Cotswold Cottage

Saturday 24th May - at long last Mum had arrived and Martin had finished a busy week and we were off to our cottage in Stow on the Wold, Gloucestershire. Our stone, 2 bedroom 'Bothy' cottage was a converted cow shed (no really, it was gorgeous!) only a 5 minute walk from the centre of Stow. Although so close it was set in a field with the main house nearby but very private. In fact our closest neighbors were the chickens who provided us with fresh eggs. We arrived late afternoon and were fortunate to catch some sun. The hawthorn-lined drive from the main road and beautiful setting amongst wildflower meadows took our breath away. We were all keen to get out of the car and explore about the dry stone walls, hedges and pathways through the rhododendrons. Martin and Mum were snap happy, James made for the chickens and I checked out the kitchen. Lucky for them my favourite view was from the main kitchen window!

The next morning we drove to Toddington as the Cotswold Steam Fair was underway. The weather was lousy but what better way to see the countryside than from your private compartment of a steam train? We ate our picnic lunch on board and relaxed as the train made its way to Cheltenham. Actually Mum got saturated just standing in the corridor of the carriage with the window open taking video footage. Talk about dedicated! Unfortunately the GWR (Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railways') main steamie, the Lord Nelson, was unable to run today. The rain was so heavy that we didn't get to see the front of the train and who was pulling us!

In Chipping Campden Mum and I were delighted to find an antique shop full of blue and white English china. James was entertained outside in the old Chipping Campden Market by Dad! Martin had also found our lunch spot - the Eight Bells pub. This has to be one of our all-time favourites. James particularly loved the glass-covered hole in the floor revealing a secret passageway once used by clergy between the church and the pub. Hmmm! To walk off some of the meal we looked around the church of St James and then took a walk along a muddy footpath adjacent to a stream. It wasn't the greatest path in the world but pretty enough and the walk much needed. Well, all that stile-hopping certainly aided digestion!

After another 'Big Breakfast by Martin' we set out for Guiting Wood for a walk. The terrain was varied - fields full of lambs, dense dark, drippy woods and open clearings for logging. We ate our sandwiches perched on a log pile in the misty woods. Thank goodness for that thermos of coffee as the rain had well and truly set in by now. It was a big walk and James did very well. We were all glad to get back to the car but I had to jump out one more time to do the gate!

We had been waiting for a sunny day to visit the Slaughters. After breakfast Martin and Mum donned walking shoes and a pack (and cameras, of course!) and walked through Lower Swell to Lower Slaughter, a distance of a few miles. James and I followed later in the car and met them at the Washbourne Court Hotel for lunch. We are fond of this place as we visited in the first week we lived in England, and spent a lovely afternoon drinking ales in the sun. Today was no exception. The sun came out and we had a delicious lunch and drinks in the courtyard. James made some friends (another James) and happily ran about the lawns. More exercise was in order and we took the footpath through the soggy fields past The Old Mill to Upper Slaughter and back again. Poppies and buttercups made a colourful carpet in the fields and the spring gardens were full of colour - hollyhocks, tulips, roses, wisteria and clematis. However, enough energy exerted to justify an ice-cream!

Today Martin took us on a surprise GPS tour (he didn't tell us where we were going) and we had a great time just driving about through quintessential Cotswold villages. We really liked Blockley, Snowshill, Weston Subedge and Stanton, and treated ourselves to a cream tea in Broadway. I know this sounds like a gastronomic tour and yes, it was! Phew!

Our last meal on Friday we had at the Kings Head in Bledington before driving on in the evening light to visit Great Tew, a tiny village of nearly all thatched cottages. The locals and their dogs were relaxing outside the pub in the low golden sunshine.

Never ones to go straight home we packed up and left our lovely cottage at around 10am. It was a glorious day and we drove south to Bath, arriving for a timely bus at the Park & Ride and got into the town centre at lunch time. Mum hadn't been to Bath and Martin, James and I were pleased to be visiting again. We purchased a walking tour map and spent a few pleasant hours exploring. James was spurred on by the game of locating bronze plaques in the footpath and announcing their number (corresponding with the book) and the direction we must take according to the arrow. We saw lots of Bath this way! It's quite hilly too! It was a long but fun day and soon we made our way east towards Windsor. James and I fell asleep in the car but Mum stayed awake in case she 'missed anything'! She and Martin did manage one last photo session at the ancient Silbury Hill outside Avebury. They just couldn't pass it up!

It was a wonderful holiday and we're so happy to have been able to share it with Mum. Memories like those last forever...

Photos are here