Cotswolds Information & Tourism Guide

As soon as December arrives lots of Christmas markets and fairs start popping up all over the country. In fact this can be something of a tradition for many people, as it provides an opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit and also get into the mood for some Christmas shopping.

If you happen to be anywhere near the Forest of Dean in the run up to Christmas, make sure you head along to the Christmas Fair at the Harts Barn Craft Centre. This provides you with an excellent opportunity to check out a local fair; get into the right frame of mind for Christmas, and explore one of the most beautiful parts of the countryside as well. In fact if you want to get away from the thought of crowded and stressful shopping centres in December, this kind of day out would be the ideal antidote, bringing the fun back to Christmas shopping.

But what can you expect from the fair itself? It’s a wonderful opportunity to check out the Harts Barn Christmas Shop, but you can also look for homemade items and local crafts to buy for people for Christmas. It certainly makes a change from all the usual High Street gifts, and if you like to add a personal thoughtful touch this could be the way to do it.

It is also the best time to get a real Christmas tree for home if you haven’t already got one. You can browse round the selection and see which ones look best. If you want some holly and mistletoe you can get these as well, completing the perfect look for your home this festive season.

If you have the time you could even turn your trip to the Forest of Dean into a pre-Christmas weekend away from home. There are plenty of Wye Valley cottages available to book into in the run up to Christmas, and while the competition for these cottages will be steep, it is worth getting one. Look into the various country cottages for hire that are in the area and see whether you can book into one that is close to the Harts Barn Craft Centre. You’ll find the centre on the A4136 part way between Monmouth and Gloucester so it is fairly easy to find.

Remember too that you can probably solve some of your Christmas shopping problems quite easily by visiting the fair. Homemade craft items are always well received at Christmas simply because they are different. You will see lots of items that could just solve those troubling gift problems you’re having!

The fair is on now and it lasts right through until 16th January too, well into the New Year. So if you have birthdays to consider early in 2012 or you want to go shopping for next Christmas to help spread the cost, what better way to do it than to combine it with a short trip to the Forest of Dean to recharge your batteries?

In the midst of all the hectic preparations for Christmas it can be all too easy to forget to set aside some time for ourselves to wind down and enjoy the season. One of the best ways to do this is to get away from it all and into the countryside for some fresh air. And what better place could there be to do that than at the Cotswold Water Park?

If you are going to be in the Cotswolds area during the latter part of December you might want to find out more about the guided winter waterbird walk that is taking place on December 18th. This is a Sunday so you can still have plenty of time for Christmas shopping on the Saturday, before winding down for something completely different on Sunday.

The good news is that the event is free and there is no need to make an advance booking either. However the organisers are asking that if you do want to go you should email them in advance. There is one very good reason for this – they are intending to provide mulled wine and homemade mince pies after the walk to everyone who attends, so they want to be sure they have enough to go round!

The meeting point is the Neigh Bridge car park near Somerford Keynes. You’ll get to see the surroundings of the western side of the Water Park, from 10.30am onwards. In fact if you are planning on having all your Christmas shopping done by this late in December you can even plan to spend a weekend in the Cotswolds. There are various properties you can stay in at the Water Park, not to mention other Cotswolds country cottages nearby. So you are bound to find somewhere you can escape to for a bit just before Christmas arrives.

The Cotswold Water Park is not far south of Cirencester, and well known spots in the Cotswolds including South Cerney and Somerford Keynes. Certainly you can look forward to seeing a lot of other nice spots in and around the Cotswolds if you are planning on making the most of a nice weekend there. It might be just what you need a week before the real festivities begin. Make sure you pack for cold weather though – you never know whether you will be doing the walk on a mild morning or a cold and frosty one.

Certainly there is a lot to be said for the Cotswold Water Park and there is always a lot going on there for you to enjoy when you stay. You don’t need to stay to take part in the guided walk of course, but you might decide that a short break just before the festive season is exactly what you would want. So consider it now and book soon too if you want to have a weekend away. With Christmas just around the corner it might be ideal.

If you have ever been privileged enough to see part or all of the Forest of Dean, you will know what a beautiful place it is. While it is ideal to visit during the summer months when you can take part in long rambling walks around the forest, you can also visit during winter. If you can imagine the trees and other plants in the forest showered with frost as the weather worsens, you can appreciate just how magical it can be there.

If you have time to visit this charming part of the country before or after Christmas this year, there is an extra reason to visit as well. The acclaimed artist Sarah King has painted a range of oil paintings to depict the Forest of Dean as she sees it. These paintings are now on show as part of an exhibition called “The Joy of the Forest”. It is an appropriate name for the Forest of Dean, and the paintings have been created over the past four years.

