Winter Events in the Cotswolds

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Fishing on the Wye

Dates: Late Fall / Winter by arrangement

Details: The River Wye is one of the country’s most scenic rivers. Flowing down the English/Welsh border, it is popular with walkers and anglers alike. Most importantly, it is full of fish!

About 3 miles of single and double bank fishing for coarse fish (it is also a noted trout river) can be enjoyed on a day ticket. It is a delightful and highly productive water giving excellent late autumn and winter fishing for chub, perch, dace and roach. Bulky common carp are found in several of the deeper pools. Barbel and pike often find their way up from the Wye as far as the first weir after high water, though chub are the primary quarry. Whether you prefer to stalk them or simply stick to one swim, there is no reason why a very large haul of chub of an average size of 3-4lbs should not seek your landing net with enthusiasm. Top individual weights here can easily exceed 6lbs or so. You can also fish nearly a mile of the River Wye where large pike and barbel abound with the added bonus of grayling and shad. Coarse fishing is allowed on the River Wye only during the salmon close season - which, of course, just happens to be the best time of year for them.

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An American Christmas in the Cotswolds

Date – October-December

Venue – Bath

As if Bath did not have enough attractions of its own, you have to visit the American Museum in Claverton. It boasts the finest selection of Americana outside the US, and every Christmas they do something very special. In 2007 the theme was "Christmas Jewels". A rich, warm palette of jewel-like colours adorned the halls, stairways and the fifteen foot Central Hall tree - ruby red, amber orange, emerald green, and gilded gold. Friends of the museum attended a special workshop and created these fabulous individual works of art. In each of the period rooms, a visitor arrived bearing a special gift – something rare and precious, truly a “jewel”. A Christmas trail entertained the children with elves hidden throughout the house. The theme for 2008 will be announced soon, but will be sure to be as enchanting as last year.

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Experience British Rugby Up Close and Personal

Dates: October – April on match days.

Details: The saying goes that Soccer is a game for gentlemen played by louts and Rugby a game for louts played by gentlemen. However true this is, Rugby is a bruising and exciting contest between thirty men who each bear a passing resemblance to a small mountain. It’s spectacle and enormous fun. Gloucester is one of the spiritual homes of Rugby Union in the UK, and its team regularly finish among the top three in the national league. We will take for you for a pint of Bitter before the game (an essential pre-requisite of any game), and explain the rules of the sport, it’s spirit and also why no-one ever seems to get killed during it’s 80 minutes!

Then we will escort you to the centre of ‘the Shed’ where the local supporters watch from. That is the best way to catch the good-natured ‘craic’ as the Irish describe it, and enjoy the many chants. You will also learn to pronounce the City as the locals do – loosely ‘Glarcester.!) It’ll be fun, entertaining and exhausting, but be warned – you may well lose your voice before the end!

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Do you believe in Santa?

Selected dates November/December

Venue – Sherborne

Enjoy a charming time with the family at this lovely venue. Mulled wine, log fires, Santa Claus, and a Christmas trail for the children to follow with a present at the end. But they must believe! Set in a 1600 acre estate with stunning views over the River Windrush this House presents a fascinating view of life in 18th century rural England. Built for a Civil War (ours, not yours!) politician, it is a small house with a big history. Still farmed today, but owned by the nation, it has been well preserved. Stroll around the grounds on a crisp winter’s morning and you will get a clear flavour of a life gone by. You may even start to believe in Santa yourself!

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Do you want Santa to come down the chimney?

Selected dates November / December

Venue – Forest of Dean

Details: Father Christmas comes down the chimney at Perrygrove! Children will never forget seeing Santa here! Start with seasonal refreshments in front of a real coal fire. Then enjoy a short steam train ride on the Santa Special steam train to collect magic badges from Jack Frost. Return to sit around a traditional fireplace in a cosy station where the children rub their magic badges to make Father Christmas appear. Now watch their faces as he actually comes down the chimney to meet them and give them presents from his bulging sacks!

When every child has a present Santa returns to the fireplace and disappears back up the chimney as if by magic! The children can then visit our indoor village with secret passages whilst the adults enjoy complimentary hot tea and coffee. Your Christmas visit to Perrygrove lasts just over an hour...the memory lasts for years. At Perrygrove Father Christmas comes to see you - not the other way round - so there is NO NEED TO QUEUE TO SEE FATHER CHRISTMAS!

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Frost in the Cotswolds

December – By Arrangement

This is a wonderful opportunity to see the countryside as few visitors do. The Cotswolds has a special beauty of its own in winter, a glimpse of which you can find on a million Christmas Cards! Let us take you on a guided tour of some of the hidden Cotswolds on horseback. We will match you with horses that suit your ability, and provide the appropriate clothing, before introducing you to your guide. This is a day to spend with your family or as a couple, in which you can feel time slow down. The winter landscape is breathtaking and there are few experiences as delicious as hearing the fallen leaves crackle beneath you as the sky threatens a covering of snow! No such walk would be complete without refreshment by a log fire and we will take care of your horses while you take a break in a local inn.

