Sport
Your move to the Cotswolds will enable you to enjoy the countryside for sport or leisure. It is a great opportunity to rediscover your riding skills, take up a new sport such as polo or hunting or just enjoy the beautiful landscape through walks or visits to some of the beautiful houses and gardens in the region.
The archetypal country sports of hunting, shooting and fishing are very much alive and well. The Vale of the White Horse, (VWH), Hunt is one of the largest in the country and welcomes new members. It meets four times a week and there are regular social events throughout the year.
The Cotswold Clay Club located on the Fosse Way in Farmington Quarry offers tuition by qualified coaches and a 60 target sporting layout. The club is open to non-members.
Events at the Beaufort and Cirencester Park polo clubs are very much part of the Cotswold summer season. Those wishing to learn polo can take lessons at Edgeworth Polo Club. A good way to get a flavour of what it is all about is to visit Cirencester Park Polo Club on a Sunday afternoon and get a day membership. For £5 per person or £15 per car you get to see a match, and use the bar, restaurant and have access to the grandstand. The season runs from the end of April until 16 September.The Cotswold Water Park is a series of regenerated gravel quarries. There are 70 angling lakes. Watermark Fisheries in South Cerney offers specimen trout and course fishing.
The Park also has two activity centres offering sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and canoeing. For those who prefer to stay dry, there are lots of land-based activities in the Park including tennis, archery, paintballing and the high-ropes aerial adventure course Head 4 Heights in Keynes Park.Taster sessions, courses and multi activity days are available in the Adventure Zone during most school holiday periods.
The many bridleways and way-marked walks provide ample opportunity for riding. Several riding stables offer lessons for beginners upwards from the small and friendly Cerney Wick to the grand formality of the Talland School of Equitation offering tuition either astride or side saddle, riding holidays and courses. Barton End Equestrian Centre in Nailsworth offers friendly teaching for all levels of ability. Children are encouraged to join the local branch of the pony club. Specialist lessons are available in dressage, show jumping and cross country. There are many livery yards in the Cotswolds so you do not have to keep your own horse at home.
Cirencester got a brand new leisure centre in April 2006 but it was forced to close temporarily in July 2007 after it was severely flooded. The centre run by Cotswold District Council, offers an extensive range of facilities spread over two floors catering for people of all ages and abilities. There are two swimming pools, the main six lane one and a small children’s pool. Swimming lessons are available. In addition, there is a gym with power plate equipment, a fitness studio, a six court sports hall and three squash courts. Clubs that currently run activities from Cotswold Leisure Cirencester include Cirencester Badminton Club, Cirencester Athletics Club and Tae Kwon-Do and self defence.Several golf clubs can accommodate day visitors. These include Minchinhampton Common and South Cerney. The latter is a young, less formal club with a younger membership profile than is traditionally the case. South Cerney golf course is an 18 hole Pay and Play course and driving range. All standards are welcome and tuition is available.
Boy (and girl) racers can attend race meetings at the Castle Combe Circuit near Chippenham in Wiltshire. This popular venue for national and club motor sport also offers outdoor kart racing and a four wheel drive off road course.
Playing cricket for your village team is a pleasant way to spend a sunny Sunday afternoon. At a higher level you can follow the fortunes of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club who play at three different venues, Bristol, Cheltenham and Gloucester. The majority of matches are played at the Club's headquarters in Bristol, but for a week in June the Club play a festival in Gloucester and for two weeks in July and August the Club play the C & G Cheltenham Cricket Festival. This is over 100 years old and is played at the College Ground in Cheltenham.
If you fancy literally looking down on the Cotswolds, then the Cotswold Gliding Club based at Aston Down near Minchinhampton, offers trial lessons, mini-courses and week-long residential courses. Hot air ballooning is available from Balloons Over The Cotswolds based at Berkeley or Hot Air Ballooning based at Woodmancote near Cheltenham.