October 2021
We spent 3 nights and 2 days in the Cotswolds between me changing jobs, we had an excellent time. Its a fantastic place for those outdoor lovers and nature enthusiasts. Our dog loved the amount of pheasant which were flying around, and we were not stuck for things to do in any way at all. Below I have listed our itinerary for the 2 days we were there, and the cost for everything we did. We spent very little, but felt that our days were very well filled.
Hayles Fruit Farm
We stayed at a campsite called Hayles Fruit Farm, who grow their own apples and fruit (as the name suggests), they have fantastic on site facilities for campers and caravaners. The site also has a nature trail which was beautiful and a fishing lake. The lake reminded me of monet’s famous lake painting, and was perfect for an early stroll with the dog. Even if you don’t stay here (camping or caravanning may not be your cup of tea), I would highly recommend a visit to this farm and its attached shop and cafe. The shop sells its own fruit, apple juice, cider, and preserves. Whilst we were staying here it was pumpkin season and you can take your children (or yourself) to pick their own pumpkins. At other times of the year, the farm allows visitors to pick their own strawberry’s and other fruits which again is a real selling point of staying here.
We have a caravan and paid £72 for a 3 night stay inclusive of electric hook up and facilities. We booked the night before, but would anticipate at peak season that they would be booked up well in advance. The closest village if you wanted to stay in a B&B would be Toddington.
We tried the Hayles Farms own ‘Badgers’ cider, we both agreed that the exterior of the cider was not in keeping with the flavour, the cider tasted like a very premium cider. We bought these 2 bottles and then bought 4 more to take home with us as we enjoyed them that much. We also tried the ‘award winning’ apple juice, which was very nice and a completely different taste to supermarket/brand name apple juice. The cider was £2.50 per bottle. In the photo above, you can see the ‘Orchard Tea Room’ which is open most days between 9am-5pm (as of October 2021), and serves usual cafe staples such as tea/coffee and cakes and also reports to sell hot home cooked food such as cottage pie.
Broadway Tower
Day 1: We visited the town of Broadway, which was around a 15 minute drive from where we were staying. We parked in Broadway which is a beautiful English village, and well worth a visit in its own right. The houses within the village look like they should appear in a Christmas calendar, and are what my granny would call ‘chocolate box houses’ (meaning good looking enough to put on the front of a chocolate box). There are plenty of lovely boutique shops, cafe’s and plenty of pubs and restaurants.
We parked in the long stay car park, which has plenty of spaces and paid £4 for 10 hours of car parking, we walked through the village, and took a footpath up towards Broadway tower. I have attached our circular walk for the day at the the end of the ‘day 1’ segment, but I would advise that the walk was very hilly, and perhaps wouldn’t be suitable for young children or anyone who struggles with long distances or steep inclines.
The tower is privately owned, and the family who own it invest money spent on admissions on the continued restoration of the tower. You can park right next to the tower if you or your companions struggle to walk far, and the walk to the tower would only take a couple of minutes. There are good paths, for people with disabilities and those with pushchairs or prams. On site, further attractions for visitors include a 20 minute circular walk around the grounds (or cycle, as e-bikes are available to hire from the shop on site). There is also a deer park, I believe deer were brought to the area in the 1980’s by the current family who own the site now. They were grazing a lot when we visited which was lovely to see, and the stags were sat down having a good rest watching the does walk around. One of the stags is called William (named after William Morris). You do not need to pay for entry to see the tower, and you can go right up to it which is nice. But you do need to pay for entry into the deer park, and entry up inside the tower.
Car park prices: £3.00 (one off price for all day parking).
Grounds (to the deer) and picnic admission: (adult) £4.00, (child) £2.00.
Tower admission times: 10am-5pm (daily). Tower admission prices: (unable to get admission prices at this time as tower is presently under restoration).
Tower Cafe and Shop: 9:30am-5pm (daily).
http://www.broadwaytower.co.uk
Unfortunately, when we visited in October 2021, restoration work was being completed, so we didn’t get to see how beautiful the tower is (shown above). We plan to return to see the tower after its restoration. The website which I have listed above is keeping visitors updated with the restoration works taking place. In the picture, you can see my very disappointed husband after making him walk up a large hill to see a tower, which I promised him it was worth looking at! I wasn’t aware at the time restoration works were being completed!
Snowshill
We then walked from Broadway tower to Snowshill as part of our long circular walk (again I will add that the walk I will list below is probably not ideal for those who want a small stroll as it is a large walk with lots of inclines, but an alternative would be to drive to Snowshill from Broadway tower which might suit you if you struggle with walking long distances or have small children). Snowshill is a beautiful quaint Cotswold village, which feels ‘sleepy’, it is quiet, unlike Broadway there are no shops or high street, the whole village feels as if it is focused around the local pub which is lovely.
