An Autumn trip to the Cotswolds
Max and Jo are back in Sydney now but we were very lucky to have them as visitors for a week. It’s always nice to see people from back home and it was great to have an opportunity to spend a long weekend in the country. Despite the fact that all of us were at various stages in the latest virus going around we managed to see, take photos, eat, drink and be merry all the same.
We spent a day in the British museum before we left London for our trip to the Cotwolds. We saw the Egyptian section this time along with some of the bits we’d seen before. On our trip to the Cotwolds we stopped off for an afternoon in Oxford. Completely unplanned mind you, but it was as good a place as any to stop and have some lunch. It was a grey afternoon but it didn’t rain too much and we got to see some of the more famous colleges. I discovered that Magdalen college is pronounced Mawd-len and that gargoyles are all the rage on the ancient buildings. Looks like a very interesting place to study.
We made our way to Cheltenham and to our Bed & Breakfast in time for dinner. We opted for a local Italian place and were disappointed when the risotto was made from long grain rice rather than aborrio (sacrilege!). Oh well, at least it was tasty.
On Sunday the weather was forecast to be bad and it certainly turned out to be wet, windy and miserable. We decided that going to Bath would be a better option than trying to drive around lovely little Cotswolds villages. Robert and I had been to Bath before but only on a very short whirlwind visit with Juliet. This time we saw inside Bath Cathedral (complete with a plaque to Australia’s first Governor) but still did the rounds of the Roman Baths. Nothing much had changed since we were there last. We had a bit of a wander around the town and saw some interesting art on our way up to the Roman Circus. As we arrived the sun broke through the clouds and there was even a rainbow! We had dinner at a pub near Cheltenham. It had a good write up and did pretty decent gastropub food.
The weather was much improved on Monday. The clouds had blown away and so we went for a drive around the Northern Cotswolds villages. We had a little wander around Cheltenham itself and Max got his haircut. We went to checkout the Pittville Pumproom (apparently the original pumproom before Bath took over as a popular spa town) but it was hosting a conference so we couldn’t see inside. We drove through picture-perfect villages with quaint little thatched-roofed cottages and pretty cottage gardens. We took lots of pictures of old churches and some autumn colour. We had lunch in Broadway and climbed to the top of Broadway tower; a folly from which you can see into 6 different counties of England. For dinner we went to ‘The Daffodil’ which is an old 1920s theatre converted into a fine dining restaurant. We had a nice evening with live jazz and really nice food.
On Tuesday we had to head back to London. The weather was still nice so we went to Hailles Abbey and checked out a few more quaint villages like Upper and Lower Slaughter. We had lunch at a tiny café in Cirencester then drove to the Valley of the White Horse before heading back into London. All in all it was a really nice few days away. Max and Jo went off to Scotland on Wednesday night then were back at our place Friday night before flying back to Sydney on Saturday. We will miss them.
This weekend we’re off to Brussels as Robert has to work there on Saturday. My plan is to shop and take some more photos (hope the weather is nice). But for now I shall leave you with visions of fireworks on the horizon as London celebrates Guy Fawkes.
“Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.”
posted by Elisabeth @ 10:00 PM
0 comments
