A day in the Cotswolds

On a cool day with rain threatening we set out in the coach to view the Cotswolds. On previous cricket tours to England we had made two visits to this area.

On this occasion we started the tour at the village of Stow-on-the-Wold, a small market town in Gloucestershire. The town has a long history once being on the Roman road, Fosse Way. It is near another small town, Moreton in Marsh. Stow-on-the-Wold was the scene of the last battle in the First Civil War at the end of 1665 referred to as the Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold.

Market Square with Market Cross

As you explore the town you will find many interesting buildings in Stow-on-the-Wold.

The Stag at Stow

Porch House

There has been a building on the site of the Porch House since c947. Part of the history of the building is available on the Porch House Pub website.

Porch House

Street-scape

Another view of Market Square

In the above photo the tower of St Edward's Church can be seen. The church possibly dates back to the the eleventh century.

Stone wall

View of surrounding countryside

Close-up of a stone wall

After exploring the town for an hour we boarded the bus for our next stop - Bourton-on-the-Water.

Bourton-on-the-Water

This was our third visit to the village of Bourton-on-the-Water so we only took a few photos on this occasion.

We began this visit with a walk by the stream that flows through the village. As usual there were many ducks and other birds enjoying the clear quick flowing water.

Bourton-on-the-Water is a very pretty village.

Fairy Tree

Outside one of the buildings we passed this fairy tree in a garden.

Smiths of Bourton Tea Rooms Restaurant

Set in an old building the Smiths of Bourton Tea Rooms provide a pleasant place for morning or afternoon tea or, in our case, lunch. We ordered and enjoyed the English Cream Tea - scones with jam an clotted cream plus a coffee for Robin and hot chocolate for me.

After lunch we wandered around the shops before returning to the coach.

On the way we walked along a path between stone walls which are a feature of this area.

Bibury

Tuesday 14 August and we were on the road again, this time to Newport in Wales. On the way we stopped at Bibury. Bibury was one of the villages in the Cotswolds that we had visited previously in 2015.

Bibury is famous for the row of cottages known as Arlington Way. These buildings date back to 1380 when they were used for storing wool. They were converted into weavers' cottages in the 17th century.

The cottages are now managed by the National Trust.

The Coln River flows through Bibury.

The former Arlington Mill is another feature of the village.

Alan and Tim outside the former Mill building.

Cirencester

The next stop on the way to Newport was Cirencester, another place that we had visited in 2015.

The settlement of Cirecester dates back to Roman times where it was the second largest city in Roman Britain.

The streets of Cirencester show a variety of architectural styles.

We began our visit this time by once again locating the remains of Roman walls dating from the 3rd century.

The walls are located in the park and are permanently open to the public.

We then visited St John Baptist Church.

Earlier churches had existed in Cirencester but a Norman church was built in 1117. The Abbey of St Mary was built around the same time. Over the years there has been much rebuilding of the church including the addition of the tower in 1400.

One section of the church has been set aside for the commemoration of events during World War One. The display showed events that occurred during 1918. They also had a carpet of knitted poppies that was being prepared as a feature of the display for Remembrance Day later in the year.

We then had lunch at The Coffee Shop @ Woodcock & Cavendish before returning to the coach for the journey to Newport.

Cirencester

On our rest day on 16 June a group visited Cirencester, a short distance from Cheltenham. Cirencester was the second largest Roman town in Britain.

The main purpose of the visit was to visit the Corinium Museum which has displays depicting life in the area from prehistoric times to the Civil War.

Displays include sections of mosaic floors

sections of painted plaster and

remains of marble columns.

There is a replica of a Roman garden where you can sit and contemplate.

We then visited the Church of St John the Baptist. This impressive church was built more than 1000 years ago. One of the guides gave us a tour of the building and then suggested that we go out through the side door to the gardens where the remains of a Roman wall could be located.

Outside the church is a market cross signifying the importance of the town as a market town during the wool boom.

Cirencester was well worth visiting.

Cheltenham

On 12 June we left Yeoville for Cheltenham and arrived at the Cotswold Grange Hotel where we were to spend the next week.

The hotel was built in the 1830s and we had a room on the second floor with a view looking over the neighbouring houses to the nearby hills.

Cheltenham was one of the places to live or to visit, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. This is reflected in much of the architecture of the city.

Royal Crescent

There are also rows of smaller terraces in many of the streets.

Cheltenham was renowned for its spas. The Pittville Pump Room was a major attraction in the nineteenth century being built in the 1820s as part of Joseph Pitt's plan for an impressive housing development known as Pittville. The pump rooms are located at the top of Pittville Park.

The buildings are now used for weddings and other functions.

Many of the grand houses in what is now known as Pittville were part of the estate planned by Joseph Pitt. Pitt became bankrupt before the project was completed but his name and legacy continue in Pittville.

The Montpellier Rotunda, now a branch of Lloyds Bank, was also a pump room in the nineteenth century.

There are many impressive gardens in Cheltenham including the Imperial Gardens.

The composer, Gustav Holst, was born in Cheltenham and there is a statue of him in the Imperial Gardens. There is also a Gustav Holst Museum.

There are colourful displays of flowers throughout the city.

Central Cheltenham is a good place to walk through and explore.