We stopped at the Snowshill Arms for some food, which was lovely. The pub has a really nice village feel to it. Dogs are welcome, which we were really happy about. The food is simple, honest English pub food, which was just what we needed on a cold autumn day. I had the local homemade faggots (which Gaz was very jealous of me for ordering as they were lovely), they came with mushy peas and mashed potato. Gaz ordered scampi and chips which again was very nice. The bar staff were very friendly and attentive, and the food was hot and served quickly which was good as we needed to carry on with our walk. Our two meals, and two drinks (1 coke, and 1 larger shandy) came to £25 which we thought was reasonable. They also serve real ales for those who love a quality pint.
Other things to do in/around Snowshill apart from continue with our ‘very long’ circular walk:
-Cotswold Lavender Farm (the farm is open to visitors during the summer months between June until September time), unfortunately the farm wasn’t open during our trip in October. However it looks like a fantastic place to visit, they sell products made from their own lavender, and if you are interested in having amazing photos which are social media worthy, the fields are open to visit and you can photograph yourself to your hearts content here with an amazing backdrop. We walked past the fields on our circular walk which was nice, but lavender isn’t as photogenic in October unfortunately. Website: http://www.cotswoldlavender.co.uk
-Snowshill Manor and Gardens is also another local option in this area. A National Trust run establishment, £8.50 per adult, and £4.25 per child (as per October 2021). The manor was the home of the ‘eccentric’ Charles Wade, who was an avid collector of things. The manor is well worth a visit showcasing the eccentricity of Charles and his tastes, and the Arts and Crafts gardens are sure to please. Website: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/snowshill-manor-and-garden
Burhill Fort
I noticed this area noted on my OS maps, which advised there were the remnants of a fort in place, sadly there was not much to see at all, only the sign which advised of the historical importance of the site. If you are interested in the iron age (which the area has been noted, from artefacts found) then this may be an area of interest to you. The website http://www.burhillfort.co.uk gives further information in relation to the fort and the historical significance of it. We found it a place of note to walk to, and was almost at the end of our days walking and our circular walk back into Broadway village.
My OS map route from Day 1: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/route/10366466/Broadway-Circular-walk-including-Snowshill-Village
End of Day 1: We were very tired after our day walking today and were happy to retreat back to our caravan for some much needed rest and showers! We went to the local village Co-op for supplies and had an easy tea in the caravan.
Total money spent on day 1: £29 (for lunch at the pub and our car parking in Broadway).
Day 2: Steam Ride train to Cheltenham.
On day 2, we decided to take a steam train to Cheltenham from Toddington. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway is run by rail enthusiasts and volunteers which is fantastic. This is perfect for those who want to do something different, or those who have a love or history for steam rail or rail history. We really enjoyed the journey between Toddington station and Cheltenham station and it lasted around 1 hour which was nice. I was worried it was going to be too short, but it was perfect. The steam train also goes from Broadway village to Cheltenham (Broadway being one end of the line and Cheltenham being as far as you can go/end of the line), so if you stayed in Broadway village, this would be a perfect day trip out to Cheltenham. Just be careful around the Cheltenham races, as I imagine the train is fully booked up and the prices are likely to be increased as well.
We payed £16 for a Toddington to Cheltenham return per adult. And we payed £3 for the dog to join us. He wasn’t so sure about the train, but we were obviously happy that the train was dog friendly.
The website has all information and time tables: http://www.gwsr.com
Toddington station Postcode: GL54 5DT
Day in Cheltenham
We arrived at Cheltenham station which is almost within Cheltenham race course grounds. We walked from the station, into Cheltenham town centre, which overall took us around 30-40 minutes but we stopped at various parks and cafe’s along the way. Cheltenham has a lot of parks within it which was obviously good for us with the dog. But equally would be good for those with young children. We really enjoyed Cheltenham, and again doesn’t need to cost a fortune, we went to cafe’s for drinks, but with the amount of public parks you could easily take a picnic and have a lovely brunch or lunch in one of the parks.
Pittville Park
We found this park by coincidence as we were walking (I saw it on my map, and thought it was worth investigating). This park is perfect if you have children and are visiting Cheltenham, there is a huge play area and bird aviary. The large building is called the Pittville Pump Room, which has a great history. It is now available as an events room and wedding venue. If you are interested in the history (which we were) look at the website http://www.pittvillepumproom.org.uk. As you can see Samson the dog loved it and appears really at home as a regal looking pup!
