The Chase
Sleeps 24-26
Cheltenham
Gin, horses and apes
Come in March for the festival and have a flutter at the races. Or tackle the course yourself at the Cheltenham Running Festival. Try a gin-tasting lab experience at Brennen and Brown. Game outdoors with BattleSports Glos. Go Ape in the Forest of Dean. Or see rare breeds, ride the train and milk the cows at the Cotswold Farm Park.
Kids in the Cotswolds
Try gaming in the Great Outdoors with BattleSports Laser Tag at BattleSports Glos. Go Ape in the Forest of Dean at one of two locations among towering pines and ancient oaks. Take the sting out of cycling the Cotswold hills with ebikes from Cotswold Biking. Or how about snowboarding or tubing at Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre?
Meet pink flamingos at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Slimbridge. Explore ancient Berkeley Castle and the Butterfly House. Go wild at Cattle Country Adventure Park, with its soft play area, splash pool, boats and American bison. Or say hi to over 400 species and nine animal houses at Bristol Zoo.
No visit to the Cotswolds is complete without a trip to Adam Henson’s Cotswold Farm Park. See the rare breeds, ride the train, milk the cows. Get a little wilder at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, home to lions, zebras, hippos and penguins. Or enjoy an A-Z of land- and water-based activities at The Cotswold Water Park, from archery to ziplining.
Marvel at the carless model village at Bourton-on-the-Water. See the show caves at Cheddar Gorge and at Wookey Hole, visit the caves, play adventure golf, see the dinosaurs and more. Or dive into a mystical lost world on 36 holes of truly crazy golf at Mr Mulligan’s Cheltenham.
For the grown ups
Cheltenham’s name is synonymous with horse-racing and you’ll catch the famous festival if you come in March. Or bring your trainers and come in June for the opportunity to run a 5k, 10k or half marathon around the racecourse at the Cheltenham Running Festival.
Try a gin-tasting lab experience at Brennen and Brown. Book a massage at Tonic Cheltenham. Wander the sumptuous interiors and sprawling grounds and gardens of Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Or climb over 1000 feet to Broadway Tower. Recover with afternoon tea in Tisane’s on the lovely high street.
Got a taste for trekking? Walk at least some of the 100-mile Cotswold Way (liberally dotted with country pubs). Or take the Rollright Stones Walk, a five-mile valley trail from Chipping Norton to a group of stones steeped in mystery that passes other mystical monuments.
Or how about a road trip around the Cotswolds’ nearly 800 square miles of unspoilt countryside, gorgeous villages, beautiful churches and vast manor houses? Discover Roman-rooted Cirencester, honey-coloured cottages at Bourton-on-the-Water, Bibury and Burford, and tearooms and country pubs galore.
Happy hens
Plenty on site to get hens a-clucking. Bring your fluffy white robes and slippers and head down to the indoor pool. Perfect for filling up time between Proseccos, it’s heated to 30 degrees and, at 12 metres by four, it’s ideal for bonding over a game of water polo. Or just forming an Instagram backdrop as you recline poolside.
The entertainment continues in the games room. Pick from table tennis or pool, or try them all and have yourself a Hen Olympics. Winner gets to choose tonight’s movie in the cinema room, equipped with Sky or anything else you fancy if you can remember your Netflix or Amazon Prime passwords.
There’s space for all of you to tuck into a tandoori takeaway in the dining room. Open the dual-aspect bi-fold doors onto the terrace and one-acre garden and let in the sunshine. Or head out there to get the coal barbie going and burn some burgers on the entertainment terrace.
Nightlife around these parties is swanky, especially in Montpellier. Start with fruit beer at Circus Bar, choose from 150 gins at John Gordon’s, and try a little of everything at Bar 50. Throw shapes at MooMoo Clubrooms, with CO2 cannons, lasers and a floor-fillers galore, or pick from five bars and a roof terrace at 21 Club.
