The Cider Orchard

Take a tractor ride, meet the farm animals or head out across the boating lake… if the kids are tagging along for the holiday, Cattle Country Farm Park (10 minutes’ drive) has lots of child-friendly activities and playgrounds where they can let off some steam. Intent on hiking far and wide? Combine a walk with wildlife spotting in the wetlands at WWT Slimbridge (20 minutes). Then, take yourself off to Stinchcombe Hill (15 minutes) for a hilly circular hike on the Cotswolds Way through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and past a splendid golf course. Keep a golf club handy if that’s your thing, as you can stop on this course or go over to the Cotswold Edge Golf Club (10 minutes) for a scenic game on an old Cotswolds course. If you want to familiarise yourself with some history, Berkeley Castle (10 minutes) has a taste of the 12th century, while the National Trust site at Woodchester Park (20 minutes) has an incomplete Victorian mansion with parkland, lakes and a boathouse walk. Ready for the city? Head to the historic spa towns of Bath (50 minutes) or Cheltenham (40 minutes).