After standing empty since 2020, The Tunnel House near Cirencester has finally reopened its doors.

Over the past year, working alongside the Bathurst Estate, the team behind The Bell at Sapperton has been busy restoring one of the most distinctive pub locations in the Cotswolds. Set beside the Coates portal of the Sapperton Tunnel and the Thames & Severn Canal, it has long been a favourite stopping point for locals, walkers and visitors alike.

The aim is straightforward: to bring back a proper pub that serves good food and drink, employs local people and once again becomes a hub for the community.

As the sister pub to The Bell at Sapperton, connected by a wonderful walk through Hailey Wood and across the canal valley, The Tunnel House is ready to take its place among the region's best-loved pubs once again.

Provisional June opening hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm to 10pm, Friday from 5pm to 11pm, Saturday from 12pm to 11pm and Sunday from 12pm to 10pm. The Tunnel Fire Kitchen will be serving in the garden on Saturdays from 12pm to 8pm and Sundays from 12pm to 6pm.

You can find all the info on their website

www.tunnelhouseinn.co.uk

One of London’s most well-regarded neighbourhood restaurants is bringing its relaxed approach to Italian cooking to the Cotswolds this summer, with the launch of a new seasonal pop-up at The Old Coal Yard in Gagingwell, near Chipping Norton.

Opening on Thursday 4th June, Canteen will take up residence for the summer, serving a menu built around fresh pasta, pizza and ingredient-led dishes that will change weekly. The concept is simple: excellent produce, generous cooking and a laid-back setting designed for long lunches, leisurely dinners and everything in between.

The kitchen will be led by Executive Chef Jessica Filbey and Head Chef Lorenzo Nigro, whose opening menu offers a flavour of what guests can expect. Early highlights include Carne Cruda with broad beans and Pecorino Sardo, Crab, Fennel & Chilli Risotto, Mortadella, Ricotta & Lemon Pizza, and Chicken with Sage & Milk. Desserts will include Chocolate Mousse and Apricot Frangipane Tart.

Alongside the food, Canteen’s drinks programme will showcase regional Italian wines from Piedmont, Tuscany and Sicily, complemented by a selection of cocktails, digestifs and Italian beers.

The setting has been designed with summer dining in mind. An outdoor bar and fire pit will sit alongside Gozney ovens serving pizzas throughout the day, creating a relaxed atmosphere that extends beyond traditional lunch and dinner service.

Dinner will be served from Thursday to Sunday, with lunches available at weekends. Friday evenings will feature live music, while Saturdays will include games and activities for children, making the pop-up an appealing option for families as well as those looking for a more leisurely evening out.

Reservations are now open, with walk-ins also welcome throughout the season.

Canteen at The Old Coal Yard, Chipping Norton, OX7 4EF.

www.canteen310.com/cotswolds

There are still corners of the Cotswolds where lunch is not an obligation but a lightly dangerous social commitment. The kind that begins with perfectly respectable intentions and ends several hours later with empty wine bottles and rearranged evening plans

Ever since Rivals returned Jilly Cooper’s world of country-house chaos to public life, the idea of the long Cotswolds lunch has felt newly relevant again. Not the polished fantasy sold to weekenders, but the real thing: Bloody Marys before noon, flirtation over oysters, gossip that moves faster than the traffic through Burford, and the growing realisation that nobody has any serious intention of leaving before dark.

This is a landscape of polo, horse racing, expensive divorces and pubs where lunch is rarely just lunch, it's social theatre with side dishes.

​And if the Rivals cast ever escaped the television screen, these are exactly the pubs where you would expect to find them.
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​If the Cotswolds racing world has a headquarters, it is almost certainly The Hollow Bottom.

Tucked away on the edge of Guiting Power, this gloriously unpolished institution functions as the social centre of horse-racing life in the Cotswolds. Trainers, jockeys, owners and stable staff pass through with muddy boots, racing tips and opinions they absolutely did not intend to say out loud quite so publicly.

Breakfast is available every day and will usually begin with a Bloody Mary before anybody has properly decided whether this is wise. Lunch rapidly becomes afternoon drinking. Afternoon drinking somehow becomes dinner.

Dogs sleep on a makeshift bed (somebody's coat) beside the fire in winter, local ales named after racehorses line the bar, and the Monday Pie Night (a pie with a pint or glass of wine for £20) has become something close to rural ritual.

Rupert Campbell-Black would absolutely settle in here for dinner after a day at Cheltenham, with one eye on his steak and the other firmly on whichever female that happened to be walking past the table. By pudding, he would almost certainly have been invited to at least two different after-parties and caused three relationship break-ups entirely by accident, and still somehow emerged from the situation looking unfairly charming.

​www.thehollowbottom.com

​With spectacular views across the Oxfordshire countryside, The Feathered Nest has a setting that encourages optimism, poor judgement and another bottle of wine.

The pub has always been a reliable favourite among the local equestrian crowd. Saddles repurposed as bar stools nod to its horsey-country roots, while the terrace outside has witnessed more than its fair share of flirtation disguised as lunch.

The grilled Cornish monkfish deserves something crisp, white and expensive from the extraordinary wine list, which boasts more than 240 bins and has almost certainly contributed to several complicated romances over the years. For those fully embracing the long-lunch spirit, the eight-course tasting menu removes any realistic expectation of productivity long before dessert arrives.

This is exactly where Declan and Maud O’Hara would arrive determined to have a wonderful evening together. And to be fair, for at least the first hour they probably would. A glass of something cold, spectacular food, and perhaps even a brief moment of marital harmony. Then somewhere between the second bottle and dessert, Declan would say something faintly irritating, Maud would refuse to let it pass, and the entire evening would quietly unravel against one of the most beautiful Oxfordshire backdrops.

thefeatherednestinn.co.uk

The Fox at Oddington is where the London crowd arrives on Friday evening in cashmere and oversized sunglasses insisting they are “escaping to the countryside”.

Beautifully done without ever feeling try-hard, this is modern Cotswolds pub glamour at its most seductive for people who are very aware of what they are wearing and why it might be noticed. The odd TV personality will drift through, couples discuss school catchments with alarming seriousness, and the sense of being seen is never entirely absent.

DJ & Pizza Thursdays have become something of an institution, while weekends bring a crowd that understands the importance of very good food, wine and cocktails.

The menu is generous, confident and unapologetically indulgent. Crispy lamb sweetbreads with wild garlic aioli practically demand a martini nearby, while the 10oz Hereford sirloin with triple-cooked chips feels entirely reasonable after several cocktails and a great deal of people-watching.

Lord Tony Baddingham and James Vereker would arrive in a convertible and pretend to discuss television over lunch, while keeping one eye firmly on the room in the hope somebody of the opposite sex was noticing them.

thefoxatoddington.com

Sitting on the edge of Cotchester society but still close enough to remain firmly in the orbit of its chaos, The Potting Shed has mastered the particular art of feeling both smart, unpretentious and entirely relaxed at the same time.

This is exactly the sort of place Freddie Jones and Lizzie Vereker would disappear to for “just lunch” before the combined effects of excellent wine and emotional misjudgement quietly rearranged the rest of their day. Conveniently, the beautiful Rectory hotel sits directly across the road, which after several glasses would begin to feel less like useful planning and considerably more like temptation for the pair.

The food encourages glorious overcommitment. The Twice Baked Double Gloucester Soufflé with spinach and wholegrain mustard is the sort of deeply reassuring dish that immediately justifies ordering another drink, while the Pork & nduja croquettes with parmesan and wild garlic pesto arrive with enough swagger to derail even the most disciplined intentions.

Then comes the sharing 16oz Chateaubriand with grilled tomato, French fries and a choice of sauces, which feels less like lunch and more like a declaration that nobody has any plans for the rest of the day.

www.thepottingshedpub.com

​A few minutes from Beaufort Polo Club and within striking distance of Tetbury and King Charles' Highgrove, The Cat and Custard Pot sits firmly in prime Cotchester country.

It is a pub of two personalities. One side is all traditional comfort with fires, local beer and relaxed conversation. The other introduces a touch of Southern Italy to Gloucestershire society.

Start with the scallops, before moving onto a superb Luckington Farm steak, another bottle of wine and the growing suspicion that lunch may no longer be entirely under control. 

Bas Baddingham and his friends would absolutely occupy a large table near the bar, flirting enthusiastically with almost everyone who walked through the door, whether invited to or not, and enjoying themselves far more loudly than strictly necessary.

catandcustard.co.uk

Just ten minutes from Cirencester Polo Club, The Wild Duck has the sort of easy confidence that comes from knowing everybody already wants to be there.

By late afternoon the pub fills with Royal Ag students, locals, and polo players and locals who appear to have perfected that particular skill of looking slightly dishevelled in a very intentional way. It is lively, unselfconscious and just chaotic enough to feel like something might happen at any moment.

The food is exceptional in a deeply dangerous way. Devilled Crab on Toast and Beef Tartare arrive at tables already crowded with wine glasses, while the Duck Fat Toast has become something close to local currency among regulars. The Wild Boar Pie is rich enough to derail afternoon productivity entirely and, on Fridays, lobster and fries begin appearing across the room as everybody quietly abandons any pretence of moderation.

In one corner, Taggie O’Hara sits with friends, probably pretending not to notice the attention she is attracting from various directions. Or perhaps genuinely not noticing, which somehow makes the situation considerably worse for everybody involved.

www.countrycreatures.com/wild-duck-ewen

Just a few miles from Highgrove, The Rattlebone in Sherston, the sort of old-school village pub charm that makes people accidentally stay all afternoon while insisting they are “just popping in for one”.

For Paul Stratton, Cotchester’s permanently campaigning MP, this is exactly the kind of place where being seen matters. Supporting a much-loved community pub looks excellent politically, though the very good wine and beer probably doesn’t hurt either. 

Sarah, meanwhile, has almost certainly been coming here for years with a tiny hope of trying to catch a young Prince's eye like she did during the early noughties whenever he came to the pub. In fact, large sections of South Cotswolds society spent the early 2000s strategically lingering here on exactly those grounds.

The Honey & chilli glazed local pork belly delivers precisely the sort of rich comfort that encourages another bottle, the roast rump of lamb will make you book again straight away, while the Tuesday Steak Night (two juicy 8oz rump steaks with chips, salad and a bottle of house wine for £68) feels tailor-made for couples who fully intend to leave after dinner and absolutely never actually do.

www.therattlebone.co.uk

And, perhaps that is why Rivals still feels so recognisable beneath all the glamour and spectacularly bad behaviour. Because the real centre of Cotswolds society was never the country house, it was always the pub.

Preferably one with excellent wine, very good food, a full bar and somebody harmless flirting in full view. Because the best Cotswolds pubs have never really been just about eating and drinking, they are where village life happens with gossip, celebrations, old friendships and the sort of afternoons that become the stories everybody is still talking about the following weekend.

And frankly, long may it continue.

There’s a particular moment, about now, when the Cotswolds countryside stops posing for postcards and starts quietly insisting you get involved.

​The hedgerows thicken, the puddles dry out just enough to reveal the potholes they’ve been hiding all winter (mind those... your suspension will thank you), and pub gardens begin to fill in that wonderfully British way with no bookings, no agenda, just people turning up because the sun’s out and it would be rude not to.

So, we recommend you hop in the car and join them. Round up you friends. Jump in the car. Get the roof down if you’ve got one that comes down and it's not raining, windows open if you haven’t, a playlist that makes you feel faintly superior and nothing resembling a plan beyond the vague belief that lunch will happen at some point.

We’ve put together five routes where the pub isn’t a stop along the way. It’s the point. The drive is simply part of the pleasure.
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One small note of boring-but-important sense. Please don’t drink and drive. Fortunately, every decent pub worth its salt now does very drinkable alcohol-free beer, so you can still have the pint, keep your licence and enjoy the day as much as everyone else. 

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1. Woolpack to Wild Duck
Valleys, cider houses, and a day that quietly becomes night

You begin in Slad, where the road already feels like it has read Laurie Lee and decided to behave accordingly. The Woolpack is perched above the valley with spectacular views that do most of the work for you. It’s an easy place to lose track of time in the best possible way: lunch becomes afternoon without anyone formally deciding it should.

From there, the road drops gently into Frampton Mansell and The Crown, a 17th-century cider house that feels wonderfully steady, rooted, unbothered by modern life. It’s low-ceilinged, slightly uneven underfoot and doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is, which is a perfect village pub. 

A short drive and you reach The Bell at Sapperton. The garden feels designed for letting afternoons drift off-course, and the wine wall feels slightly smug, but in the right way like it knows you’re going to stay longer than you said you would.

By the time you reach The Wild Duck at Ewen, the structure of the day has already given up pretending. This is where you properly settle in and enjoy dinner on the beautiful terrace if the weather is on your side. This feels less like the final stop and more like the obvious conclusion to a day. 

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2. Double Red Duke to The Stump
Postcard villages, long lunches, and the slow disappearance of time

You begin at The Double Red Duke, where the garden feels like it was built for exactly this: groups of friends arriving slightly too early, ordering slightly too much, and deciding that the weather warrants some lunch too. It’s the kind of place that encourages the first drink to turn into something longer without ever saying so out loud.

From there the roads tighten and unwind into Langford and The Bell, where if you didn't grab lunch at the Double Red Duke, you probaly should here. The food quietly takes centre stage. Nothing theatrical, nothing over-explained, just plates that arrive with a kind of quiet certainty that this is exactly what you came for, even if you didn’t know it when you set off.

The landscape softens again as you reach The Victoria Inn in Eastleach, where the village itself does most of the work. Stone cottages, a slow-moving river nearby, and a pub that feels less placed in the village than grown out of it. Time behaves differently here. It stretches without apology and it's an ideal spot to walk off some of your lunch.

Further into the valley sits The New Inn at Coln, ivy climbing the walls, light falling softly through the windows, and a perfect stop for a pint that somehow turns into a second without any real negotiation.

Then on to The Village Pub in Barnsley, the penultimate stop on a summer afternoon that is already beginning to ease towards evening. It’s a lovely pub in the most quietly assured sense: oak-beamed ceilings, dimly lit corners made for lingering, and a low, easy hum that suggests nobody here is in any particular rush to be anywhere else.

The day eventually gathers itself at The Stump: pizza, energy, and that easy late afternoon atmosphere where everyone arrives on time and leaves slightly later than they meant to. A place made for settling in properly for the evening with a quiet acceptance that there’s nowhere better to be.

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​3. Hare to The Bull
Country roads, river bends, and an afternoon well spent

This is a driving route as much as a pub route. The roads matter as much as the stops.

You begin at The Hare in Milton-under-Wychwood, a village pub that doesn’t try to define your day for you. It simply feeds you well, pours a decent pint, and lets you get on with it. That’s more valuable than it sounds. 

From there, the road drops towards water and arrives at The Swan Swinbrook, sitting beside the river in a way that makes time feel optional. The garden draws people in and then quietly discourages them from leaving. It’s the sort of place where “we should head off soon” is said repeatedly without consequence.

Then on to The Three Horseshoes in Asthall, a charming village stop and a very good excuse to slow the pace. The garden is the main event here, and one of the best in the Cotswolds for soaking up a bit of sunshine with a drink in hand.

