There are a number of extremely positive aspects to a few days at Cirencester Park and here is my list of what I think are the best, and by the way, these are not in any particular order.
The site itself is very well laid out and if you choose carefully you can find a great pitch in the sun and one that is on the periphery of the site so that you don’t feel overcrowded.
It’s only a 15 minute walk to the town centre where you can find loads of interesting shops, an indoor market and an outdoor farmers market on a saturday, plenty of restaurants, pubs, a great museum and a lovely church etc. If you walk out of the site up the drive you came down and turn left at the top you then follow the path into the town centre, easy peasy.
Incidentaly, across the road from the site you can follow the signs to the remains of the Roman Amphitheatre, but leave that for a morning visit on the day you leave.
If however you ignore the gate and keep going you will see a very attractive Leisure Centre on the right, across the road, one that we haven’t used but I’m sure is very nice.
Just to the left of this leisure Centre you will see Waitrose which we did use and is a very nice shop with lots of goodies although it is a little expensive but there is a Tesco in the town if you prefer.
However you have decided to carry on into the town so you come to a left bend and if you follow this you will find;
- The main entrance to the Cirencester Park, very nice, looks oldy worldy, country houses etc.
- The open air swimming pool – that is if you keep going around the bend – not literally – but you will see it signposted down an alley/walkway.
Ignore the top two for another day and walk across the road and take the first right after going around this bend and you will see the Museum. It’s a great museum, a bit like the Tardis, more that it seems, and you’ll find out all about the Roman history of Cirencester plus lots of other tit bits. Cirencester is proud of it’s Roman heritage and claims to be the largest Roman Town in the UK – funny that cos I always thought York was but then I’m a Yorkist so would have.
When you come out of the Museum, brain humming with as much information as you can take in in one day, turn left and you will come across a superb butcher in about 100 yards, here you can buy lots of cook in the oven or barbecue goodies, we’ve tried quite a few and they are gorgeous. Chicken with stuff, lamb with stuff, everything with stuff – lovely.
Once you’ve filled your backpack with all those goodies walk out of the butchers and turn left, walk to the top of the street and turn right, walk down here and turn left and you’ll see the church.
Please, please, please go into the church, you will not be disappointed. Its very old, very interesting and very well worth an hour of your precious time.
Okay so now you want to eat your picnic lunch, well okay, walk into the church grounds and you can wander down to the river through the old grounds of a monastery. There are various rocky signs of the old foundations. So spend another hour of your day having a picnic by the river.
Then make your way back to the church and across the road you will see the indoor market. This is a refurbished building and inside you will find many stalls with local crafts including one selling home made shopping bags that we found very attractive and indeed bought one.
When you’ve finished in the market head back outside, turn left and left again at the next street and a couple of hundred yards down on the left is a deli / cafe / restaurant that does some gorgeous food both to eat in and take away.
Now you can wander aimlessly looking in the shops and head back to the site for a rest and maybe a barbecue.
A well written and informative post for anyone looking to stay in the Cirencester region