Even though you will be visiting the exhibition during the depths of the winter months, the paintings that form the display have been created during the entire year. They depict scenes from all four seasons, giving you an idea of how enchanting the forest looks no matter when you happen to visit it.

The exhibition is taking place now – having started on the 12^th November – at the Dean Heritage Centre. This can be found at Camp Mill, Soudley, and the post code is GL14 2UB. This should help you locate it on Google maps and also on the sat nav if you have one. The exhibition continues until the 6^th January, so if you don’t have time to visit it during the hectic run up to Christmas, you can still catch it over the festive period and in the first few days of the New Year.

The Dean Heritage Centre always has events taking place and good reasons to go there too. No matter when you decide to visit you can learn a lot about the Forest of Dean, and indeed the Heritage Centre is known as the gateway to the area. If you have never visited it before you should definitely start here to gain a better understanding of the area before exploring it in more detail.

Of course if you are intent on visiting the Forest of Dean you can consider staying for a few days in one of the many Wye Valley cottages that are available to book. These are very popular all year round so be sure to consider looking at what is available as quickly as you can. Christmas and New Year are always popular times to get away for many people. The Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean are popular places to head for too, so the sooner you book your cottage in the Forest of Dean, the better. You can then look forward to seeing the exhibition among the many other activities you can do.

Anyone who knows anything at all about the Cotswolds will know that Bourton on the Water is a veritable jewel among all the charming villages you could visit. It would be a shame to come to the Cotswolds and not see Bourton: such is the charm that it has to share with you. Indeed many people choose to find a Cotswolds country cottage in the area so they are nice and close to Bourton itself. There is certainly plenty to do there and lots of lovely walks that take you out into neighbouring countryside as well.

But if you haven’t yet planned a trip to this part of the Cotswolds you should consider fitting it in at the beginning of December – namely on Friday 2^nd – because this is when the late night Christmas shopping event takes place. This is an annual event and while it is not the only one to take place in and around the Cotswolds, it is one of the most delightful. This is purely because of the setting – and if you have been to Bourton on the Water before you will know just what we mean by this.

So what can you expect from the late night shopping event? Well, it all kicks off at 6pm when the festive lights are switched on. You’ll then have three hours to explore all the shops in Bourton, as they are staying open until 9pm. You can also look out for the pig roast, candy floss and lots of entertainers too. Bourton really knows how to put on a great Christmas extravaganza, and you can be sure that people will be visiting from all over the Cotswolds and perhaps beyond. So if you want to go to the event and you live a fair distance away, it is wise to look for Bourton on the Water cottages you can book in advance, perhaps for a long weekend. What better way to kick off your Christmas shopping in style than to treat yourself at the same time and spend a couple of days exploring the Cotswolds as well?

Bourton on the Water isn’t hard to find either. It’s a short distance to the east of the A429, and the A40 runs along from west to east a little further to the south of the village as well. Stow on the Wold is just north of Bourton and there are lots of other charming villages in the area as well. Don’t miss your opportunity to visit the Slaughters for example, which despite their name are both incredibly charming and just a short distance up the road from one another.

You may not think of visiting the Cotswolds towards the end of the year. It may seem to be more of a summer destination. But in truth there is nothing better than this part of the country at any time of the year, and when the thrill of Christmas is in the air you’ll love it even more.

Celebrate Christmas in the Cotswolds With Late Night Christmas Shopping in Broadway

There are plenty of good reasons why you would want to go to the Cotswolds at this time of year. There are lots of diverse shops to visit for starters, and this is ideal for those of us who are already thinking about the Christmas presents we have to buy.

If you have plans to visit the Cotswolds, perhaps for a long weekend away staying in a Cotswolds cottage for example, you should consider timing it so you get to take part in the late night Christmas shopping event this year in Broadway. This is one of the most famous parts of the Cotswolds, dating back as it does over a thousand years. There are plenty of shops here you can browse around but if you are expecting a commercialised town you will be disappointed – or more properly pleasantly surprised!

In fact Broadway is filled with what you might call ‘one off’ shops, all displaying a rich selection of goods in a very individual way. If you want to buy items for people for Christmas that are perfect for the occasion and unseen anywhere else, this is the place to come.