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Shop 'til you drop!

Date: December 08
Venue: Cheltenham

Details: No pain this Christmas – have a personal shopper!

Cheltenham’s Regency Promenade boasts one of the finest and most exclusive shopping areas in the South West of England. Add to that a Christmas craft market in wooden chalets lining the tree-lined streets and you have a mouth-watering range of gifts available to take back home. Perfect? Almost, but we will provide the missing piece of the jigsaw. TCE will provide a personal shopping advisor to guide you to the stores that you would find interesting. You choose, and we carry! After a hard day’s retail therapy, enjoy dinner in one of Cheltenham’s intimate restaurants while we wrap and label your purchases and deliver them to your hotel. Christmas can come early with TCE!

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Events occuring on specific dates:

A taste of Christmas at the Palace

Date: November 15th – December 1

Venue: Blenheim Palace

Let us give you a day out in Oxford with a difference. We will spend the morning touring some of the finest stores and boutiques in Oxford. They will look at their seasonal best and will be packed with gifts to delight your friends and family back home. Then, after lunch, we will take you to Blenheim Palace, a jewel in Oxford’s crown. Blenheim Palace is decorated for Christmas with a Victorian theme. Estate-grown Christmas trees sparkle in the Great Court and elegant decorations adorn the State Rooms. We challenge you to see this grand building, and leave without feeling full of that festive spirit!

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Romeo & Juliet: A New Experience

Date: November 27th – January 24th

Venue: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon

Join us for an evening in Shakespeare’s home town. This is a new and bold interpretation of this classic love story. We will make this a very special evening for you. will drive you to dinner at a lovely Cotswold restaurant in this charming area. Then a short walk to the Courtyard theatre. This production has been described as 'A bare stage; several sharp knives; twenty three actors - and some of the most hot-blooded poetry ever written.' This boldly theatrical new staging of Shakespeare’s fast moving story of two teenagers torn apart by their families' vendetta reunites director Neil Bartlett and designer Kandis Cook, the creative team behind last year's acclaimed Stratford-upon-Avon production of Twelfth Night.

After the production we will organize for you to meet one of the cast to explain not just how the play has been interpreted but also the production process of producing and acting on Shakespeare’s doorstep.

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Enjoy the British Pantomine

Dates: November 28th-January 10th

Venue: Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham

Details: Let the Everyman Theatre be your very own genie and grant your wishes this Christmas with a real festive treat. There is something uniquely British about this seasonal mixture of ribald fun, audience participation and outrageous costumes. No visit to the Cotswolds over Christmas would be complete without a visit to the panto! We will organize a pre-theatre meal for you in one of Cheltenham’s charming bistros before whisking you (by magic carpet if there is one free) to Cheltenham’s elegant and intimate theatre.

The Everyman's annual family friendly pantomime is back, complete with a fantastic flying carpet, magic tricks, good clean fun and frolics with Wishee Washee and Widow Twankey and, of course, wishful thinking with the Genie of the Lamp. Join our hero Aladdin on his journey from rags to riches, defeating the evil Abanazer and winning the heart of the beautiful princess. This is a story of dreams coming true, good overcoming bad, real romance and lots of dirty washing! So don't get into a lather, dust off your lamp and book a magic carpet ride to our biggest and best panto yet!

Comic 'genie' ous!

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Enchanted Christmas at Westonbirt

Date: Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening Nov 28 thru– December 21

Venue: Westonbirt

This has become a memorable and delightful part of the Cotswold Christmas calendar.
Enjoy an enchanted night-time stroll through Westonbirt's grand old trees on the illuminated Christmas trail. This year the trail will journey through the four seasons - starting with the glowing colours of Autumn, moving into an icy winter and emerging into a kaleidoscope of spring and summer colours. Throughout the 12 evenings you can also meet Father Christmas and have some festive fun - carols from local choirs, roast chestnuts and mulled wine, and a gift shop selling fantastic and unusual gifts and decorations.

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Father Christmas at Birdland

Dates: 13,14,20,21,22,23 & 24 December 2008

Venue: Bourton-on-the-Water

Details: Bring your family to meet with Santa in beautiful Bourton. Bourton is one of the Cotswold’s prettiest and most visited villages. Birdland has been a popular attraction there for many years and is a favourite venue for families. But at Christmas, your children can enjoy meeting with Father Christmas and receive a special gift from him personally. After your visit, you will find some beautiful little shops to buy that last-minute present, and enjoy a pretty Cotswold scene as you walk through this perfect picture-postcard village.

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A Christmas Swim

Date: 25th December

Venue: Cheltenham Lido

Are you Crazy?? Do you 'do different'?? This must be the 'finest' way to wake up on Christmas morning! Get the blood flowing through your veins when you join other brave people in a festive dip in Cheltenham’s open air pool. If it’s covered in ice, incidentally, we will break it up for you! And as you step out, you will receive a warm towel, hot drink and be whisked back to your hotel for the rest of the day’s festivities, knowing you will be the bravest person there!

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