BLACKLION Farm Experiences

THE INSIDERBLACKLION Farm ExperiencesBLACKLION is a working farm near Blockley with an unusual second story: its vodka is made using whey from sheep’s milk. A visit can lean towards the animals or towards the drink, so choose the experience that suits your group. The Valais Blacknose sheep are the stars of the hands-on sessions, while […]

Fat Squirrel Outdoor Co

THE INSIDERFat Squirrel Outdoor CoFat Squirrel Outdoor is strongest when you want a group to do something together without a packed timetable. Its private hosted sessions bring together axe throwing, campfire cooking and time around a fire; the emphasis is on sharing the experience rather than racing through a series of challenges. There are several […]

The School at Thyme

THE INSIDERThe School at ThymeThe School at Thyme is more interesting than a standard demonstration kitchen. Cookery sessions often begin in the Southrop estate’s kitchen garden, where guests see what is growing and gather ingredients before taking them inside to cook with one of Thyme’s chefs. The two main formats are a two-hour “master a […]

Honeybourne Pottery Studio

THE INSIDERHoneybourne Pottery StudioHoneybourne Pottery makes a useful hands-on break from sightseeing: in its three-hour wheel-throwing class you work with clay rather than just watch a demonstration. The studio presents it as a beginner-friendly session, so it suits someone who has never tried centring a lump of clay as well as a group looking for […]

Bainton Bikes Cotswold Cycle Hire

THE INSIDERBainton Bikes Cotswold Cycle HireBainton Bikes is useful if you want a ride organised around where you are staying, rather than a fixed shop-to-shop circuit. The independent company has an Oxford shop and a network of hire hubs across the Cotswolds and Cheltenham; it also offers delivery and collection. That makes the first decision […]

The Real Outdoor Xperience

THE INSIDERThe Real Outdoor XperienceROX at Lake 12 is the place to choose when one member of the group wants a paddle and another wants to stay on dry land. The water programme includes kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding and sailing, while land activities range from archery and bushcraft to high ropes, raft building and an escape […]

Bourton House Garden

THE INSIDERBourton House GardenBourton House Garden, in Bourton-on-the-Hill, is rewarding because it is densely planted without feeling cramped. Move from the topiary walk and White Garden to the spring-fed water features, then look back from the raised 18th-century walk towards the countryside beyond. The raised basket pond came from the Great Exhibition of 1851; the […]

Fairytale Farm

THE INSIDERFairytale FarmFairytale Farm near Chipping Norton is built for a proper family outing rather than a quick animal stop. Its zones spread the visit between outdoor adventure play, a sensory Enchanted Walk, the animal area and Dino Valley, where moving dinosaurs provide a change of pace for children who need something more energetic than […]

Prescott Speed Hill Climb

THE INSIDERPrescott Speed Hill ClimbPrescott is a motorsport venue to visit on an event day. The hill climb is short, steep and intense: cars set off one at a time, while spectators can follow the runs, look around the paddock when access is permitted and see very different machinery over the course of a meeting. […]

Wychwood Wild Garden

THE INSIDERWychwood Wild GardenWychwood Wild Garden is a 12½-acre pocket of woodland, avenues and ponds on the edge of Shipton-under-Wychwood. Much of its layout dates from the 1860s, yet it feels closer to a quiet village walk than to a formal garden with ticket gates and a café. A local charity cares for the site […]