Cotswolds

J.A. Gilbert
Apr 19, 2016
2 min read

I recently went on a day trip by coach to the Cotswolds. I always find it an attractive area - partly because of the rolling countryside and partly because of the beautiful villages and small towns that dot the landscape. Some have unusual and exotic sounding names, my favourite of which is Kingston Bagpuize. It's only a small place and if you blink, you might miss it. Nevertheless, there are some very pretty cottages there and at this time of year, the gardens are full of daffodils, tulips, camellias, forsythia and other spring blooms.

Luckily the weather was sunny most of the day, with only a few showers when we were on our way home. With English weather that's the best we can ask for.

Our first stop was Stow-on-the-Wold, which is a small town, with an attractive market square. It is the highest town in the Cotswolds, at 800 feet above sea level. Part of the town stands on the old Roman Fosse Way and in the 16th Century, one of the battles of the Civil War was fought here.

For us though, this was a lunch stop and we ate a delicious meal in the Porch House, which claims to be the oldest public house in the country. It is certainly an old building, with flagged stone floors and low-beamed ceilings. The walls are covered with prints of local scenes and snippets of local history, that held our attention whilst we were waiting for our food to be prepared.

There was sufficient time in Stow-on-the-Wold for us to also mooch round some of the antique shops and the other individual stores that line the town's quaint streets. It was really a pleasure to visit somewhere that is not dominated by all the usual chain stores and to be able to help small businesses to make a living.

Our second stop was Burford, which is only a few miles away. The main street runs from the top of the hill town into the valley, with honey coloured shops and houses on both sides. The wealth of the town was based on sheep and agriculture, together with the local stone industry. Again, there are many antique shops to visit, together with a good choices of cafes selling delicious teas!

Unfortunately we only spent an hour there and so we were unable to visit the local museum. However, I have placed that at the top of my to-do list for our next visit.