|
Local Cotswold
Events and Attractions
| | |
One of the delights of the Cotswolds is to meander around the villages with
little fixed purpose,
but there are a host of houses and gardens to visit, neolithic remains galore,
and outdoor sports both traditional and modern.
There are also ample opportunities for that most tiring of sports: shopping -
particularly for antiques. | |
Local Events -
July
Saturday 4th -
Sunday 5th July -
Cotswold Show, Cirencester Park, 9:00am-6:00pm,
Friday 10th - Sunday 12th July -
Summer Diesel Spectacular,
Toddington, from 10:00am
Saturday 11th July - Summer String Quartet Concert, Barton Farm, Sidington,
7:45pm, £12.00
Sunday 12th July - Duck Racing on the Windrush, Fox Inn, Great Barrington,
2:00pm - 6:00pm
Tuesday 14th July - Morris Men at The Black Horse at Naunton, 8:45pm
Sunday 26th July - Gloucester Charter Band at Bourton-on-the-Water, 2:00pm
Regular Market Days
Northleach Charter Market: Wednesdays 8.30am - 3.30pm weekly
Cirencester Charter Market: Mondays and Fridays 8.30am - 3.00pm weekly
Moreton-in-Marsh: Tuesdays 8.00am - 2.00pm weekly
Antiques Markets
Cirencester Corn Hall: Fridays 9.00am-3.00pm weekly. |
|
Click
here
to review the National Trust's Gloucestershire properties.
Our local favourites include:
Chedworth Roman Villa - the remains of one of the largest Romano-British villas in the country.
Open Tuesday-Sunday from 10.00am-5.00pm until 2nd November. Entrance
charge £6.30, but free for NT members. The drive up the Yanworth valley and
around Stowell's perimeter is almost more magical than the Roman Villa.
Sherborne Lodge Park
– Lodge Park
was built in 1634 as a deer coursing grandstand for the Duttons, but after a
series of alterations and simplifications over the years was of no architectural
interest until NT renovation in the 1990s. The grandstand sits within the
4,000 acre Sherborne Estate of rolling Cotswold countryside with views
down to the River Windrush. Sherborne Park itself, however, was converted into
apartments after the estate was given to the Trust in 1982. The grandstand
should be open 11.00am-4.00pm Friday-Sunday only until 2nd November, but
sometimes is unaccountably closed. £5.00 entrance charge for the grandstand is
not great value, but walks in the Estate are always accessible and free.
Hidcote Manor Garden - one of
England’s greatest gardens, an ‘Arts & Crafts’ masterpiece created by Major
Lawrence Johnston. Open Monday-Wednesday and Saturday-Sunday
10.00am-6.00pm until 1st October and then 10.00am-5.00pm until 2nd November, but
note that weekends and Bank Holidays can be very busy, so a visit after 3pm may
be more enjoyable! Entrance worth every penny of £8.50, but free for NT
members.
Snowshill Manor – the former home of eccentric Victorian compulsive
collector Charles Paget Wade. A small but appropriately eclectic house, recently
renovated in "NT Classic" style. Open Wednesday-Sunday from 12noon-5.00pm until
2nd November. Not a bargain at
£7.30, but as always free for NT members.
Chastleton House (actually in neighbouring Oxfordshire) - one of England’s
finest Jacobean houses in continuous family ownership for 400 years until its
acquisition by the Trust in 1991. Open Wednesday-Saturday 1.00pm-5.00pm only
until 30th September and then 1.00pm-4.00pm until 2nd November. Entrance charge
£7.00, or free
for NT members. Entry by advance booked timed ticket only (01608 674981)
but worth the hassle. |
|
|
English Heritage maintains a range of local ruins and remains.
We find
the oldest and closest the most rewarding!
Notgrove Long Barrow - a
Neolithic burial mound right on our
doorstep (well, 2 miles!)
Belas Knap Long Barrow - a good example of a Neolithic long barrow.
Cirencester Amphitheatre – a
large, well-preserved, earth-covered Roman amphitheatre.
Hailes Abbey - Cistercian abbey
founded in 1246 that fell into ruins after dissolution.
Odda's Chapel - Anglo-Saxon chapel attached to a half-timbered farmhouse.
Uley Long Barrow (Hetty Pegler's Tump) - an unusual chambered burial mound dating
from about 3000BC. |
|
Other historic houses, gardens and local sites
The gardens of the Cotswolds in all their impressive
Summer finery!