The climb out of the valley brings you to The Farmer’s Dog,  wide views and a confident lack of pretension. It has Clarkson’s name attached to it, but the appeal is more straightforward than that; cold beer, and British grub. It works because it doesn’t try to be clever.

From there, the tone settles again at The Royal Oak Ramsden, a village pub in a beautifully picturesque setting that barely needs introducing. There’s good beer, a grill garden doing proper work outside, and an easy rhythm to the place that makes it feel like the right pause in the day.

The day finishes at The Bull at Charlbury for dinner, a place that understands exactly what an evening should feel like without ever needing to explain it. It’s a great spot to spend a long, unhurried evening with friends, inside, where it’s all low light and easy conversation, or outside where the evening quietly extends itself.

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​4. Norman Knight to The King's Head
Winding roads, village greens, and a day that refuses to rush

You start at The Norman Knight in Whichford, recently reopened and already acting as though it has always been there. It’s a great place to start the day with a wonderful lunch; unhurried, quietly confident and the sense that it has quietly slipped back into village life as if it never left.

From there, the road takes you to The Red Lion in Long Compton, a near-perfect village pub with a garden that seems designed entirely around the simple pleasure of a pint in the sunshine. Nothing overly complicated, just a decent stop, in exactly the right place, doing exactly what it should.

The route winds down to The Fox at Oddington, where the garden does exactly what a good gardens should by quietly persuading you there’s time for one more, then probably another. It’s an easy place to lose a couple of hours in the sunshine with friends, cocktails coming a little too easily, and conversation drifting on without any need to land anywhere in particular.

Then on to Kingham, where you can park the car and simply walk between the Kingham Plough and the Wild Rabbit, taking a drink at each and letting the village do the rest. Together they give you exactly what you need at that point in the day: no big decisions, just the simple pleasure of moving a short distance for a very good reason to stop again.

From there, the route continues to The King’s Head in Bledington, where everything opens out onto the village green. It’s the sort of place where summer simply takes care of itself, time slips slightly out of view, and that easy sense of having arrived at exactly the right point in the day at one of the Cotswolds' favourite pubs.

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​5. The Fox to The Hollow Bottom
Picture-perfect villages, timeless pubs, and long evenings over pizza and a final drink

You begin at The Fox Broadwell, overlooking the green, where everything starts gently and has a habit of staying that way longer than it strictly needs to. Nothing pushes you on here, which is precisely the point. Lunch can be a snack from their blackboard or it's just a lovely spot to enjoy a pint, outside the front of the pub watching the world go by.

The road then lifts to The Horse & Groom in Bourton-on-the-Hill. The garden with delightful views across the Evenlode Valley is made for letting the afternoon run on properly, glasses never quite empty, and the food has that quiet competence that doesn’t ask for attention but earns it anyway. 

Then onto the Snowshill Arms which is tucked into one of the Cotswolds’ most chocolate-box villages, where everything feels just a fraction removed from the modern world. It’s an old-world pub in the best sense, no airs and graces, and absolutely no attempt to reinterpret itself for anyone passing through. It simply exists as it always has, which is exactly why it works so well.

Some narrow roads then lead you to The Halfway at Kineton, which is exactly what it says on the tin and exactly where you end up staying longer than intended. The recent new home of Zonda, the incredible pizzas feel designed for sharing in the garden with a drink in hand, conversation loosening as the afternoon slips a little further out of view. 

And finally onto The Hollow Bottom, a pub brought back to its former glory and now comfortably re-established as it should be. It’s the perfect place for a final drink of the night; unforced, welcoming, and made for that last proper pause before heading home. A pint of something local in hand, named after a racehorse you half recognise, and the evening quietly sorts itself out in front of you, without any need for ceremony.

These routes aren’t rules, they’re more a framework and a decent excuse to head out, take the long way through villages you’ve only ever driven past, and stitch together a few pubs you might not have bothered with otherwise.

The journeys between them aren’t long, and that’s exactly the point. Just enough road to build a bit of anticipation, and make that next pint or plate feel properly earned.

If you’re going to do it properly, book ahead. In summer especially, the better places quietly fill with people who had the same idea. And better still, make a night of it. Stay at the final stops, settle in, and let the evening run on without the need to move again.

Then all you have to do is turn the music up, keep the roof down, and let the Cotswolds do what it does best: feed you well and send you home slightly later than intended.

And of course, a brief and entirely unromantic reminder: pick your designated driver early, keep them well supplied with soft drinks and gratitude, and please don’t be tempted at any point to mix driving with anything stronger than common sense.

We are incredibly fortunate in the Cotswolds to have so many brilliant events right on our doorstep as summer arrives in full. From food festivals and flower shows to classic car gatherings, country fairs, circuses, and open-air cinema beneath the stars, the season offers endless excuses to step outside, gather with friends, and make the most of the long days and warm evenings.

​​Here are 25 events to help you make the most of the Cotswolds outdoors this summer.
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​THE CHURCHILL CAR SHOW
14 JUNE • CHURCHILL VILLAGE GREEN

A delightfully Cotswold affair, the Churchill Car Show returns to the village green of Churchill for a much-loved summer gathering of motoring charm and community spirit. From classic icons to modern supercars and one-off curiosities, the green becomes a living gallery of automotive design, set against the backdrop of an unhurried village day.

Alongside the displays, expect a relaxed atmosphere of food, drink, family entertainment and local fundraising in support of local charities.

TICKETS & INFO

​THE BLENHEIM PALACE FLOWER SHOW
19–21 JUNE • BLENHEIM PALACE, OXFORDSHIRE

A most elegant herald of the summer season, the Blenheim Palace Flower Show returns to the sweeping grounds of Britain’s grandest palace, where horticulture and heritage meet in suitably magnificent style. Across three days, the parkland is transformed into a world of colour and creativity, from the grandeur of the Floral Pavilion to the artistry of show gardens, specialist growers, and immersive displays that celebrate the very best of British gardening.

TICKETS & INFO

THE CHELTENHAM FOOD & DRINK FESTIVAL
19–21 JUNE • MONTPELLIER GARDENS, CHELTENHAM

The Cheltenham Food & Drink Festival returns to the elegant surrounds of Montpellier Gardens, where the town’s Georgian grace provides a fitting backdrop for three days devoted to flavour, craft, and indulgence. Across the weekend, acclaimed chefs and local producers gather to present live cookery demonstrations, wine and spirit tastings, and a rich programme of talks and masterclasses, all set within a lively open-air market of artisan food and drink.

From the aromas of street food drifting through the trees to the hum of the Festival Stage and the relaxed pleasure of sampling something new in good company, it is a celebration of the region’s culinary talent in its most generous form.

TICKETS & INFO

CHARLBURY BEER FESTIVAL
27 JUNE • CHARLBURY CRICKET CLUB

The Charlbury Beer Festival returns on Saturday 27th June 2026, transforming the grounds of Charlbury Cricket Club into a cheerful celebration of great drink, good music, and local tradition. Expect 60 cask ales, 20+ craft beers, plus ciders, perries, wine, gin and Pimm’s, alongside excellent food (including veggie and vegan options). Run entirely by volunteers, the festival proudly raises funds for local and overseas causes, with live entertainment and the ever-popular World Aunt Sally Singles Championship adding a wonderfully English flourish to the day.

TICKETS + INFO

TOM JONES
​28 JUNE  •  KINGHOLM STADIUM

A voice that has long since become part of the British summer fabric returns to Gloucester as Sir Tom Jones takes to Kingsholm Stadium for a headline evening of unmistakable charm and enduring showmanship. As part of the Kingsholm Summer Series, the Welsh icon brings a catalogue spanning more than six decades — from early rhythm and blues to the unmistakable hits that have defined generations.

TICKETS & INFO

​GIFFORDS CIRCUS
JULY, AUGUST & SEPTEMBER • VARIOUS COTSWOLDS LOCATIONS

A travelling celebration of old-fashioned wonder and handcrafted spectacle, Giffords Circus brings its 2026 show Waterfield to the fields and parklands of England from spring through to early autumn. Under the big top you’ll find a blend of acrobats, jugglers, equestrian artistry, live music and comedy, all presented with a wonderfully English, village-green charm that feels both timeless and joyously alive. Founded on the idea of “a miniature village green circus” bursting with magic, character and warmth, this season’s tour pitches up in various locations around the Cotswolds this summer. 

TICKETS + INFO

​THE COTSWOLD SHOW & FOOD FESTIVAL
4–5 JULY • CIRENCESTER PARK

A fine Cotswold summer fixture, the Cotswold Show & Food Festival returns to the stately grounds of Cirencester Park for a weekend that blends rural tradition with a distinctly modern flourish. Expect a lively mix of arena spectacle, from country pursuits and livestock displays to high-octane entertainment, alongside a bustling food hall and artisan village showcasing the very best of local produce and craft. It is, in essence, the countryside on full display.

TICKETS + INFO

​2000 TREES
8 - 11 JULY • WITHINGTON, NR CHELTENHAM

2000 Trees returns this July, with Upcote Farm once again playing host to one of the UK’s most revered independent music celebrations; a weekend of raw energy, brilliant bands and unforgettable summer days and nights with friends. The 2026 line‑up is stacked with heavyweight names for fans of punk, indie and alternative rock, including Alkaline Trio, Pup, Superheaven, Glassjaw and Lambrini Girls, alongside raucous favourites like Cancer Bats, Bad Nerves, High Vis and Dinosaur Pile‑Up — plus a host of rising acts across multiple stages that make Trees a perfect showcase for both established and underground talent.

TICKETS & INFO

​THE RHS BADMINTON FLOWER SHOW
8–12 JULY • BADMINTON ESTATE

A striking new arrival on the horticultural calendar, the RHS Badminton Flower Show unfolds across the sweeping parkland of the Badminton Estate, where South Gloucestershire becomes, for a brief midsummer spell, a showcase of gardening at its most refined. From show gardens of real ambition to the immersive Floral Marquee, expect a procession of extraordinary planting, rare specimens, and designers and growers at the very top of their craft.

Beyond the blooms, the show takes on the character of a great country gathering with talks from leading horticultural voices, artisan food, and a sense of gentle discovery at every turn. 

TICKETS + INFO

THE CHARLBURY RIVERSIDE FESTIVAL
19–20 JULY • MILL FIELD, CHARLBURY

A rather splendid outpouring of community spirit, the Charlbury Riverside Festival returns to the Mill Field on the banks of the Evenlode, where for one summer weekend the watermeadows become a stage for music, mischief, and open-air merriment. Widely regarded as Oxfordshire’s largest free festival, it draws a lively mix of families, locals and wanderers for two days of live bands, multiple stages, and a distinctly easygoing charm.

Alongside the music, expect a generous spread of food stalls, a well-stocked beer tent, children’s entertainment, and the kind of unforced, riverside atmosphere that only Charlbury seems to do with such ease, all set just a short stroll from the station.

TICKETS & INFO

FOOL’S DELIGHT CIRCUS
23 JULY – 2 AUGUST • HAM COURT HOUSE, OXFORDSHIRE

A most curious and captivating summer interlude, Fool’s Delight Circus returns with its latest creation, Tyger, transforming the grounds of Ham Court House into a world of imagination, dining, and daring performance. Inspired by William Blake’s famous poem, this year’s show explores the “fearful symmetry” of the human condition through a series of spellbinding circus duos, where acrobatics and aerial artistry become a meditation on beauty, tension, and duality.

Alongside the main production, guests are invited to a refined three-course communal feast, with the season also expanding into daytime entertainments, including solo shows from legendary clown Tweedy, family-focused performances, and even two evenings of opera from Wild Arts beneath the Big Top. It is, in every sense, a richly layered cultural escape — part circus, part supper, part summer reverie.

TICKETS + INFO

​THE GUITING MUSIC FESTIVAL
24 JULY – 2 AUGUST • GUITING POWER

A quietly glorious fixture of the Cotswold summer, the Guiting Music Festival returns for ten days of intimate, world-class performance in the unspoilt village of Guiting Power. Set beneath canvas and open skies alike, the programme moves effortlessly from classical refinement to jazz and blues, drawing acclaimed musicians from across the UK and beyond into a setting that feels both personal and timeless. This year, you will find Mica Paris and Lindisfarne on the line-up.

TICKETS & INFO

WILDERNESS
30 JULY - 2 AUGUST • ​CORNBURY PARK

Wilderness returns to the magical parkland of Cornbury Park, inviting music lovers to lose themselves in a weekend of brilliant live performances, world‑class food experiences and the festival’s signature blend of creativity and culture. The 2026 line‑up features electrifying headline sets from iconic pop‑dance outfit Scissor Sisters, genre‑bending innovators The Last Dinner Party and legendary DJ‑producer Carl Cox, alongside acclaimed electronic duo Soulwax, indie favourite Saint Etienne and cult‑cool songwriter Baxter Dury, with dancefloor heat from Groove Armada and a host of eclectic acts across the stages.

Feasting is taken seriously too, with celebrated culinary names and creative food offerings ensuring that long afternoons are as delicious as they are musical, while talks, comedy and immersive arts experiences add extra colour to four unforgettable summer days under the trees.

TICKETS & INFO

OUTDOOR CINEMA AT WESTONBIRT
31 JULY – 2 AUGUST • WESTONBIRT ARBORETUM

A rather enchanting escape, the Westonbirt Outdoor Cinema transforms the heart of the arboretum into a woodland theatre beneath the stars, where film and nature share the same gentle spotlight. Set among thousands of rare trees in one of Britain’s most beautiful botanical landscapes, guests are invited to settle with blankets and picnics as the sun slips through the canopy and the screen comes to life. Films include Dirty Dancing, Jurassic Park and a Sing-A-Long showing of Encanto for the younger viewers.

TICKETS & INFO

​CHELTENHAM CRICKET FESTIVAL
8 - 24 AUGUST • CHELTENHAM COLLEGE

A pillar of the English summer sporting calendar, the Cheltenham Cricket Festival returns to the elegant surrounds of Cheltenham College between Saturday 8th August to Friday 24 August, where it has been staged for generations on one of the country’s most historic cricket grounds. Dating back to 1872, it remains the oldest festival of its kind, pairing top-tier Gloucestershire cricket with a distinctly genteel sense of occasion.

Across the festival, expect a sunlit mix of County Championship and limited-overs fixtures, framed by traditional hospitality, lively marquees, and that unmistakable festival atmosphere where the boundary rope feels close enough to touch. 

TICKETS + INFO

THE BIG FEASTIVAL
28 - 30 AUGUST • KINGHAM

With the 2026 Big Feastival line-up now live, yet another unforgettable long weekend of music, food and fun awaits us on Alex James’ idyllic Cotswolds farm during the August Bank Holiday weekend. Across three days you’ll be treated to headline sets from dance-pioneers Basement Jaxx, UK rap-poet favourite The Streets and indie-pop hitmakers Bastille, alongside an eclectic mix of artists including RUDIM3NTAL, Perrie, Doves, White Lies, Freya Ridings, Mimi Webb and The Coral, ensuring there’s something for every musical taste.

But Big Feastival isn’t just about the beats, it’s a true celebration of flavour too, with acclaimed chefs and food experiences that have become just as legendary as the music. Expect chef demos, incredible street food and inventive culinary showcases that make grazing around the festival one of the highlights of the weekend.

