Cotswold Water Park: Wildlife, watersports and walking

The beautiful Cotswold Water Park is not an amusement park as the name might suggest, but rather a stunning wetland region that encompasses parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and West Oxfordshire within its 40 square miles. The park contains over 150 lakes and offers a wealth of activities and sights to entertain visitors of all ages.

Getting a glimpse of wonderful wildlife

The Cotswold Water Park is a fantastic location for birdwatching in any season. There are bird hides situated across the park but the footpaths surrounding the lakes are also excellent places to spot a diverse array of bird species such as Nightingales, starlings and oystercatchers. Visitors can see around 20000 wintering waterbirds and 21000 wintering gulls, making winter a particularly popular season for birdwatching due to the large number of birds and reduced number of people visiting the water park.

However, it’s not only birds that call the park home. There are several nature reserves within the park that provide shelter for a variety of wildlife including bats, badgers, otters, glow worms and dragonflies to name a few.

The Cotswold Country Park and Beach

There’s no need to go all the way to the coast for a beach break. The water park is home to the Cotswold Country Park and Beach, Britain’s biggest inland beach. Lifeguards are present at weekends and school holidays from April and there is a variety of fun water activities to enjoy here such as swimming, kayaking and rowing boats, as well as crazy golf and zorbing.

Going wild with watersports

The water park is a great place to try out a wide range of watersports including the likes of sailing, canoeing, windsurfing, wakeboarding and waterskiing. Don’t worry if you’re not experienced with these activities as there are a number of centres and clubs in the water park that offer lessons suitable for all levels of experience.

Swimming in the Cotswold Water Park

Not all of the lakes within the water park are suitable for swimming as a number of them have strong undercurrents, are very deep and contain discarded machinery. However, as highlighted above, the Cotswold Country Park and Beach is great for cooling off in the water and also offers a designated paddling area for young children. Visitors who are keen to do open water swimming can do so within Lake 32 and Lake 12 as well after making prior arrangements with the relevant outdoor operators.

Fishing

Visitors are able to fish in over 70 lakes within the water park. Coarse fishing and fly fishing are possible, with several fisheries and tackle shops in the park that provide day tickets, club membership and equipment.

Exciting activities to enjoy on dry land

It may be a water park but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do that doesn’t involve water. An excellent choice of land-based activities can be enjoyed within the park, including cycling, horse riding, paintballing, golf and rally driving. Visitors can even learn useful wilderness skills as well. The Cotswold Water Park features flat terrain, making it a wonderful place to enjoy relaxing walks in diverse landscapes, from meadows to river banks and woodland.

Exploring manmade attractions

The water park offers exceptionally beautiful landscapes to explore but there are also many towns and villages within the park that are ideal for visitors seeking cultural and historical attractions. In addition to attractive architecture, the towns and villages have a number of shops for visitors to choose souvenirs of their stay, as well as a choice of pubs, restaurants and cafes to boost flagging energy levels during a busy day of sightseeing and adventure.

Superb scenery and excellent activities for a great day out

From adrenaline seekers eager for thrilling activities to visitors who want to take things at a laidback pace, the fantastic choice of activities on offer throughout the park ensures there’s something to satisfy everyone. The lovely landscapes and wildlife residents give nature lovers plenty of striking sights to see and both kids and adults will be eager to explore as much of this picturesque park as they can.