Can you help me with things to do in Cotswolds/Cirencester with kids and dogs?

[Cotswoldhelp]

Hi all

Please can you help if you know these areas. We are away to Cirencester in a couple of weeks, six adults, four kids and 2 dogs. We are struggling a bit with something to do one of the days. Cotswold water park beach sounds ideal for the kids but the dogs aren’t allowed on the beach I believe. The wildlife park is out as we’ve just been.

Can anyone recommend a nice day out/something to do with kids and dogs in the mix? I love mooching round picturesque Cotswold villages but not ideal for kids?

Thanks so much

We went to Westonbirt Arboretum this week - really good day out, very dog friendly and kid friendly. Well worth the money. There is also Batsford Arboretum but we weren't very impressed by that... it does have a nice garden centre attached though.

Broadway Tower is a great walking spot and great views; and Broadway is a nice little Cotswold town to wander through.

Woodchester Mansion has a NT car park and grounds...... it's a never completed gothic manor in the middle of lovely woodland. Newark Park is also NT, and well worth a visit... lovely woodland walks and nice cafe too.

Thanks that’s incredibly helpful

Bourton on the Water - Birdland lets dogs in as does the maze there i believe. Overall a kid and dog friendly place!

Depending on when you are here... Dogfest is in Cirencester on the 18/19th Sept.

You could also try Rococo Gardens. Beautiful.

How about Chedworth Roman villa?

If you do go to Broadway, there is a fantastic adventure playground for the kids.

www.treasuretrails.co.uk/trails-search/Cirencester,Gloucestershire,England,GL7

These are good for making a walk around a village a bit more interesting for kids (my DC have enjoyed them from about 7yr old to now at Secondary age)

www.gwsr.com/

Steam train runs from Cheltenham racecourse through a couple of villages and all the way to Broadway. Good fun, nice scenery and dogs are allowed.

I don't have a dog but we enjoyed cotswold wildlife park - not sure if allowed dogs?
Second Bourton on the water - very busy though.

Sorry just reread your post.....

Oh yes pp mentioned Roccoco gardens at Painswick, very lovely and dogs are allowed. Usually lovely cake in the cafe too!
You could then take a walk through Painswick which is a very pretty place.

www.biburytroutfarm.co.uk/ We love feeding the trout here. It is much more fun than it sounds!

Thanks everyone these are some great suggestions

If you are in to outdoor water sports:

www.southcerneyoutdoor.co.uk/

I'm pretty sure they allow dogs

Dog friendly pubs: the crown in frampton Mansell (gorgeous), the old lodge or the crown in Minchinhampton.

Cow/horse spotting on Minchinhampton common, stop for coffee and cake at henrys or ice cream at winstones

Stroud farmers market Saturday morning

Thistledown farm near Stroud is a lovely spot for lunch and has outdoor space for kids to play. Or there’s Felt cafe which is a nice riverside spot between Stroud and minchinhampton

Clearly I am all about the food

@GurtBusty

I have emailed the pubs @NotTodayPleaze thanks!!

A trip to Lechlade for a walk along the Thames, see the sights, have a pub lunch ('old father Thames' statue at St John's Lock).
Visit the Tunnel House Inn for a meal and have a look at the Thames and Severn canal tunnel (both portals) and Coates roundhouse. About 4 miles from Ciren. Lovely walks along the canal, and at Daneway a nature reserve. (Daneway is the other portal).
Saul marina, on the Gloucester Sharpness canal do day narrow boat hire. Have a look online.
Gloucester Docks are great, as is the cathedral, but I don't imagine you can take dogs in.

@MissyB1

If you do go to Broadway, there is a fantastic adventure playground for the kids.

Dogs aren't allowed inside it though!

The Rollright stones near to Chipping Norton are worth a visit. A short walk away are some woods with brash sculptures. It's called 'Neolithic Echoes'. It's great for dogs and kids! Just an honestly box outside. Something like £1 for adults.

A great walk up through fields to Broadway Tower too. Lovely views.

True that dogs aren’t allowed in the Broadway playground but if one adult takes the kids in, the others can walk the dogs around the village/ fields. That’s how we do it.

Another vote for Westonbirt Arboretum. The tree top walk might be fun for the children.

Westonbirt is good but depends on the age of the kids (I am a local/member). When mine were little they liked the gruffulo trail. The last few times I've been the treetop bits on the bridge have been shut but they've loved charging about.

These days I get whiny complaining pre teens who sulk all the way around. Also they re-did the catering outlets recently and they have swapped stuff around and reduced the amount of cake but made the restaurant fancier. Only half of it is open to dogs btw - the old arboretum has a no dog area (Dd2 was scared of dogs so it was a blessing to us when she was tiny).

We went to the cotswold water park in the summer and it was great. We didn't go on the beach but dds went on a bunch of the activities and had a total ball. I went on a swan pedalo! Lots of dog owners around.

If you are coming down Westonbirt way, dyrham park is a good nt place (I prefer to Newark park) but they did recently have to cull the deer which had made it a bit sadder.

When I was a kid we used to go to Prinkash Abbey with elderly relatives. Bored my brother rigid but I quite liked it as did my Gran. My mum rates Thistledown as mentioned above. Chedworth is also interesting but still needs booking in advance as does Snowshill manor which is a bit weird and wonderful and worth a visit if you are NT members.

My kids liked the Roman museum in Cirencester - we went when they were about yr 4 and doing Romans at school. They also liked Gloucester cathedral as we did the Harry Potter stuff and also a tour of the vaults. There is a tiny Beatrix Potter museum next to the Cathedral too (hope it's still there).

And I loved the Trout farm at Bibury as a kid!

Just thought of another one - Coaley Peak, which is on the edge of the Cotswold escarpment near Nympsfield, about a 40 minute drive from Ciren. Again, excellent dog walk, wonderful views of the Forest of Dean, Brecon Beacons, Malverns, plus Neolithic burial tombs. There is a further Neolithic tomb about a mile along the road towards Uley, called Hetty Peglers Tump. You can go right inside the tombs. Coaley Peak is also very close to Woodchester Mansion, which I think someone else may have mentioned.

Cirencester park is ggod for walks (more low key than the other suggestions on here though) and they currently have some sort of trail to follow round it.

If you are soonish, Cirencester also has a heated outdoor pool.
The museum is also good (no dogs though)

You could do a small local walk to the Bullring which is an unadvertised local spot which is the old Roman amphitheatre, a giant bowl of grass actually pretty cool to see. There are also Roman walls in the Abbey grounds.