Comedy lovers are also well-served, with live sets from names like Joel Dommett, Ivo Graham and Suzi Ruffell adding laughter to sun-soaked afternoons and balmy evenings

TICKETS & INFO

MORETON SHOW
5 SEPTEMBER • MORETON-IN-MARSH

A cornerstone of the Cotswold rural calendar, the Moreton Show returns for its celebrated one-day gathering in the heart of Moreton-in-Marsh, where the fields once again become a grand stage for British agriculture at its finest. Since 1949, it has championed the very best of farming, equestrian skill, and countryside tradition, drawing together livestock classes, arena displays, and over 300 trade stands in a lively yet unmistakably traditional spectacle.

From champion livestock parades to the thunder of arena attractions and the gentle bustle of the Home & Garden marquees, it is a day that distils the countryside into its purest form. For many, it remains the definitive late-summer gathering of rural England.

TICKETS & INFO

​BLENHEIM PALACE INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS
17 - 20 SEPTEMBER • BLENHEIM PALACE

Get ready for an unforgettable experience this year at Blenheim Palace! Experience four days of exhilarating eventing, including Dressage, Cross Country, and Showjumping, set against the stunning backdrop of Blenheim Palace – one of Britain’s most beautiful and historic venues.

TICKETS + INFO

Early June will see the arrival of Zonda at The Halfway at Kineton, marking a quietly significant moment for one of the north Cotswolds’ most respected food-led pubs. It is, in essence, a pairing that feels both natural and long considered: a much-admired pizza concept finding a permanent home within a pub that has already established itself as a destination in its own right.

Zonda, created by Cam Kelly, has built its reputation in unusually organic fashion. What began, modestly enough, in a gazebo at Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club has developed into a word-of-mouth success story across the Cotswolds. Over the past two years, Cam has refined the offering in the kitchen at The King’s Arms in Chipping Norton, steadily growing both technique and following. The result is a pizza concept that has attracted genuine loyalty throughout the Cotswolds. 

“This feels like a huge moment for us,” says Cam. “Zonda started very small, and so many people supported us from the beginning. To now have a permanent home at The Halfway is incredibly exciting.”

That sense of progression is important. Zonda is not arriving as a pop-up or an occasional residency, but as a defined, ongoing presence, the first time the business has operated from a dedicated pub home. In a culinary landscape increasingly shaped by short-term collaborations, there is something quietly decisive about permanence.

The Halfway at Kineton, meanwhile, has already established its own identity since opening in March 2023 under chefs Nathan Eades and Liam Goff, also known for The Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power and the Bib Gourmand-awarded Horse and Groom in Bourton-on-the-Hill. In a relatively short period, The Halfway has become one of the most talked-about pub restaurants in the area, featuring in the Michelin Guide for the past two years and attracting consistent national attention.

This new chapter reflects a pragmatic evolution of that success. As Nathan Eades explains, the decision is rooted in both growth and balance across their existing sites. “With the successful opening of The Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power last July, we felt we needed to diversify our local offering to benefit both businesses rather than competing against one another,” he says. “The Halfway was our first pub, and the emotional attachment we have to it is huge. Zonda at The Halfway is a rebirth of our mothership.”

Zonda will serve its signature pizzas alongside a carefully considered small plates menu, and a drinks list that includes selected wines and a concise cocktail offering designed to sit comfortably within the relaxed pub setting. The Halfway will also continue to serve its popular Sunday roasts, which remain a central part of its weekly rhythm.

Taken together, the collaboration signals a confident step forward for both names: a respected pub refining its offer, and a distinctive pizza concept moving into a permanent setting for the first time. In the wider context of the Cotswolds dining scene, it is a simple idea executed with intent and one that feels likely to settle in quickly, as though it had always belonged there.

Zonda at The Halfway will open in early June, with bookings now open!

www.thehalfwayatkineton.com

There is a peculiar delicacy has been doing the rounds for a few years now. No, not braised pig cheek or wild garlic. Not even those all-too-familiar scotch eggs that seem to be made from equal parts sausage meat and marketing budget.

No, the real growth industry in our part of the world is the free meal.

And not the old-fashioned sort of free meal either like the occasional pint slipped your way because the landlord likes your face, or a pudding appearing with a wink at the end of a meal because you’ve laughed at one of their bad jokes earlier. This is something far more modern, far more sanitised, and far more tragic.

This is the era of the Hospitality Handout, delivered not to the starving, but to the aspiring.

To the content creator.

To the influencer.

You’d think seeing hospitality on its knees would prompt a fairly obvious reaction: book a table, go for lunch, pay the bill. Instead, it seems to have triggered something rather different, an instinct to see it as an easy target, a chance to grab a freebie, or worse still, get paid for the privilege of eating someone else’s food and calling it “content”.

And before anyone starts sharpening their steak knives, let me be clear: I’m absolutely not against marketing (I work in it!). I’m obviously not against social media (The Cotswolds Gentleman has been pretty much built on it). And I’m not even against people taking photos of their food (I do this sometimes and still suffer that feeling of embarrassment each time and feel it should come with a small fine).

What I am slightly against is the sheer, jaw-dropping volume of people in the Cotswolds who seem to be eating out as a part-time job.

Not as critics. Not as journalists. Not even as particularly interesting human beings.

Just eating. For free.

You may have seen them, migrating between Burford, Stow, Broadway and Cirencester like a herd of particularly well-dressed wildebeest in search of their natural prey: a pub that has opened, or one very close to closing. Some are wrapped in a neutral-coloured coat and Hunter wellies. Others go in their normal clothes, almost undetected until they are seen leaning over the table photographing a pork belly from seventeen different angles while it quietly dies.

And then later that day comes the Instagram post.

“Hidden gem.”

“Obsessed.”

“Such a vibe.”

“You NEED to try this.”

“Honestly unreal.”

And the most common lie ever told in the Cotswolds: “We just stumbled across this place.”

And then, the most fascinating part: the engagement.

Within seconds, the comments roll in from other influencers who have apparently been waiting, poised over their phones like air traffic control for mediocrity, or more likely summoned on a WhatsApp group.

“OMG this looks amazing!”
“Need to visit!”
“Adding to my list!”

All from people who will, inevitably, be sitting in exactly the same restaurant the following week doing exactly the same thing with exactly the same dishes in wide-eyed astonishment, as though they’ve just discovered fire while using the hashtags #invite or #ad.

Now, I understand transparency and the rules. But if you look at someone’s Instagram and every single post has #invite or #ad attached to it, that should be deeply embarrassing. At that point you’re not a food or hospitality lover, you’re essentially a freelance seagull.

And the awkward part? I honestly don’t know who's to blame.

Let’s start with the easiest target: the influencer.

There is something uniquely shameless about messaging a small independent business, already fighting soaring energy bills, staff shortages, VAT, and the general British public’s determination to stay at home, and saying, “We’d love to come in and experience your menu. Happy to collaborate!”

Collaborate. As though eating a £33 ribeye is a joint venture.

And it’s never the ones with genuine influence, is it? The ones who can actually fill tables don’t need to ask. They just go, quietly, like normal people, pay like normal people, and then mention it, if it’s good, in weekend newspaper. They don’t arrive with the air of someone about to do the restaurant a favour by ordering the scallops.

A friend who manages a local restaurant’s social media recently forwarded me a message from someone with 400 Instagram followers asking if they offer invites to “smaller creators”. A true and rather telling example. At that level, it’s less about being a “creator” in any meaningful sense and more about someone with a phone, a platform, and a slightly inflated idea of what their reach represents.

But then again, are the restaurants to blame?

Because they are doing it. They are actively feeding these people. Handing out food and drink like they’ve mistaken Instagram for the Red Cross.

And, yes, of course I understand why. Hospitality is on its last legs. It’s battered. It’s exhausted. Many places are running on fumes and goodwill. And if someone turns up offering “exposure” in exchange for a free meal, it probably feels like a bit of a lifeline, an easy way of making people aware that you exist, and a bit of a bargain.

Except it often isn’t.

Because what exactly are you buying? A photograph of your roast beef, with a caption reading “best roast ever”, which they also wrote last Sunday about a different pub just down the road.

And then there’s PR.

Ah, PR. Once the noble art of getting your client into The Times, The Telegraph, Condé Nast Traveller, or at the very least a glossy magazine that appear in doctor waiting rooms and people pretend to read. Now, increasingly, it involves sending messages like:

“Hi lovely! Would you like to come in for a complimentary dinner and share your experience?”

I know, as I receive them!

This is not public relations.

If your PR company’s greatest achievement is inviting Instagrammers for free meals, save yourself several thousand pounds a month and do it yourself if you truly believe this form of marketing works for you. At least if you’re going to give away your food, you can do it without a monthly retainer.

One of my personal rules on The Cotswolds Gentleman has always been simple: I don’t take free meals. Not because I’m holier-than-thou or morally superior, but because the hospitality industry is made up of real people trying to survive real pressures, and it doesn’t need yet another person treating their livelihood as a content opportunity.

Paying for your meal is respect. It also means you can be honest. Because once you’ve eaten for free, you’re no longer reviewing anything, you’re thanking. And a thank you, however enthusiastic, is not an honest opinion.

On the incredibly rare occasion a restaurant won’t take “no, I’m definitely paying” for an answer (this has happened twice as they were trying to thank me for something), I’ll settle it by leaving a tip for the staff that more than covers the cost of my meal. If someone insists on giving something away, it should go to the people doing the hard work, not to me.

Here’s the part that nobody seems talks about.

Because while restaurants or PR companies may believe giving away food brings in customers, it might actually be doing the opposite. I know it does for me. Because when I see a restaurant constantly giving away free meals to people with tiny followings and even tinier influence, I don’t feel inspired to book a table.

Sadly, for many, repeated gifting to low-reach accounts can start to create the impression that the value of the product is being diluted by how it’s being positioned and distributed. 

And then, quietly, without drama, I simply don’t go. Not out of spite, not because I hate influencers (The Cotswolds Gentleman falls into that bracket sometimes) and not because I’m jealous. I assumed it was just me being slightly judgemental until I asked my Instagram following a month or so ago. I was genuinely shocked by how many people shared the same view and had stopped going to particular pubs and restaurants because of this. It was more widespread than I expected.

The sad thing is, the Cotswolds has some genuinely brilliant places. Proper pubs, incredible restaurants, brilliant chefs who care, menus with thought behind them, landlords who are grafting away seven days a week just to keep the lights on. They deserve to be busy because they're good and deserve to be celebrated properly. They just need customers. Real ones. Paying ones. Returning ones.

Of course, I appreciate the world of marketing is changing. Businesses have to try things. If you’re in hospitality right now, you’ll do whatever you can to fill tables, and social media can absolutely work when it’s done properly, especially when it reaches real people in the local area who might actually come in and spend money.

But too often what’s happening is a kind of circular economy where restaurants feed influencers, influencers post for influencers, influencers comment for influencers, and the only people being influenced are other influencers looking for their next free meal.

Hospitality is being squeezed dry. And it’s not just influencers, either. There are local publications too, promising hospitality the world and delivering very little in the way of actual customers, yet charging a small fortune for the pleasure. It’s the same racket in a smarter jacket but offers the same promises: Plenty of “exposure”, minimal footfall, and an invoice that suggests they’ve just landed you a double-page spread in The Guardian.

And so I’ll end with this. Please stop taking from hospitality, no matter how much you convince yourself you’re “helping”. The industry doesn’t need more people eating for free in exchange for a few tagged photos and some performative enthusiasm. Over 3,000 venues went bust in 2025 alone, and the more we normalise this culture of taking, the worse it will get.

​If you genuinely love pubs and restaurants, do the most radical thing imaginable in 2026: book a table, pay the bill, tip the staff, and go back.

Which, call me a dinosaur, is still the best PR there is.

Blenheim Palace will play host to Salon Privé once again this year, bringing together automotive excellence, world-class hospitality and luxury lifestyle across a five-day spectacular which runs 2 – 6 September 2026. 

Now in its 21st year, this September Salon Privé will stage its world-class social occasion, bringing together the finest in classic cars, supercars, hypercars, fine dining, and high-end luxury brands including Boodles, Pommery and Vertu. 
  
Set against the iconic backdrop of Blenheim Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, the esteemed event is a hallmark of the British social calendar, synonymous with elegance, craftsmanship and design. Presenting the most complete and exciting Concours in Europe, the Salon Privé Concours by Aviva Private Clients offers an opportunity to experience some of the world’s most exceptional classic cars, many making their UK debut, judged by an international panel of experts.   

With 30,000 guests expected across the five-day event, this year’s Salon Privé at Blenheim promises to be bigger than ever, with expanded programming and enhanced displays planned to run across the weekend. Two stunning new automotive galleries will form the center piece of the lawn allowing to explore and appreciate a carefully curated display of supercars and hypercars, with daily parades and Concours judging creating further excitement. 

Throughout the week, visitors will be able to enjoy the Salon Privé lifestyle village, which will welcome luxury vendors offering a refined shopping experience. This thoughtfully crafted outdoor space enhances the guest experience, elevating the signature automotive garden party that Salon Privé is renowned for. 

Explore Wednesday 2nd September 
The elegant lawns of Blenheim Palace set the stage as Salon Privé Concours by Aviva Private Clients opens with a celebration of automotive excellence. Guests can enjoy exclusive access to a curated lineup of 11 Classes, including the Golden Age of Motoring, 80 Years of Bristol Cars, Supercar Icons of the 80s and 90s and Glorious GTs, each representing the pinnacle of design and craftsmanship.  

Explore Thursday 3rd September 
Thursday continues the Salon Privé Concours by Aviva Private Clients with a showcase of the world’s finest classic cars. Guests can enjoy the stunning display, the elegant Concours Parades and the presentation of top awards, including Class Winners and the People’s Choice, all set within an atmosphere of refined luxury and hospitality. Enhanced by luxury hospitality and entertainment, the event will be an exquisite celebration of automotive excellence. 
  
Explore Friday 4th September 
Friday at Salon Privé is Ladies’ Day by Boodles, offering a stylish celebration of fashion, luxury and performance. The Palace lawns come alive with colour and elegance as guests dress for one of the season’s top social occasions. Highlights include the Boodles Best Hat Competition alongside a spectacular display of supercars, creating a day that blends high fashion with high performance. 
  
Explore Saturday 5th September 
The Salon Privé Club Trophy presented by Lockton launches the weekend with an awe-inspiring display of over 1,500 privately owned sports, super and hyper cars, all competing for the coveted Club Trophy. The day features thrilling parades, live presentations and a vibrant festival atmosphere, making it a must-visit for enthusiasts and families alike. With a unique blend of high-performance automotives and family-friendly entertainment, the Salon Privé Club Trophy presented by Lockton is a Supercar celebration for visitors and enthusiasts of all ages. 
  
Explore Sunday 6th September 
As a fitting conclusion to an extraordinary Salon Privé Week, Supercar Sunday and Lifestyle Clubs Day returns for the second time, bringing together the UK’s leading supercar and lifestyle clubs across the Blenheim Palace lawns. The Concours de Vente also returns, featuring exceptional classic cars offered for sale by leading specialists, judged by an expert panel. This exciting finale delivers an outstanding display of automotive passion and craftsmanship ensuring an unforgettable end to a week of unparalleled luxury and performance. 
 
