Explore The Cotswolds: Chipping Campden and Bourton-On-The-Water

After spending an entire day at the sleepy village of Bibury, we checked into our room, a last minute booking on AirBnB. The spotlessly clean (and new) room and a bathroom all to ourselves cost me a grand total of £35. Yup. That's it. After a hurried breakfast, we set off on our journey for the next Cotswolds village on my list - Chipping Campden.

The skies had turned grey with ominous clouds on the horizon. It was barely 12.30pm but it was already getting dark. The drizzle had turned into a downpour. Chipping Campden is an affluent and bustling market town with nary a spot in sight to park my compact rental car. I felt like I'd stepped into a Barbour advert seeing that's the preferred attire here. Jodhpurs were a common sight too.





We were getting wetter and colder by the minute as we trudged up and down the streets looking for a café with an appealing menu. Lil L and I finally agreed on Huxley's, a gastro pub-cum-café housed in a 500 year old building with a large open fireplace. It's small and packed to the gills with regulars where the staff pretty much knew everyone by name. We perched ourselves by the fire because frankly speaking, we looked like drowned rats and this was the quickest route to get dry and warm.

My beef casserole was fantabulous. The meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender, infused with guinness ale after hours of stewing.  Lil L waxed lyrical about her mushroom on toast. We had to hurry along to our next destination - Bourton-on-The-Water.

Well. When it rains, it pours. I'm talking about torrential downpour here. We ended up huddling inside the car at the parking lot as the rain came down hard and fast. We had a moment of respite so we dashed out and did the world's fastest sight-seeing in the history of mankind. And then ran into Smith's of Bourton to seek shelter and enjoy their famed cakes. The lime and coconut cake was divine. I rarely if ever walk into a tearoom decorated with all things chintz (I'm allergic to floral prints). It was such a novelty experience......for me anyway to be in a proper old fashioned tea room, drinking tea instead of tossing back cups of coffee and surrounded by floral prints.

Too bad about the weather. Guess we'll have to make our way back again to The Cotswolds.

Explore England: Bibury, The Cotswolds

I have been dying to explore the Cotswolds since well, forever really. Recently, I counted the number of trips I've made to France in the last 7 years. 15. Yes, 15 trips and I haven't even ventured out to the Cotswolds where the nearest village to me was a mere 1.5 hours away. Shame on me.

Since school's out and Lil L has been pestering me for a mom and daughter date, I jumped on the idea of an impromptu road trip. When I say last minute, I mean really really really laaaaaaaast minute. I emailed a host on AirBnB just before midnight, received a reply immediately (good man. He sleeps late and has a gadget attached to his fingers at all times), picked up our little rental car the next morning and we were off on our mini Cotswolds adventure.

We drove along the winding country lanes with Lil L oohing and aahing at the sight of rolling hills, sheep and whatnot. Autumn is probably the best season to explore the Cotswolds. The countryside is spectacularly awash with ombré leaves.

We arrived at Bibury, also known as one of the most picturesque villages in the Cotswolds just in time for lunch. It was probably a bad idea to have a picnic by the river because we were hounded by fearless mallards who wanted a bite of our sandwiches. Dudes....don't you realize you're part of the food chain too??




If you have a British passport, perhaps you may recognize the row of stone houses above. Arlington Row has become rather famous, so to speak, that hordes of tourists hover outside to take numerous photos and selfies. Interestingly enough, the compact yellow car belonging to one of the residents there -  an elderly retired dentist, has been a source of discontent amongst many tourists for photobombing an otherwise perfect photo opportunity. It was all over the papers a year or so ago. Oh well. You can airbrush wrinkles and create thigh gaps at a click of a button so it can't be too hard to erase a yellow car. Just sayin'.

Originally built as a monastic wool store in the 14th century, it was converted into weavers' cottages three hundred years later for workers at the mill nearby. The mill is only a short walk away from Arlington Row, located opposite the charming vine covered Swan Hotel (first photo at the top of the page) along the river Coln where native brown trouts can be seen swimming in the clear waters.






We ambled down the narrow lanes to ogle at some very quaint and rustic houses with their colorful doors. It's a tranquil and picturesque little village set in the idyllic English countryside.  We stumbled upon St Mary's church, slightly off the beaten path from the well trodden Arlington Row. It dates back to Saxon period which makes it more than a thousand years old. *gasp*

There was a wedding on (we seem to hit a wedding each time we visit a Cotswolds village) so we gave a quick peek through the gates and hurried back to our little car. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly the local folks are. Quick to smile a hello even when they're going about their daily tasks despite the fact that they get swarms of tourists nearly everyday. This rarely happens in Winchester. It's normally....eyes forward, keep your stride steady......

Next up, Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-the-water (whew. What a mouthful!)


More on the Cotswolds here (Castle Combe) and here (Lacock). 

Explore England: Lacock, The Cotswolds

The minute someone finds out that I'm from New Zealand, there's usually an excited squeal. Apparently, the country's on nearly everyone's bucket list, thanks to Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, I'm thinking....but but but wait....what about your picture perfect English villages with their neatly pruned gardens and centuries old buildings seeped in history?? Just so you know I've stopped dashing about touching everything and exclaiming "WOW, I'VE JUST TOUCHED SOMETHING 750 YEARS OLD!!" Folks around me would inevitably take a few steps back and snickered. I even arrogantly told my mom who visited me recently that "this building is ONLY 400 years young." While she did the gasped-in-wonder-awestruck-jaw-drop thing, I dragged her off to a truly old church. Beat that. I'm a seasoned U.K dweller now, folks. But I still secretly hyperventilate with a silent Oh Em Geeeeeee.

Lacock is another one of those fairy tale medieval villages within The Cotswolds. Just so you know, BBC's Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince were filmed here. *squeal*  We came  on the day when they were holding their war festival. Everyone was dressed up in 1930s/1940s costumes while we, in our normal and modern outfits stuck out like a sore thumb. The small picturesque village was practically heaving with visitors. Scores of war memorabilia were on display including armored tanks and jeeps.






We arrived late when people were starting to leave. Lacock seemed like a movie set where we stepped back in time to the 1940s. People carried on playing their roles while we took a stroll down the narrow lanes, completely bowled over by what we were seeing. Nostalgic war songs were sung live at a local pub while many sat and listened as they enjoyed a pint or two. It was an extraordinary event to observe.

We stopped by a nearby teahouse and restaurant, Sign of the Angel for a spot of afternoon tea. The staff there were patient enough to put up with my incessant questions about the 15th century tudor styled building which was once a coach inn. They've retained many original features such as the rustic medieval open fireplace and low wooden overhead beams. We left Lacock feeling like we'd spent a day in a period drama. It was a truly magical experience.