Blogs from Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Advertisement

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Cirencester September 7th 2023

Today it was time to leave Portugal behind us and fly to the UK. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Portugal and have seen some stunning sites and sights. Porto has a rail connection to the airport (unlike Melbourne!) so we ‘could’ have taken the train to the airport. We decided to do it the easy way though and booked an Uber. Without luggage the train would be fine, but with suitcases and cobbled streets it’s a bit difficult. Our Uber driver arrived within a couple of minutes of booking him and had us out to the airport in good time. We allowed time for traffic problems but had a smooth run out arriving well before check-in opened. We weren’t first there though! We lined up behind the people who were already waiting for the ... read more
St. John Baptist
Dinner time!!!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire August 18th 2023

As the deluge of water poured from the sky, you could be forgiven for not believing in global warming. This was South West England. It was August. Where had the summer gone? July had been a complete write off for many. Rain. More rain. The likelihood was that the seasonal hotspots in Cornwall and Devon had not had a bumper summer. M5 motorway was packed nonetheless. Cars heading South, but noticeably more heading in the opposite direction. Progress was slow. I seem to write that a lot these days. I get it on rural back roads in Norfolk and Lincolnshire, but this was the M5 and the M42. Roadworks everywhere. A complete closure of the M42 was scheduled for the following weekend. The HS2 railway line is the reason. It is turning into a bit of ... read more
Coleford
Coleford
Coleford


Yes, we know you have been disappointed by the lack of Roman ruins pictures. They exist, but are rather disappointing when compared to the continent. We largely do not visit these sights or not burden you with images if we do. We have driven on a Roman road many times near Stow, which Bird routinely appraises me. Our week in the Cotswolds ends tomorrow 20 June and then on to William Shakespeare's home town of Stratford-Upon-Avon. Plays are performed at the Royal Shakespeare Theater there that are regarded as the best in the world. However, incompetent tourists arranged their visit when no plays occur; another starts the day we depart. Took a short drive from Stratford to Warwick Castle on 22 June. Dukes from this joint frequently played a prominent role in English history. Warwick is ... read more
Fleece Alley
Market Cross
Saint Edwards Church


Out of England for a couple of days arriving in south Wales after a quite nice stop at a Costco just before crossing the border purchasing the cheapest gas in the area for 1.7 pounds per liter or $8.40 a gallon. Also a few items from inside. Only pics we can show are of a very impressive bridge and Cardiff Castle, so we'll combine these with some from Cotswolds. Must note, here like most places we visit, the Romans arrived a bit before us. They constructed a fortress at the very site of Cardiff Castle. Unfortunately, like much of Britain, Cardiff being something of an outpost, the construction was not as substantial as on the continent and nothing remains. Ah shucks. Arrived at Stow-on-the Wold, which is our base in the Cotswolds, on Monday afternoon. The ... read more
Cardiff Castle
Tintern Abbey
Bird's Eye View


More Moreton in Marsh - Piprey on wheels People living in cities are always attracted to the country for holidays. The Great British rail sale and I booked train tickets from Hayes and Harlington to Moreton-In-Marsh and return to London Paddington for 23 GBP on a Tuesday, market day. I was on time, at the train station but my connecting train got cancelled. The brand new Elizabethan line had opened and the trains were experiencing several delays. Without wasting a minute, I enquired if there was a cycle space on 11.04 am train and got my cycle :) I arrived at Moreton-In- Marsh and skimmed through the small market. There was a Bell Inn with a big bell, which seemed to have inspired was a building in Lord of the Rings. Bought a fish and chips ... read more
Scenic views
St Lawrence Church on Bourton on the hill
Beautiful green meadows from the church

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Thornbury July 22nd 2021

We had a full day to just be in the moment. We could walk to the town of Thornbury but we chose to stay put and enjoy the castle. After breakfast we asked to staff to set up the croquet for us. They put the croquet set out letting us set it up as we wished. We played croquet going one direction then returning the opposite direction, free for all, going one direction and hitting a flag to win, resetting the hoops another way. At one point we heard a bagpipe player close by and went to see what it was all about. It turned out that there was a church next door to the castle that we had not even noticed and a person was playing the bagpipes in the church cemetery. There was a ... read more
The Church is in the foreground and the castle on the left
Gate built for King Henry VIII to use to access the church from the castle
High tea with Bloody Mary looking down on us and George in his suit of armor

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Painswick December 6th 2020

Well Mike's aunt is going to be 90 and so we decided to pop down to Banbury and see her - of course she would sit in the garage and we would sit in the garden so socially distanced - had to wait until lockdown was over before we knew we could come here. However, on the way we decided at the last minute to do another leg of the Cotswold Way. So we decided to stay in Painswick where we finished our last walk on the Cotswold Way earlier on in the year. I thought Painswick would have some lovely little shops where I could finish my Christmas shopping. How wrong can you be, seems there are only 4 shops in the whole town and one of them is a small supermarket. Anyway, we set ... read more
My shoes
Mike looking for the view!

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Stroud October 19th 2020

It was only 12 months ago, that I would have instinctively booked some aeroplane tickets for our usual autumn jaunt. Last year, we were wandering around the boulevards of Lviv and enjoying the Indian summer. I was eagerly awaiting my attendance at the Lviv derby to add to collection of Eastern European footballing obscurities. My spies in Moscow tell me that the weather is once again unseasonably warm in that part of the world, but what was once a normal aspiration is no longer possible. I set my sights on something closer to home, but somewhat more exotic than my recent trip to Ponte Carlo. TFB is following the science, or so he claims and was on the verge of introducing a tier system of risk to be given to each part of the country. There ... read more
Brinscombe & Thrupp FC
Stroud Subscription Rooms
Stroud

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Winchcombe September 24th 2020

Well we met up with Marianne at the start of the walk from Winchcombe and got lost right from the start so this was looking like a real good day. Anyway we found the track and then we started the walk. We had lots of steps up hills which is great when you are up there as the views are amazing however then the heavens opened and the rain came a tumbling down! So being a true walker I put on my Kagool and carried on walking. Well this kagool looks good but to be honest that’s as far as it goes cause it does not stop the rain from penetrating so wet jumper it is which is not great. We get to one part of the track and this is the sign we see BEWARE ... read more

Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire September 24th 2020

So we meet Marianne at her hotel and set off for the start of the walk. The first day we have found the start with no issues or so we thought!! So walking along all we can hear are gun shots and not just one or two but loads and loads. We seemed to be walking towards the gun shots for an hour so we thought that the walk was making us human targets. We decided as there was so many gun shots that it must be a military base. So in our minds we thought at least they would be good shots - anyway just checked 3 shooting grounds in Cheltenham - I never knew Cheltenham was a gun slinging town! Anyway some fabulous scenery again on the tops of the hills. This was a ... read more
another fine view
Devils Chimney
Is this our next abode?




Tot: 0.163s; Tpl: 0.008s; cc: 10; qc: 80; dbt: 0.0957s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb