About us
Cowley Adventure is a 30 acre residential and activity centre, situated in the heart of the Cotswold countryside. Our accommodation options include self-catering buildings with heating for year-round use, campsites with shelters, and greenfield camping. We have a wide range of on-site activities, plus we are ideally located to access a number of external activities in the local area.
Providing "the gateway to adventure" since 1969
our origins as deer park
After many years of searching for a place to call 'home', Lady Poppy Wigram offered three acres at Cowley on a 99 year lease starting on 1st January 1968. After lots of hard work from volunteers within the Gloucestershire Guide Association (now Girlguiding Gloucestershire), and their husbands, the site officially opening on 29th June 1969. In the same year, Gloucestershire County Council granted an extension of 1.75 acres of land to give better scope for camping.
With the uncertainty of only a leasehold at Deer Park, volunteers sought to try and secure the charity's own space in Cowley, and so when the 42-acres of land at Bubbs Hill became available for purchase in 1994, the lead volunteers set out to make it happen with some serious fundraising. The Bubbs Hill site was secured in April 1995, and so began the focus for development and growth of activities and camping spaces.
By 2019, the landowner of the main site had change hands and the lead volunteers for Deer Park and the charity decided to approach them with a proposal for purchase. After long negotiations, and a pandemic getting in the way, a deal was struck that included not only the main site but the 'small site' opposite, now known as the Bradshaw Field, and the wood that linked through to the existing Bubbs Hill site. With this bonus included in the purchase in 2023, visitors to Deer Park have been able to walk safely off-road to access all 30-acres of the activity centre.
With the land purchase came the removal of the previous restrictions on site usage, and the possibilities for the site grew massively. The lead volunteers started to think not only about development across all three sites, but also the scope of who could benefit from such a wonderful facility in our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Cotswolds.
With the uncertainty of only a leasehold at Deer Park, volunteers sought to try and secure the charity's own space in Cowley, and so when the 42-acres of land at Bubbs Hill became available for purchase in 1994, the lead volunteers set out to make it happen with some serious fundraising. The Bubbs Hill site was secured in April 1995, and so began the focus for development and growth of activities and camping spaces.
By 2019, the landowner of the main site had change hands and the lead volunteers for Deer Park and the charity decided to approach them with a proposal for purchase. After long negotiations, and a pandemic getting in the way, a deal was struck that included not only the main site but the 'small site' opposite, now known as the Bradshaw Field, and the wood that linked through to the existing Bubbs Hill site. With this bonus included in the purchase in 2023, visitors to Deer Park have been able to walk safely off-road to access all 30-acres of the activity centre.
With the land purchase came the removal of the previous restrictions on site usage, and the possibilities for the site grew massively. The lead volunteers started to think not only about development across all three sites, but also the scope of who could benefit from such a wonderful facility in our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in the Cotswolds.
From Deer Park to Cowley Adventure
Cowley Adventure was launched in 2025.
Having had a presence at Cowley for over 55 years, Girlguiding Gloucestershire has continued to grow and develop as the needs of their young members have also grown and developed. With the additional land purchase in 2023, and the new possibilities for the centre, the lead volunteers sought to finds ways to ensure more young people could access adventure. As part of this development, they rebranded to give the centre its own style and identity, that would appeal to a wider audience.
To maintain the original Deer Park name, Cowley Adventure encompasses three sites:
Having had a presence at Cowley for over 55 years, Girlguiding Gloucestershire has continued to grow and develop as the needs of their young members have also grown and developed. With the additional land purchase in 2023, and the new possibilities for the centre, the lead volunteers sought to finds ways to ensure more young people could access adventure. As part of this development, they rebranded to give the centre its own style and identity, that would appeal to a wider audience.
To maintain the original Deer Park name, Cowley Adventure encompasses three sites:
- Deer Park - the original site, often referred to as the main site, is where our main office and residential buildings are situated.
- Bubbs Hill - our second site, with camping and many of our site activities.
- Bradshaw Field & Wood - our latest addition and already being developed for camping and brand new activities.
"the Gateway to adventure"
In 1997, Mary Crang who was guider-in-charge of Deer Park from 1990 to 2014, said Deer Park's facilities really were providing "the gateway to adventure", which we continue to do to this day.
