Sutton Courtenay

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We have been in the UK since April 23. I am publishing this blog out of order so that you know where we are and what we have been doing since we arrived.

We have rented a flat until the end of July in a small village in Oxfordshire called Sutton Courtenay (pronounced Courtney despite the spelling).

Wi-Fi is included in our rental so, if you want to contact us, either use email or leave a Private Message here on Travelblog. If you want it to be private, please don't leave the message as a Comment as these are visible to everyone who reads the blogs.

We also have UK mobile phones. Sylvia: [phone]. John: [phone].



When we first arrived, we spent a few days in Brighton to get ourselves organised and to visit Margaret, John's stepmother. From there, we rented a motorhome and travelled to Cornwall via Salisbury. The weather was so cold, wet and windy that we left after a couple of days and headed to Wallingford in Oxfordshire where John's sister, Jacinta, used to live. We knew that the camp-site there was a good one and close to town.

We were able to hunker down for a week and try to throw off the cold we had both developed. While we were there, we were able to find our present flat through a local travel agent. It is very small – just a kitchen/living room, bedroom and shower/toilet but it is on a bus route which allows us easily to get to Didcot and Oxford from where we can get trains to anywhere in the UK.

Sutton Courtenay can be traced back to the 5^th/6^th century though there is nothing left from that period except for what has been revealed by archaeological excavation. The oldest building in the village is All Saints Church, parts of which date from the 12^th century though most of the building is from 14^th/15^th century. Empress Matilda (1102 – 1167) is reputed to have been born here.

It is a pretty village but is being slowly built out by new housing developments and the expansion of Milton Park, a nearby industrial estate. The church and the Village Hall are the social focus for the community. It has been easy for us to fit in and Sylvia has already made contact with the local craft group. We will be here till the end of July when we move on to Scotland for the Wallace reunion on Arran.

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Photos

Vicar's Fun Day
On The Village Green

George and Dragon
Built1790

George Orwell's Grave
In All Saints churchyard

Comments

[Chris & Linda Walter]

Hi Guys!
We are currently in Cornwall after traveling from Brighton yesterday! Hope you are both well, we have the family here for the week - 9 of us to cook for. If you are near Brighton after 7th June let us know! Regards Linda & Chris

[D MJ Binkley]

England
Sounds like you've found a nice place to nest for a while. Enjoy your day trips. Nice architecture.