Tickets for Salon Privé 2026 are priced from £60 for entry, rising to up to £645 for luxury hospitality packages. 
​
To purchase tickets to Salon Privé visit www.salonpriveconcours.com or to enter your vehicle into the 2026 Concours, complete an application at www.salonpriveconcours.com/apply-to-enter 

There’s a new name to note for summer dining in the Cotswolds.

LARDON, a European-inspired small plates restaurant championing ingredient-led, wood-fired cooking, is set to open in early summer 2026 at Elkstone Studios, the beautifully curated destination nestled between Cirencester and Cheltenham.

Heading up the kitchen is Mikey Bain, formerly of Calcot Manor and Whatley Manor, bringing serious pedigree and a refined approach to bold, seasonal flavours. Leading front of house is Josh Newman, previously of No. 38 The Park (Lucky Onion Group), ensuring the service matches the ambition on the plate.

LARDON is the latest venture from the team behind two much-loved Cotswolds staples: KNEAD Bakery and Jesse Smith Butchers. Founders John & David Hawes and Kris Biggs are combining their passion for exceptional produce with a relaxed, modern dining experience rooted in European tradition.

Expect honest cooking, open fire, and plates designed for sharing — all set within one of the region’s most exciting lifestyle and hospitality developments.

For updates, follow @lardon_restaurant on Instagram or visit www.lardon-restaurant.com.

There are villages in the Cotswolds that regularly change hands; Guiting Power is not really one of them.

Houses here do not so much come onto the market as quietly re-enter circulation. People wait for them, sometimes for years, not in the hopeful, weekly refreshing of Rightmove way of the modern buyer, but with the patience of someone who understands that certain places operate on their own terms. You don’t simply decide to move to Guiting Power. You are, eventually, allowed to.

It is not a place arranged for admiration, nor one that has been coaxed into prettiness by committee. Instead, it has carried on, through decades, through fashions, through the quiet churn of modern life, and in doing so has arrived at something far more convincing than charm. It feels intact. Neither preserved nor polished, just… working.

Guiting Power did not always appear so steadfast. The agricultural depression of the 1870s left the village reeling, and by the early 20th century many of its houses were in a sorry state. In the 1930s, Moya Davidson began quietly buying properties to ensure they remained homes for locals, and in 1958 Raymond Cochrane took on the estate, continuing the restorations she had begun. A slow, careful stewardship that still shapes the village today.

That sense of continuity is not accidental. Today, much of the village is held by the Guiting Manor Amenity Trust, which does something rather radical by modern standards: it looks after the place without trying to improve it beyond recognition. Houses rarely, if ever, come onto the open market, and many who live here have done so because their family have lived there for centuries, they've married someone in the village or by way of patience rather than purchase, joining waiting lists and taking their turn when it comes.

The Trust also runs the surrounding farm, employing locals and keeping the village tied, quite literally, to the land beneath it. There is something faintly old-fashioned in the arrangement, in the best possible sense; rents feeding into the estate, the estate sustaining the farm, the farm sustaining the village. It creates the impression, not entirely fanciful, that Guiting Power could carry on quite happily even if the rest of the world became a little less organised.

And then, at the end of harvest, the whole thing resolves itself in the most civilised way imaginable: a free supper at The Hollow Bottom for those who have worked the land. No speeches, no banners, just food, drink, and the quiet acknowledgement that effort has been made and appreciated.

The Hollow Bottom has, in recent months, remembered exactly what it is supposed to be. When Nathan Eades and Liam Goff took it over last July, they found, with a mixture of disbelief and opportunity, that much of the pub’s horse racing memorabilia had been unceremoniously discarded, sitting in a skip as though it were of no consequence whatsoever. They rescued it, returned it to the walls, and in doing so restored not just decoration but identity. No wonder, perhaps, that things had gone slightly off track before for its previous tenants.

Now, the pub feels entirely itself again. A free house in every sense, with beers named after horses and spirits that nod toward the village’s past without over doing it. During the Cheltenham Festival, it became something of an epicentre for the racing world, the bar packed as it was a couple of decades ago, this time celebrating local jockey Tom Bellamy's first Festival victory.

The pub also boasts six recently finished bedrooms that are all named after racecourses (of course they are), superb "double spud" Sunday roasts, and with summer on the horizon, a garden decking area with a boules pit and wonderful wooden shack bar. It is the sort of place where one drink becomes several, and several become an evening that just seems to have happened without anyone really noticing.

At the opposite end of the village, The Farmers Arms offers a slightly different proposition, but no less essential. Owned by Donnington Brewery, it is a proper pub in the most reassuring sense: honest food, good drink, and absolutely no desire to be anything other than what it is.

There is a piano in the corner, which is either charming or dangerous depending on who is playing it. There's a skittle alley that the village team uses with admirable seriousness, although standards fluctuate depending on the amount of beer consumed: for some, a sudden flourish; for others, a remarkable decline.  If a player scores zero with all three balls, they will have to wear a remarkably warm beaver hat as if to mark the occasion. When the first two balls inevitably register nothing, teammates break into the chant of “BEAVER",  hoping for the worst, cheering his failures as though they were triumphs.

If The Hollow Bottom hums with racing stories, The Farmers Arms anchors the everyday; steady, familiar, and exactly what you hope to find when you push open the door.

Village life, of course, is not sustained by pubs alone.

The Cotswold Guy has become something of a quiet success story, though not quite in the way outsiders imagine. Yes, it is occasionally mentioned in connection with David Beckham and his apparent fondness for the sausage rolls, but this is treated locally with a level of interest that might best be described as polite neutrality. One suspects there are residents who are either unimpressed or only vaguely aware of who David Beckham is.

​The shop itself is far more interesting than any passing celebrity endorsement with exceptional coffee and brunch and lots of outstanding produce, from meat, veg and jars full of everything delicious. It took over from the village bakery, which is remembered with genuine affection and only the gentlest caveat that the bread was not its strongest point. Still, residents continued buying a loaf each week, supporting the business in the quiet English way that keeps small communities alive.

When The Cotswold Guy first opened, someone chalked “go away” on the wall, a bold if slightly unnecessary piece of feedback. Another villager was later seen attempting to scrub this off before the owner arrived, which feels like a perfect summary of rural conflict resolution: disagreement, followed swiftly by tidying up.

These days, the shop does excellent breakfasts and lunches alongside its produce, and has settled into the village as though it had always been there; a place to pick up something for supper or linger over coffee.

The post office performs a similar role, quietly indispensable and slightly underestimated until you realise how often you rely on it. It serves very good breakfasts, draws a steady stream of locals, and on most mornings will feature at least one cyclist in Lycra sitting outside with coffee, their bicycle leaning nearby like a patient accomplice. No one comments. This is England. We observe everything and mention nothing.

Beyond the buildings, there are walks that require nothing more than sensible shoes. Circular routes thread along Castlett Street or Tally Ho in the other direction. Dogs are optional and polite hellos to fellow walkers mandatory as you wander through countryside that feels untouched, unspoiled, and very much unconcerned with the rest of the world.

Life here is not dramatic, which is precisely its appeal.

Even its brush with notoriety, the infamous 1962 summer camp, is remembered more with a wry shake of the head than alarm. The British neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement had chosen the village as a meeting point for fascists from Europe and the U.S. Around a hundred villagers, led by publican Walter Morley, armed themselves with pitchforks, shotguns, and the kind of moral impatience only a small village can muster, marched to confront the intruders and send them on their way.

And then, as ever, things returned to normal.

Normal, in Guiting Power, means the village calendar: music festival, pantomime (where opening night is a spectacle, with the hall packed with villagers, friends, and relatives, ready to cheer, boo, or groan at the traditional jokes, while a few seasoned performers take delight in flouting the script), fireworks, dog show, the festive light switch-on, and a steady stream of other events that make village life feel far more lively than it has any right to be.

Spend time here and you begin to notice what isn’t present. There is little urgency (unless you're running late for Happy Hour at The Hollow), no sense of performance, no need to prove anything to anyone. People are simply getting on with things; running the farm, opening the shop, pulling pints, walking dogs, waiting, perhaps, for a coffee, to pick a child up from the hugely popular nursery, or for a house that might one day become available.

And in that absence of noise, something else becomes clear, this is a village still shaped by the people who live within it rather than those passing through. 

With that you realise that what makes Guiting Power unique is not its beauty, though it has plenty of that, nor its history, though it has that too. It is the simple, increasingly rare fact that it works. Not loudly, not perfectly, but properly.

And in modern Britain, that is about as close to perfection as you are likely to find.

With the first hints of longer days upon us, it’s impossible not to start looking ahead to summer. The season of golden evenings, open-air stages and weekends that blur into one unforgettable soundtrack is almost within reach. Think cocktails and sunset sing-a-longs with friends as world-class artists light up some of the most beautiful festival settings in the country. Summer 2026 is already shaping up to be a standout, and we honestly can't wait. 
​

The Big Feastival
28 - 30 August 2026
​Kingham

With the 2026 Big Feastival line-up now live, yet another unforgettable long weekend of music, food and fun awaits us on Alex James’ idyllic Cotswolds farm during the August Bank Holiday weekend. Across three days you’ll be treated to headline sets from dance-pioneers Basement Jaxx, UK rap-poet favourite The Streets and indie-pop hitmakers Bastille, alongside an eclectic mix of artists including RUDIM3NTAL, Perrie, Doves, White Lies, Freya Ridings, Mimi Webb and The Coral, ensuring there’s something for every musical taste.

But Big Feastival isn’t just about the beats, it’s a true celebration of flavour too, with acclaimed chefs and food experiences that have become just as legendary as the music. Expect chef demos, incredible street food and inventive culinary showcases that make grazing around the festival one of the highlights of the weekend.

Comedy lovers are also well-served, with live sets from names like Joel Dommett, Ivo Graham and Suzi Ruffell adding laughter to sun-soaked afternoons and balmy evenings

bigfeastival.com

​Blenheim Palace Festival
27 June - 4 July
​Woodstock

With the first-ever multi-day festival set to light up the Great Court at Blenheim Palace, summer in the Cotswolds just got a whole lot more exciting. On the music front, global superstars and beloved voices take centre stage, from the pop magic of Katy Perry and the smooth classics of Michael Bublé to the genre-defying sounds of Teddy Swims and the orchestral dance experience of Pete Tong Ibiza Classics, with Alanis Morissette bringing her anthemic catalogue to the stunning backdrop.

www.blenheimpalace.com

​Wychwood Festival
29 - 31 May 2026
​Cheltenham

Wychwood Festival will once again kick off the summer season in style when it returns to Cheltenham Racecourse for its landmark 20th edition this May, and this year’s celebration promises a quality mix of music, comedy and family‑friendly fun. Over three glorious days you’ll find headline energy from Craig David presents TS5, indie favourites Kaiser Chiefs and folk‑rock icons Levellers, alongside a wonderfully eclectic roster that includes Sophie Ellis‑Bextor, Feeder, The Pigeon Detectives, Boney M, The Horne Section and Newton Faulkner, plus plenty more across multiple stages.

Wychwood has long been beloved for its welcoming, inclusive atmosphere, pairing great live performances with everything from comedy spots and creative workshops to chilled out spaces and activities for all ages, making it the perfect weekend for friends, families and music lovers alike to toast the start of summer together.

wychwoodfestival.com

​Wilderness
30 July - 2 August
​Cornbury Park

Wilderness returns to the magical parkland of Cornbury Park, inviting music lovers to lose themselves in a weekend of brilliant live performances, world‑class food experiences and the festival’s signature blend of creativity and culture. The 2026 line‑up features electrifying headline sets from iconic pop‑dance outfit Scissor Sisters, genre‑bending innovators The Last Dinner Party and legendary DJ‑producer Carl Cox, alongside acclaimed electronic duo Soulwax, indie favourite Saint Etienne and cult‑cool songwriter Baxter Dury, with dancefloor heat from Groove Armada and a host of eclectic acts across the stages.

Feasting is taken seriously too, with celebrated culinary names and creative food offerings ensuring that long afternoons are as delicious as they are musical, while talks, comedy and immersive arts experiences add extra colour to four unforgettable summer days under the trees.

www.wildernessfestival.com

​Cheltenham Jazz Festival
29 April – 4 May 2026
Cheltenham
​
The Cheltenham Jazz Festival returns to the heart of Cheltenham, celebrating three decades of bold music, brilliant performances and boundary‑crossing creativity, and this year’s line‑up is already sounding unforgettable. From stirring headline sets by Van Morrison, Jessie J and pop‑soul favourite Joss Stone and Jack Savoretti to the genre‑defying sounds of Lady Blackbird and jazz luminaries like Joshua Redman and Bill Frisell, the festival continues to blend world‑class talent with fresh voices and new collaborations. Alongside classic and contemporary jazz, you’ll find everything from orchestral tributes to Miles Davis to soulful UK jazz from artists such as Courtney Pine, Emma‑Jean Thackray and Blue Lab Beats, giving you six days of music that run the gamut from timeless to trailblazing.

www.cheltenhamfestivals.org/festivals/jazz-festival

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​Forest Live
24 - 28 June 2026
Westonbirt Arboretum

As summer unfolds across the Cotswolds and the woodlands of Westonbirt Arboretum come alive with greenery, Forest Live 2026 offers a magical way to enjoy long summer evenings with friends, music, food and laughter beneath the trees. This beloved outdoor series brings big‑name acts to one of England’s most beautiful natural stages, starting with dance‑floor legend Fatboy Slim and continuing with timeless anthems from Deacon Blue (with Lightning Seeds), reggae favourites UB40 feat. Ali Campbell (with Bitty McLean & Reggae Roast), pop icon Rick Astley (with The Lottery Winners) and closing with Richard Ashcroft alongside Tom Meighan & Apollo Junction, a line‑up that spans genres and generations under the canopy.

www.forestlive.com/westonbirtarboretum

2000 Trees
8 - 11 July 2026
Withington, Nr Cheltenham

2000 Trees returns this July, with Upcote Farm once again playing host to one of the UK’s most revered independent music celebrations; a weekend of raw energy, brilliant bands and unforgettable summer days and nights with friends. The 2026 line‑up is stacked with heavyweight names for fans of punk, indie and alternative rock, including Alkaline Trio, Pup, Superheaven, Glassjaw and Lambrini Girls, alongside raucous favourites like Cancer Bats, Bad Nerves, High Vis and Dinosaur Pile‑Up — plus a host of rising acts across multiple stages that make Trees a perfect showcase for both established and underground talent.

2000trees.co.uk

​
Shindig
21 - 24 May 2026
Malmesbury
​
As the May Bank Holiday approaches, Shindig Festival 2026 returns to the idyllic Charlton Park Estate with a vibrant and eclectic line‑up set to kickstart the UK festival season in style. Across multiple stages tucked into beautiful woodland and fields, expect sun‑soaked afternoons and late‑night grooves from standout names like punk‑funk crew Fat Dog, politically charge British punk rap duo Bob Vylan, genre‑blending innovators War, and heavyweight soundsystem favourites Mungo’s Hi‑Fi, MY BABY and Snapped Ankles, plus DJ‑led energy from the likes of Pola & Bryson, Stanton Warriors and Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy.

shindigfestival.co.uk

There are race meetings in the world that boast fatter prizes, brighter lights, perhaps even deeper pockets. Yet none of it touches the soul the way Cheltenham does. There is simply nowhere that presses so gently, so insistently, on the heart.

