REVIEW: Cotswold Sculpture Park

A visit to the Cotswold Sculpture Park has been on our list for years and we're feeling pretty frustrated we hadn't gotten round to it sooner; you could easily visit on a regular basis and discover something new each time.

We're not hugely in to art but it seemed like a really interesting, fun and social distancing friendly activity for all the family - and it really was!

Our 2 year old daughter loved exploring the beautiful grounds, and she was fascinated by all the different shapes, sizes and colours of the sculptures themselves - especially the animals and the Metamophoman by John Williams - a bronze upper body bursting through the ground. She was a little upset and confused about him not saying hello back to her though!

We adults enjoyed reading about all the pieces of art and guessing their rather large price tags! When you arrive and pay the more than reasonable £5 entry fee, you're given a leaflet which lists and details the 150+ sculptures. There was such an interesting mix of abstract, traditonal and figurative - some of the scrap metal pieces looked like they could have been something out of Star Wars!

Although we arrived early, it was quite busy but there was still plenty of room to socially distance and to admire each of the pieces at leisure. It was so nice to take our time wandering through the grounds too; the park (previously a Wild Thistle field) is now a mixed deciduous and conifer woodland with ponds, gardens and glades. The paths taking you through the sculptures are a little rugged which adds to the adventure; the experience wouldn't have been as relaxed and enjoyable had it been located on pristine grounds.

There's a lovely tearoom serving hot and cold food and drinks and there are toilets (located at the back of the park but it's not a long walk).

We didn't spend nearly as much time at the Cotswold Sculpture Park as we could have as we had toddlers in-tow but we plan to go back very soon.

This really is a different, and inexpensive morning or afternoon out for all of the family and we'd highly recommend. It's ideally sitiuated in Somerford Keynes, just 20 minutes from Swindon and 10 minutes from Cirencester.

The new opening times following the Covid 19 Pandemic are June 20th to October 30th, Thursday to Monday  10.30am to 4.30pm (last admission 4pm). No pre-booking needed and there is a car park on site and parking in Somerford Keynes village if needed.

Address: The Paddocks, Somerford Keynes, Glouc, GL7 6FE

Visit https://cotswoldsculpturepark.co.uk/ for more info.