Tetbury was full of great little shops including one of the two Highgrove stores operated by the Prince of Wales as his residence of the same name is nearby. All the profits from sales go to his charities so I had to buy some bits from there (or that's what I told Simon when I came back with a bag full of stuff).
It was starting to get pretty cold up here in the Cotswolds and the wind had a particulary nasty edge but it was good to get the coat, gloves, scarf, hat, boots etc on finally.
We had a little bit of rain but nothing set in thankfully. On Thursday we took off and really started to see what this much talked about area is all about.
Quaint, quaint and more quaint, in fact it got quite sickening the more you drive around, looking up laneways, passing cottage after cottage, manor after mansion, village here and there, rivers that were more like streams weaving their way through the villages. Our first stop for the postcard perfect and self explantory Bourton-on-the-Water. The quaint factor about 9 out of 10. Ducks and swans in the river floating past tiny arched bridges that pass to cute stone shops that sell gorgeous little tidbits and cream teas. I think this was about my third or fourth cream tea here. You do start to feel to feel calorie OD living like this. English breakfasts, followed by cream teas followed by lunch, maybe squeeze in afternoon tea before it's beer o'clock and then dinner. Luckily we are doing lots of walking.
We visited our first castle here Sudeley which is Lady Somebody Muck's family home and was also the former home of Catherine Parr the last wife and widow of Henry the 'Ape'. A visit to the castle's chapel and you can see where Catherine lies. Weird feeling that. We stayed at Chipping Camden that night another bustling little village that looks like several other bustling little villages. On Friday we headed to the nearby Slaughters which sound awful but again are not. They are the tiny villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter the latter boasting a working water mill. You never tire of driving around these areas as all of the tiny narrow country lanes lead to villages and there are pubs and general stores no matter how small you think they are. I don't know how many Swan Inns, Red Lion's, Queen's Heads, Fox and Hounds, etc etc I've passed during this trip. Snowsill or 'Snozzle' as they call it is a tiny village but had a great manor named after the area. It it now run by the National Trust but was owned by an eccentric Charles Wade. He lived with his grandmother for an uncomfortably long time, until he bought the manor with his inheritance and had lots of 'bohemian' friends, and then married a woman much, much younger than he was in the last few years of his life (and they had separate sleeping quarters) so you can join the dots.
He collected things, mainly handcrafted items from around the world during his lifetime. It was astonishing to see someone that had hoarded more stuff than me. It made Schaeffer House's collection look like a garage sale. The manor, certain sections of which dated to around 700AD, housed the collection, while Charles lived in the less impressive Priest's House without any of the comforts that a manor afforded. Mad I say but then that's what being eccentric is all about.
Speaking of collecting, you'll also find op shops or thrift stores as they call them in England, everywhere including in the Costwolds so it I was having a ball scouring those and scored a nice piece of Poole pottery at one village. Had to explain the weight -v- bargain factor to Simon though as my carry-on is getting heavier by the day.
We have also been extremely lucky with the weather in England with only a spot or two of rain. Nothing set in and mostly clear skies thankfully.
Before we left the Cotswolds on Friday we ducked into Kelmscot Manor the home of the grandfather of the Arts and Craft movement William Morris. It was an amazing sneak peek into his life and showcased the furniture and beautiful tapestries he created. Next stop Shakespeare country.
No mincing words at Bourton-on-the-water.
Lower Slaughter sounds awful but as you can see, isn't.
Another fancy gate, another fancy manor.
Signs of Slaughter.
Sudeley Castle garden ruined by some shonky brickworks.
Don't complain about mowing your lawn.
Paying my respects at the late great Catherine Parr's tomb.
Snozzle Inn.
I can't even remember where this is cos they all look the same after a while.
Bourton-on-the-Water I think.
Sir Hoard-a-lot at Snowsill Manor.
Snowsill Manor the home of eccentric finds.
Holly in the gardens at Snowshill manor.
Blogging in the Elisabethian room at Tetbury.
Ghost town at Tetbury. Everyone's inside cos it's cold.
Tetbury shops. Yep I bought something from this one.
Main street at Tetbury about 1700AD.
British combo: Snooty Fox and mini at Tetbury.
Circa 2011.
Cathedral at Tetbury.
Yes it's real and no Goldilocks hasn't slept there.
You don't know where the gardens finish and the houses start here.
Rear of The Stone at Tetbury. You can just make out the princess in the Elisabethian room window left of the castle turrets (which was the bathroom window).
No comments:
Post a Comment