Cycling – mountain biking and road biking
The Cotswolds are a great place to go cycling, whether it’s with young kids or a ride lasting several hours across some of the areas finest hills, valleys, dirt tracks and bridleways.

The North Cotswolds has more hills than further South, so pick your area according to effort and ability.
There are several books on cycling around the Cotswolds, for example the Ordnance Survey Cycle tours series (out of print but available from re-sellers on Amazon).  If you’d like to download something before you arrive there are a few routes on Mountain Bike Rider:
Cleeve Common – Cotswold Hills (21 miles)
North of Stroud (20 miles)
South Cotswolds – Wotton-Under-Edge (19 miles)

The many miles of public bridleways make the Cotswolds an ideal location for anyone who has a keen interest in horse riding.  Whether you are a novice looking for tuition, or a more experienced rider wanting advice on routes for an off-road hack you will find plenty of riding schools to assist.

There’s a number of horse riding schools across the area.

North Cotswolds:
Cotswolds Riding, Stanton (01386 584250) provides tuition, escorted hacks, fun rides (Including half-day rides stopping for a pub lunch) and riding for the disabled.
Bourton Vale Equestrian Centre, Bourton-on-the-Water (01451 821101) provides tuition and scenic rides around the villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter.

South Cotswolds:
Camp riding Centre, Stroud (01285 821219) provides one to one and group tuition, escorted country rides and pony parties for children where they learn about caring for horses.
South Cerney Riding School, Cerney Wick, near Cirencester (01793 750151) has an indoor and outdoor school, provides tuition, escorted hacks in the nearby Cotswold Water Park and riding for the disabled.

For all the race goers amongst us Cheltenham, often called the Centre of the Cotswolds, is well known for it’s racecourse.  The season runs approximately from October to May each year, with the popular National Hunt Festival held every March.  For a list of all the current racing fixtures please take a look at the Cheltenham Racecourse website.

Polo is also a popular sport in the area.  Cirencester Park holds many fixtures throughout the polo season, with an event happening at least every Sunday.  For a full list of the fixtures please see the Cirencester Park Polo Club website.

There are plenty of walks in the Cotswolds from the Cotswold Way that stretches from Bath to Chipping Norton, to an afternoon’s meander around some of the most beautiful villages in England.  The North Cotswolds has more hills than further South, so pick your area according to effort and ability.

Walking World offers thousands of walks across the country and you can download the walks individually or become a member for an annual fee. If you’d prefer to have a book in your hand try 50 Walks in the Cotswolds by Christopher Knowles or The Cotswolds : Leisure Walks for All Ages by John Brooks and Tom Hutton.

Also, Gloucestershire County Council provide an extensive list of walks along with where to obtain the details.
Finally the local paper The Gloucestershire Echo publish a supplement on Saturdays that includes plenty of local information, and often includes details of a walk in the Cotswolds.