Bellarine Traveller: The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds should be on everyone’s itinerary!

You feel as though you are walking through a picture book. Wherever you turn, there is another new picture, the whole area is absolutely stunning and everything it says on websites and brochures. You do not know when to start taking photos and then when to stop!

The area is not huge, but does spread into several counties. There are several cities & larger towns such as Bath, Oxford, Cheltenham nearby plus many smaller villages and towns.

Late spring/early summer has finally arrived and the whole area is very picturesque. Driving through you see many dry-stone walls and hedges. There are rolling green hills with patches of many shades of green and bright yellow fields of canola. Most of the fields have borders of either hedges or dry-stone walls. Along the roadside there is a carpet of wildflowers, a mixture of forget-me-nots, cow parsley, buttercups & many other flowers that I do not know the names of.

There are many small ancient stone bridges crossing streams and waterways. These are far too narrow for more than one car, so there are traffic lights at each end of the bridges.

I have visited several towns and villages including:

§ Lechlade, a lovely town that sits on the banks of the Thames.

§ Bourton-on-the-Water – this place is beautiful. It has a small stream running through the centre of the village. There are several stone bridges that cross the stream. This is a favourite place for locals as there are many tea-shops, cafes and places to buy ice-creams, and lots of souvenir shops. I was there on a Tuesday and as the weather had improved and the whole place was buzzing with locals and tourists.

§ Mill Dene Gardens in the village of Blockley. Back in 1086 there were at least 12 mills in this village. During the middle ages the mill ground corn & was involved in the silk & wool industry. It has also been a forge and made pianos. These days it is a delightful garden.

§ Broadway – another wonderful town that has several antique shops, galleries & places to eat.

§ Snowshill – this is ‘another’ gorgeous small village, like a postcard and a great place for photos.

§ Burton is a favourite town for many tourists. It has a very long ‘high street’ on a steep hill. At present Burton is gearing up for the Queen’s Jubilee (as are many other towns across the UK). Burton in particular is awash with Union Jack bunting and Union Jack flags on buildings. Many street parties are being planned for the Jubilee and people are looking forward to the celebrations.

§ Snowshill Manor – a National Trust Property. This property was “very different” to other NT places I have visited. The buildings are the gardens were lovely, however the previous owner a Mr. Charles Wade left a very eclectic collection of ‘things’ that he wanted displayed in the Manor House. He lived in the Priests House nearby and the Manor House was simply somewhere to put his collection and to entertain guests. He started collecting as a young boy and continued collecting all his life. The collection is made up of everything imaginable including: antique bikes, prams, keys, dolls houses, toys, clocks, spinning wheels, jig-saw puzzles etc, etc, etc.. The most amazing thing I thought that was in the collection were some antique Japanese Samurai armour and swords. I have been to a few museums in Japan and I have never seen anything quite like these. I am told Mr. Charles Wade bought the collection is the 50’s, somewhere in London at a market for a very small price. These days many Japanese visitors come to look at this collection, I am sure they are worth much more that he paid for them in the 50’s and I am sure several Japanese museums would love to have them.

§ I spent my last day in the Cotswolds meandering through some of the smaller villages that are not on the ‘normal’ tourist route. Again all delightful and all quite different. Each village seems have to have their own ‘personality’.

§ My meanderings took me to Banbury. And yes there is a “Banbury Cross” as in the nursery rhyme! The cross is an ancient Celtic cross at the main crossroad of the town. It was difficult to see as it is being restored.

I am so happy that I included the Cotswolds in my itinerary - a fabulous place to visit.