Our Cotswolds Guide

It has just been announced by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust that 2015 will mark the final display season of the most iconic aircraft of the past 60 years. The delta-winged Vulan XH558 is the only flying example in the world and since being restored to flying condition in 2007 its thunderous, yet graceful display has wowed airshow visitors ...

The hugely popular Tall Ships Festival returns to Gloucester Docks this weekend, running from Saturday 23rd - Monday 25th May. This biennial festival will see Gloucester's Docks transformed, enabling visitors to have a taste of the sights and sounds of the historic docks as it was 100 years ago. Visitors will be able to board the tall shops, enjoy live ...

Perhaps one of the strangest sports to take place in England is the Woolsack Race, with it's origins dating back to the 17th Century. Competitors are tasked with running up a ridiculously steep hill (1 in 4) carrying a large sack of wool on their back. This spectacle takes place next Monday, 30th May. In the middle ages Tetbury thrived ...

We had the hard job of test driving the new barbecue at Daisy Chain over the weekend - it was tough, but somebody had to do it! It did a great job, happily feeding 11 hungry mouths, and producing the best chicken and vegetable kebabs ever! While waiting for the food to cook you can sit on the lakeside, or ...

Two weeks ago when we visited Clattinger Farm, a fabulous lowland meadow of international importance for its hay meadow wildflowers, it was filled with cowslips and snakeshead fritillaries. We looked for orchids and there were just a small handful - in the sort of numbers that you would expect to find in usual places where orchids grow. We returned to ...

The Cotswold Cheese Company have shops in Moreton-in Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold and Burford. At the centre of each shop is a fabulous cheese counter stocking more than 80 different farmhouse varieties, including a number of excellent local cheeses. These include St. Eadburgha, a gold-medal winner at the British Cheese Awards, Cerney Ash and Burford. Whether you prefer a slice of tangy ...

Sunday 28th May 2023sees the return of the Lechlade Duck Race. The event was only started last year and was a roaring success. Over 6000 ducks are waiting to be launched into the River Thames. There are a range of family friendly prizes for the top 20 ducks. Once you have watched the ducks bobbing their way down the river ...

The progression of April has brought the return of Nightingales to the Lower Mill Estate. An early morning or evening walk in the enclosed woodland around Flagham Fen (just a 10 minute walk from Daisy Chain) may reward you with the sound of their distinctive song, a fast succession of high, low and rich notes. A recording of this can ...

We had a fantastic day yesterday exploring 3 amazing places to see spectacular wild flowers in the Cotswolds. We started off at Barnsley Warren SSI where the Pasqueflowers are looking superb. They are on a beautiful Cotswold hillside - the setting is stunning. Next, we moved on to North Meadow~ in Cricklade which is an amazing meadow overflowing with Snakeshead ...

Another hidden gem waiting to be discovered in the Cotswolds is the Pasqueflower This rare wildflower has been lost from many of the places where it used to grow, but on the Barnsley Warren Nature Reserve, just north of Cirencester it is thriving, with a population of approximately 20,000 plants. Geoffrey Grigson, writing of the pasqueflower in 'The Englishman's Flora' ...