Montpelier Gardens, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Back in the 1800s Montpelier Gardens in Cheltenham formed part of a Regency pleasure ground, the setting for a Rotunda used as a pump room where people could take the famous spa waters, doubling up as a ballroom.

Just a stone’s throw from the town centre, these days the gardens are a popular spot for recreation, more or less divided into two quite distinct parts. The Southern section has a play area, tennis courts, skate park, a café and loos, and its home to the Gardens Gallery and a bandstand where there’s live music in the summer months. The northern section is used more for walking, picnicking and sitting in the sunshine, and has a small arboretum with unusual trees.

What’s strikes you about Montpelier Gardens is that is has all the lovely feels of a town park where everyone is quietly getting on with their own thing, enjoying themselves. In early May every year the park plays host to Cheltenham Jazz Festival; a big top is set up and the atmosphere is buzzing.

The Rotunda? Still there, and for years it was a bank, but now it’s home to The Ivy Cheltenham.

All information correct at the time of writing

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