Bourton House Garden - an
impressive, but still domestically-scaled garden in Bourton-on-the-Hill (not
"on-the-Water") developed with dedication and flair since 1983 by Richard and
Monique Paice. Sadly now in 2009 open only to pre-booked groups on Wednesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays from the 14th May
until 30th October, 10.00am-5.00pm. Entrance: £5.50. (Easy
to combine with a visit to Sezincote, see below.)
Blenheim Palace and
Gardens - 2000 acres of Capability Brown landscaped parkland surrounds
Vanbrugh's greatest masterpiece and "Britain's Finest Palace". Open daily from
mid-February to mid-December, 10:30am-5:00pm (although closed on Mondays and
Tuesdays in November and December). Entrance £17.50 for Palace and
Gardens, or £10.00 just for the Gardens, but this includes
rides on the miniature train as well as the Marlborough Maze, the Adventure Play
Area, the Butterfly House and the lavender garden too!
Misarden Park Gardens - beautiful herbaceous borders, shrubs and stunning
topiary in the garden of this house owned by the Wills family since 1913. Open
Tuesday-Thursday 10.00am-4.30pm from April until September and with a very
useful adjoining nursery for plant sales. Entrance: £4.00.
Colesbourne Park -
the Elweses' are snowdrop cultivators extraordinaire and their gardens are
consequently open in snowdrop season only...so, unless they have another
Arboretum Weekend in September or October, it will not be until February 2010 that they open again! Entrance:
£6.00.
Sudeley
Castle - a Victorian glovemaker's re-creation of a castle on this historic
site previously destroyed by Cromwell. Gardens open 10.30am-5.00pm from the end of March until
the end of October. Entrance: £7.20 but free for HHA members. "Connoisseur"
tours of the castle are run every
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 11.00am, 1.00pm & 3.00pm for £15.00 per
person, but include the garden entrance charge (and a guide book!)
Sezincote
- great gardens surrounding a fascinating manor house in
the Regency Indian style, lavishly restored in the Kleinworts' ownership since 1944.
House and gardens open on Thursdays, Fridays
& Bank Holiday Monday afternoons 2.00pm-6.00pm from May until September
(and garden are open from January until November.) Entrance: Garden - £5.00, House
- £8.00 (including garden.) No children in house, no dogs in garden.
Stanway House - opening
hours are as eccentric as its owner, Lord Neidpath but basically Tuesday and
Thursday afternoons from June until August. Stanway's Jacobean gatehouse of mellow
Cotswold stone, highly personal house and slightly surprising fountain makes it
our favourite house in the whole of Britain. Entrance: £6.00.
Kelmscott
Manor - the country home of William Morris, now owned by the Society of
Antiquaries and containing a collection of William Morris furniture, textiles &
ceramics (the house is open 11.00am-5.00pm on Wednesdays and 2.00pm-5.00pm and
first and third Saturday afternoons each month from
April until September.) A hefty £8.50 entrance fee - designed to deter
the casual visitor, we suspect.
Painswick
Rococo Gardens - a fascinating recreation of the mid-eighteenth century
Rococo style of gardening. Gradually and lovingly restored since 1984 by the Dickinsons
and open daily 11.00am-5.00pm until 31st October. Entrance: £5.50.
Kiftsgate Court Gardens
- a garden developed by three generations of Muir women since the 1920s, most
notably Diana Binny, set on
the Cotswold escarpment and renowned for its use of colour. Right next door
to Hidcote (see NT properties above.) Open Sunday, Monday & Wednesday
afternoons from 2:00pm-6:00pm in April and September, Saturday-Wednesday
12:00noon-6:00pm from May to July
(ie, not Thursday and Friday) and 2:00pm-6:00pm in August. Confused? Entrance: £6.50.
Westonbirt
Arboretum – 600 acre arboretum with one of the finest collections of
temperate trees in the world, run by the Forestry Commission. Open 9.00am-8.00pm
(or dusk if earlier) from 1st March. Entrance: £7.00 in Summer (until end
September) and £8.00 in Autumn (from October).
Batsford
Arboretum - 50 acre arboretum containing over 1,500 trees, established in
the 1880s by the Redesdale family and home to the Mitford girls during the Great
War. The arboretum was considerably developed under the Wills family's
ownership between the 1960s and the 1980s, recycling the tobacco fortune
organically in a sense, before being turned over to the charitable Batsford
Foundation in 1984. Open daily 9.00am. Entrance: £6.00.
