Self catering holidays in Winchcombe - Gloucestershire

Winchcombe in the heart of the Cotswolds is Known for its fine cusine and a good place to stop for lunch. The countryside around Winchcombe is crisscrossed with walker's paths and trails, people stumble across it during rambles from from Hailes and Sudeley. 

Sudeley  has enjoyed royal patronage since the 10th century and is one of those houses that tourists love to visit.  The Railway Museum is a fascinating place, predominantly to men who are interested in railway machinery and engineeering. 

 Tudor Sudeley Castle in Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, a former home of Katherine Parr, one of the eight wives of Henry V111. There are pleasant gardens to survey, a restaurant for refreshments and a Tudor costume exhibition. Lord Sudeley planted an orchard in 1880 which is now a thriving fruit farm; Hayles Fruit Farm. Pop in to the farm shop for a wide range of pressed apple juice and fresh fruit. There is also a restaurant.

Anyone interested in myths and religious traditions should visit the ruins of 1246 AD Cistercian Hailes Abbey, once a place of pilgrimage because of a supposed phial of Christ's blood which came with a papal guarantee. There is a small museum and a shop on the site. I wonder if they sell replica phials of Christ's blood as souvenirs?

The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway line runs steam and deisel trains (Toddington Station 01242 621405) every weekend from March to October, and on selected weekdays. It is called the ‘Friendly Line in the Cotswolds’ and you could enjoy a 20-mile round trip from Toddington to Cheltenham Racecourse and experience all 693 yards of the Greet Tunnel, one of the longest on a preserved railway.