Blogs from Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe

The Cotswolds deserve their reputation. Everything you've heard about them is probably true, even the cliche's! Yes they are quintessentially English, they are post card picturesque, they are the playground for the well to do and the 'Champagne Charlies' from the cities, the are quaint, charming and really quite beguiling and yes every village does serve cream teas, pork pies, fish and chips, pasties (which they pronounce nothing like we don't!) and ice-creams but not all at once! From Chipping Campden via Stow on the Wold, Long Compton and Little Compton, Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter to Bourton on the Water Even the place names are enchanting! Apart from not being able to see over the hedgerows for half the journey the drive is delightful. We keep off the main arterial roads which means frequent 'disorientations' ... read more

Saturday 25 July 2015 We have waited a while for a fine day and here it is, so it's up, up and away on a drive around the Cotswolds. We have a rough idea of places we might visit, but first we need to drive northeast from Gloucester to reach the Cotswolds area. We pass through Cheltenham admiring its tree-lined streets and large gracious houses, then we are out of the town and driving on quiet country roads. The names of English villages include some that cause curiosity and occasionally mirth. One such name suddenly stood out, demanding attention. We headed towards the village of Wyre Piddle Just because we could. This did not appear to be a "tourist trap" town, but did have a pub backing onto the River Avon. We drank our coffee on ... read more

The weather has been great and we've both managed to get sunburnt. We had 3 nights in the Cotswolds, so just 2 full days to get a taste of the region - we could have easily done with more. Our first day was spent travelling through a couple of villages in the North Cotswolds, visiting some lovely gardens and trying to avoid getting lost along the twisting roads. The main village that we visited was Chipping Campden which was just down the road from "our" village of Ebrington. Chipping Campden is a small market town and known for its High Street which dates from the 14th to 17th century; this is lined with buildings constructed from the very attractive Cotswold Stone. We picked up a map from the local information centre and walked the streets following ... read more

Today, we should visit in the morning the little towns Bourton-on-the-water & Chipping Campden. Really nice towns, but not spectacular. In the afternoon, we should visit the Roman Villa (Yanworth), where ruins of one of the biggest villa's from the Roman Empire were open for public. This would be the highlight of the day. However, this day was a disappointment (not by the weather). Today, at 9 we left our hotel in Swindon after the breakfast. First, we should visit Bourton-on-the-Water. We took a tourist route with the bus. Our driver drove "adventurous". Some roads were very small, and we had a big tour bus. The driver drove maybe a little bit hard, also through the curves of the road, and sometimes we had to brake very hard, because of oncoming traffic. However, I never felt ... read more

I have done nothing today. Just trying to see how this works. :)... read more