Cotswold
Motoring Museum (Bourton-on-the-Water) – run by the Civil Service Motoring
Association contains
a substantial toy collection in addition to the main motor-car exhibition.
Open 10.00am-6.00pm daily from mid-February until early December. Entrance: £3.90.
|
|
Theatre
 Royal
Shakespeare Company - We are very lucky to be so close to Shakespeare's
birthplace in the beautiful town of Stratford-upon Avon (30 miles or 48km -
about a 40 minute drive.)
Anthony Sher has now returned to the Stratford stage as Prospero in "The
Tempest" and over the Spring and Summer The Courtyard
sees productions of "The Winter's Tale", "As You Like It" and "Julius Caesar"
rotating in to
repertoire with a constant ensemble until October.
Tickets for all RSC performances can be booked directly through their
website.
|
|
|
We
are about the same distance from Oxford as from Stratford-upon-Avon and the
Oxford
Playhouse has become a regular stopping point for touring productions in
recent years.
|
|
Founded
as the New Theatre & Opera House in 1891, Cheltenham's re-christened
Everyman
Theatre returned to its roots as a touring theatre in 1995.
|
|
|
National Hunt Racing
The home of National Hunt racing and "The Festival" in March each year.
The fixtures for the 2009/'10 season are
set out in the table below.
| The Showcase |
16th - 17th October |
| The Open |
13th - 15th November |
| Boylesports International |
11th - 12th December |
| New Years Day |
1st January |
| Festival Trials Day |
30th January |
| The Festival |
16th - 19th
March |
|
|
|
Polo
The oldest polo club in Britain is based at
Cirencester Park, holding match fixtures from May to September and a great picnic excuse.
£10.00 per car in May and September, £15.00 per car from June until August.
Further South at Westonbirt, just outside Tetbury, the
Beaufort
Polo Club holds fixtures from late April until September under the
leadership of Simon and Claire Tomlinson and will be hosting a Young England
match as part of the Beaufort Country Fair over the 20th-21st June weekend, not
to mention a Boujis at the Beaufort evening.
|
|
Cycling
If you fancy a spin we have a couple of bicycles that you're welcome
to use. Not Tour de Cotswold standard, but fine for a leisurely
afternoon meandering around the lanes - but remember the hills are longer on
two wheels than four! |
|
Walking
The Cotswolds are excellent walking territory. Two long-distance
paths pass through Turkdean:
Macmillan Way
The Chedworth-Bourton section of this 290-mile path runs directly past the
cottage as part of its long course from Boston on the Lincolnshire coast to
Abbotsbury in Dorset. Peter Titchmarsh's eponymously-entitled walking
guide 'The Macmillan Way' and the supplemental 48-page 'Cross-Cotswold
Pathway' and 12-page Cotswold Link' pamphlets are all available (for £9.00,
£3.50 and £1.65 respectively) from the
Macmillan Way
Association.
North Cotswold Diamond Way
This beautiful circular 60-mile route created by the North Cotswold Ramblers
Association in 1995 also passes through Turkdean on its
Notgrove-Hazleton-Turkdean-Hampnett section.
Elizabeth Bell's excellent Ramblers Association handbook 'North Cotswold
Diamond Way - 30 Sparkling Short Walks' maps the course of this path in 30
shorter walks. Two of these beautiful 2-3 hour walks run right through
Turkdean. Available from
amazon.co.uk for £6.99 plus postage and a rather strange £1.99 "sourcing
fee" (although we have a copy of this at the cottage too!)
In addition, four further long-distance paths pass close to Turkdean - close
enough to make a walking detour, or of course, you may prefer to have us come
and pick you up in the car!
Gloucestershire
Way
 This 100-mile long walk from Chepstow to Stow-on-the-Wold and then on up and
back to Tewkesbury passes through Notgrove, just 2 miles North of us in
Turkdean. In addition there is a really special detour that can take you
via a secret valley all the way to Turkdean if you turn South on to a footpath
at Farhill Farm between Salperton and Notgrove. Alternatively, as the
Gloucestershire Way crosses the road at Notgrove, turn South to Turkdean, or
give us a call!
