Cotswold Little Explorers

Looking for fun and budget friendly activies for all the family this Christmas?

As much as we love all the Christmas days out the Cotswolds have to offer, they aren’t cheap, and filling the Christmas holidays and winter weekends with things to do adds up – fast!

In this post, we share 5 free or low-cost christmassy activities that our family always enjoy over the festive season in the Cotswolds.

Broadway Village

Christmas Lights

Honestly, this might be my favourite activity our family enjoy at Christmas time, and it is completely free!

Broadway is stunning all year round, but at Christmas, it really is looking its best. The warm lights are strung up throughout the village trees, the christmas tree in the village green is always well done, and the shops go all out with fabulous decorations and magical window displays. There are also some amazing cottages and homes that are fully decked out with baubles, wreaths and hundreds of lights – it is lovely and walking through the village after dark will definitely get you in the festive mood.

The famous Broadway Deli sells hot mulled wine and mince pies on the street at weekends during December, and it is so nice to get a drink and a pie and meander through the village, admiring all the decorations. The kids in particular just love all the window displays while e joying there mince pie!

Gloucester Cathedral

Carol Service

So, this is a new activity for me and the kids, and one we are so looking forward to! Gloucester is a city very close to the heart of the Cotswolds, nestled right next to the area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Gloucester’s magnificent Cathedral offers free carol services, welcoming all to experience candlelight singing and readings, and of course the heavenly sounds of the cathedral choir. There are 3 dates this year, Sunday 21st Dec, Monday 22nd Dec, and Tuesday 23rd Dec, all services starting at 6pm. As my children are a bit older now ( 8 and 6 years) and I know they can handle being out in the evening and sot througha full service, this evening option is the one we are going for – I will report back on how it went! For families with younger children or who would.like to attend a more relaxed event, the cathedral is also having a family advent service, at 2:30pm on 23rd and 24th December.

Bourton-on-the-Water walk

Another new activity for this year for our family – a Christmas visit to Bourton-on-the-Water. This popular village famously has its Christmas tree located in the middle of the shallow river, creating a beautiful reflection on the water. We plan to walk to the nearby villages of the Slaughters, a route we have done many times, to take in the beautiful winter scenes and then back to Bourton-on-the-Water to get a hot chocolate and pick a new decoration from one of the many independent shops and boutiques. A word of warning – this place gets busy, there are many coach trips, and if you are like us and prefer things a bit quieter , then early in the morning if your best bet for parking and to enjoy the village at its best.

Visit a Cotswold Country House

Our favourite house to visit at Christmas are the National Trust properties of Newark Park and Dyrham Park. Both are free entry with a membership, and we like to take full advantage of our memberships and enjoy all the Christmas activities that are on offer!

Both houses are beautifully decorated for Christmas, and have cafes and kiosks selling festive treats and coffees. There are play areas for the children, extensive walks in the estate grounds which offer amazing views of the Cotswolds hills and valleys. They also usually have christmas activity’s such as outdoor trails or scavenger hunts organised.

Dyrham has caroling and wreath making on selected days, and the Newark Park Father Christmas is lovely, and a bargain at only £10 per child – its alovely low key alternative to the expensive winter wonderland type grottos. Our boys had a 10 minute chat woth Father Christmas and a teddy bear each as the gift ❤️ -but book up quick as this is popular and sells out fast.

Ice Skating

We all love to go Ice Skating at Christmas – it’s so much fun – we all end up laughing at each other as we try, and fail, to glide gracefully on the Ice! We usually go to Warwick Castle Ice rink, you can buy separate tickets for the iceskating only making the activity a (bit) more affordable. Its still quite pricey, but we love the open air rink with thebackdrop of the castle and the christmas market complete with fire pit to toast marshmallows on! It’s 40 mins from the North Cotswolds. There are other covered rinks in the Cotswolds – click here to discover the 6 Cotswold Ice rinks