27 places · every place verified by us
The North Cotswolds has many of the region's best-known gardens and houses, from Hidcote and Snowshill to the Mughal water garden at Sezincote, with the family days out round Bourton-on-the-Water and Guiting Power. Most are a short drive apart, so two in a day is easy.
27 places
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A yew hedge maze on Rissington Road in Bourton-on-the-Water, with 14 clues to a rebus and a golden dragonfly at the centre designed by Kit Williams.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
Family days out · Bourton-on-the-Water
A one-ninth scale model of Bourton-on-the-Water as it was in the 1930s, itself listed Grade II, in the garden of the Old New Inn.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Tours and experiences · Shipston-on-Stour
A working pottery in the village of Whichford, near Shipston-on-Stour, making hand-thrown frostproof terracotta flowerpots since 1976, with a stockyard, a shop, a café and courses.
Verified Oct 2026
The great gardens of the North Cotswolds sit in two clusters, round Chipping Campden and round Moreton-in-Marsh. Hidcote, the garden of rooms Lawrence Johnston began in 1907, is the famous one and is best early in the day. Kiftsgate Court is half a mile away and quieter, so see both on one trip. Near Moreton, Batsford Arboretum covers 60 acres of hillside with trees that are best in spring and autumn, Sezincote's water garden is across the A44, and Chastleton's Jacobean house, where rules for croquet were written, is a short drive away.
Above Broadway, Snowshill Manor holds Charles Wade's collection of craftsmanship, from bicycles to armour, and Broadway Tower stands on Beacon Hill with a red deer park and a Cold War bunker. Chedworth Roman Villa, in the woods near Northleach, has mosaics and two bath suites.
Cotswold Farm Park near Guiting Power is the full day for young families, with rare breeds, bottle feeding and play barns. In Bourton-on-the-Water, Birdland feeds its King Penguins at 3pm, and the Model Village, the Dragonfly Maze and the Cotswold Motoring Museum are a few minutes' walk apart, and the Motoring Museum, in an old watermill, is the place for a wet day. The Cotswold Falconry Centre beside Batsford flies its birds three times a day from mid-February to mid-November (its last day in 2026 is Sunday 15 November).
Some places are for adults: the Cotswolds Distillery near Shipston-on-Stour takes over-18s only on its tours, and no one under 10 can go down Broadway Tower's bunker.
Near Shipston, Whichford Pottery has made hand-thrown terracotta flowerpots since 1976, with a shop, a café and courses.
Expect to pay from about £4 for the Dragonfly Maze or £4.95 for the Model Village to £20 for an adult at Hidcote in summer (2026). National Trust members go free at Hidcote, Snowshill, Chastleton and Chedworth. Court Barn in Chipping Campden, the museum of the Arts and Crafts makers, is free for under-25s and half price if you arrive by bus or bike.
Many places are seasonal. Cotswold Lavender at Snowshill opens only from mid-June to early August, Bourton House Garden from April to mid-October on Tuesdays to Fridays, and Sezincote's garden from March to November on Wednesdays to Fridays and bank holiday Mondays. Book the Farm Park online, where entry is by advance ticket, and distillery tours online ahead, especially at weekends.
The houses and gardens in the country have their own car parks, free at Hidcote, Chastleton and the Farm Park. Snowshill's is free but 450m from the house. In Bourton, use the pay and display car parks, which fill early at weekends and in the holidays. Dogs on leads are welcome at Batsford, Birdland, the Motoring Museum and in much of Snowshill's grounds, but not at Kiftsgate, Sezincote, Chedworth or the Falconry Centre.
Without a car, take the train to Moreton-in-Marsh: Batsford is on a stile-free 4-mile (6.4km) walk from the station, and Birdland gives 20 per cent off with a same-day bus or train ticket. For one town at a time, see things to do in Bourton-on-the-Water and in Moreton-in-Marsh, and for lunch, places to eat in the North Cotswolds.
Twice a year, in May and October, Stow Horse Fair brings Gypsy and Traveller families to Stow-on-the-Wold to trade horses. For a plan, our gardens weekend works from Chipping Campden, the winter weekend from Broadway, and the day trip from London by train and bus from Moreton-in-Marsh.
Hidcote for the garden rooms, Snowshill for Wade's collection, Chastleton for its Jacobean rooms, the Farm Park and Birdland for children, Batsford for a day without the car, Court Barn for the Arts and Crafts story and the distillery for a tour and tasting.
All places
Parks and gardens · Chipping Campden
Lawrence Johnston's Arts and Crafts garden near Chipping Campden, a series of garden rooms begun in 1907 and owned by the National Trust since 1948.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly · EV charging
Verified Oct 2026
Historic houses and heritage · Snowshill
Charles Wade's house of collected craftsmanship, from bicycles to armour, above Broadway, given to the National Trust in 1951, with its garden and model village.