For those of us who live and work in the Cotswolds the Festival is more than four days in March, it is the heartbeat of a year. For pubs and restaurants, jockeys and trainers and anyone else within sight of the Prestbury Park grandstands or Cleeve Hill with an interest in horse racing, it is pretty much everything. 

This year, perhaps more than most, it felt like Cheltenham had remembered exactly what it is supposed to be and something very old and very dear had returned. Not through sheer dominance or record-breaking feats, but through something far more meaningful: a week of firsts, of long waits and loyalty rewarded, and of local people realising dreams they had carried since childhood. For while the Irish cavalry arrived once more in their familiar battalions, the story of this Festival belonged, in many ways, to the Cotswolds themselves.

White Noise became a name etched into the Festival history books when winning the Mares' Novices' Hurdle on Thursday. This was a landmark moment for Mat Nicholls, his first Cheltenham Festival winner since joining Kim Bailey on the training licence. It was a long way from the teenager from Nottingham who began his journey in racing years ago, working as a stable lad for Nigel Twiston-Davies.

Yet even the victory carried a deeper story in the saddle. Tom Bellamy is not a jockey who burst onto the scene with instant fanfare. He has built a career the old fashioned way: through patience, perseverance and an understanding that racing success rarely arrives overnight. He has had big days, but nothing compares to this. 

Bellamy, a local lad, sponsored by the Hollow Bottom (a pub that has long been a gathering place for racing folk), said afterwards that he has waited his entire life for that moment. The joy was not just his, it was for all the people watching in the pub and most of the locals in the crowd at Cheltenham who climbed the hill with him. 

If Bellamy’s victory felt like the arrival of something long hoped for, Richie McLernon’s win aboard Johnnywho for the O'Neill stable carried a different kind of emotion altogether. McLernon had last tasted Cheltenham Festival glory in 2014. Twelve years in racing can feel like a lifetime, especially when those years are punctuated by the injuries that are the unavoidable currency of riding racehorses.

Cheltenham has a way of demanding its dues before it ever grants its reward, and McLernon’s victory felt like justice finally catching up. All the broken bones, the long recoveries, the quiet doubts that another win at the Festival might never come fall away the instant you cross the line first. Even then, he paused to acknowledge the local NHS and surgeons who had seen him through his latest setback, a small reminder that triumph here is rarely won alone.

For the O’Neills, the Festival became something almost sacred. Wilful delivered a second win for the yard, giving AJ O’Neill his first Cheltenham Festival winners as a trainer alongside his father Jonjo. And consider the scale. The O’Neills sent just seven runners to the Festival. Seven. Against the massive armies of Willie Mullins (74) and Gordon Elliott (51), that makes their two winners all the more extraordinary although incredibly fitting that forty years after the elder Jonjo guided Dawn Run to Gold Cup glory, the yard once again enjoyed huge success. 

This time with brother Jonjo Jr in the saddle who, after the race, struggled to hide the emotion in his voice as he spoke about his father and brother, about the support they had given him and the long road that led to this moment. To repay that faith with a Festival winner, on the sport’s biggest stage, was clearly something more than a professional achievement, it was family. Moments like this are what make Cheltenham unique.

Meetmebythesea added another local note to the week when landing the Jack Richards Novices' Handicap Chase for Naunton Downs-based trainer Ben Pauling, giving him his fifth Cheltenham Festival winner.

Amid the Irish dominance in recent years, for some yards it can sometimes feel like taking on a cavalry charge armed only with optimism. That is precisely why the victories of Bellamy, McLernon, the O’Neills, Pauling, and Bailey/Nicholls meant so much here in the Cotswolds. Every success is personal and every story is carried from the winner’s enclosure to celebrations at the local pubs and the stables where these horses are raised.

Still, for many who watched this year’s Festival unfold, the lasting memory might not be a single performance but a collective feeling that something special had returned. Perhaps it was the emotional weight of those first winners or the sight of familiar faces celebrating in the winner’s enclosure. Or perhaps it was simply the realisation that Cheltenham still holds the same magic it always has.

Every year there are voices suggesting that the Festival has lost its charm. Some prefer the idea of escaping to the sun, swapping the UK for beaches in Benidorm or Tenerife while the racing unfolds back home. Each to their own, of course. But those who chose that over Cheltenham this year missed something rather extraordinary. They missed the roar that greeted Tom Bellamy. They missed the raw emotion etched across Richie McLernon’s face and the pride over Mat Nicholls'. They missed the joy of the O’Neill family celebrating together.

And this year, as in all the best years, Cheltenham reminded us why it still matters. It's the place that justifies every early morning, every broken bone, every setback, and every dream. In racing, there is no place like it. Here, victory is sweeter, and every story more vivid, because the Cheltenham Festival, more than any other meeting, means absolutely everything. 

Each March, the Cheltenham Festival arrives with the subtlety of a cavalry charge in tweed.

The horses are magnificent. The betting slips optimistic. And thousands of otherwise rational adults become expert armchair jockeys and trainers and fluent in ground conditions. 

For four days, Cleeve Hill echoes with deafening roars, urgent bookmakers and voices insisting their horse “just needed another fifty yards".

To thrive rather than merely survive requires preparation.

This is that guide.
​

1. Dress for the Weather That Actually Exists

March in Gloucestershire is committed to unpredictability.

Bring layers.

Tweed is traditional. Waterproofing is advisable. 

The secret is to appear as though you have just stepped off a country estate, while quietly knowing you are prepared for horizontal rain.
​

2. Guinness Is a Social Beverage

Official scientific consensus has not yet confirmed that Guinness tastes better at the Cheltenham Festival.

Bar Willie Mullins, it may be the most beloved thing to cross the Irish Sea during festival week.

It is the Festival’s unofficial diplomatic beverage; a pint that encourages conversation, softens racing disagreements, and allows strangers to share opinions without feeling any particular urgency to prove they are right.

Hold it. Enjoy it, and let the afternoon take its course.

3. Remember That Everyone Becomes a Racing Expert

Cheltenham has a curious social democracy.

Bankers discuss breeding lines with farmers. City lawyers explain hurdle technique to people who have actually ridden horses.

Smile politely. Nod. ​Return your attention to the racing.
​

4. Set a Budget Before You Start Betting

Only bet what you can afford to lose and don't not chase losses.

The 20/1 shot that “definitely had something about it” is not responsible for your savings account.

Festival optimism is a beautiful thing. Financial regret is less so
​

5. Wear Proper Shoes (This One Matters More Than You Think)
​
You may walk between the rails, the parade ring, the bar, and back again while wondering where the afternoon went.

You might easily reach 20,000 steps. You do not want to achieve this in footwear that believes comfort is a myth.

Festival racing is endurance sport. Dress accordingly.
​

6. The Horses And Jockeys Do Not Need Your Feedback

Shouting advice to jockeys is unnecessary.

The horses are elite athletes. They are already aware that there is a fence.

Your emotional investment is appreciated but operationally irrelevant.
​

7. Make Sure You Eat Breakfast
​
A Cheltenham afternoon begins long before the first race.

A proper breakfast is essential.

By all means, have a pint of Guinness with it if tradition demands.

The Festival is an endurance sport and requires good stamina and a full belly.
​

8. Visit the Parade Ring (Highly Recommended)

Spend time near the parade and pre-parade rings before the races begin.

Stand quietly and watch the horses walk.

You will notice how big and powerful they are, yet how calm and graceful they appear when moving slowly across the paddock. These are extraordinary athletes who will steal your heart.

After the race, find you place to cheer in the winner, and applaud the runners up. The Festival is as much about appreciating extraordinary horses as it is about watching them compete.
​

9. Avoid the “Cheap Suit Festival Look”

Nobody wants to appear as though they have just left a minor legal hearing.

Tweed, countryside colours, or smart casual layers are preferred.

You are attending racing heritage, not a job interview.

​10. Study the Form… Or Follow Your Heart

You can spend hours analysing racing statistics, or you can choose a horse because you like:

The colour
The number
The name
Or the vague feeling that it looks like a winner

At the Cheltenham Festival, any horse can win.

Expertise is optional, enjoyment is not.
​

​11. Visit the Guinness Village

No visit to the Cheltenham Festival is complete without the annual pilgrimage to The Guinness Village. 

People arrive as strangers and leave as temporary lifelong friends, and it's a place you should visit at least once.

Singing is expected. Dancing is encouraged. Musical accuracy is entirely irrelevant, and should the band play Mr Brightside, dignity may be abandoned in favour of enthusiasm.

12. Do Not Call It “Holland and Cooper”

You will see many people wearing beautiful tweed at the Cheltenham Festival.

The brand is usually Holland Cooper, founded by Jade Holland Cooper.

Not “Holland and Cooper”.

These small details matter in countryside fashion.
​

12. Get a Steak Sandwich

If hunger appears, proceed to the parade ring and locate Carbonis.

Their steak sandwich is not merely food, it is strategic Festival infrastructure.

The 5oz 30-day aged English ribeye in toasted sourdough with Dijon mayo and beetroot leaves exists to remind you that civilisation is possible even in March weather.

You will not regret it.

10pm-you will send gratitude.
​

13. Enter the Shopping Village With Caution

The shopping village is a carefully designed temptation zone.

You will see things you did not know you needed and will suddenly believe you have always wanted them. It happens every year.

The correct strategy is:

Admire.
Consider.
Buy something nice.
Support the small businesses inside.
Walk away feeling culturally enriched and slightly lighter in wallet weight.

Resistance is admirable but not required.
​

14. Above All, Appreciate the Horses

The true heroes of the Cheltenham Festival are not the betting slips, they are the horses.

​The true success of the Cheltenham Festival is measured not in winnings alone, it is about witnessing athletic courage against gravity, the hill, and history.

It is found in conversations on the journey home, the memory of a race where a horse travelled like poetry, and the feeling that you've just witnessed greatness in equine form.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that... your (not entirely) essential guide to surviving the Cheltenham Festival.

The Cheltenham Festival is not about being the loudest person in the crowd, or the person who knows the most about form, breeding, or ground conditions. It is about standing in the March air watching extraordinary horses do extraordinary things. It is about horses jumping fences with grace and power, crowds rising in shared anticipation, and the countryside itself feeling momentarily alive with sport.

Come for the racing, stay for the atmosphere and celebrate the horses.

If your selections win, enjoy the moment. If they do not, remember that you have spent a day in the company of extraordinary athletes, good company, and one of Britain’s finest sporting events.

The Festival is not simply watched, it's experienced.

And that is why people return year after year.

www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham-festival

Let’s be honest, the Cotswolds isn't exactly short of some incredible places to eat in some of its most popular towns. There’s The Old Butchers in Stow-on-the-Wold, Smiths in Bourton-on-the-Water and Juliet in Stroud. All brilliant. But push a little further north, in and around Shipston on Stour (don't squint) and you will stumble upon some of the region’s most exciting food that seems to slip under the radar. Quietly brilliant, exactly where you least expect it.

Take The Bower House, the sort of place that makes you wonder why more people haven’t stumbled off the beaten track sooner. Set in a handsome Georgian townhouse in the heart of Shipston on Stour, it feels like a proper neighbourhood restaurant with rooms; warm, elegant, and surprisingly ambitious. Under Head Chef Leo Kattou, menus rotate with the seasons and celebrate British ingredients with ingenuity and restraint, earning AA Rosettes, Michelin Guide recommendations and plenty of local admiration along the way.

Now, cross the road, figuratively, if not literally, and you’ll find Bastardo’s Trattoria. Born from the same creative minds (Richard Craven) behind the Michelin‑starred Royal Oak at Whatcote, it wears its Italian inspiration with a distinctly British twist: seasonal produce treated with bold flavour and just the right amount of irreverence. The kitchen is led by John Broughton, formerly Head Chef at the Royal Oak, while the menu is shaped by Craven, whose love of Italian cooking was forged during the early years of his career. Warm, buzzy, and effortlessly confident.

The town seems to be staging a culinary coup.

And while we're on the subject, we should talk about The Royal Oak at Whatcote. A rarity for the Cotswolds; a village pub with a Michelin star and the quiet confidence to use it without preening. Run by chef‑owner Richard Craven and his wife Solanche, this is proper country cooking with brains and heart. The menu shifts with the micro‑seasons, rooted in wild ingredients and local foragers, from game shot on nearby hills to vegetables and rare breeds sourced from neighbouring estates, all celebrated in dishes pared down to their best possible selves. The service, warm and unpretentious, makes you feel you’re in the hands of friends rather than critics, and that’s part of the magic.

​Twelve minutes from Shipston is Whichford, one of those villages you could easily drive past without a second thought, which would be a mistake, because it is quietly blessed with not one but two reasons to stop. The Norman Knight (recently reopened under Matt and Katie Beamish of The Kingham Plough) sits comfortably on the village green, all low beams and flagstones, the reassuring heartbeat of a proper country pub and a good menu. Classic dishes are handled with care rather than fuss, making it the sort of place where you arrive for a pint and stay for supper without ever regretting the decision. 

A short stroll away, The Straw Kitchen at Whichford Pottery offers something more intimate and quietly distinctive. Tucked inside the garden of a working pottery, it's unique, small, brilliant and somewhere that laughs in the face of coordinated colour palettes. Head Chef Christne Bottine creates a menu that is creative without being complicated, the setting charming without trying too hard, and the whole experience feels personal rather than performed. 

Ten minutes in the other direction from Shipston, The Howard Arms in Ilmington feels like one of those places that has quietly mastered the art of being exactly what a Cotswold village pub should be. The food sits comfortably between classic British pub cooking and something a little more considered, with seasonal menus that avoid unnecessary complication. Inside, the atmosphere is warm and unhurried rather than showy especially with the fires roaring and a dog sitting by you feet in winter months.

​In addition to these and, again, all within 10 minutes of Shipston you will find The Cherington that offers the reassuring warmth of a proper country pub, honest cooking and long, relaxed lunches. The Fuzzy Duck at Armscote that offers polished seasonal dishes that sit neatly between rustic charm and modern confidence. Meanwhile, Pit Kitchen brings open-fire energy and bold, flavour-forward cooking, proving the countryside can handle a little urban culinary attitude. Herd at Todenham Manor is a quietly confident arrival. The menu leans on farm-sourced meat and locally inspired produce, driven by chef Christopher Ellis in a unique tented restaurant on the farm.

in the northern Cotswolds — a wine, produce and pantry concept that feels less like a shop and more like an invitation to savour the region’s best ingredients, with thoughtful selections and seasonal discoveries that reward curiosity rather than hurry.

And to wash it down? The Cotswolds Distillery in Stourton does rather lovely things with gin and whisky that reward slow, appreciative sipping rather than hurried drinking. You can lose a morning or afternoon here  with brunch or lunch in their Still House cafe. Beer wise, North Cotswold Brewery make proper country ales just outside Shipston that feel designed for worn wooden tables, late afternoon sunlight and conversations that wander pleasantly off topic. They don't offer tours, but you will find their ales behind the bar at many local pubs. Shagweaver is particularly good. 

And there you have it, this edge of the Cotswolds has been quietly getting rather good at this food and drink lark. While other parts chase crowds and postcards, this is the Cotswolds many people may not have heard about which, in some way, is still part of its charm. ​If you enjoy eating well, drinking properly, and quietly knowing you’ve found somewhere rather good before the crowds catch on, this is a corner of the Cotswolds worth remembering.

