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Gloucestershire Farm Holidays: Country Cottages and Farm B&Bs for Holiday Rentals
A Cotswold Village bathed in Light
Gloucestershire Farm Holidays - book a country cottage for a cheap holiday rental! Here you will find a wealth of holiday cottages and country accommodation to choose from. You will find farmhouse bed and breakfasts and self-catering cottages for your farm holiday. All our farm accommodation offers reasonable rates. If you are looking for self-catering cottages in a rural setting within the heart of the English countryside, then look no further. You are sure to find something here that suit your pocket and in addition to that, the kids will have a great time exploring great open spaces, meeting the farm animals and discovering far more of their world beyond the X-Box and TV! Gloucestershire farm holidays can be taken on working farms in areas of outstanding beauty. One such area is the beautiful Cotswolds. I love the ancient, honey-coloured limestone villages that blend so perfectly into the surrounding countryside, and the bustling little market towns that still retained so much of their character, and have barely changed over the years. One of my favourite meals was in Bourton-on-the-Water, at the Parrot and the Alligator pub, many years ago, when we had huge, dinner-plate sized Yorkshire puddings filled with tender steak and gravy with mushy peas! There are so many places to visit in Gloucestershire that are of outstanding beauty that it is difficult to know where to start. For those of you who love walking take The Cotswold Way, a long distance path that runs the length of the region, and provides an enjoyable way to explore the villages and byways of the region. Another area to explore after renting Gloucestershire holiday cottages is the Royal Forest of Dean. The ancient forest lies in Gloucestershire and borders the Wye Valley in the west and the Severn Vale in the east. There is the Royal Forest Route that offers a 20-mile circuit through the heart of the Royal Forest. It is suitable for drivers, walkers and cyclists and takes your through some beautiful scenery. It is beautiful any time of year. In the winter, with no leaves on the trees you can see for miles. In spring bulbs carpet the forest floor, in summer you have leafy green canopies and in autumn, rich earthy shades of autumn colours. Your Gloucestershire farm holidays will take you to an area dotted with many picturesque villages for those photographic opportunities. The Upper and Lower Slaughters and Owlpen are two of the many that exist in this county. Visit Owlpen Manor and see if you can see the resident ghost. This romantic Tudor manor house at Uley, near Dursley, is reputedly haunted by Margaret of Anjou, queen consort of Henry VI. She appears as a 'lady in beautiful clothes' who drifts through the rooms in the house. Stow-on-the-Wold ("where the wind blows cold"!) is another, and is the highest point in the Cotswolds. It was the scene of the last battle of the English Civil War. Stow is centred on a picturesque village green, complete with stocks used for punishing criminals in years gone by. Stow is an absolutely delightful village. A short walk from the green brings you to the parish church, where the door is encased in a living tree! One of the best gardens in the area that is open to the public is near Chipping Camden; Hidcote Manor Gardens. One of the truly great English gardens, created in Arts and Crafts style by Major Lawrence Johnston as a series of outdoor "rooms", each with its own character, separated by hedges and walls. The garden is well known for its rare trees and shrubs, herbaceous borders and unusual plants from across the globe. Gloucestershire farm holidays will take you to historical sites and its an area that will be of interest to those interested in Roman history. One should not miss the Chedworth Roman Villa, near Cheltenham. Chedworth is one of the most extensive and complete Roman villas in England. The site is in a deeply wooded valley with almost a mile of walls intact. Excavations have revealed two bathhouses, some excellent mosaics, a hypocaust, and a latrine in quite good working order! A short walk from the villa brings you to the site of a Roman temple beside the River Coln. If you want some hilarity in watching crazy people throwing themselves off a hill that is more like a cliff in steepness, and rolling down it at lightening speed, then book your holiday during the annual Cheese Rolling and Wake Competition. It is a competition that has been held for hundreds of years and people flock to see this annual tradition. There are 4 races that are held on Cooper's Hill, Gloucester where those brave (or stupid) enough start at the top of the hill and then run down it where the winner wins a round of cheese. So although it is called a cheese rolling competition the name belies what it is all about. You, as the participant, do the rolling, not the cheese! The speed at which you hurtle down the steep descent results in gravity and inertia taking over where you bounce, slide and inadvertently somersault your way to the bottom. This competition is not for the feint-hearted! Farm self-catering holidays and farm B&B accommodation is a great way to spend time together with the family and the children are never bored. Book you Gloucestershire farm holidays to see the most visited county in England for good reason. Look through our listings of our holiday rentals and lets for your next Gloucestershire holiday. There are many country cottages, holiday cottages and farmhouses to choose from. If you have a farm in Gloucestershire or Gloucestershire Holiday Cottages that you would like to showcase visit our Farm Forum. You can upload a picture and brag a little. We don't mind! Share a farming story, tell us about your best or worst farm holiday and lots more. There are other individual farming discussion boards to contribute to through this forum, as well as a Craft & Recipes Forum where you can share your favourite recipes and also get some crafting ideas for various arts & crafts.
Not to be Missed! - 'A Place in My Country: In Search of a Rural Dream' by Ian WalthewIf you are planning a visit to Gloucestershire any time soon, then this is the book for you. It's a poignant story set in the Cotswolds that will give you a deeper understanding of the area once you have read it, and will give you insight to changes that are sadly eroding a wonderful heritage. For those already living the rural life in England, one will immediately be able to identify with some of the author's concerns and experiences. At some stage in our lives we have almost all wanted to change our lives and swap them for someone else's. Those of us who work or have worked in high-powered, executive and managerial positions, I was one of them, know that with high salaries come high-levels of stress and one starts to ask the 64 million dollar question; "What's it all about?" With introspection and the addition of personal tragedies one realises that status, position and monetary gains are not that important. What really matters is quality of life. Ian Walthew was one such high-flyer who decides to opt out of the rat-race he has found himself in. One weekend, on a whim, he and his wife buy a cottage in the seemingly idyllic Cotswolds to live a less stressful life and to enjoy their beautiful surroundings. However, it soon becomes apparent, that the rural England that he has always known and loved, has not stood still during his absence and the quintessential fabric of the English countryside is slowly unravelling, little by little. In this book you will laugh and you will cry. You will become so engrossed in the lives of his neighbours, that he so cleverly portrays, that you won't want the book to end. Ian has crafted a wonderful story that will remain with you long after you have turned the last page. Jeremy Irons, Actor Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, British celebrity chef, television presenter 'Compelling and often deeply moving...a page turner' Financial Times 'Required reading for anyone who claims to know or love this country' Clover Stroud- The Sunday Telegraph "Funny, touching and ultimately very moving, this is a beautiful, unsentimental account of a personal loss that is reflected in the rapidly changing texture of life in rural England." The author, Ian Walthew, is also webmaster of A Place in the Auvergne Blog Spot For more information about Ian, and for further reading, drop in - you won't be sorry.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE FARM HOLIDAYS: SELF-CATERING COUNTRY COTTAGES
Feel free to browse through the books on Gloucestershire. You may find something of interest for your next Gloucestershire farm holiday.
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