The Cotswolds – Part II (Saturday 31st August 2013)

The day was spent meandering around the lanes and villages of the Cotswolds, inching our way northward. First stop was just a few kms up the road from our overnight B&B in a village called Lower Slaughter. Don't ask me about the name, I'll have to do some research first! It's a pretty little village with a shallow, clear stream running through it. After a short drive through we headed for it's sister village Upper Slaughter. BTW, as you may have guessed the villages are known locally as “The Slaughters”.

Upper Slaughter is, not surprisingly, upstream from Lower Slaughter only a few kms away. We stopped for a walk through the countryside along a path called “The Wardens Trail”. It runs along the perimeter of he land surrounding a fine looking Manor House – now a hotel. We crossed the stream, spied a trout and carried on up the hill for a view of the Manor House.

Back on the other side of he village we visited the local church with its bell-tower set on foundations dating back to Norman times. A photo of the Citroen fording the stream then back to Lower Slaughter for morning tea. Kerry had seen a large house that served morning teas so we found it and popped in. The house it a lovely old house, also now a hotel. The interior is beautifully appointed with properly dressed serving folk everywhere. There was even one ironing the dining room table cloth, on the table. Can't have our guests put up with any unsightly creases! You get the picture about the place. We had our coffee in the sunshine in front of the croquet lawn. The waiter even brought biscuits with our common cappuccinos.

From here we moved on through a series of small villages stopping at Stow-on-the-Wold where some of Kevin's family are from. A nice little town rather than a village. We passed the local Church Flea Market so we popped in, searching for a bargain. As you might expect the affair is run by the more elderly parishioners and never a nicer bunch of people would you meet. They were all lovely and helpful and very proud of their little shop. Kerry brought a couple of pill tins to replace the ones lost in Milan and a bargain Union Jack shopping bag. We searched for the place you mentioned, Kevin, but couldn't find it. Even the chap by the front door couldn't help but he did know some people in town from your mum's family.

On to Morton-on-Marsh for another cuppa at “Mrs. T. Potts Tea Shop” for no reason other than Kerry saw it whilst driving through town and just had to have a cup of tea at a place so named. While there the local fire brigade came roaring up the street to a car parked opposite. I didn't see it but apparently the guys car started smoking under the bonnet so he called 000. Now that's an over-reaction if ever I saw one. Especially for the English variant of an old Holden Astra.

From here we wound our way up into the hills to get some classic Cotswold street-scape shots. The camera finally ran out of steam in Snowshill so we took some practice shots on the Samsung and the mobile phones. They all look like they'll be adequate for the remaining days of the journey.

It was 3:00pm so we decided to start looking for some accommodation. There were many “No Vacancy” signs hanging out the front of pubs and B&Bs. Arriving in Broadway it was the same story. We were just near the edge of town when we saw one with a “Vacancy” sign still out. Luckily, the old dear still had a room left so at 85 quid we snapped it up without worrying about the price. Turns out, 85 quid is not unreasonable for a Saturday night in the Cotswolds. With an hour before the most of the pubs opened we squeezed a bit more touring in, winding up at Dover's Hill for a magnificent panorama of the countryside below. The sheep had seen it before so they just kept on munching.

On the way back we passed through Willersey and stopped at the Bell Inn for tea. Furnished in the classic English pub style we enjoyed a very tasty dinner and pint served by the friendly “Mum and Dad” owners before doing the last few kms back to the B&B.

Pictures tomorrow.