click pictures below for a slideshow
click pictures below for a slideshow
We eventually found somewhere to park (problem in most of the Cotswold towns with too many tourists!) We've been to Stow many times and to be honest it is just a market town and does not hold many interesting attractions from my perspective. We did have a beer and bowl of cheesy chips in the Kings Arms before moving on. The lack of parking and too many visitors was in part due to a funfare in the centre of town.
During the evening some of us explored the surrounding countryside at the Summer Lake cottage we had rented before we went for a nice meal at a local bar.
The cottage was very good with a great view across the lake and in some ways it reminded me of the gated communities seen in parts of America such as Florida, with large detached, timber clad houses separated by grassy areas and access to the lake with paddle boards and canoes. A good choice for this, our first choice of renting a holiday cottage.
Bibury is undoubtedly the most beautiful village in the Cotswold and as such is invaded constantly by tourists which has caused some villagers to complain, although many are making a lot of money from car parking, cafes, shops, etc. We found a car park easily (in a field) and enjoyed our walk round the village to include the trout farm, the iconic Arlington Row and the Grade I listed Anglo-Saxon church of St Mary
From the size of the church it is clear that Bibury was once a busy and profitable wool trading centre in the 14th century. The weavers cottages in Arlington Row were originally built as wool stores before being converted for the weavers in the 17th century and are now ivate residencies (owned and leased by the National Trust). I don't think I would like to live in one with tourists constantly looking in the windows.
On the way back from Bibury we left the Fosse Way to visit the remains of a Roman Settlement at Chedworth, one of the largest in the country. This would have been an affluent and very important place in its day, around 120AD, especially due to its location near the Fosse Way and Cirencester (Corinium Dobunnorum) which was the largest Roman settlement outside London. Underfloor heating, two bathhouses and elaborate mosaics would have been added at a later date by a very wealthy Roman family.
This is one of the most visited towns in the Cotswolds, full of tourists and virtually impossible to get a photo with no human being in it. It's worth a visit to see the beautiful River Windrush flowing through the middle but I've been there when it's full of children paddling in it (school holidays) and it's certainly not beautiful then.
We stayed long enough for a quick tour and refreshment before moving on to Lower Slaughter, a relatively untouched place by tourists with a functioning water mill (turned into a cafe - why?) and some old and newish houses tastefully arranged together. I saw an amusing gate with the messaged 'Penalty for NOT shutting the gate £2'. There's also a 13th century steepled church (St Mary's); we nearly always have a look in these old churches and Jane likes to light a candle.
From there we travelled to the Cotswold Lavender fields at Hill Barn Farm near Snowshill. With over 45 acres it is impressive but not overly interesting to me but Jane, Marion and Nick went for a good walk round the Woodland Trail (I sat this out). This is a commercial farm making over 70 different products from the lavender such as diffusers, body washes and lavender grains for cooking, tea, etc.
We found our way to a small village called Castle Combe which turned out to be quite a gem. I was not too busy and beautiful, as with so many Cotswold towns, with a church (St Andrews) that I found out later to be full of history dating back to before the Norman invasion of 1066.
The clock movement inside the church is an interesting historical piece. Located in St Andrew’s Church this clock is thought to be over 600 years old; it was built for the church tower and has no face as it was only made to strike the bell every hour as a guide for the working people in the fields. Although uncertain, it is likely that it was constructed in the late 15th century and is one of the oldest in the world.
Unfortunately I had not researched Castle Combe before going there so we missed out on seeing its racetrack on a WW2 deserted airfield outside the village. The circuit is in use now mainly for saloon cars. (Circuit Image) The 1967 feature film, Doctor Doolittle, starring Rex Harrison and Anthony Newley, was filmed here, when the village was transformed into the seaport of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. Further location filming followed – Stardust (2007), The Wolfman (2009), War Horse 2010; episodes of Poirot, Robin of Sherwood and Downton Abbey, have also been recorded in the village.
After lunch we walked from the Market Cross past the spinsters and weavers cottages down to the river, still known as By Brook, which provides the power to run the mills.
Next stop - Lacock Abbey which was the home of William Henry Fox Talbot and his family; in August 1835 Talbot captured the first photographic negative, an invention which would change the way we see the world. The family remodelled the South Gallery, including the small window in the abbeys South Gallery where he famously captured that first negative image, an image not much bigger than a postage stamp. (The worlds earliest surviving negative)The tour of the Abbey (now owned by the National Trust) was very interesting but unfortunately we did not leave enough time to actually visit Lacock Village, also owned by the NT. I researched Lacock Village on line after the event and reaslised we missd a real gem, nevermind, next time we are near we make sure we get to see it. The name Lacock dates from Saxon times when the earliest permanent settlers lived by the Bide Brook, which runs through the middle of the village. They called it lacuc or 'little stream'.
After much discussion we travelled to Chipping Norton to visit Clarkson's Farm. After queuing for 1½ hours we finally made it into the shop. What a big let down; shop tiny, prices high, limited stock, total time inside 10 minutes as we were shepherded out (no choice, as you had to move with the flow). Something never to be repeated.
On the way back from a very disappointing visit to see Diddly Squat, which was precisely what we saw (nothing worth seeing!), we stopped at the market town of Moreton-in-Marsh. To be honest this was also not worth the visit either; the only comment of note was that the ladies spent money in a clothes shop. And so back to the cottage for a much needed glass of wine and a buffet prepared by the ladies with sausages purchased at Diddly Squat.
On our final day we visited the town of Broadway with the intention of seeing the famous folly Tower, just outside of town. A pretty little town but of little interest for the tourist if it were not for the Tower.
The view from the top of the Tower is spectacular; as the Who used to sing, 'you can see for miles and miles and miles' (although not for the same reasons!!). One or two were a little concerned about going up but the winding steps were quite safe and with one way up, one way down, there was no risk of meeting someone coming the other way.
The Tower was the brainchild of the 18th century landscape designer, Capability Brown to be built for the wife George William 6th Earl of Coventry with the help of renowned architect James Wyatt and completed in 1798; Brown didn't live to see it finished. Although a folly, it is a functional building with interior rooms, the top three floors being used as a museum. The rooftop viewing platform can be accessed using the winding staicase and on a good day it is possible to see up to 16 counties from the top.
My overall assessment of this holiday, a new experience for all of us is that, first of all, as always, it is a real pleasure spending time with our very good friends Nick & Olwen and Marion and Gayner (the Gang). We have holidayed for years now on coaches and cruise liners and spending time together in a holiday cottage was a deviation from the norm for us all, but we get on really well and enjoyed it immensely, especially as it was also Nick's birthday and Marion had supplied a cake.
The Cotswolds is undoubtedly a beautiful place to go to and is not the first time we have been there, however, it is becoming extremely busy and congested with tourists from all over the world and, of course, everyone comes by car or coach and this is becoming a serious problem, especially for parking. Many of the locals don't like it but of course many are making a lot of money from the tourists, so I guess no pain without gain.
The holiday cottage by the lake was very good and the location excellent, if a bit out of the way; it was not really in walking distance of a pub meaning someone had to drive, but this was a minor issue and we ate out most days in the evenings. Also the most interesting places to visit were around 45-60 minutes drive each day. Anyway we had a great time and I can only thank my friends for their company on yet another holiday together.
