Galavanting through the Cotswolds!

Hello All!

My parents are in town this week and it has been lovely to get to see them! Last weekend we got to spend time in the Cotswolds which is a charming region of England filled with yellow stone homes with slate and thatched roofs surrounded by rolling hills and darling streams.



We started our weekend adventure by meeting up at the train station in a town called Moreton-in-Marsh where our Bed and Breakfast host as well as tour guide Les who drove us to another small town Chipping Campden where we would be staying.  Arriving in Chipping Campden we settled into our B&B and got some recommendations for dinner.  it was actually still pretty early when we arrived around 5 but we were all starving so we decided to head out to see the town and find some food.  We had dinner at a pub called the Lygon Arms which was delicious and then headed out for a stroll around the town seeing the main street the adorable cottages and the beautiful church.

Saturday

The next morning we asked Les to give us a tour of the Cotswolds, together we explored Burton-on-Water, and the Slaughters as well as a drive through of Burton-on-Trent.  We started in Burton-on-Water or the Venice of the Cotswolds.

The main street in town follows the river

Just over a mile from Bourton-on-the-Water we headed to the twin villages of Upper and Lower Slaughter. The name comes from old English 'Slohtre', which has nothing to do with killing things and means, simply, 'Muddy place'.  Lower Slaughter is a sleepy little town but is a picturesque representation of the Cotswolds. Lower Slaughter is also built around a small river which leads to beautiful pictures.

The only thing that seemed to be open in this sleepy
little town was the old mill.

After wandering through the little town and old mill shop and museum we headed along the path that connects the two villages to see Upper Slaughter. The path itself although less than a mile long was of course beautiful. 

Upper Slaughter was just as adorable as lower slaughter with a beautiful church and cottages.

After our tour through the little Cotswold towns we had Les drop us off at Hidcote Manor.  The Manor is a 1900's home to The Americans, Lawrence Johnston and his mother.  Johnston was an avid gardener and so the home is surrounded by linked "rooms" of of hedges, rare trees, shrubs and herbaceous borders.  It is claimed to be one of the best-known and most influential Arts and Crafts gardens in Britain, and it sure made mom happy. 

 Once we had finished wandering and exploring Hidcote we headed back to Chipping Campden.  We choose to walk to see more of the beautiful countryside however probably should have given ourselves a bit more time before dark.  However despite the lateness of our stroll we did get to see many adorable sheep!

 

Sunday

Sunday we decided to go for another walk over to the small town of Broadway. We started in Chipping Camden and then followed the Cotswold way a trail that starts in Chipping Campden and stretches all the way to Bath.  the trail is a 100 mi long we only walked about 5. The walk was beautiful taking us up to Dover hill and then to Broadway Tower and finally down into the town.  Here are some photos of Chipping Camden and our hike

The block in the lower right reads Cotswold Way,
Bath 100mi and marks the start of the trail

Chipping Campden

Looking Back on  Chipping Campden

Top of Dovers Hill!

Back on the trail heading for Broadway Tower

We even found Sheep!

Broadway Tower!

The "Saxon" tower was the built by Capability
Brown and designed by James Wyatt
in 1794 in the form of a castle, and built
for Lady Coventry in 1798–99.The tower
was built on a "beacon" hill, where beacons
were lit on special occasions. 

Looking down on Broadway

I even found Horses!!

Our Hike ended in the town of Broadway which was filled with more Cotswold Cottages and small town charm.

 

The town is known for its "Broad" streets 

After enjoying Broadway we headed back to Chipping Campden to explore the stores in the town and pack up to get ready for our early trains.  Our weekend in the Cotswolds was lovely and it was a beautiful part of the country to see.

Cheers!
Meghan

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher