Stow-on-the-Wold
With so many options just moments from your doorstep, be it walks or window shopping, The Old Forge Cottage offers the chance for a real Cotswolds experience. Stow-on-the-Wold is a town steeped in history. Wonderful shops, restaurants and pubs, boutiques, galleries, tea rooms and the lovely town square and Church provide plenty of things to see and do within easy walking distance. Alongside the local stores there is also a convenient Tesco supermarket just along the Fosse Way, 5 minutes from the Old Forge Cottage by car plus several essential services, including a fuel station with M&S Food.
In & Around Stow
Stow is a town steeped in history. Wonderful independent shops, restaurants, pubs, boutiques, galleries, tea rooms and the lovely town square and churches provide plenty to discover within walking distance. Lockdown has seen the reinvention of many food outlets to provide boxed ingredients, ready meals, takeaways etc to enjoy at home. Check out The Old Butchers, Todenham Manor Farm, Greedy's Fish & Chips. Find out more on the regularly updated blog by The Cotswold Gentleman. Read More
Daylesford
Daylesford Organic Farm, a few miles away from Stow, offers a wonderful shopping and eating experience with exquisite local produce. Feed your body with the freshest goods and ingredients from the Butcher, Baker and Creamery. The Market Garden offers over 300 seasonal organic fruit, vegetables, salad leaves and herbs, all grown on site throughout the year. The Bamford Wellness Spa will calm your soul though a range of activities that nurture inner peace, including yoga, pilates, meditation, facial and massage treatments.
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A Day At The Races
Cheltenham is the home of jump racing. It's natural amphitheatre gives spectators an unrivalled view of the entire course. The thrill of the day is only enhanced by the famous Roar of the crowd as racing starts - it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end! An easy 30 minute drive away, there are fixtures throughout the season but the Festival in mid March is undeniably the most exciting meeting, Gold Cup day being the pinnacle of the jump racing calendar.
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Batsford Arboretum
A little further afield, the Cotswolds hosts some amazing wonders, including Batsford Arboretum. Just a few miles up the Fosse Way and mile and a half outside Moreton In Marsh, which is in itself worth a journey, Batsford holds an incredible collection of plants. Discover trees from around the world including the National Collection of Japanese Flowering Cherries. Enjoy wonderful walks through carpets of snowdrops and crocuses, breathtaking blossom and magnificent trees. While current restrictions are in place the arboretum is open for visitors on a timed ticket basis. Visit
Diddly Squat Farm Shop
Opened in 2020 by Jeremy Clarkson, the Diddly Squat Farm Shop is an emporium of seasonal edible delights. And potatoes. Found just outside Chipping Norton off the A361, this shop is full of locally sourced Cotswolds produce including meats, vegetables, honey, condiments and artisan bread. You can also find a vending machine selling the freshest North Cotswolds Dairy Company milk in traditional glass bottles, which you can take home and reuse. The delightful market town of Chipping Norton is a few minutes further up the road and a lovely place to while away a few hours discovering lovely independent shops.
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Cirencester Park Polo Club
Cirencester Park Polo Club welcomes visitors with open arms. Established in 1894, amid 3000 acres of parkland and woodland on one of the country's most beautiful parks, Cirencester offers the highest level of polo whilst retaining the charm of a delightfully relaxed country polo club. There is polo on most days, with Sundays being the traditional polo day and the best chance to catch all the action of the tournament finals. Day membership to the Polo Club from May - September is available to purchase on the gate. Enjoy pitch side picnics or entrance into the Members' enclosure, restaurant and grandstand.
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