​Mentioned in this piece:

The Bower House
​bower.house

Bastardo’s Trattoria
www.bastardostrattoria.co.uk
​​
The Royal Oak, Whatcote
www.theroyaloakwhatcote.co.uk

​The Norman Knight
thenormanknight.co.uk

​The Straw Kitchen
www.whichfordpottery.com/visit/straw-kitchen

​The Howard Arms
​howardarms.com

​The Cherington
​thecherington.co.uk

​The Fuzzy Duck
​www.fuzzyduckarmscote.com

Pit Kitchen
www.pitkitchen.co.uk

Herd
todenhammanorfarm.co.uk/herd

Cotswolds Distillery
www.cotswoldsdistillery.com

North Cotswold Brewery
www.northcotswoldbrewery.co.uk

On Monday the 9th of February, the culinary world gathered in anticipation as the new MICHELIN Stars were revealed at the 2026 MICHELIN Guide Ceremony, held at the Convention Centre in Dublin.

Here in the Cotswolds, we are pleased to report that five of our restaurants have once again retained their coveted one-star distinction, and here they are!

​Among those continuing to shine is Bybrook, the quietly assured dining room within The Manor House in Castle Combe. Long regarded as one of the Cotswolds’ most accomplished tables, Bybrook combines heritage, precision and seasonality with effortless poise. Under the direction of Executive Chef Robert Potter, its Michelin-starred kitchen celebrates the best of British produce, thoughtfully sourced from local suppliers and the estate’s own gardens, and expressed through dishes of clarity, balance and restraint. Set against the backdrop of a 14th-century country house and rolling parkland, Bybrook exemplifies the enduring elegance and culinary confidence that define the very best of the Cotswolds.

www.exclusive.co.uk/bybrook
​

​Lumiere continues to stand as one of the region’s most quietly confident dining rooms, where modern British cooking is shaped by clarity, seasonality and thoughtful craft. Led by husband-and-wife team Jon and Helen Howe, the Michelin-starred restaurant places ingredients at the centre of its philosophy, drawing on the finest British produce sourced from trusted farmers, fishermen and its own family-run farm. Since opening in 2009, Lumiere has earned national recognition for its refined yet innovative approach to fine dining, combining technical precision with warmth and understated elegance. It is a restaurant that reflects the contemporary spirit of the Cotswolds — rooted in provenance, guided by taste, and expressed with assured simplicity.

lumiererestaurant.co.uk
​

On the northern tip of the Cotswolds, The Royal Oak at Whatcote exemplifies a rare and quietly compelling chapter in British dining; a Michelin‑starred village pub where history, terroir and ingenuity converge. Housed in a building whose roots reach back to the 12th century, this singular establishment has been transformed by chef‑patron Richard Craven and his wife Solanche into a destination that honours both its ancient walls and the rhythms of the land. Here, menus evolve with the micro‑seasons, drawing on wild, sustainably sourced ingredients and game from nearby woodlands to produce dishes of assured simplicity and vibrant expression. The experience is warm yet refined, rooted in community and guided by a deep respect for provenance, making The Royal Oak one of the Cotswolds’ most engaging and distinguished tables.

www.theroyaloakwhatcote.co.uk
​

The Dining Room at Whatley Manor stands as a quietly compelling testament to contemporary British fine dining, where sustainability and seasonality are as integral to the experience as the dishes themselves. Under the stewardship of Executive Chef Ricki Weston, the kitchen celebrates local gardens, estate‑grown produce and a thoughtful, low‑waste ethos that honours both ingredient and land with gentle ingenuity. Evenings at The Dining Room unfold with a hint of theatre, beginning in the Drawing Room before guests are seated to savour menus that evolve with the seasons and reveal a thoughtful balance of technique and imagination. From refined tasting journeys to an inventive à la carte, the cuisine reflects a modern yet rooted approach, quietly affirming Whatley Manor’s place among the Cotswolds’ most distinguished culinary addresses.

www.whatleymanor.com/eat-drink/the-dining-room
​

​Le Champignon Sauvage stands as a quietly revered institution, where nearly four decades of devotion to craft have shaped one of Britain’s most enduring fine‑dining experiences. Since opening in 1987, chef‑patron David Everitt‑Matthias and his wife Helen have tended this Michelin‑starred kitchen with unwavering diligence, blending classical French technique with a profound understanding of British terroir and seasonal abundance. Here, menus evolve with the rhythms of the countryside, turning foraged treasures and local produce into dishes of bold, nuanced character and refined sensibility. The dining room is intimate, unpretentious and reflects a philosophy that honours both ingredient and guest alike, making Le Champignon Sauvage a cherished jewel in Cheltenham's culinary crown.

www.lechampignonsauvage.co.uk

The Big Feastival have announced their full line-up ahead of a weekend full of music, food and good times at Alex James' Farm in Kingham over the August Bank.

Rudimental, Perrie, Red Rum Club, Freya Ridings, The Coral, White Lies and Ms Dynamite are just some of the acts joining the earlier announced headliners, Basement Jaxx, The Streets and Bastille. 

On the food front, you will find Anna Haugh, Emily English, Poppy O'Toole and Tom Barnes + many more in The Big Kitchen.

Laughs will be supplied by Ciara O'Connor, Harriet Kemsley and The Scummy Mummies and Scott Bennett, with a huge list of entainment including the brilliant Barrioke with Shaun Williamson, Taskmaster Club and closer to home, Adam Henson's Cotswold Farm Park.

The festival takes place from 28-30 August, 2026. 

You can find all the info and tickets here  - bigfeastival.com

There is a quiet electricity about Cheltenham Racecourse in late January, a sense that something both familiar and extraordinary is about to unfold. On Saturday, 24th January, Festival Trials Day arrives. The last dance at The Home of Jump Racing before those four days of extraordinary in March.

With eight races on the card, each contest is more than just a warm-up; it is a statement, a hint of what may come, a rehearsal for potential glory before the Irish come and try to spoil it. Some look to reaffirm their dominance, while bold newcomers seek to announce themselves to the racing world. Every leap over obstacles and every gallop up the hill carries with it the weight of possibility of stories yet to be told on the grandest stage of National Hunt racing.

This year’s occasion is made all the more poignant by the hosting of the 2026 Retraining of Racehorses (RoR) Awards. The charity, devoted to the welfare of retired racehorses, reminds us that the story of a horse does not end at the finish line, and that racing’s triumphs are inseparable from its responsibility and care. 

When the last race has been run, don’t rush away. Head to the Centaur and enjoy an hour with Freeman, whose live performance of feel-good classics and crowd favourites provides the perfect coda to a day of Cheltenham magic, letting the fun linger just a little longer.

​For us, Festival Trials Day is one of the very best days of racing at Cheltenham. Though it serves as the final curtain call before the festival, it refuses to be merely a rehearsal.

Gates Open: 10:30am
Raceday Preview: 11:50am
First Race: 12:05pm
Last Race: 4:10pm

Under 18s go free.

For all infor and tickets, please visit www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/events-tickets/festival-trials-day 

There is something deeply satisfying about a year well planned. From the hum of a summer music festival drifting across open fields, to the theatre of a well-contested sporting fixture, 2026 promises a calendar rich in moments worth savouring.

This is a year for linen jackets and polished brogues, for early starts and late finishes, for weekends shaped by culture, competition and conviviality.

In this guide, we bring together the finest events of the year, from music, sport, heritage and the occasional indulgence, each chosen not for spectacle alone, but for character, craft and the pleasure of good company. Consider this your invitation to step out, lean in, and make the most of what lies ahead.

GLOUCESTER v TOULON
SATURDAY 17 JANUARY • GLOUCESTER

Gloucester Rugby face a tough Champions Cup test as they host Toulon on Saturday, 17th January. With Kingsholm backing them, Gloucester will look to combine grit and flair against a star-studded Toulon side in what promises to be a thrilling contest.

TICKETS + INFO

​
GLOUCESTER v BATH
FRIDAY 23 JANUARY • GLOUCESTER

Gloucester Rugby host Bath at Kingsholm on Friday, 23rd January, as the West Country derby comes alive with a full house under the lights. It's a game that no Gloucester fan will want to miss, and one that will sell out very quickly!

TICKETS + INFO

​
BURNS NIGHT AT HIGHGROVE
SATURDAY 24 JANAURY

Don your best tartan and raise a toast to Scotland's national bard at our exclusive Burns Night Black Tie event at Highgrove. Classic Scottish traditions set the tone for an unforgettable evening, beginning with a beautifully curated four-course dinner. Each dish is thoughtfully prepared by Highgrove’s Orchard Room chefs, showcasing seasonal ingredients and refined flavours inspired by Scotland’s culinary heritage.

TICKETS + INFO

​
FESTIVAL TRIALS DAY AT CHELTENHAM
SATURDAY 24 JANUARY • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

Excitement, anticipation and expectation is building. It is the final opportunity to see the sports protagonists go out to battle on Cheltenham Racecourse’s hallowed turf before the Cheltenham Festival. What horses will catch the eye before those four days of extraordinary in March, will we see returning champions defending their crown? Whilst anything can happen in March, Festival Trials day maybe able to give us a clearer picture.

TICKETS + INFO

​
COCKLEBARROW RACES
SUNDAY 25 JANUARY • ALDSWORTH

Cocklebarrow Races returns this January and is always a brilliant family day out, whatever the weather. Expect sensible tweeds, practical footwear, terrier and pony racing, tug of war and lots of familiar faces in the heated picnic tent. 

TICKETS + INFO

​MEN BEHAVING BADLY: THE PLAY
30 JANUARY - 7 MARCH • BARN THEATRE, CIRENCESTER

Four old friends and a wedding in the morning – what could possibly go wrong? London, 31st December, 1999. Gary’s clinging to his youth, Dorothy’s had enough, Deborah’s got a plan, and Tony’s…still Tony. When resolutions clash with revelations, the gang might just prove that the real millennium bug… is them.

TICKETS + INFO
​

​DOM JOLY'S SPEAKEAZY
5 FEBRUARY • STEAM & WHISTLE CHELTENHAM

Dom’s Cabaret of Curiosities will have a late-night chat show vibe with guests, music & comedy. Dom wants to provide a unique, off-beat experience and the venue – The Steam and Whistle Pub and live venue opposite Cheltenham Spa station- ticks all the boxes. The idea is to have an evening that incorporates all of Joly’s interests- music, comedy, a bit of culture and a smattering of current affairs.  

TICKETS + INFO

​SIX NATIONS AT DUNKERTONS
7 FEBRUARY - 14 MARCH • DUNKERTONS

With all the England games screened live, there's nowhere better to watch the Six Nations thank at Dunkertons. Their Taproom will be open and pouring all of your organic cider favourites and Guinness, while enjoying some unreal street food.

Saturday 7th February England V Wales 16:40
Saturday 14th February England V Scotland 16:40
Saturday 21st February England V Ireland 14:10
Saturday 7th March England V Italy 16:40
Saturday 14th March England V France 20:10

TICKETS + INFO

​BETH ORTON
12 FEBRUARY • GLOUCESTER GUILDHALL

English singer/songwriter Beth Orton has long been regarded as possessing one of the most unique and expressive voices in music – a voice that has grown evermore rich and wise over time.

With support from special guest Sam Amidon.

TICKETS + INFO

​
​THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
10 - 14 FEBRUARY • EVERYMAN THEATRE, CHELTENHAM

Based on Stephen King’s 1982 novella, this thrilling stage production examines friendship and hope behind the claustrophobic bars of a maximum-security facility. The 1994 feature film was nominated for seven Academy Awards.​

TICKETS + INFO
​

​GLOUCESTER V SALE SHARKS
20 FEBRUARY • KINGSHOLM

Round Nine of the Prem Rugby Cup on a Friday Night under lights at Kingsholm.

TICKETS + INFO
​

​​THE RADIOHEAD PROJECT
28 FEBRUARY • CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

The Radiohead Project is a stunning live tribute show that celebrates one of the greatest bands of all time – Radiohead. With Mercury Prize wins and multiple Grammy awards, their music has shaped the sound of modern alternative rock.

TICKETS + INFO
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​DOM JOLY'S SPEAKEAZY
5 MARCH • STEAM & WHISTLE CHELTENHAM

Dom’s Cabaret of Curiosities will have a late-night chat show vibe with guests, music & comedy. Dom wants to provide a unique, off-beat experience and the venue – The Steam and Whistle Pub and live venue opposite Cheltenham Spa station- ticks all the boxes. The idea is to have an evening that incorporates all of Joly’s interests- music, comedy, a bit of culture and a smattering of current affairs.  

TICKETS + INFO

​THE OFFICIAL CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL PREVIEW
5 MARCH • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

The Official Cheltenham Festival Preview has for many years provided thousands of the racing fans with valuable information in advance of the biggest four days in jump racing.

This year’s event on Thursday 5 March 2026 will include a stellar panel, brought to you by Cheltenham's new event partner, William Hill.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL
10 - 13 MARCH • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

From the energy and thrill of Champion Day, to the stylish elegance of Ladies Day, every day at Cheltenham is charged with an electric atmosphere. St Patrick's Thursday brings the joy and spirit of the Emerald Isle to life while Gold Cup Day brings the festival to a close with unforgettable drama and glory.​

TICKETS + INFO
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​GOLD CUP GALA LUNCH
13 MARCH • THE HOLLOW BOTTOM

If you're not heading to the course on Cheltenham Gold Cup Day then the next best place is the renowned racing pub, The Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power. 

The Gold Cup Gala Lunch will include a champagne cocktail or Guinness on arrival, followed by a stunning three-course lunch throughout the afternoon while the racing is shown live on the screens.

TICKETS + INFO
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​THE SLATER CUP
28 MARCH • VILLA PARK, BIRMINGHAM

Ok, so this is obviously not in the Cotswolds, but it's an incredibly important fixture. The Slater Cup, named after former Gloucester and Leicester lock Ed Slater who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in July 2022, is contested between the two teams every season across each home and away Gallagher PREM fixture.

This season, Gloucester’s leg of The Slater Cup will take place at Villa Park, Birmingham, with a capacity of over 40,000. The Cherry & Whites will join Saracens and Bristol as Clubs who will host a fixture away from their home stadium, as part of the ‘Big Game’ weekend, during Round 12 in March 2026.

TICKETS + INFO
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​GIFFORDS CIRCUS
2 APRIL - 27 SEPTEMBER • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

A staple in a Cotswolds summer, Giffords Circus returns with Waterfield, a show chosen by Red and Cecil, children of founders Nell & Toti Gifford and inspired by the English countryside and the creatures that inhabit it. It will be their most ambitious show yet, with moments that make you hold your breath and acts that will have you watching through your fingers.

The show starts in Stroud, before visiting the likes of Sudeley Castle, Blenheim Palace and many other locations during the summer months.

TICKETS + INFO
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​SEB FONTAINE
3 APRIL • THE SUB ROOMS, STROUD

As dance music has matured, so too have the custodians that keep it vibrant. Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the genre will know the name Seb Fontaine, the former BBC R1 selector who secured international acclaim as the movement exploded in the nineties and noughties.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM POETRY FESTIVAL
9 - 10 APRIL • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Cheltenham Poetry Festival offers an annual 10-day programme of exciting live literature events each spring and a year-round online programme of workshops and poetry lounges. The 2026 addition will celebrates poetry's power to enchant, entrance, and transport its readers. It will feature exciting readings, workshops and talks lined up - all of which the organisers hope, will delight and inspire you.