Whilst at Pittville Park, we went to the Heritage Cafe and Bar, which was really nice. We sat outside under the pump house. We had two hot drinks, two cold drinks and two cakes (brownie for Gaz and dairy free flapjack for me), and then walked around the park.
Cost: £16.
Postcode: GL52 3JE
Cheltenham Town.
We visited Cheltenham during the Cheltenham literature festival, it was located in the centre in Montpelliar gardens. Again the literature festival is very child friendly and worth a visit with children if you are going in October time. We didn’t go in as we didn’t have loads of time as we had dinner reservations, but it gets really good reviews and is perfect for those who enjoy literature.
The town is lovely to walk through, with lots of brilliant old buildings, and again nice ‘chic’ bars and quaint little boutique shops.
The Neptune Fountain
On our travels back to the train station, we stumbled upon the neptune fountain which is said to be inspired by the trevi fountain in Rome, Italy. It was interesting to see. We have visited the trevi fountain in Rome, and both of us agreed that is is indeed a good small scale similarity. Again, albeit not something to look at for a long time, its something nice to walk to and we enjoy getting to know an area that we are visiting. Again there is history behind this fountain which is often the case with nice ornamental features within towns. We love looking at the history of things we visit whilst away.
Postcode: GL50 1PJ
We walked back up to the train station, and took the lovely train journey back to Toddington station and discussed where to go out for dinner that evening.
Hailes Abbey
Before dinner, we wanted to explore a small place close to the campsite we were staying called Hailes Abbey. Hailes Abbey was a significant place of pilgrimage in Medieval England as a supposed vial of Christ’s blood was kept here at the Abbey. The Abbey was commissioned by Richard (second son of King John) and was a vaste abbey and place of worship, its completion was in 1251AD. The abbey was destroyed to most effect in the 1530’s as a result of King Henry VIII’s suppression of many catholic monasteries.
According to the English Heritage website the abbeys gold and silver plates and jewels were taken to the tower of London, and the expensive led roof was taken away and made into 119 large bars called ‘fothers’. Other areas of the monasteries estate were turned into country houses for the wealthy, and the remains of the monastery was left to decay. Now all that is left to see is ruins of a former historical abbey. We didn’t go into the Abbey as we could see enough of what remains there were from outside walking around (photographs below), but I have put prices below in case it is a place you would like to visit or you already are English heritage members in which case it is an easy excuse to use your membership! The abbey is also on the trail of the famed ramblers ‘Cotswolds Way’ so if you are walking this route, it might be a point of interest on your walk.
Prices of admission (as per October 2021): £7.60 adult and £4.60 child.
Postcode: GL54 5PB
Evening meal at: The Pheasant Inn.
We went out for our evening meal to finish the last night of our holiday together at The Pheasant Inn in Toddington. They are a lovely country pub which serves good home cooked pub food and real ales. We really enjoyed our meal, and would certainly recommend for an easy relaxed meal out in the Cotswolds. We had two main courses, two puddings, two soft drinks and two glasses of red wine and the bill was around £40 which we thought was very reasonable.
Postcode: GL54 5DT Phone number: 01242 621271
Overall…
We would certainly recommend the Cotswolds for a short 2-3 day stay, equally there is plenty more to do in the Cotswolds for a longer breaks as well. We personally like to pack in lots of activities during the days so our days are really full, but you could easily break up what we did and do smaller amounts each day. Above, I hope I have displayed that visiting the Cotswolds (a known area for its wealthy residents and celebrity visitors) doesn’t need to cost a fortune and is easily accessible and affordable for young couples on a budget and families. We try and visit places like Hayles Fruit farm, and the abbey on our travels as these are places off the usual ‘touristy’ scene which offer real history and you feel as if you are getting to know a place. We also are keen on supporting local business’s such as Hayles fruit farm. So If you are passing we would certainly recommend you purchase a couple of their ciders or award winning apple juices!
Our total cost for the whole 3 night (2 days) holiday:
£212
The price above includes all our food, meals out, 6 ciders etc, as mentioned before you could reduce this cost more if you took a picnic and didn’t have the evening meal out, or the ciders we purchased. I also note that we have a caravan which makes our price per night potentially cheaper. In the summer you could stay on the same campsite that we stayed on for campers as they have good camping facilities or like I mentioned before you could stay in the local villages of Broadway or Toddington in a holiday rental.
Please review our blog and follow us on instagram for more purse friendly travelling in the UK.
The British Escape 