With many people choosing staycations in the U.K. you don’t want to leave your four-legged family members behind, which is why the Cotswolds is such a perfect spot to have a holiday or even a day trip!
The ever-changing countryside means that you can visit all year round, each season brings something special for us to admire; and at the beginning of February that is Snowdrops.
We were kindly invited along by Cotswold Tourism to visit some of the best Snowdrops in the Cotswolds.
We began our Snowdrop themed day out at Newark Park, a National Trust owned Country house in Ozleworth, Wotton-under-Edge. Easy to find and park, there is a café on site as well as a team on the information desk and inside the house. Dogs are to stay on leads but there are different paths you can take for different length walks through the woodlands and grounds, different layers of well kept gardens as well as a lake where you can sit and watch the ducks.
Dogs weren’t allowed inside the house, but I’d like to come back one day to see the history indoors. There was still plenty to view and explore outdoors. I particularly loved Percy the Peacock and his friends happily strolling through the gardens!
Next we travelled up to Painswick which is home to Painswick Rococo Gardens. Despite being open to visitors all year round the Rococo Gardens come to life at this time of year when over five million Snowdrops bloom within their grounds.
Again with dogs on leads there are many different paths to take through the gardens and woodland with so many photo opportunities along the way. You can finish off your walk in their shop with Snowdrop themed products and local produce or with lunch or a warm drink in their café on site which welcomes dogs!
The perfect end to our day was visiting The Painswick for Afternoon Tea. As we had dogs we were seated in the lounge rather than the main restaurant, but this meant we were seated in-front of the log fire – the perfect spot to warm up after a cold winter’s day!
The staff were very welcoming to both us and the dogs, whilst we enjoyed our food the dogs were offered a treat of their own which they happily ate in-front of the fire. Our afternoon tea consisted of a selection of sandwiches, pork pie, scones with jam and cream and the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted!
The walk back to the car afterwards was through the quaint streets of Painswick, one of the prettiest of Cotswold towns with cottages of all shapes and sizes.
I’d definitely recommend you take a trip to the Cotswolds to see the Snowdrops, why not make a weekend of it? There are so many dog friendly places to go! You can find more Cotswold recommendations and information at www.cotswolds.com , thank you for inviting us along!
Thanks for reading,
Megan, Woody & Wilma
The Cotswold Spaniels 