Out & About
We are located in the heart of the Cotswolds, so if you’re
travelling from further afield to visit us, there’s lots more to
see and do in the area…
We are located in at the foot of Crickley Hill an area of outstanding
beauty, which offers a range of walks combined with some
spectacular views right across the Severn Vale. On a clear day you
can see as far as the Black Mountains in Wales.
We’re also just a few miles from Coopers Hill, World famous as the
site for the annual cheese rolling event, where competitors race
down a precipitous 1 in 2 slope in pursuit of a Double Gloucester
Cheese. Cooper’s Hill is on
the edge of Cranham
Woods, which are beautiful
at any time of year, but
particularly noted for their
spring bluebells. Prinknash
Abbey, on the edge of
Cranham Woods, is home
to Benedictine monks, but
also hosts a café, Bird & Deer Park , and a
shop selling Prinknash Pottery, for which the monks are renowned.
Also known as Cheltenham Spa, the town first came to prominence in the
18th century as a spa resort. Cheltenham is well known for it’s attractive
Regency architecture which dates to this period in it’s development. Pittville
Park is both an attractive park & home to the Pump Rooms, which these days
are mainly used to host events associated with the many festivals which call
Cheltenham home, these include Literature, Science & Music festivals.
Cheltenham Racecourse holds several meetings throughout the year,
including the world famous Gold Cup. When there isn’t a race meeting on, you
can leave your car at the racecourse car park and enjoy a gentle ride on a
steam train, the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Railway, is one of the UK’s
premier heritage lines.
The composer Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham in 1874. The house
where he was born is now the Holst Museum.
For more things to see & do in Cheltenham, explore the visit Cheltenham
website.
At present there’s no café or restaurant facilities on site, but there are plenty
of local pubs that serve good food including the Toby Carvery, The Twelve
Bells, & The Air balloon all three are within a few minutes drive from us, and
there are plenty more near by.
If a country pub isn’t quite what you’re looking for, both Gloucester &
Cheltenham are only a few miles away and both offer a good selection of
Restaurants, Cafés and tea rooms.
There’s no need to leave your four legged friend
behind when you come to visit us, and no need to
worry about leaving them in a hot car, or tied up
outside in the rain. Unlike many stores, we welcome
dogs, provided they’re well behaved and on a lead.
We share a site with British Garden Centres, and dogs
are welcome there too. Just one word of warning,
watch out for Ozzie, the garden centre’s resident cat!
The historic city of Gloucester dates back to Roman times, and is home to
a number of architecturally important buildings. The ironically named, and
allegedly haunted, New Inn dates back to 1450. This grade I listed
building is still used today as a pub, restaurant & hotel.
Gloucester Cathedral is a fine example of Gothic architecture, and was
used as the set for filming some of the Hogwart’s scenes in the Harry
Potter movies.
Close to the Cathedral, you’ll find another famous Potter at the Beatrix
Potter Museum, housed in the shop that inspired the tale of the Taylor of
Gloucester.
Gloucester Docks are home to the Waterways Museum, The Soldiers of
Gloucester Museum, and is home to the annual Tall Ships event. In the
1970’s the docks were used to stand in for Liverpool for the filming of the
original series of “Poldark”, but more recently have been redeveloped with
shopping, leisure & residential facilities.
Bluebells in Cranham woods
A few miles along the A46 is the Beautiful Cotswold town of Painswick.
Recently used by the BBC for the filming of "A Casual Vacancy" by
J.K.Rowling. The Churchyard of the Church of St Mary, is reputed to contain
99 Yew trees, it is said that whenever a 100th tree is planted the Devil kills it.
The nearby Rococo Gardens are worth visiting at any time of year, but are
especially famous for their snowdrops.
Heading east along the A417 you’ll come to the market town of Cirencester,
known as Corinium by the Romans, there are many Roman artefacts housed
in the Corinium Museum & you can visit what remains of a Roman
amphitheatre. There are more extensive remains to be found at Chedworth
Villa, an extensive villa & baths complex, not far from Cirencester.
Cirencester is home many independent stores, cafés & restaurants and the
Parish Church of St. John the Baptist is one of the largest in the UK, indeed
it’s larger than some Cathedrals!
The extensive Cirencester Park is actually part of the Bathurst Estate, but
open to the public.
On hot summer days Cirencester Lido, which dates back to 1869, offers the
chance to cool down outside in natural spring water heated to about 80 f (just
right for tropical fish!).