It’s also well worth making the trip on Friday 25^th November this year, because this is when the Broadway late night Christmas shopping event takes place. You should get there before 5.30pm when the festivities start, ready to get into the festive mood for the three hours the event takes place for. Not only can you browse round the shops you can also enjoy carol singers, a heartening pig roast, mulled wine and plenty more besides. Broadway certainly gets into the festive spirit as November comes to an end, and you can be sure of getting some of your Christmas shopping solved and done before December arrives as well.

There is no doubt that Broadway has plenty of character and provides a nice place to stay if you are visiting the Cotswolds for a longer period of time. Broadway self catering cottages are available in the immediate area, and you will also be very close to many other charming villages in the Cotswolds that you can visit while you are there. If you miss out on the Christmas shopping on the 25^th November, you will be interested to know they do it all over again on the 2^nd December, one week later. So you have two chances to go along and enjoy the festivities. Broadway is well known for this annual event and it is definitely a nice place to go just for the entertainment and good mood. Even if you’re organised enough to already have done all your shopping, make sure you go anyway!

Of course if you are planning on staying overnight nearby, the sooner you book your Cotswolds accommodation the better. This area tends to be very popular while this event is on, so it makes sense to book nice and early so you can look forward to the trip.

You may think that Christmas is still quite a way off, but we all know it has a habit of creeping up on us. Even though you may not be in the mood for any Christmas shopping at the moment, it might change when you realise that the Bath Christmas Market is set to begin in just a few weeks time.

The opening date is the 24^th November, so this is an ideal time to think about planning a weekend away in Bath around that time. The market is open right up until 11^th December – a Sunday – so you have a month to plan a trip to Bath in the few weeks the market will be open for.

The Bath Christmas Market is the perfect reason to book some Bath accommodation in a few weeks time. The market is nicely sprawled out around many of the main and most famous streets in the city. There will be 129 chalets in total, built from wood and looking quite charming and festive as they are dotted around some of the streets. Watch out for them around the walls of Bath Abbey, along Abbeygate Street, around Abbey Green and in the open area outside York Street and the Bath Tourist Information Centre.

The great thing about the Bath Christmas Market is that you can enjoy browsing around all manner of very different and diverse stalls. You will find various edible items that will help you get rid of your hunger as you wander round, and might also serve to provide a gift or two for people you know at Christmas. This market is known for its handcrafted items, all of which are created locally and in the surrounding area. This is the best place to come if you want a nice break for a few days and to get some Christmas shopping done as well. Add to that the fact that Bath has some delightful places to see and landmarks to visit, and you can see that you can plan the perfect weekend away with a late break to Bath.

Bath is easy to reach from many parts of the country, either by train or car. If you opt for the car (so you can carry back all that Christmas shopping easily!) you will find the M4 runs across the top of the city. You can drop down onto the A46 to get into the city itself. The A4 also runs east to west and brings you close to the city, where you can pick up the A36 if needed. You will also find various other destinations close by that you may want to visit as well, but to be honest there is enough to do in Bath to make you happy for the few days you will be there for.

But make sure you look for Bath cottages or apartments to stay in now, because bookings are likely to be very popular for the time the Bath Christmas Market is on for.

Yes we are well and truly into October now, which means that thoughts of Halloween aren’t too far away. With the half term school break coming up soon as well, it’s not surprising that we should find lots of spooky events going on around that time of the month.

One of the best examples of this is the Howl-o-ween event that is taking place at the Cotswolds Wildlife Park over the half term break. With a name like that you know it will be good fun to see!

Indeed if you fancy spending a few days in the Cotswolds on a well earned break, you may want to start looking for some Cotswolds cottages to stay in while you are there. This would leave you free to visit the Cotswolds Wildlife Park for a day, while still giving you time to explore some other areas of the Cotswolds as well. You also have the choice of spending either the whole week away or perhaps just a long weekend. Either way it gives you the chance to unwind and wear out the kids for a bit! You can always look out for late hotels or last minute breaks if you can’t find anything at first glance.

The Howl-o-ween event runs from Saturday 22^nd October right through to Monday 31^st October, taking in Halloween itself as well as the whole of the half term break. It gives you a lot to look forward to: including a pumpkin trail through the park as just one of the highlights the kids will delight in getting involved with. As you might expect there will also be the opportunity to do some face painting, so you can all get made up as your favourite spooky Halloween character.

Of course you can also explore the rest of the park during your visit. It is definitely worth allowing a whole day and since the park opens at 10am you can get there early and enjoy every minute you have to explore the park. You may not be eager to see the snakes and the other inhabitants of the reptile house, but there are plenty of other spooky goings on to be aware of as well.

