THE Cotswolds is easily one of the most popular places to holiday in the UK thanks to its pretty limestone villages and scenic countryside, but if you’re with kids and it’s summertime then let’s face it… they’ll be miffed at a lack of sandcastle building opportunities.
Fear not, because the scenic region is also home to the UK’s inland beach.
I visited Cotswold Country Park And Beach with my son last week, as England entered what felt like its 100th week of sunshine, and it was the perfect way to spend a summer’s day.
Located on the South lake and North Lake within the Cotswold Water Park, just down the road from Cirencester, it’s about 45-50 miles in a straight line from the nearest coast in the Bristol Channel.
The park has 140 metres of sandy beach and a large area for paddling and swimming, as well as stacks of water-based activities.
These include a large overwater, inflatable obstacle course, pedalos, paddleboarding, rowing boats, electric self-drive boats, paddle boats and kayaks.
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There’s more to do on land too, including pedal carts, a playground and minigolf.
We paid £18 to enter the park with our car and a further £18 each for the inflatable obstacle course, plus £12 for 30 minutes on the electric boats.
As it was a Friday during the school summer holidays and a roasting 27C, the beach was packed, with families spilling out onto the grassy banks behind.
Thanks to the neverending summer, the water was very warm with no need to brace as you enter the water, like you usually do in Britain.
The Cotswold lakes were initially made out of old limestone gravel pits from the 1900s, which then refilled naturally and were turned into nature reserves.
Several of them now offer activities like paddleboarding but Cotswolds Country Park is the biggest of the bunch.
The overwater obstacle course was so brilliant that it was the highlight of my entire week’s holiday, with a good 45 minutes on the water, clambering on the Total Wipeout-style attraction.
The electric boats were brilliant too, with my son loving having control of his own vehicle on the water.
There’s so much to do at the park that you could easily spend two days here and not get bored.
We spent 6 hours there and barely scratched the surface of what was on offer.
If you want to make it into a weekend, I highly recommend staying at the De Vere Cotswold Water Park Hotel, which is an eight-minute drive away on the edge of one of the other 148 lakes in the area and has rooms from £160 a night this August.
With its own spa, we finished our day with a more relaxing water-based activity and the chance to use their posh products to wash off our time in the lakes, before a waterfront dinner at their Boathouse restaurant and a well-deserved night’s sleep.