Giffords is no ordinary circus. It’s more like a wild Bohemian party with an intimacy and feelgood factor that takes you through the roof of its very small Big Top.
Started by Nell Gifford, an Oxford graduate who ran away with a circus when she was 18, Giffords travels around the Cotswolds from village green to village green with its striking procession of maroon-painted 1930s caravans and collection of fine horses. With musicians she found busking on the streets of Paris and highly-skilled acts from around the world, the show is a riot of colour, exuberance and quirky humour.
Afterwards, you can eat in the fairy-lit restaurant tent which serves fresh, seasonal food on spotty crockery to circus-goers and performers. You might just find yourself next to the tightrope walker or Tweedy the clown…
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