TRAVEL
The Cotswolds & Sudbury House Hotel
In the last week of August, when all we saw was rain, rain and more rain, my friend Jackie and I headed to the beautiful Cotswolds, situated in the South West of England, stretching through the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Bath and North Somerset, Warwickshire and Wiltshire, and although the weather was awful, nothing dampened our spirits or our enjoyment of our two night trip. The Cotswolds is the largest of the UKs 47 ‘Acres of Outstanding Natural Beauty’, covering 790sq miles, and is the second largest landscape in England after the Lake District National Park. It is built on a history famed for its cotton and stone, which can still be seen today in the beautiful buildings and houses throughout The 6
American In Britain
Cotswolds, many in picture postcard towns and villages. We started our trip, with a drive that took just under 2 hours from Surrey, by heading to Sudbury House Hotel, a hotel with 49 recently refurbished and well-appointed modern bedrooms, with comfortable beds, large televisions and en- suite bathrooms, and extremely friendly and efficient staff. Once we’d settled into our room we then jumped back into the car and drove 20 minutes to the highlight of our trip, The Cotswold Wild Life Park, which is a must for families, friends or couples. Situated just outside Burford, The Cotswold Wildlife Park is home to a large variety of animals all roaming around in large pens with hardly a
cage in sight. On the drive up to the entrance we passed an open pen housing Emus, and once in the Park followed a path that led us to giant tortoises, rhinos, giraffes, camels, lions, zebras, red pandas, lemurs, meerkats and monkeys. We then headed to the petting farm where pigs, piglets, donkeys, rabbits, goats, guinea pigs and miniature ponies could be stroked and petted, and followed this by entering the Fruit Bat House and Reptile House which housed several species of snakes, lizards, frogs and two alligators. The highlight of our visit however, was seeing one week old rhino, Ian, who was so cute we could have sat watching him for hours! Children can try their hand at brass rubbing from just £3, and there is a train that will