North Cotswolds

More than a week has passed since we arrived back from the Cotswolds.   Life has been very busy, with no time for writing blogs.   But I am now becoming restless and the need to write is great.  Therefore I must put pen to paper, so as to speak.

Back to the Cotswolds, which is an area containing beautiful countryside and villages.   And from my estimation covers a large area, and includes quite a few counties, such as Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire.   In fact the distance from north to south is about 100 miles. We stayed in a caravan park, in Moreton-in-Marsh, which is on the edge of Warwickshire.

I have included a few photogrphs of villages and towns we visited, just to give a snapshop of the area.  One of the significant features of the Cotswolds is the colour of the stonework used for buildings and walls. The Cotswold stone is honey-coloured, and unique to the area.   Even in grey and dismal weather, the stonework adds character and charm to the villages.  And a little brightness.

The first village we visited, was Stow-on-the-Wold, which was the highest of the Cotswolds towns, at 800ft.   Once a busy and important market town, with a focus on the wool trade, it was now a centre for antiques.   Walter bought a pair of slippers here.   Not antiques!.    After walking uphill from the large and convenient carpark, we found the centre of town to be full of cars.  A pity really, as it spoilt the place, and we had to really watch where we walked, as the footpath was narrow.   

But I managed to get a good photograph of some of the buildings, minus the cars parked in the square in front of them.   The medieval Market Cross can also be seen to the left of the photograph.

The Butchers Lane?   Very picturesque, and quaint, but no butchers' shops now.   We were trying to follow the signs to the Tourist Information Office, which had been relocated to the Post Office, so we found out later.  But they forgot to change the signs.

The next town, Bourton-on-the-water, which rated very highly on the visitors' list of places to visit, according to our guidebook.  Even though it was early Spring, and quite chilly, there were about six coaches in the carpark.  It was often referred to as the 'Venice of the Cotswolds', because the River Windrush ran through the centre of town.  I could not see the connection.  However the centre of town was very pretty, and full of character.   One of the landmarks, which I only read about afterwards, were the five bridges all made of local stone, which cross the river.

Our final stop were The Slaughters, Upper and Lower.  Our minds immediately wondered about how many people or animals were slaughtered here, but in fact the name comes from  the old English word 'Slohtre' which means muddy place.  Not that it was muddy when we visited it.

We drove through Upper Slaughter, but did not stop. It was yet another pretty Cotswolds village, and was known as a 'sainted village' due to losing no one in the First World War.

Our destination was Lower Slaughter, which was one of the most picturesque villages in the Cotswolds, and the most photographed too.   The fact that there were 'no parking' double yellow lines on each side of the roads through the village helped as well.

We parked in front of this lovely church, and walked into the centre of the village.

The River Eye, which ran through the village.  The building on the right was now a very large hotel.  What a setting!

A lovely old stone bridge, for walkers only of course.

The Water Mill, which was now a cafe and shop.

Such a peaceful scene, and no cars.

Another stone bridge.

An old manor house, now another hotel.   It was very difficult to stop taking photographs in this beautiful village.

A sunny day!   Morton-in-Marsh.   We walked along the High Street, which amounted to a few shops, on market day.   Very pleasant.    Fantastic coffee too, in one of the little cafes.

We were fascinated by this extremely tall chimney poking out through a domed roof.   A stately home with an extra large chimney?   Whatever do they burn here?   We had many discussions about it, on the way past, on our trips to other destinations.   There was a sign which indicated that there used to be a mill and factory here, but we did not not stop to investigate.    So we let our minds speculate on the uses of this tall chimney.  

However I have since looked it up on Wikipedia, and it was called Bliss Tweed Mill, built in 1872 and closed in 1980.   It has now been converted into flats.  Not so romantic or mysterious.

The mill was on the edge of Chipping Norton, another old and charming market town, which focused on the wool trade.   I love the name 'Chipping Norton', so traditional English in the sound it  makes, as the name rolls off the lips and tongue.

There was so much to see and do in the Cotswolds.   We saw only a small part of the area so a return visit will definitely be on the future agenda.