Midweek break at Hoburne Holiday Park

Other places to visit

The following day we visited the Cotswolds Wildlife Park (www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk) which, despite a thunder storm and the most torrential downpour of the week, still managed to tick all the right boxes.

Just 30 minutes drive from Hoburne, my husband rated it 'better than London Zoo'. The walls around the enclosed animal areas were really low which meant toddlers could see in easily and a fun train ride took us right round the park so we didn't miss anything.

My parents joined us at Hoburne on the Wednesday. We decided to take them for lunch in a beautiful village called Bibury which we'd passed through the day before. Bibury is picture-perfect and gave our daughter every opportunity to exercise her favourite saying 'another duck, another duck!'

Although there were plenty of places to eat, including a very tempting chippy, we decided to go for a bit of glamour at the beautiful Bibury Court Hotel (www.biburycourt.com). Despite its grand setting, the hotel offered two very reasonable lunchtime menus: a two-course for £12 per head or three courses for £24.

If you like a bit of a mooch around the shops, Cirencester is the nearest shopping centre and has lots of trinket shops as well as boutiques and intriguing antique stores. The town is also home to the beautiful Parish Church of St John the Baptist, which is more like a mini cathedral, and well worth a visit.

Cirencester calls itself the capital of the Cotswolds, but if you're looking for a real flavour of the county you would be better off heading north to Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold.

Bourton-on-the-Water is picturesque and touristy. It's geared for families and there is loads to do, including Bird Land, the Dragonfly Maze, a model village and railway and a pottery. If you prefer a slightly slower pace Stow-on-the-Wold, which is bigger than Bourton, is a haven of antique shops, tea rooms and art galleries.

Well-equipped shops

Talking of shops, Hoburne's onsite CostCutter was not only stuffed with just about everything you could think of (including all camping essentials for those in tents and caravans) but was also reasonably priced. There was also a huge Tesco ten minutes' drive away.

One thing that did cause me to 'tut' was the two pages about Hoburne's commitment to the environment in the welcome pack. It included the following advice 'Please think about: turning off lights when they're not needed and not leaving TVs and electrical equipment on standby.'

The advice seemed rich in light (no pun intended) of the huge room of arcade games which were pumping away all day with not a player in sight.

The clouds cleared just as we packed to leave and I'm happy to report that despite the weather, our memories of the trip are sunny ones.

Kirstin and her family stayed at:
Hoburne Cotswolds,
Broadway Lane,
South Cerney,
Cirencester, GL7 5UQ.
Tel: 01285 860216

For more information about Hoburne Holiday Parks visit www.hoburne.com