Blogs from Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 6

Hi everyone We spent the final four nights of our trip around Cirencester, UK. We've spent the last few days with the Willows: Floss, Bess and Chris at Ampney Crucis. It's been delightful seeing them again. Bess goes to school now and is so grown up. We had our usual shopping expedition and Bessie is now ready for her party season with a floaty dress, shoes, bag and accompanying accessories. All the walking around was a bit hard on Floss who is 8 months pregnant. We all perked up again with a feast of Turkish Delight at the end of the shopping spree. Peter and Chris did a double flight of real ales, at the pub where Daniel O'Brien and Peter did the same thing two and a half years ago. Most enjoyable and different ales. ... 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 Cotswolds is right in the heart of the UK and is one of the country’s most spectacular regions and we could not resist this charming region. The countryside feels like a dream with its rolling hills, quaint villages and ancient picturesque towns. After we had visited, we understood the reason it is an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. CHIPPING CAMPDEN Chipping Campden is one of the great places we visited in Cotswolds nestled below Dover’s Hill and it is a unique historic town with a breathtaking setting. We enjoyed a walk from the old Market Hall through the village streets to the woodlands and later relaxed in one of the many tearooms later. We also stayed for a few nights just outside of Chipping with Log House Holidays, and amazing setting with log cabins around ... read more

Hi everyone We have been in England for a few days now and the weather has been very good. It rained yesterday morning and was beautiful in the afternoon. We are now in Ledbury, Herefordshire (near where Top Gear’s Richard Hammond lives) with Helen and Gavin for a few days after having spent four delightful days with the Willow family in Ampney Crucis, near Cirencester. Bessie is quite the grown up girl now. We can see the difference in her since we were in the UK last year. We’ve had a fun time going to the park, going out to lunch and reading her stories. And then there is our shopping trip on Friday! I can’t wait for that. Floss and Chris have been doing a lot of renovations to their house and it’s looking great. ... read more

Today I had a wonderful English breakfast made by Hamish, the son of the people who own the house. It consisted of two fried eggs from the hens they raise in the back yard, mushrooms and grilled tomatoes. After eating it, I wondered why grilled tomatoes never caught on in the US because they are delicious. I will be serving them at my house forever after, you can be sure. After breakfast I ventured out in the car to the town of Burford. Charming. And spent way to much money and will have to buy a suitcase to pack in all my artifacts to make it home. It will be worth it. I bought a darling sugar and creamer from the early 20th century (I think it may be considerably older than that). A doiley with ... read more