Dog-friendly · EV charging
Verified Oct 2026
Historic houses and heritage · Moreton-in-Marsh
A Jacobean house near Moreton-in-Marsh, built on the estate Robert Catesby sold in 1602, where rules for croquet were written.
Verified Oct 2026
Family days out · Guiting Power
Adam Henson's farm near Guiting Power, opened by his father Joe in 1971 to show rare and native breeds, with play barns, a restaurant and a Changing Places toilet.
Family-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Wildlife and nature · Bourton-on-the-Water
A bird park on the Windrush at Bourton-on-the-Water since 1957, with what it calls England's only breeding King Penguins, flamingos, pelicans and a nature reserve.
Family-friendly · Dog-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Parks and gardens · Moreton-in-Marsh
A 60-acre arboretum on the Batsford estate near Moreton-in-Marsh, with a free visitor centre, café and garden centre, open every day and best in spring and autumn.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Museums and galleries · Chipping Campden
Chipping Campden's museum of craft and design, telling the story of Ashbee's Guild of Handicraft and the makers who followed, with half price for bus passengers.
Rainy days · Car-free
Verified Oct 2026
Tours and experiences · Shipston-on-Stour
The distillery at Stourton, near Shipston-on-Stour, that made the first Cotswolds single malt whisky, with daily tours and tastings, a shop and the Still House Café.
Verified Oct 2026
Up to Broadway Tower, through Hidcote and Kiftsgate, from Moreton station to Batsford, and round the hill at Snowshill.
All walks starting here
Walk · Starts in Broadway · 3 hrs · Circular
A 4-mile (6.5km) circular walk from the war memorial in Broadway, two and a half to three hours, moderate with steep sections and no stiles. It passes St Eadburgha's, climbs Coneygree Lane to Broadway Tower and comes back down the Cotswold Way.
Walk · Starts in Chipping Campden · 2 hrs, 15 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
A 5-mile (8km) circular walk from Mickleton, moderate and about two and a quarter hours: up through the woods and fields to Furze Lane, along quiet lanes to Hidcote Boyce, north past Hidcote's garden and manor, then down the edge of Kiftsgate Court's grounds to Mickleton.
Walk · Starts in Moreton-in-Marsh · 2 hrs · Circular
A 4-mile (6.4km) circular walk from Moreton-in-Marsh's war memorial, easy, stile-free and about two hours: west through field gates to Batsford, along the deer park below Batsford House, east on the watershed lane to Dorn and back past the mound of a Roman fort.
Walk · Starts in Snowshill · 1 hr, 15 mins · Circular · Dog-friendly
A 2.1-mile (3.4km) circular walk from Pipers Grove car park at Snowshill, short but hilly and moderate, about an hour and a quarter: across the valley to Snowswood, along a byway past Great Brockhamton Farm, back across the stream and into the village past the church.
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The Cotswold Farm Park near Guiting Power is the full day, with rare breeds, bottle feeding and play barns. Book online first. In Bourton-on-the-Water, Birdland feeds its King Penguins at 3pm, and the Model Village, the Dragonfly Maze and the Motoring Museum are a few minutes' walk apart. Older children can go down the Cold War bunker at Broadway Tower from the age of 10.
Hidcote and Kiftsgate Court, half a mile apart near Chipping Campden, are the classic pair. Reach Hidcote early, when it is quieter. Near Moreton-in-Marsh, Batsford Arboretum and Sezincote face each other across the A44, with Bourton House Garden close by. Sezincote's garden opens Wednesday to Friday (and bank holiday Mondays) and Bourton House Tuesday to Friday, so a midweek day suits all three.
Bourton-on-the-Water has the most: the Cotswold Motoring Museum fills an old watermill with seven galleries and welcomes dogs, and Birdland and the Model Village are close by. In Broadway, the museum in the Tudor House and the Gordon Russell Design Museum make a morning, and Court Barn in Chipping Campden tells the Arts and Crafts story.
Batsford Arboretum is the easiest, on a stile-free 4-mile walk from Moreton-in-Marsh station. Birdland in Bourton-on-the-Water gives 20 per cent off with a same-day bus or train ticket, and Court Barn in Chipping Campden is half price if you arrive by bus. Chastleton House is on the 801 bus route, a mile's walk from Little Compton.
Many take them on leads: Batsford Arboretum (short fixed leads only), Birdland, the Motoring Museum, the Dragonfly Maze, Cotswold Lavender, Broadway Tower's park and much of Snowshill's grounds. Hidcote allows short leads but not in the Old Garden. Leave dogs at home for Kiftsgate, Sezincote, Chedworth, the Falconry Centre and the farm itself at the Cotswold Farm Park.
The high wolds between Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-the-Water: the Fosse Way towns, the Windrush villages, the Slaughters and the escarpment at Broadway.
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