Oct 02 2009
Seasonal Activities in the Cotswolds
The Cotswolds is an "Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty" in the west-central region of England - an area that mixes traditional villages and modern amenities. This area is offers interesting and exciting things to do all year long. It is a great vacation spot, both for British citizens and international travellers.
In the spring, festivals and community events start gearing up with the Bath Shakespeare festival. Then Nearby Stratford-Upon-Avon gets into the season by holding the Shakespeare birthday celebration, which culminates in a charity ball. There are also many music festivals, including the Cheltenham International Jazz Festival.
One of the most famous springtime activities is Cheese rolling at Cooper's Hill in Gloucester. Historically, townsmen rolled cheese wheels down the hill to claim it for sheep grazing. Now townspeople do it for fun and community pride. Another sheep related springtime activity is the Woolsack races and traditional street fair in Tetbury. This is a relay race involving a 60 pound woolsack run up and down the streets by two people. The relay is part of whole day of charity fund raising events.
Summertime brings Opera to the Longborough Festival Opera. This opera house seats 480 and can hold 65 musicians in the orchestra pit. It also brings Shakespeare in the park, performed by the Oxford school of drama, in the Pleasure Gardens in Bienheim, Woodstock. It also brings the Cheltenham International Festival of Music and Fringe, fringe events and the best of classical music.
The largest military air show in the entire world is held in Fairford. Military planes fly in dramatic formation, as well as perform terrifying acrobatics. This event brings spectators not only from England, but from throughout Europe as well. Later on, the water games are held at Bourton-on-the-water, which is a five a side soccer match, held in the stream of the river Windrush.
In the fall, festivals focus on culture. The Jane Austen festival in Bath celebrates their most famous resident. Bath is an elegant World Heritage City, and is proud to hold a whole day of events in celebration of Jane Austenís contributions to literature. Cheltenham also hosts a 10 day festival of literature, with readings, performances, and other live events.
In November, Bath Abbey hosts a traditional Christmas market, with vendor stalls, carollers, and mulled wine. Warwick Castle is decorated for Christmas, and opened to the public. The Westonbirt Arboretum near Tetbury is illuminated, and visitors can wind their way down the path of the national arboretum. In December, Bourton on the Water holds a Victorian Christmas evening, complete with traditional costumes, carol singing, plenty of shopping opportunities, and lighting of the town Christmas tree.
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Shakespeare Country Vale of Evesham and the Cotswolds |  |
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£8.88 | 4h 55m |
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Flowers for His Funeral A Mitchell Markby Cotswold W | |
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£5.23 | 5h 20m |
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Slaughter in the Cotswolds Cotswolds Mystery 6 Tope | |
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£13.60 | 5h 24m |
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A Cotswold Killing Cotswolds Mystery 1 Tope Rebecc | |
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£5.65 | 5h 24m |
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A Cotswold Ordeal Tope Rebecca New Book | |
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£6.13 | 5h 24m |
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Cotswold Ladies Golf Shoe Size 5 Black Brown New | |
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£25.00 | 6h 8m |
The Cotswolds is an area full of things to do all year long. This is just a small sample of the events that happen during the year. Every single day there are opportunities for shopping, historical tours, and cultural explorations. The Cotswold is a great vacation destination no matter the season.
Anna Phillips represents Jigsaw Holidays, specialists in supplying Cotswold Cottages and character properties for the ideal Cotswold break.
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There are hundreds of Bed and Breakfast choices in the Cotswolds. Some of the locals rent rooms in their homes, and some have larger establishments with separate living spaces for the owners. There is a wide selection as far as where you want to stay. You can choose between staying at a working farm, staying right in a town centre area, or anything in between.
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Still not satisfied? Then for the ultimate thrill-seeker there is skydiving at Cirencester with the Red Devils! If free-falling out of an aircraft thousands of feet in the air sounds like the time of your life, then this is one of the best places in the country to do it!
Want to bring your dog on holiday with you? The Cotswolds are very dog-friendly... many pubs, cottages and attractions even cater especially for them! There's no need to leave man's best friend behind when you go on holiday... the Cotswolds is one of the most dog-friendly areas of the UK. There's plenty of open countryside and public walkways to exercise them on too!
Broadway is a small town in the Cotswolds whose high street has a number of antique and gift shops and homes built of Cotswold stone. The Lygon Arms can be found in the high street and is one of several character Country House Hotels in close proximity to Broadway in the Cotswolds in England. The restaurant has a Michelin star and there are spa facilities. You can be assured of a warm welcome with roaring log fires in the winter months. This is indeed a luxury hotel in the Cotswolds.
Gloucester is its county town with Cirencester, Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Stroud also important and significant cities that are situated here. It is considered a ceremonial county, and Gloucestershire shares its borders with the well stored county of Gwent in Wales.
Industrial revolution changed the face of local settlers and their population grew quite rapidly. An interesting relic that belonged to the abbey of Kingswood is Calcot Barn and Thornbury Castle which is quite a fine example of Tudor remains. The imaginations which gave rise to the jealousy of Cardinal Wolsey against its creator and the man who built it was Edward Stafford, duke of Buckingham, whose head was butchered in 1521.
The very nice 15th-century mansion of Southam de la Bere, is made of timber and stone and is near Cheltenham. Memories of the de la Bere family do seem to appear in the church situated at Cleeve and the massive mansion has a tiled floor taken from Hailes Abbey.
