the arboretum. He was the grandfather to the notorious Mitford Sisters, who lived on the estate as children.
Enjoy a visit to the Cotswold Farm Park, the home of BBC Countryfile presenter, Adam Henson. Created by his father, founder of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, in the 1970s, it was the world’s first farm park but today you’ll encounter many rare breeds of livestock, including Cotswold sheep and Gloucester Old-Spot pigs. With a caravan park on site, there’s no excuse.
Getting There
The Cotswolds is a particularly rural area and it’s inevitable, therefore, that a part of any journey is likely to be on minor roads. In the first instance, use the M4 from the south, the M5 from the west and the M40 from the east of the area.
The A429 – the Fosse Way (an old Roman road) – cuts straight through the area from Warwick (and beyond) in the north to Chippenham in the south. Cirencester, Northleach, Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh are all en route.
The A44 links Oxford in the east of the area with Worcester, north west of the area. Broadway, Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Norton are all located on this busy A-road.
The A40 links Oxford with Cheltenham, passing by Northleach and Witney, while the A417 links Gloucester with Swindon, passing by Cirencester and close to the Cotswold Water Park.
The A433/A46 links Cirencester with Bath, passing through Tetbury, while the A46 links Cheltenham with Bath, passing through Stroud and Nailsworth.
For ease of driving, these are the best routes to use when towing a caravan, however, for great views on top of the Cotswold escarpment, use the B4066, between Dursley and Stroud. There are some twists, turns and hills to climb, but the views are some of the best in the area.
