Each summer my sisters and I all get together for a few days away in the Cotswolds so we can see Gifford’s miniature vintage circus as they tour about the village greens of Gloucestershire and the West Country. The Gifford’s troupe, with their painted caravans, horses and geese, are a rowdy and colourful rabble and we just love the noise and excitement of it all. Each year their show has a different theme, always inspired by a colourful and intriguing era or nostalgia, and the music is always amazing.

We’ve just booked for the 2013 tour, ‘Lucky Thirteen’ about ‘gypsies, superstition and mystery, which promises to be wilder and more magical than ever’ with divas, dancing horses, flying acrobats, Tweedy the clown, a wire walker, the list goes on and on. They also have a scrummy  restaurant, Circus Sauce, where you’ll find fabulous tea time treats or if you feel like a real treat an evening meal under the stars.

Before the kids we used to book a little boutique bolt hole but these days we all pile into a holiday cottage or a campsite nearby. Gifford’s Circus is all the glamour we need. Honestly, you need to see it to believe it, book now before it’s too late!

Photos courtesy of Maria Shickle and Gifford’s Circus