Cirencester Park — Attraction in Cotswold District

Do not consider paying £4 per person to walk up and down a tree lined path, where all forms of fun are prohibited, and there are no facilities. Previously I have visited Cirencester and walked my dogs in the park, and on a nice day it was lovely to see an open green space enjoyed by many diverse groups and individuals. Now after hundreds of years of free access they have introduced charges, and introduced draconian rules which have reduced the usage to dog walkers, and what appear to be elitist locals of a certain age who like to promenade! Obviously six ladies in their 40s and 50s having a picnic to celebrate a birthday is a sign of delinquency, and warrants a report to the park warden, and a delightful chat with a haughty passive aggressive lady wanting to check if we had permission. Permission for what?! On entry there was only signage about well behaved dogs and no bikes. Apparently you need to go onto the website and review the T&Cs, then the General Terms and Park Rules, and finally the Park Rules & Code of Conduct in order to piece together what is and isn't permitted! Apparently "Small informal picnics are welcome in Cirencester Park however, large gatherings or organised picnics are not permitted", and a group is defined as 13 people and over. What was the issue therefore with our party of 6? Was it that we were too 'organised' sat on picnic chairs, with a picnic table, and had plastic fluted glasses to drink champagne from?! Or was it because we weren't related, and being a group rather than a family group was the offence?! Checking the converluted and contradictory T&Cs and Rules, we had no weapons, explosives, flagpoles, banners, drones, bbqs, or ball games. And in fact it makes no mention of things like music, picnic tables, alcohol etc.. So my challenge to any family group out there prepared to pay £4 per person, is to gather a dozen of you together on the next sunny day, enter the park, play music, drink lager (over 18s), put up a gazebo (not itemised on the prohibited list), and play frisbee and badminton (neither of which are a ball game). Do this and watch anarchy ensue, and some local elitists having an anxiety attack over sharing the space with the general masses. Avoid...

What a crying shame. Now £4 per adult entry to walk through a park with no conservation, no woodland walks and tarmac’d roads. You’re no National Trust or English Heritage site! We came to walk through the park today en route to lunch at the new pizzeria Cattivo, only to find the introduction of the new charge. An absolute joke. It was no surprise the park was deserted today (we came early autumn last year and it was heaving with walkers, families and people enjoying the space). Instead of paying the ridiculous charge, we walked alongside the dual carriageway to visit the new pizzeria Cattivo (which was absolutely superb btw, highly recommend). Friday lunchtime and we were the only guests dining. What a crying shame for all local businesses surrounding the park which will undoubtedly be hit hard by this charge and now lack of footfall. I hope the family take a long hard look at this decision and reverse it, for the sake of the town and local businesses. We won’t be coming back...

On entry to the park, the signs read that entry is permitted by the "kind generosity" of the Bathhurst Family. These signs need replacing immediately.

In reality, entry is now permitted by a £4 per person entry fee.

I am very surprised by this fee; once inside you will realise it is completely unwarranted. There are some very well maintained lawns, and some nice trees (albeit, completely lacking in diversity). But that's about it.

There are limited facilities, and the only areas of real interest (through the woods and around the lake) are signposted as private with no access to the fee paying public.

The park is also further monetised within via the café, and the airstream coffee shop. Obviously if you would like the option of a cafe or car parking on site, then charging money for these elements is perfectly normal, but squeezing every pound from the community by charging for basic entry is simply exploitative....