I lived in the Midlands for all of my childhood but had never been to the Cotswolds. I have recently been inspired by the beautiful posts of fellow family traveller Claire over at Suitcase and Sandcastles to rectify this and headed off to Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds. It is a stunningly pretty village but what is there to do!What to do in Bourton on the Water
Experience country culture
There are loads of festivals and events held in the Cotswolds, especially during the summer months. Why not time your visit so you can visit and experience a unique aspect of English culture. When we were there, Morris Dancers danced on the bridge all day, much to the enjoyment of our little one!
Experience English cuisine
Whether you want to experience a traditional English pub or a proper afternoon tea. The Cotswolds, and in particular Bourton on the Water will delight even the fussiest of foodies!
Spend some time at the river
No visit to Bourton on the Water is complete without a walk over the famous bridges and down the river. At Christmas time, a Christmas tree is erected in the river which adds to the magic of the place
Visit Birdland
The little lady is bird obsessed so an obvious choice for us was a visit to Birdland. Birdland is located to the main Bourton on the Water car park and is a five minutes walk to the centre of Bourton on the Water.
It is not a gigantic park but it is a nice size to go round with children, and on a better day you could have stopped and had a lovely picnic in the grounds.
There were lots of cages with the smaller birds while there were some larger open enclosures for the ‘bigger name birds’. Our little lady particular enjoyed watching feeding time with the penguins and the host was eager to answer questions about the animals.
Another family favourite was to watch the flamingos walking through the river. It would have been a great photo opportunity on a better day!
Perhaps one of the largest section of Birdland was dedicated to the Birds of Africa. I really enjoyed reminiscing about all the birds we had seen on our visit to Uganda. Our favourite enclosure was the Hornbills.
For older children there was an area of parkland dedicated to the jurassic period. Given the weather and the age of our little one we didn’t go round but other families seemed to enjoy the experience.
Overall I thought the experience was well worth 9.95 GBP for adults but if you lived closer the yearly membership for 19.95GBP seemed good value!
What is your favourite thing to do in the Cotswolds?