If you've ever fancied trying clay shooting, or you're already a decent shot looking for somewhere to sharpen up, the Oxfordshire Shooting School at Enstone is exactly where you want to be. It's a ten-minute drive from Well Cottage, tucked onto the old airfield, and the instructors are genuinely excellent.
This is a serious shooting ground, not a theme-park experience. The layouts are well designed, the traps throw consistently, and the instruction is patient and clear whether you're picking up a shotgun for the first time or working on a particular weakness. Beginners get a proper safety briefing, good gun fit, and enough clays to feel the satisfaction of watching a few burst. More experienced shots can book simulated game days that run through a full card of driven and walked-up stands across the airfield, which is open and exposed enough to give you some genuinely testing wind-driven targets.
They're open Tuesday to Saturday and can put together group packages if you're visiting with friends or family. It's the sort of outing that fills a morning brilliantly: you'll come back to the cottage buzzing, probably arguing about who hit the most, and ready for a long lunch. All equipment is provided, so there's nothing to organise in advance beyond booking a slot.
“Genuinely one of the best mornings out around here. Even friends who've never held a gun leave grinning.”
All of this on the doorstep, and your own thatched cottage to come home to. Sleeps seven, less than a mile from Soho Farmhouse.