TICKETS + INFO
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​THE APRIL MEETING
15 - 16 APRIL • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

The April Meeting is a wonderful two-day meeting on Wednesday 15 and Thursday 16 April at the Home of Jump Racing. The Spring sunshine shining over the famous Cleeve Hill and hallowed Cheltenham turf is sure to put a spring in your step and provide a brilliant day out with high-quality racing.


TICKETS + INFO
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​FOR THE LOVE OF RUGBY
19 APRIL • CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

Do you love rugby? Ben Youngs and Dan Cole do, and no men have played for England more times than them.

Newly retired, they’re taking their podcast to the stage, bringing you the best stories from across their careers. You can expect all the bits they’re too afraid to say in episodes, games, surprises and potentially a quiz. Why? For the love of the game.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM JAZZ FESTIVAL
29 APRIL - 4 MAY • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

With the likes of David Gray, Roger Daltrey, Lulu, Tom Walker, Macy Gray, Nubya Garcia on the line-up last year, we are very excited to see who will be coming to Cheltenham for the Jazz Festival in 2026!


TICKETS + INFO
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​MEADOW FEST
1 - 3 MAY • CORNBURY PARK

Meadow Fest heads to Cornbury Park with a line-up that reads like a love letter to British farming and golden-era indie with Cast, The Fratellis, Sleeper, and Reef filling the early-season air with riffs, nostalgia, and the kind of anthems best sung with friends under an open sky.

TICKETS + INFO
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​RACE NIGHT: FEATURING ONE NIGHT IN NASHVILLE
1 MAY • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

The curtain comes down on the 2025/26 season with Cheltenham’s only evening fixture, and this year, they're turning up the volume! After an action-packed evening of thrilling jump racing, the party continues with One Night in Nashville – the ultimate Country music experience.

TICKETS + INFO
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​BADMINTON HORSE TRIALS
6 - 10 MAY • BADMINTON 

Across four days, the world’s top riders and their superb horses will be tested through the classic tri-phase challenge of dressage, cross-country and show jumping, drawing competitors and spectators from around the globe. 

Beyond elite sport there’s a vibrant atmosphere with over 500 trade stands, excellent hospitality, and plenty of shopping and social experiences set in the beautiful parkland grounds of the Duke of Beaufort’s estate

TICKETS + INFO
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​NICK MOHAMMED IS MR SWALLOW: SHOW PONY
20 MAY • CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

Star of The Celebrity Traitors, Taskmaster and Ted Lasso, Nick Mohammed returns as his critically acclaimed alter-ego Mr. Swallow in the “deliriously enjoyable” (★★★★★ Guardian) Show Pony

TICKETS + INFO
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​BLENHEIM PALACE FOOD FESTIVAL
23 - 25 MAY • BLENHEIM PALACE

Get ready for a gastronomic extravaganza at Blenheim Palace Food Festival. Expect culinary thrills with a fantastic line-up of celebrity chefs and experts, amazing food and drink from gourmet delights to street food favourites, there will be something to tantalise every palate. 

Hear from celebrity Michelin star chefs in the festival kitchen, showcasing their passion with live demos and Q&A's and taste a range of delicious delights from the carefully selected food stalls, serving cuisine from all around the world. You can also discover a myriad of artisan kitchenware traders, craft brewers, farm shops and more.

TICKETS + INFO
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​WYCHWOOD FESTIVAL
29 - 31 MAY • CHELTENHAM RACECORSE

Cheltenham’s Wychwood Festival stirs up its usual magic on the racecourse, with the Kaiser Chiefs poised to deliver their trademark riot of energy. Few bands ignite a field quite like they do—big choruses, bigger smiles, and a feeling that summer has truly begun.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL
2 - 7 JUNE • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

In 2025, the Science Festival uncovered mind-blowing facts, from quantum tunnelling and the secrets of squid ink to the surprising truth that fish have legs and even what it takes to become a champion cheese chaser. We were joined by the likes of Brian Cox, Greg Foot, Maya Raichoora, Helen Czerski, Maddie Moate, Daze Aghaji, Robin Ince and more. 2026 is sure to be even bigger and better!

TICKETS + INFO
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​A JAMES BOND CONCERT SPECTACULAR
12 JUNE • CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

Q The Music presents The James Bond Concert Spectacular, widely considered to be the finest performance of Bond music since the originals. Featuring all the hit title songs and some special cues from the scores, this is the most passionate, adrenaline-fueled and polished performance imaginable.

The evening will be hosted by Miss Moneypenny herself, who will guide you through the concert as compere, sharing the odd anecdote about her time in this legendary series.

TICKETS + INFO
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​FOREST LIVE
24 - 28 JUNE • WESTONBIRT ARBORETUM

Among the towering bark-clad giants of Westonbirt Arboretum, the beloved Forest Live series once again promises nights that feel half concert, half woodland enchantment. Richard Ashcroft will bring a voice shaped for open skies; Fatboy Slim will transform the forest floor into a glowing celebration; UB40 will drape the evening in reggae warmth; and Deacon Blue will add their blend of melody and melancholy. To hear such iconic artists beneath Westonbirt’s ancient canopy is not merely to attend a gig, it is to step into a shared moment suspended between leaves and stars.

TICKETS + INFO
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​BLENHEIM PALACE FESTIVAL
27 JUNE - 4 JULY • BLENHEIM PALACE

A new jewel joins the summer crown with the inaugural Blenheim Palace Festival, and it arrives with regal ambition. Neil Young, a master of songcraft whose music feels carved from wind and time, will stand before the palace’s grand façade. Alongside him, pop luminary Katy Perry brings technicolour spectacle, Pete Tong with his sun-soaked rhythms of Ibiza Classics, while Teddy Swims adds the velvet depth of a voice that seems to wrap itself around you. Global icon Alanis Morissette is the latest to be announced and will be joined by special guests Skunk Anansie for a summer evening destined to linger in the warm night air long after the final chord fades. Blenheim has long been a place for history; in 2026, it becomes a place for harmony too.​

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM MUSIC FESTIVAL
3 - 11 JULY • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Since 1945, Cheltenham Music Festival has proudly celebrated the love of classical music in the area. With a rich and diverse programme, the Festival brings together the world’s finest musicians alongside bold new voices shaping the future of classical music.

TICKETS + INFO
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​2000 TREES
8 - 11 JULY • WITHINGTON, NR CHELTENHAM

A staple of the Cotswolds summer, 2000 Trees showcases a broad mix of rock, indie and alternative acts across multiple stages, blending established artists with exciting emerging talent. The first lineup announcement for 2026 features headline appearances from bands such as Alkaline Trio alongside performances by Glassjaw, PUP, Lambrini Girls, Dinosaur Pile-Up and many others.

TICKETS + INFO
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​WILDERNESS FESTIVAL
30 JULY - 2 AUGUST • CORNBURY PARK

Wilderness Presented By Audi 2026 is your gateway to a weekend of boundless escapism, daring adventures, and pure joy. We celebrate individuality, creativity, and the thrill of the unexpected. Whether you're seeking moments of serenity, bursts of energy, or a chance to discover new loves; Find Your Wild.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM 7s FESTIVAL
31 JULY - 1 AUGUST • NEWLANDS PARK, CHELTENHAM

An explosive weekend of music, fun, and unforgettable experiences. Featuring a range of competitions for Rugby, Netball, Dodgeball, and much more during the festival, with a huge line up of talented artists, bands and DJs.

The combination of sport and music is a truly unique experience which is not to be missed. You don’t have to be taking part in the sport, to be a part of this unique event. This is not just a sports festival, it is an inclusive festival. Ideal for festivalgoers, sport lovers and families. Bringing people together through music and sport.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM CRICKET FESTIVAL
8 - 24 AUGUST • CHELTENHAM COLLEGE

Cheltenham Cricket Festival returns to the stunning grounds of Cheltenham College for a bumper schedule of fixtures between Saturday 8th August to Friday 24 August 2026. 

TICKETS + INFO
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​BIG FEASTIVAL
28 - 30 AUGUST • KINGHAM

The best music, food and family weekend of the year returns to Alex James' Farm in Kingham on August Bank Holiday. This year’s early announcements include The Streets and Bastille with the full line-up dropping soon!

TICKETS + INFO
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​SALON PRIVE
2 - 6 SEPTEMBER • BLENHEIM PALACE

Get ready for five spectacular days of automotive excellence at Blenheim Palace. Following record‑breaking attendance in 2025, the 2026 edition will take place from Wednesday 2nd September to Sunday 6th September.

The Palace lawns will once again be transformed into a glamorous garden party, where extraordinary cars are showcased alongside fine dining, champagne bars and luxury shopping - creating an unforgettable celebration of style and innovation.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CORNBURY HOUSE HORSE TRIALS
9 - 13 SEPTEMBER • CORNBURY PARK

An eventing experience set amongst the beautiful woodland of the Cotswolds’ most prestigious estate. Cornbury House Horse Trials is the ideal setting to see some of the the finest young horses and riders in the country competing in dressage, cross country and show jumping across five days in September.

TICKETS + INFO
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​BLENHEIM PALACE INTERNATIONAL HORSE TRIALS
17 - 20 SEPTEMBER • BLENHEIM PALACE

Get ready for an unforgettable experience this year at Blenheim Palace! Experience four days of exhilarating eventing, including Dressage, Cross Country, and Showjumping, set against the stunning backdrop of Blenheim Palace – one of Britain’s most beautiful and historic venues.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHELTENHAM LITERATURE FESTIVAL
9 - 18 OCTOBER • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Cheltenham Literature Festival is the world’s longest-running literature Festival, leading the way in celebrating the written and spoken word. Each year we present the best new voices in fiction and poetry alongside literary greats, high-profile speakers and inspiring thinkers.

TICKETS + INFO
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​THE SHOWCASE
TBC • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

The first meeting of the season at The Home of Jump Racing. Two days of great racing to get your heart pumping for the season ahead.

TICKETS + INFO
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​CHARIOTS OF FIRE
20 -24 OCTOBER • EVERYMAN THEATRE, CHELTENHAM

Two men. One Olympic dream. One running for faith. The other to prove his worth. Based on the multi-Oscar and BAFTA -winning film, Chariots of Fire is inspired by the extraordinary true story of Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams as they strive for glory at the 1924 Paris Olympics.

TICKETS + INFO
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​PHIL WANG: UH OH
23 OCTOBER • CHELTENHAM TOWN HALL

UH OH. Phil Wang’s back with a new stand-up show, and he’s older than ever before. He’s got a moustache now. It bristles with wisdom. His eyes shine with good humour. His shoulders groan under the weight of being the only cool millennial left. Everyone’s an idiot but him. Nice is out. Right is in. The vibe shift is real. Old Wang’s riding it.

TICKETS + INFO
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​FILM CHELT
30 OCTOBER - 8 NOVEMBER • VARIOUS LOCATIONS

Established in 2025, FilmChelt is an independent film festival, run by a not for profit charity bringing an exciting programme of films and events to the heart of Cheltenham.

TICKETS + INFO
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​PROFESSOR BRIAN COX: WORLD TOUR
4 NOVEMBER • THE CENTAUR, CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

After performing his smash-hit show ‘Horizons’ to nearly half a million people across the world, Professor Brian Cox is back with his new tour world tour Emergence.

TICKETS + INFO
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​THE NOVEMBER MEETING
TBC • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

The weekend starts with Countryside Day, celebrating rural life and tradition alongside top-class sport, before diving into Super Saturday, where the energy is electric, racing reaches its peak against the stunning Cotswold hills, and the post-racing celebrations raise the roof. Finally, enjoy the community spirit of Carnival Sunday, where there's something for everyone to enjoy.  

TICKETS + INFO
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​THE CHRISTMAS MEETING
TBC • CHELTENHAM RACECOURSE

Festivities start at Cheltenham for The Christmas Meeting. Don your finest Christmas jumper and enjoy two days of superb racing.

TICKETS + INFO
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There are days that creep upon us, timid and apologetic, and there are days that arrive with a trumpet call. New Year’s Day at Cheltenham Racecourse belongs firmly to the latter. Whether you rang out the old year with corks popping and shoes dancing long past midnight, or with a glass of something civilised, there is no finer way to greet 2026 than the thunder of hooves beneath Cleeve Hill.

For the New Year’s Eve party-goer, Cheltenham is the ultimate cure. Forget aspirin and apologies, all you need is fresh air that clears the head, racing that quickens the heart, and seven fiercely competitive contests to remind you that life, like jumping, is best taken head-on. For those who woke refreshed and righteous, it is simply a glorious continuation of celebration and a golden reward for restraint.

The racing is what Cheltenham does best. Seven fiercely competitive contests, peppered with Graded and Listed quality, provide clues and murmurs for the spring festivals to come. 

Yet Cheltenham on New Year’s Day is more than sport, it's a big racing family gathering where the racecourse hums with music and merriment. In the Guinness Village, Cheltenham favourites LAMPA play before racing, between races and long after the last, filling the day with Irish classics and crowd-pleasing hits. It is the soundtrack to laughter, resolutions and raised glasses. Over in the Tattersalls Sales Arena, Richard James keeps spirits lifted between races before turning up the volume post-racing with a feel-good set guaranteed to warm even the chilliest January toes. And as dusk settles, the Centaur opens its doors to Tommy and The Fuse, whose acoustic melodies wrap the day in warmth and goodwill.

For families, New Year’s Day at Cheltenham is a place of genuine delight. The Family Fun Zone buzzes with laughter and colour: Phil The Elf’s Christmas Show brings giggles, magic, snow and a dash of mayhem; Party Peeps host interactive shows and an end-of-day disco; while face painting, glitter tattoos, inflatables, walking pet balloons, arts and crafts and more ensure young imaginations never rest.

For children over nine, there’s mini golf, VR equicisers, a rodeo rugby ball challenge and a treasure trove of arcade games.

​Best of all, under 18s go free.

So come as you are, weary-eyed or well-rested. New Year’s Day racing at Cheltenham is not simply a fixture, it's a tradition, a tonic and a gathering of optimism, a celebration of sport, friends and family, and a reminder that the best way to begin a new year is not quietly, but gloriously.

For tickets and info, please visit - www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham/events-tickets/new-years-day

There is a certain alchemy to December in the Cotswolds, when the days shorten and the countryside seems to draw its winter cloak a little tighter. Frost gathers on hedgerows like a whispered promise, and chimneys send up their first lively curls of smoke. And right at the heart of this seasonal tapestry sits The Christmas Meeting at Cheltenham on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 December, a weekend that, to many, is the true beginning of Christmas and a curtain-raiser to the festivities ahead.

Many arrive dressed for the occasion, proudly sporting Christmas jumpers, hats and festive finery, ready to embrace the season in style. For many businesses near and far, it is the perfect setting for a Christmas party with a difference.

On the track, the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase remains the highlight on the course on the Friday, with horses and riders tackling Cheltenham’s famous banks and ditches. 

Saturday unfolds with Grade 2 and Grade 3 contests, including fiercely competitive Cheltenham Festival trials. The JCB Triumph Hurdle trial and the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle trial promise glimpses of potential Cheltenham Festival chances come March.

