*Ad feature – Giveaway*
Our guide to the best things to do in the Cotswolds with kids this February including rainy day ideas, budget friendly days out in the Cotswolds and of course the best places to see snowdrops!
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Painswick Rococo Garden
www.rococogarden.org.uk
One of the largest natural plantings of snowdrops in the UK can be experienced at Rococo Gardens. My boys love the snowdrop themed trail and expanded rustic play area. Normal admission applies. (Depending on the weather, the snowdrop display is likely to be looking good until the end of February). My friend and fellow blogger, Karen, has published a lovely article and photos about her visit to Rococo Garden here.
Rococo Garden Sprites
Info straight from the website – Tuesdays during term time plus school holiday specials, 10am-12noon. A chance for children between 18 months and 4 years to stroll through the gorgeous garden to the enchanted woodland to play, explore and create some natural crafts. The sessions are a mixture of guided activities and free play for which we have a range of resources on hand. There’s mud play, walks, stories, wild art, bug hunting and generally having a lovely, relaxing time. Limited availability – book direct with Nature Connections.
The Big Grow Trail – family activity during snowdrop season. 1st-28th February inclusive, 10.30am-4.30pm.
Some well-loved characters will guide you around the Garden together with the aim of learning some green-fingered skills. Don’t worry though: there’s no practical gardening to be done whilst you’re there… you can have a go at that when you get home, with the help of your prize! Click here to find out a little more.
Cotswold Discovery Trail
www.cotswolddiscoverytrail.com
Explore the history and culture of the Cotswolds with treasure trail map and trail pack. A superb way to explore the Cotswolds with your family without spending lots of money on guided tours. Find hidden secrets and answer the clues as you discover all the best Cotswold locations and lesser known gems.
For £39.99 you will receive a North and South Cotswolds paper trail map, (fabric ones also available click here for more details), 2 x copies of the kids Cotswold Challenge and Local Logo Challenge plus other goodies. The trails are circular routes to complete in a car, structured around recommended stops where you explore on foot, answering questions and clues as you go that will elucidate further on your surroundings. There are multiple start points, so you finish where you start, which is the most convenient place for you. Each Trail takes a day to complete with a total drive time between 2 – 3 hours.
**Enter our exclusive giveaways to be in with the chance of winning a Cotswold Discovery Trail pack. We are giving away two packs on our Facebook page. You can also join in our Instagram hashtag community #WeLoveGlos for another two chances to win.
Westonbirt Arboretum, Tetbury
www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt
To truly experience the great outdoors there is nowhere better to visit than Westonbirt Arboretum, home to 15,000 trees. The half term activity for this year is Written Words. Children will be encouraged to discover hidden meanings within the trees and make a willow heart with their own special message at the learning centre. These activities are included in the regular admission price.
Cotswold Farm Park, Guiting Power
cotswoldfarmpark.co.uk
Spring is our favourite time to visit Cotswold Farm Park with live lambing taking place from the 16th February through to the 28th April. They have a flock of over 660 ewes due to give birth this lambing season so they will be very busy! As well as access to the lambing shed you can attend daily talks about lambing, bottle feeding sessions, go on a farm safari ride, hold chicks and rabbits and of course point your kids in the direct of the adventure barn and soft play area whilst you enjoy a coffee. Normal admission prices apply.
Cotswolds Farm – Duntisbourne Abbots, Near Cirencester, GL7 7JS
www.cotswoldfarmgardens.org.uk
Walk around the snowdrops and help support the work of the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust. Saturday & Sunday – 9 & 10 February 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M. Farm also open all Mondays in February – 11th, 18th and 25th 11:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.
Cotswold Farm has a fascinating, family friendly Cotswold garden, overlooking a quiet valley on descending levels with the Terrace designed by Norman Jewson. The Snowdrop Collection was begun in the 1930’s and further developed by Ruth Birchall in the 1980’s and 90’s, now grown to 83 varieties. There are many named Snowdrops in the borders and swathes of naturalised Snowdrops in the woods and along the woodland paths. A Winter Step Garden with scents and textures leads down to the Bog Garden; find Hellebores, cornus, aconites, cyclamen, crocus: sarcococca, wintersweet, winter honeysuckle bring scent galore. Soup Lunches, Tea, Coffee & Cakes and Bulbs for Sale. £ 5.00 Entrance. Children FREE
Batsford Arboretum
http://www.batsarb.co.uk
Another Cotswolds gem to visit if you are seeking out snowdrops this February half term. Kids will love the children’s trail (every child gets a prize upon completion), children’s play area which is new and conveniently located near the cafe. (Be sure to visit the parrots in the aviary while you’re there!)
Snowdrop displays can also be seen at Colesbourne Park nr. Cheltenham, Newark Park in Wotton-under-Edge and Snowshill Manor and Gardens in Broadway.
Theatre production
Shelter from the rain inside your local theatre. Stroud Schools Drama Festival are performing an adaptation of ‘Wind in the Willows at the Subscription Rooms in Stroud.
The Model Village – Bourton-on-the-Water
Open all year, winter opening times 10-4pm
My boys love the model village. Although it is not as well-known as other local attractions, the Model Village is a great place to take youngsters who will enjoy peering into the many tiny house and shop windows and listening to the choir sing in the model church. The Model Village is a one-ninth scale replica of the beautiful Cotswold village of Bourton-on-the-Water. My top tips are to take along bread for the ducks, pack a picnic and plan to spend a full day in the village. Admission – Adults £3.60, children 3-13 £2.80.
Birdland Park and Gardens, Bourton-on-the-Water
I’ve exchanged Tesco clubcard points to visit Birdland very cheaply over the February half term holidays with my two boys last year. It was a great value day out so worth checking out if you can do the same. There are 500 birds including Flamingos, pelicans, penguins, cranes and storks, a playground and coffee shop. (I wasn’t keen on the coffee shop if I’m honest, it didn’t have great ventilation and we all came out smelling of food. It may well have changed in a year though). It’s ‘Birds Behaving Badly Week’ 16th– 24th February.
For other local things to do in Gloucestershire check out:
Things to do in Cheltenham with kids February 2019
Ultimate guide to Cheltenham: Things to do with kids
Tried & tested family attractions in the Forest of Dean
Things to do in Gloucester with kids February 2019
Things to do in the Forest of Dean with kids February 2019
Fab local giveaway
We have three brilliant local prizes up for grabs over on our Facebook page. One x family taster session at the Warehouse Climbing Centre in Gloucester (valid for up to six people and worth just under £100) and two x trail maps and packs from Cotswold Discovery Trail (worth £40 each). You can enter here. Good luck!
