Cotswold Little Explorers

A guide for families

Painswick is an interesting little town – it’s small, but has everything you want from a traditional cotswold market town; honey stoned charm, views, countryside and history.

Its a little bit quirky, which we loved, and not really on the tourist trail – great for those looking for somewhere authentic. There are nice cafes and walks but not that much for kids in all honesty – although there are some interesting places to visit very close nearby. I still took my kids and we had a nice morning exploring as I had wanted to see what this pretty place had to offer.

Overview: Painswick is a very aesthetically pleasing town, and not as well known or as  insta-famous as some other Cotswold towns, meaning no coach trips, crowds or trouble finding a parking space! Things to do are limited, but it is still well worth a visit with the family for a morning, especially when combined with Painswick Rocco Gardens, which will extend your day and be more fun for the children.  The annual Easter Egg Hunt around the town is a delightful community event which would be great for little ones if you are visiting over Easter.

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Things to do in Painswick with kids

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St. Mary’s Church

St Mary’s Church in Painswick is famous for its collections of Yew trees – rumoured to have 99 yew trees and thay when the 100th yew tree grows the devil will pull it out! There certainly is a lot of yew trees, and the churchyard is really nice to walk around. The yew trees are perfectly shaped and many have grown in to tree tunnels and archways making it a fun walk for the kids too. The historic church is very pretty and worth a picture or two as well.

Painswick Beacon

Painswick Beacon is a lovely hilltop walk with stunning views – its a big reward for a short walk up a pretty steep hill, but because it is so quick even the littlest of kids can manage with a bit of help. Located on a section of the Cotswold way, the beacon is only 1.5 miles from the village centre so great to combine this walk with a coffee stop and wander around the lovely village.

Find out more about this walk by clicking the button below to take you to our Painswick Beacon walking guide.

Painswick Rococo Gardens

Painswick Rococo Gardens are a formal garden to visit, built in the Rococo style which basically means it has buildings in and around the gardens that are decorated in an ornate and colourful 18th century style. It also has a good playground and a wooden fairytale castle, as well as cafe so is a good stop for the kids during a visit to Painswick. It is only a 15 minute walk on foot or a few minutes by car. Painswick Rococo Gardens are also famous for its amazing snowdrop carpets in January and February, and they also have a christmas lights trail, making it a good winter walk choice as well!

PAINSWICK EASTER EGG HUNT

This traditional Easter Egg Hunt around the village is a long standing village tradition, which always takes place over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend

Complete the trail around the beautiful village and enjoy the village fete style celebration with face painting, games and stalls for all the family to enjoy.

Walks

Painswick is located on the Cotswold Way National Trail – how about walking a small section out and back to enjoy the beautiful countryside surrounding the town?

There is the option to follow the Cotswold Way north from St Mary’s Church to Painswick Beacon, a 4.4 mile circular route (or alternatively start from the car park and walk to the top for a shorter walk, as detailed above here)

The Cotswold Way south from Painswick towards King’s Stanley is also a really pretty stretch of walk to try as well. The Cotswold Way is well signposted in both directions and is a way marked, well worn path to follow.

When we brought the kids for an explore we headed down the hill on Tibbiwell Lane towards the stream, where we found a delightful stream, bridge and public footpaths alongside the stream to explore, great for a short but beautiful stretch of the legs

Cafe’s and Pubs

Painswick is called a town but in reality we found it more like a village, and when we visited over twixmas we found all the cafes to be shut – a nightmare for this coffee addict!

Subsequent visits saw the lovely cafes open, serving really nice food and coffees – so just double check opening hours online to avoid disappointment – it was probably due to its being close to a bank holiday and in winter ( low season), and not on a weekend, that we presumed places were closed.

We loved Meadows Cafe and The Oak Pub.

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Liked this? Explore more beautiful Cotswold locations with our Cotswold Village and Town Family Guides

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