Croft Farm Water Park

Dogfriendly Magazine Review

Read our comprehensive review of this listing printed in our bi-monthly magazine.

Croft Farm Water Park, Cotswolds
Reviewers: Liam and Laura Fletcher

My wife Laura and I recently stayed at Croft Farm Waterpark in Gloucestershire for a week’s getaway with our two German Shepherds Klaus, and Beorn. Croft Farm Waterpark has a variety of accommodations on site: caravans, lodges, and pods.

We stopped in the Beech lodge which sleeps four people (two twins and one double). It had a beautiful view of the lake where you can participate in various water sports during the day and a hot tub to relax in after a hard day on holiday.

Upon arrival, the lodge was clean, bright, and well maintained. Towels, robes, and miniature toiletries were provided in the bathrooms, alongside a welcome basket on the kitchen worktop. The basket contained bread, milk, biscuits, cereal and other breakfast items – perfect for us since we checked in late that evening (check-in is available from 5pm) and didn’t need to worry about food for the next morning.

The next day, we chose to walk at Woodchester Park (a National Trust site, which featured in our Cotswold guide in November), which was 40 minutes from our lodge. The site is tranquil, wooded valley containing a lost landscape including an 18th century boathouse. The Boathouse Walk (3.5 miles) was beautiful and well signposted throughout. Autumnal colours made the landscape incredibly picturesque, and we spent plenty of time snapping lots of photos as we walked along.  Towards the end of the walk, we were surprised by the sight of the Woodchester Mansion which is an unfinished, gothic revival masterpiece. There are tours available inside the mansion run by volunteers of the Woodchester Mansion Trust. The mansion itself is not dog friendly, but there are tables outside for the cafe which sells the most delicious baguettes.

On Sunday, we visited Westbury Court Garden (another National Trust property) which is a pretty Dutch water garden with a large canal. Again, this was a 40-minute drive from the lodge. The site is dog friendly throughout, with dogs being allowed into the exhibition room which contains pictures of the restoration work conducted by the National Trust. There is no cafe on site and the weather had given rain for the afternoon, so we visited Three Shires Garden Centre (part of the Blue Diamond garden centre chain), which was just over 20 minutes away on our way back to the lodge. The garden centre is large and stocks a range of gifts, homeware and gardening materials. It is dog friendly throughout, with a restaurant and outdoor seating available for dog owners.

That afternoon, we stopped at the Hunters Inn, Tewkesbury, for Sunday lunch. This was without a doubt the best Sunday lunch we have had. The roast potatoes are out of this world, and they pile your plate up with them! The traditional country pub has various rooms and alcoves for you to find a quiet spot with your dog to eat. It can get busy so we advise booking a table before you visit.

Monday brought lovely weather in the morning, so we made our way to Newark Park. This secluded country estate provides garden strolls and country walks. Unfortunately, a couple of the walking routes were shut due to tree felling when we visited so we had to follow the pink route (2 miles). Again, this walk was well-signposted and was mostly on gravel paths. It was steep in places so we would recommend sturdy footwear. After completing our walk, we drove back to Tewkesbury and had our lunch at the Rosado Lounge. This quaint cafe is dog friendly and even has its own dog menu for your pampered pooches. Laura and I had fish finger sandwiches and chips which were reasonably priced before making our way out to explore Tewkesbury. We visited Tewkesbury Abbey which is surprisingly dog friendly throughout. There is a lot of information inside the 12th century Norman Abbey about its history and some of the architectural features on display. Following our visit, we made the short 10-minute trip back to Croft Farm Water Park.

We drove to Croome Court on the Tuesday (a 20-minute drive from Croft Farm). This property has been rescued from almost total loss by the National Trust and was used as a secret wartime airbase during WWII. There is an RAF museum on site dedicated to the work that was conducted at Defford Airfield. Entry to the museum is included as a part of the ticket for the day. We completed a parkland walk covering the scenic estate which was advised by a member of staff during our visit – taking us a couple of enjoyable hours. 

On Wednesday, we visited the Diddly Squat Farm Shop (a drive of around 1 hour) since we are fans of Amazon Prime’s ‘Clarkson’s Farm’. We queued to get in and bought a few souvenirs to take home with us. They have fresh produce on sale there as well as a cafe attached to the barn. It is dog friendly outside where we got a drink and sat to take in the views. 

Afterwards, we made our way to Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, a 20 minute drive from Diddly Squat. This is a must-visit if you are in the area. The wildlife park has over 260 species of animals which are housed in 160 acres of landscaped parkland and gardens: Asiatic lions, wolves, clouded leopards, giraffes, rhinos, and penguins to name but a few. This attraction is thoroughly dog friendly, except in some of the indoor enclosures, which are clearly marked and displayed to customers. We spent almost the entire day exploring the park and there are some areas we had to cut short as the park was closing. If you are going to visit, plan for a full day. We racked up some serious steps and the restaurant on-site was a leg-saver. Dogs are not allowed inside the restaurant but there is ample seating outside on the patio area with plenty of picnic spaces throughout the park if you are bringing your own lunch.

On Thursday, it was a rainy day so we chose to visit the village of Burford (a 50-minute drive from Croft Farm) which we had passed through on the way to the wildlife park. The picturesque village contains a plethora of small businesses, most of which are dog friendly. The butchers sell amazing locally sourced sausage rolls – a must have – and the sweet shop in the village is very traditional and sells a wide range of sweets that we could not pass by. Further down the high street is the Mad Hatter Book Shop. This beautiful shop is a hidden gem and houses books for and adults’ sections and contains some of the most stunning books we have ever seen. A lot of their stock is signed by the authors which presents a fantastic opportunity for book enthusiasts to buy signed copies of their favourite books.

A couple of the cafes that we passed were dog friendly but were quite small… this was a problem for our two enormous German Shepherds. Luckily, we found Cafe Fifteen which can be found in the grounds of Burford Church. It is dog friendly and has plenty of space should you have a larger dog with you, which suited us just fine. They had a good selection of lunchtime options: sandwiches, paninis and jacket potatoes – all of which were modestly priced and locally sourced from nearby farm shops. The staff were welcoming a fantastic way to finish our visit to Burford.

On Friday, we checked out of our accommodation at 9am. 

After a wonderful week, we sadly left the keys at reception and said goodbye to Croft Farm. We chose to visit Hanbury Hall on the way back to Derbyshire. This country retreat in the heart of Worcestershire has a few walks available as well as a house (some autumn craft activities for children were also available when we visited). We chose the orange path as it was and it was the longest, at just over two miles, through quiet parkland with scenic views. This proved a nice way to split up a journey home and give Klaus and Beorn the opportunity to stretch their legs.

We had a fantastic week in the Cotswolds and were truly sad to leave. The region is very dog friendly and Klaus and Beorn had an amazing time. We will certainly be coming back in the future, as there are plenty of things we didn’t get chance to do.

Croft Farm Water Park, review by   Liam and Laura Fletcher and appears in DogFriendly magazine issue 75.  For more information on the DogFriendly magazine visit https://www.dogfriendly.co.uk/magazine