My family and I were delighted when the electric gates to the Lower Mill Estate opened and we got our first glimpse of the traditional Cotswolds holiday homes in Mill Village at the Cotswold Water Park where we were staying for the weekend.
Cotswold Water Park is made up of approximately 150 different lakes covering a large 40 square mile area between Swindon and Cirencester. There is a wide variety of leisure activities and abundant wildlife and it encompasses 14 towns and cities connected by 100 km of footpaths and cycle routes. I hadn’t realized that this area has become such a major tourist destination in its own right, now I can see why!
The Cotswolds lakeside holiday cottages are beautifully located and we were delighted with ours. With Somerford Pond on one side and the gently flowing ‘infant’ River Thames on the other, this place was definitely a good choice for a waterside break! After unpacking and enjoying a hearty meal cooked in the clean, well-equipped kitchen, we relax in the evening around our cozy wood-burning stove in our living room.
The next day, having enjoyed a good night’s sleep and a full English brunch made with local ingredients purchased from the cute Mill Village Farm Shop, we all headed around the corner on foot to explore the fantastic facilities that the development has to offer.
We spent hours enjoying the on-site facilities including the outdoor tennis court, indoor ping-pong table, children’s play area with trampoline, and also the sauna. We weren’t expecting to be able to use the heated outdoor pool as the mid-April weather wasn’t behaving well, but there were smiles as we put our hands in and found the water was too hot to turn down.
At night, all that fresh air and exercise had worked up an appetite, so we took a short trip to the Old Boathouse pub/restaurant near the Four Pillars Hotel and thoroughly enjoyed the food and view of another one of the many beautiful lakes in this place.
On Sunday we rented nearly new Trek mountain bikes from the friendly and helpful couple who own and run “Go By-Cycle” in Somerford Keynes. We spend the morning cycling around some of the 150 lakes in the Cotswold Water Park, admiring the stunning scenery and wildlife. The afternoon consisted of a visit to nearby Cotswold Country Park, which has two lakes, a swimming beach, family barbecue sites, miniature golf, Head 4 Heights aerial adventure activities, various types of boat rides, and a café serving delicious sandwiches and paninis. Two of us even tried Water-Zorbing, where you climb across the surface of the water on a giant inflatable ball – the closest you can get to walking on water without getting your feet wet!
At the end of another fun-filled day, we took a 15-minute drive to dinner at The Potting Shed Pub in the quaint village of Crudwell. This is a beautiful old building with stone walls and beamed ceilings and is listed in the Good Pub Guide. What a great way to end a lovely weekend!
After leaving our lakeside vacation home, we all felt like one weekend wasn’t enough, so the question on everyone’s lips was “When are we coming back for a week?”
Note: Our weekend holiday cottage was booked at Mill Village at the Cotswold Water Park.