The park is superbly easy to find as well, since it is located right in the heart of the best parts of the Cotswolds. If you find Cotswolds accommodation anywhere near Burford you won’t have far to travel at all. The M5 runs north to south to the west of the park, while the M40 runs to the east of it. The M4 also runs along the bottom so you can see it is easy to reach no matter which direction you are coming from. Other delights of the Cotswolds including Chipping Norton, Cheltenham and Cirencester aren’t far away either, so you can see it puts you in an area that has a lot to offer.

So are you brave enough to be part of Howl-o-ween at the Cotswolds Wildlife Park this year?

The 14^th October kicks off a tasty week at Abbey Mill in Tintern. This is the start of the Field Harvest Mushroom Week, which runs until the 20^th October. It is an opportunity to check out Abbey Mill in more detail and to try their fresh homemade field mushroom soup as well. Since this event occurs in October you might well be glad of some warming soup if you have been out and about all day.

You might be wondering what Abbey Mill has to offer. Well, the whole experience is built around the riverside area of the River Wye and it gives you the opportunity to shop and dine to your heart’s content. The scenery is amazing too, so if you have a camera you should bring it with you to capture some of the treats of the day. The Mill is open all year too with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so even if you cannot make it for the Field Harvest Mushroom Week, it is still well worth visiting at another time.

Five shops are situated in the Mill, although they are very different from any shops you might have seen in the past. We’re talking about charming arts and crafts and handmade gifts and treats here, so if you are already in the mood for some Christmas shopping you might be able to get started early!

The Mill Shop and the Cider Press are just two of the shops here to be explored, with three others to look round as well. When you are ready for a bowl of that warming field mushroom soup, you can head over to the coffee shop and Cider Barn Restaurant. This has been built to allow for lovely views and you will find it difficult to get up and go back to shopping, such is the appeal of the general area.

Abbey Mill is literally just over the border into Wales, settling as it does on the west bank of the River Wye. The A466 leads right up to the Mill, so it is very easy to find. For those looking to explore elsewhere as well, Tintern is not too far north of here, so there is the opportunity to have a great day out exploring much of the local area.

As you can see, Field Harvest Mushroom Week is a highlight of October at Abbey Mill. But with that said, any time of the year is ideal for a visit. If you are staying in Wye Valley accommodation nearby you should definitely add Abbey Mill to your list of places to go while you are in the area. Short Wye Valley breaks can be an ideal way to recharge your batteries and ensure you feel ready and able to get back to everyday life again. When you are sitting in the restaurant at Abbey Mill, looking over your surroundings and experiencing the peace of the area, you won’t want to leave.

October is almost upon us and that means we have the spookiest date of the year coming up – Halloween. If you are in the region of Stratford upon Avon in the next few weeks, you may want to consider popping down to Anne Hathaway’s cottage. There are things going on there that will be suitable for the season and also give you an opportunity to find out more about some of the characters in Shakespeare.

The events are tied up with half term week, which falls at the end of October this year. Those in charge have called the week Spooky Shakespeare, which is very fitting for the time of year!

Of course you might be looking to spend a few days away from home to recharge your batteries during the half term break. If this is the case a few days spent staying in Stratford upon Avon accommodation is the perfect way to do just that. It also means you won’t be too far away from Anne Hathaway’s cottage, which is located in Shottery.

Spooky Shakespeare offers the whole family a chance to go on a trail through the woods near the cottage itself. Many of Shakespeare’s characters came to an untimely end, and it is these characters who are the subject of the event. You can get a woodland trail map to help you along the way which costs just £1, so it might be worth investing in so you don’t miss any of the characters. Of course you will also get to see Anne Hathaway’s cottage itself, and it is a fascinating chance for kids to see how life was lived many years ago.

The cottage itself is easy to find, although you may want to drive there from the middle of Stratford upon Avon itself if you have children in tow. It’s only a short distance by car and there is a handy car park just yards up the road from the cottage itself. You can then find the entrance and step into the past as you go in.

If you visit on the 30^th October you can also see a children’s puppet show which is being planned for that date. It is called “Something Wicked This Way Comes”, which is very appropriate for the date and for the half term holiday feeling!

You don’t have to stay in Stratford upon Avon for the half term week, but you will find a nice array of cottages available if you do decide to take a break. Stratford accommodation can be taken for the whole week or for a long weekend, depending on your needs and requirements. There are plenty of other Shakespeare properties to see as well, so you can teach the kids a lot about the famous Bard and his writings.

Stratford upon Avon is just a short distance north of some of the most famous villages in the Cotswolds too, so you can be sure you’ll have plenty to do!