UK Day 5: Cotswolds

Day 5
1st August 2014

Today we enter a new month as we check out of Mil-Mar B&B for a day tour to admire the beautiful, serene, quiet towns of Cotswolds with Tom from Go Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds is an area of England about the size of greater Tokyo.  It is well known for its sleepy villages built with honey-colored limestone buildings, gentle hillsides ('wolds'), old Anglican churches and oh, for being so 'typically English.'  And yes, you can get those quaint little tea rooms offerings scones and clotted cream too!

This is our limousine for the day

My dad, who made the arrangements, found Tom on the internet.  Tom just started this tour business and apparently we were the first to book!  What's more exciting is the fact that Tom is a local boy knows all the little secrets, hidden small towns, background and roads in and out of Cotswolds.

Look what I found... I DID take pictures from yesterday's evening drink at The Encore.  They were found in another folder.  I had Fosters and ordered a San Miguel for dad.

Our morning walk up the road (we went further than yesterday this time) and spotted a small wooden bridge linking two houses.  Just thought it's nice..

Yum yum!  

After a similar full English breakfast, Tom picked us up from our B&B.  After us, picked another 2 couples up - one is an elderly English couple who migrated to Australia and another is a still-deeply-in-love Middle Eastern couple from London.  I later found out that the Middle Eastern lady, Rose, is a mother to three children - her eldest 18 yo going to Oxford or Cambridge (smart kids she has).  She herself studied part time while holding a job in the past year and just graduated.  That's not stopping her, because she's got plans to continue her MD degree in General Practice very soon.  Total salute to her!

Anyway, back to ourselves.

1.  First stop - Davies Hill

From Stratford upon Avon, we drove through the first town called Mickletown, headed towards Broadway Stow-on-the-wold and finally stopped at Davies Hill, where we saw...

Sheep resting on a field

More biri-biri.  I thought we'd be seeing more sheep at the later part of this trip but no, these were all there is.  I saw more sheep in Feb 2010 on the farm and by the roads but don't ask me where exactly, because directions and maps are just not me

That's our guide, Tom in red.

2.  Chipping Campden

Our next stop was Chipping Campden where we took a 45 minute stop/trail-walk.  With its grand Cotswold stone buildings, Chipping Campden is easily one of the most picturesque towns not only in the Cotswolds but in the whole of England.   This couple with a variety of quirky shops, tea rooms and galleries make it a great place to explore.

There's a great coffee shop in town which we didn't go to because we aren't exactly big fans of coffee although we do drink... and a shop called Cotswold Cheese Co that sells over 80 types of artisan farmhouse cheese.. WAIT!  Did I just read that?  Yikes, totally missed that out during the visit...

Picture of the High Street, taken from chippingcampden.co.uk 

We started the trail opposite the Market Hall and headed towards St James Church, then made a turn back to the starting point where we waited for Tom.

The Markethall.  Apparently these baskets only selling for a couple of quid

Catching and quirky quotes?

Houses or shops along the walk, mostly adorned with colorful summer flowers

A inconspicuous English postbox, and a striking blue door

The compound of St James church... eerie with all the tombstones?  No... so peaceful, so serene.  

Beautiful stain glass inside the church

Empty pews, but a prayer was said

Inside Badger's Hall Tea Room courtyard garden on a beautiful sunny day.  Can you spot my dad here?

Sunflowers and sunnies

There, there!  While waiting for Tom, dad popped in to try out their churchfield's farmhouse ice cream... I think the flavour was mint.  He's a happy man with the ice cream.  : )

3.  Broadway Tower

Apparently this is Cotswolds' highest castle and the second highest point in this area... read on here.

This Coach sling bag which I bought from Hong Kong really comes in handy as I can have my hands and shoulders free and easy to dig in for stuff

We passed by a lavender farm that was just harvested in Snowshill.  This is also where Bridget Jones Diary was filmed.  Coincidently this is one of my all-time favourite movie.

If you have a bottle of lavender oil or a packet of lavender sachet, just imagine that fragrant multiplied a million times.  Even in our van, we could smell the lovely fragrance... hhmm... how about lavender by my picket fence if I stay in the UK?  *daydreaming again*

4.  Stow-on-the-wold

We drove past Stanton and stopped at Stow-on-the-wold for lunch.