Across both days, festive touches add charm to every corner. The photobooth at the Vestey Bar captures memories and smiles, while the Festive Dress Competition encourages Christmas jumpers, antlers, hats, and all manner of seasonal flair. Prizes await the most spirited ensembles.

With under 18s admitted free, families can enjoy the spectacle together, and the whole racecourse feels like a great gathering of winter spirits, untied by horse racing and festive spirit.

For all the information and tickets, please click HERE.

As winter tightens its grip on the Cotswolds and festive lights flicker to life, our thoughts can't help but drift forward to gentler and warmer days. For all of us summer-loving folk, there is quiet optimism in the promise of a summer filled with long afternoons, cold drinks and sun-soaked fields.  Summer 2026 is already taking shape with an exceptional line-up of artists already confirmed across some of our favourite festivals and magical open-air venues.

Over in Kingham, Big Feastival prepares to turn Alex James’ farm into a vibrant tapestry of flavour, family, and song. This year’s early announcements land with a satisfying thud with The Streets and Bastille set to headline. Imagine the poetry of Mike Skinner drifting over the fields at dusk, each lyric a wry smile shared with the crowd, while Bastille’s soaring choruses rise like warm thermals into the late-August air. 

Among the towering bark-clad giants of Westonbirt Arboretum, the beloved Forest Live series once again promises nights that feel half concert, half woodland enchantment. Richard Ashcroft will bring a voice shaped for open skies; Fatboy Slim will transform the forest floor into a glowing celebration; UB40 will drape the evening in reggae warmth; and Deacon Blue will add their blend of melody and melancholy. To hear such iconic artists beneath Westonbirt’s ancient canopy is not merely to attend a gig, it is to step into a shared moment suspended between leaves and stars.

A new jewel joins the summer crown with the inaugural Blenheim Palace Festival, and it arrives with regal ambition. Neil Young, a master of songcraft whose music feels carved from wind and time, will stand before the palace’s grand façade. Alongside him, pop luminary Katy Perry brings technicolour spectacle, Pete Tong with his sun-soaked rhythms of Ibiza Classics, while Teddy Swims adds the velvet depth of a voice that seems to wrap itself around you. Global icon Alanis Morissette is the latest to be announced and will be joined by special guests Skunk Anansie for a summer evening destined to linger in the warm night air long after the final chord fades. Blenheim has long been a place for history; in 2026, it becomes a place for harmony too.

Cheltenham’s Wychwood Festival stirs up its usual magic on the racecourse, with the Kaiser Chiefs poised to deliver their trademark riot of energy. Few bands ignite a field quite like they do—big choruses, bigger smiles, and a feeling that summer has truly begun.

And in May, Meadow Fest heads to Cornbury Park with a line-up that reads like a love letter to British farming and golden-era indie with Cast, The Fratellis, Sleeper, and Reef filling the early-season air with riffs, nostalgia, and the kind of anthems best sung with friends under an open sky.

So while winter may be settled in around us, take heart. Music, glorious, sun-drenched, heart-thumping music, is already on the horizon, ready to fill the our fields and forests with song, sunshine, and celebration. Even on the coldest December day, that promise is enough to warm the soul.

After only just waving goodbye to the warmer days of 2025, summer 2026 is already shaping up nicely with Wychwood Festival dropping its first big name.

Indie legends Kaiser Chiefs will headline Saturday night, 30th May, bringing their riotous energy (pun very much intended) to Cheltenham Racecourse for the festival’s 20th anniversary celebrations.

After its biggest-ever year in 2025, Wychwood is well and truly cemented as the Cotswolds’ ultimate summer curtain-raiser. Each year, thousands flock to the Racecourse for three glorious days of music, comedy, family fun and a few pints under the sun, and 2026 looks set to raise the bar yet again.

Headlining in the shadows of Cleeve Hill, the Kaiser Chiefs will belt out all the big ones; ‘Ruby’, ‘I Predict a Riot’, ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’ and ‘Never Miss a Beat’. Expect frontman Ricky Wilson to charm the crowd with his trademark energy and quick wit, as one of Britain’s best-loved live bands take centre stage once more.

It’s a fitting choice for a festival that knows exactly how to get a field full of families, friends and free spirits singing together. Following a record-breaking 2025 featuring Doves, James, Shed Seven and more, Wychwood has proved itself to be the little festival that punches well above its weight.

Festival Director Graeme Merifield couldn’t be more excited:

“After such an incredible milestone year in 2025, we wanted to come back with something really special. Kaiser Chiefs know how to unite a crowd and bring pure joy to a festival field — it’s going to be a moment to remember.”

With half of all camping tickets already snapped up, under-10s going free, and unbeatable weekend ticket prices, it’s clear the Wychwood faithful are ready for another unforgettable weekend.

So, dust off your wellies, gather the gang and prepare to raise a glass to 20 years of one of the friendliest, most feel-good festivals in the country.

Wychwood Festival 2026 takes place 29th–31st May at Cheltenham Racecourse.

Priority tickets are available from 10am, Thursday 16th October, before the general sale at 10am Friday 17th October.

www.wychwoodfestival.com/buy-tickets

Nestled in village of Ewen, just a stone’s throw from Cirencester, The Wild Duck is preparing to make a much-anticipated return next spring. Once one of the area’s most beloved pubs before its closure in March 2019, the 16th-century coaching inn will soon reopen its doors under the expert care of Sam and Georgie Pearman, the duo behind the acclaimed Country Creatures collection.

Having breathed new life into the wonderful Double Red Duke and Mason’s Arms in Clanfield, The Wild Duck will become the third addition to their Cotswolds family, promising the same blend of warmth and quiet sophistication that has become their hallmark.

Originally the gardener’s cottage for nearby Ewen Manor, The Wild Duck is steeped in history and charm. Its latest chapter will see a full restoration that honours its past while reimagining it for a new generation of guests. Inside, Georgie Pearman will oversee the design of 20 beautiful new bedrooms, each thoughtfully created to reflect the inn’s rustic heritage with a contemporary Cotswold touch.

www.countrycreatures.com

There are few spectacles in sport that can match Cheltenham in March. The Cheltenham Roar, the finest jump horses on earth, and enough tweed to upholster the Cotswolds twice over. Yet even the Home of Jump Racing knows that greatness isn’t achieved by standing still.

​For 2025/26, Cheltenham Racecourse is sharpening its act once more, with a series of enhancements designed to ensure The Festival remains as memorable as it is magnificent.

“This is about evolution, not revolution,” says Chief Executive Guy Lavender, who has wasted no time in stamping his vision on Prestbury Park. “Our goal is simple: world-class racing at a world-class venue.”

Breathing Room, Not Bustling Crowds
This year’s Festival will welcome fewer racegoers each day – a deliberate reduction from 68,500 to 66,000. It may not sound dramatic, but anyone who has ever tried to elbow their way through a soggy bottleneck in Tattersalls will appreciate the difference. Space, after all, is a luxury.

Pints and Prosecco
In news guaranteed to bring a cheer almost as loud as the roar itself, the price of Guinness is going down. Yes, back to £7.50 a pint – a rare case of racing history repeating itself in the punter’s favour. Spirits follow suit with reductions of their own, and Prosecco joins the line-up for the first time for those looking to toast their winners in sparkling style.

Removal of Drinks Restrictions
After a successful trial run last season, Cheltenham has done the decent thing and lifted the final drinks restrictions in the Club Enclosure for 2025/26. In short, you may now wander the course pint in hand without fear of being corralled. The change not only makes for a more civilised flow of racegoers (and shorter queues at the bar), but also restores a sense of freedom that pairs rather well with a Guinness. The only corners of the course where a glass remains unwelcome are those reserved for Officials​.

New Homes for Old Favourites
Hospitality also gets a lift. The Tented Village will boast a new covered food court, while the Cottage Rake and Mill House bars are reborn as the stylish Prestbury View. The Green Grazer food hall will champion local produce – a nod to both sustainability and the Cotswolds’ rich culinary heritage.

Sharper Sound, Smarter Screens
Gone are the days of muffled commentary or squinting at the big screen. A state-of-the-art PA system promises crystal-clear race calls, while upgraded Racecourse TV will deliver more data, more insight, and more drama straight to your eyes and ears.

Ladies Day Returns
Wednesday of The Festival sees the return of Ladies Day for the first time since 2019. Think £10,000 in Style Awards prizes, fashion partnerships with Debenhams and Holland Cooper, and the sort of glamour that turns Cheltenham’s enclosures into catwalks with a soundtrack of hooves.

Value, From Ticket to Pillow
Cheltenham is also taking the sting out of logistics. Tickets once again start from £35 if booked early enough, with extended discount windows to keep costs sensible. The “Room to Race” initiative expands, working with more hotels to tackle the notorious Festival price hike.

Cheltenham is already the sport’s crown jewel. But Lavender’s direction makes clear that it intends to sparkle a little brighter each year. More space, sharper facilities, a cheaper pint, and the return of Ladies Day.

After all, The Festival isn’t just about four days of racing. It’s about four days of being part of something utterly, unmistakably special.

www.thejockeyclub.co.uk/cheltenham-festival

There is something about the turning of the leaves in the Cotswolds that makes a racing person’s pulse quicken. The mornings grow sharper, the gallops glisten with dew, and from every stable yard drifts that intoxicating mixture of steam, sweat and hope.

The Cotswolds has always been more than a backdrop: it is the very heartbeat of jump racing. Wander the lanes around Naunton or Guiting Power and you may well be passing future champions in the making, ears pricked against the autumn breeze. The names of past heroes are written into the very soil and on the walls at The Hollow Bottom, but the real joy is that each fresh season arrives bearing its own mysteries, its own cast of characters waiting to burst from unknowns to festival hopefuls. And how lucky we are that the Cotswolds, with its trainers of genius and horses of great promise, remains the stage upon which this marvellous old drama continues to unfold.

The wonderful Paul Ferguson has once again given us his 10 horses from local Cotswold yards to follow for the 2025/26 season. 

​Now in its 19th year of publication, Paul Ferguson's Jumpers To Follow is an essential guide for any racing enthusiast and available to purchase now. It includes leading prospects for the season ahead, a focus on Irish contenders, views from leading jockeys and lots more. And most importantly, multiple winners are identified. 
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​This year’s list is a little O’Neill-heavy, with five of the 10 selections trained by Jonjo & A J. I make no apologies, however, as I expect the training duo to enjoy a fruitful campaign and this Grade 2-winning novice hurdler can be expected to improve for the switch to fences this winter. A winner at Carlisle and in Sandown’s Winter Novices’ Hurdle, he started last season with a flourish and should develop into a Graded-class performer over fences. Whilst he is likely to start off over an intermediate trip, I would expect him to be back up to 3m or thereabouts before too long. He remains exciting and whilst testing ground might not be essential to him, he copes with it when others can’t.
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​Down on numbers in recent seasons, it is pleasing to see Tom George with another exciting prospect on his hands, in the shape of this imposing Walk In The Park mare. An impressive 9½-length maiden Point winner, she cost her current connections £280,000 at Cheltenham last December and duly started to repay that hefty sum when winning a Newbury bumper in fine style. A three-parts sister to former Welsh Champion Hurdle and Betfair Hurdle winner Glory And Fortune, the five-year-old looks capable of making her presence felt at a decent level in the mares’ novice hurdle division.
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​The first of three Point-to-Point recruits to have joined the Jackdaws Castle team, this five-year-old was actually in training with the O’Neills during the second half of last season but didn’t make it to the track due to drying ground in the spring. Runner-up to Clay Pigeons at Boulta last December on his second start (fell on debut), the winner went on to win a Point-to-Point bumper at Cork and this full-brother to Blue Baloo (winner of a bumper and over hurdles for Sandy Thomson) will carry the silks of Dan Walker (owner of Bill Joyce). Given that he is now five, I would expect him to go straight over hurdles.

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​A four-year-old who made a winning debut in a maiden at Loughbrickland in March, he is by one of the sires of the moment in Poet’s Word and was bought for £305,000 at Aintree, on the back of a 2-length success. He moved well through that race and the front two pulled a long way clear in a quick time. He is now in the ownership of JP McManus.
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​Won three times over hurdles last season for Ben Pauling and JP McManus, before finishing a close-up third in the EBF Final at Sandown, having looked the most likely winner when taking over on the run to the final flight. Up 5lb to a mark of 133 for that reversal, the five-year-old can be expected to make a big impact in the novice chase division. Pauling won Grade 1 novice chases with both The Jukebox Man and Handstands last season and whilst it would be asking a lot for the Watar gelding to reach those lofty heights, he can be expected to continue his upward trajectory after just four starts under Rules.
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​A dual bumper winner the season before last, he made the perfect start to his hurdling career at Aintree last November, winning in a canter over 2m4f. Forced to miss the majority of the season, he returned to action at the Grand National meeting and despite a 146-day ​lay-off and his undoubted inexperience, he ran a huge race in the Grade 1 Sefton Novices’ Hurdle, looking all over the winner as he cruised to the front two out. A mistake at the last didn’t help but he tired quickly on the run-in, suggesting that the interrupted preparation might have caught up with him. With that in mind, I was a little surprised to see him take his chance at Perth just 19 days later and having never travelled, I would be happy to put a line through that performance. Now rated 136, he will be of interest in either staying handicap hurdles to begin with, or if he is sent straight over fences, as he remains a high-class prospect, capable of winning at a Graded level at some stage.
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​Disappointed in the Baring Bingham at the Cheltenham Festival, he had earlier looked hugely promising when winning at Leicester and Huntingdon, before completing the hat-trick – at the expense of Potters Charm (another bright prospect from the area) – in the Classic Novices’ Hurdle on trials day. The six-year-old son of Affinisea finished runner-up in an Irish Point before joining Ben Pauling (moved to Fergal O’Brien last summer) and won a Sandown bumper impressively on his Rules debut back in February of last year. Set to go novice chasing, he looks to be another exciting recruit to the division and although he should stay 3m, I would expect him to start off over an intermediate trip.
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​A winner at the second attempt between the flags in Ireland, he created a really good impression when winning a Market Rasen bumper on decent ground, scampering right away from Espresso Milan, who wasn’t disgraced at the Punchestown Festival on his next start. The Twiston-Davies team resisted the temptation of running the five-year-old in Grade 2 company at Aintree and the son of Muhtathir can be expected to develop into a very nice novice hurdler this season. Given that the stable tends to hit the ground running, he could be one to note in the early part of the season.
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Another winning Irish Pointer, the son of Kayf Tara beat just two finishers at Tallow in February but did so in devastating fashion and recorded a very quick time in the process (fully 36 seconds quicker than Hitintheheadlines who won the four-year-old maiden on the same card and is now in the care of Dan Skelton). Already five, he is another who could embark on a hurdling campaign straight away and forms what appears to be a very strong team of exciting young horses at Jackdaws Castle.
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​Another for the novice chase division, he is rated just 128 at present so is likely to reappear in a novices’ handicap. Pulled-up when last seen – in the Grade 2 Premier Novices’ Hurdle at Kelso – he had earlier looked exciting in beating George’s Lad (won next time and now also rated 128) and Rubber Ball (won his next two and again, now rated 128) at Huntingdon, before defying a penalty in a weaker race at Ludlow. Still quite green last season, he will hopefully mature with experience and remains a horse of considerable potential.