Gerry Stewart's detailed walking guide 'The Gloucestershire Way' is available
for £5.95 with free postage direct from its publishers
Countryside Matters.
Monarch's Way
 This path follows the course of Charles II's 1651 escape from England after
the Battle of Worcester. Some 80-odd miles of its 610 miles total are in
Gloucestershire. Having stepped alongside the Macmillan Way from
Chedworth to Hampnett, the Monarch's Way heads East to Northleach, but
instead, why not continue along the route of the Macmillan Way for a further
three miles North from Hampnett until you come to Turkdean?
The second part of Trevor Antill's walking guide to the Monarch's Way,
covering the 210-mile section from Stratford-upon-Avon to Charmouth, is
available from
amazon.co.uk for £5.56 plus postage.
Windrush Way
The shorter 14-mile Windrush Way from Bourton-on-the-Water to Winchcombe can
be extended by 4-5 miles rather nicely either by turning South on to the North
Cotswold Diamond Way at Aylworth and then heading down past Notgrove to
Turkdean itself, or by turning South on to the Gloucestershire Way at Aston
Farm to pass through Cold Aston and Notgrove en route to Turkdean as above.
Heart of
England Way
This 100-mile route runs from Milford, near Stafford to Bourton-on-the-Water,
where we can pick you up and whisk you back to Turkdean by car for restorative
care. Alternatively, just short of Bourton you can turn South on to the
Macmillan Way at Lower Slaughter and head from there to Turkdean.
If on the other hand you fancy a shorter circular route from
Turkdean we have a range of beautiful routes linking us with Hazleton,
Salperton, Notgrove and Cold Aston on hidden paths and beautiful tracks. Maps,
sandwiches and pub directions all available! |
|
Daylesford
We are only about 12 miles from
Daylesford,
where Carole Bamford has created a little slice of retail heaven, combining
the organic delights of the most upmarket deli imaginable, a glorious cafe,
a splendid garden shop with truly epic topiary and 'The Haybarn' - a
full-blow spa that would not disgrace the most luxurious of hotels.
Tel +44 (0)1608 731 700 for the shop, or +44 (0)1608 731703 for the spa. |
|
Arts
Cheltenham is the venue for a
range of arts festivals. Check out Cheltenham
Festivals.
| Music Festival |
3rd - 18th July
2009 |
| Literature Festival |
9th -
18th October 2009 |
| |
Cirencester
Early Music Festival
The tenth
splendid celebration
of early music takes place from Thursday 23rd until Saturday 25th July 2008
at The Old Barn in
Upper Siddington and the Cirencester Corn Hall. Events
for the 2009 festival include concerts by Emma Kirkby, Misericordia and Minerva.
Short but sweet. |
|
Longborough Festival Opera
 The
2009 season opened on 10th June with a production of "Carmen" and includes productions of
"The Marriage of Figaro", "La Bohème" and, appropriately enough, Britten's
"A Midsummer Night's Dream."
This splendid festival was
established on the Glyndebourne model by Martin and Lizzie Graham in 1991 initially at Banks Fee, now in a converted barn at New Banks Fee - with black tie picnics in the beautiful gardens during the long interval. |
|
Air Shows
Kemble
Air Day
Kemble Airfield - Saturday 20th
and Sunday 21st June 2009, £25.00 per day
or £30.00 for both days on the gate.
Royal
International Air Tattoo
Cancelled because of rain in 2008, but to be replayed at
RAF Fairford on Saturday 18th - Sunday 19th
July 2009, £34.95 per day or £39.95 for both days on the gate.
Gloucestershire Steam Extravaganza
Kemble Airfield Friday 31st July - Sunday 2rd August 2009.
Not an air show, but included here because it is hosted at Kemble and includes a
vintage fly-in, although the main attraction is the extraordinary collection of
steam engines. Friday £5.00, Saturday and Sunday £8.00 or £12.00 for all three
days. |
|
Antique Shops
The Cotswolds contains the finest selection of antique dealers outside London - with a particular concentration of dealers in Stow-in-the-Wold some 8 miles from
Turkdean.
Check out our page
of favourite
local dealers.
| | |
If this all sounds rather tiring go back
to our homepage
to see how you can recuperate. | |
|
|
Yew Tree Cottage |
Turkdean | Northleach | CHELTENHAM |
Gloucestershire | GL54 3NT |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| | |
|
