Manor Cottages - Escape to the Cotswolds

The Cotswold Water Park is NOT what you might think! There are no water slides, log flumes or similar, it is in fact a collection of 150 lakes, making it one of the UK's largest Nature Reserves with many species previously lost being reintroduced successfully into the wild. Its development into what it is today started only 50 years ago when the gravel extraction commenced, leaving huge lakes ideal of a variety of uses including natural redeveopment, some water activities(fishing, sailing etc) and a generally a peaceful environment.

The Water Park is the catchment area of the Upper Thames and over millions of years, vast deposits of sand & gravel were laid down here as the Cotswolds were eroded into the Thames. There are a number of villages which sit either in the designated 'Cotswold Water Park' or just outside it. While there is still some gravel extraction, today the area is best known as a Site of Specific Interest for its geology and various Nature Reserves providing protected areas for endangered wildlife.