The town looks dull compared to Chipping Campden which we visited earlier

Parts of Treebus Tea Room where we had our lunch

Having smoked salmon sandwiches and hot chocolate

Bon appetit!

5.  Bourton-on-the-water

This town is very different from the previous stops we made.  First of all, we noticed a small river running through the town, and I guess that's obviously where the name of the town came from.  And where there's a river and grass on its side, you'll find locals and tourists alike picnicking, playing and just chilling out.

I personally like this place.  I think one could spend a day or two here.  Look at the pictures and you will see why...

This is the first of four bridges along the river

A local souvenir shop.  I bought a packet duck feed for 50pence at one of these shops

Of course, I had to capture flowers... there were so many beautiful ones.  Here's only a few.  My dad finally commented, "Stop taking pictures of the flowers!" 

Ducks... what's a visit to the UK without feeding ducks, huh?  Just one of my silly ideologies.  Oh, by the way... the chinese boy beside me - I DO NOT KNOW HIM - there were a few groups of China mainlanders there.

And along the way, Tom stopped at this spot with great scenic background for us to snap pictures...

6.  Icomb - the secret village

It's about 4pm and we were coming to the end of our tour.  Remember I mentioned that Tom was a local boy who knows the ins and outs and smaller, "untouched" villages of Cotswolds?  Well, he brought us to this little town called, Icomb.  We parked by the road along some houses, and got down for a walk.  By this time, my S95 battery was running weak from being overworked the whole day, and I had to be very selective with snapping pictures now.  

Flowers in the middle of the "neighborhood"  I think there's less than a hundred people stayimg here.  

Rose bush by the entrance

7.  Rollright Stones

A little bit of history to finish off the tour, Tom brought us to our last stop at Rollright Stones. Here's a short excerpt about the place taken from www.english-heritage.org.uk, 

"Traditionally a monarch and his courtiers petrified by a witch, the Rollright Stones consist of three groups: the King's Men stone circle; the Whispering Knights burial chamber; and the single King Stone. They span nearly 2,000 years of Neolithic and Bronze Age development."

This is the lonely King Stone

There is a legend about a King and a witch which I suggest if you're keen to know more, please ask Uncle Google because yours truly here is not very much into history details.

And it is here that we took a group photo and Tom drove us back to Stratford upon Avon to drop off the elderly Australian couple before going out of his way (he's so kind) to drop dad and I together with the Middle Eastern couple at Warwick Parkway Station to catch our train back to London Marylebone.  

We walked out of the station looking for a pub where we could have dinner.  There were not shops or pubs in sight, so we decided to head back in... and then found a nice pub tucked in a corner... silly us!

Dad had the steak pie with mash and peas, whilst I have lasagne.  I ordered Heineken for dad and myself a lemonade to quench my thirst.

Look at how high or how long the escalators are!  I imagine it would be a scary ride up and down for those with acrophobia

And for supper... I cooked myself something oh-so familiar to every Malaysian - MAGGI MEE!  Dad wanted to rest and I'm sure he's very tired but so sporting and uncomplaining.  So I enjoyed a plate of spicy, hot noodles in the living room, just chilling and going through my LUSH brochure.  

Good night!  Praise God for a wonderful day out with fine weather!  Tomorrow it's a day out to Portobellow Market and a musical at the theatre.   

UK Day 4: Stratford-upon-Avon

Day 4
31st July 2014

Today our agenda is to sightsee the town by hopping on and hopping off the town tour bus which runs at 20 minutes intervals from designated stops which are normally landmarks and tourist spots.

We woke up early because the sun rises early too.  Imagine 5am here looks like 9am back home!  Dad and I went out for a short morning walk down the road to the other end, and admired the flowers blooming in the compounds of houses along the way.  I'd love to have the sun tone down a little, because my skin has been getting tanned by now.  Weather forecast is good with a little rain to be expected in the later part of the day.

Our breakfast was full English, which both dad and I enjoyed.  We couldn't wait to dig in.  I love the fresh cold milk mixed with creamy thick yogurt and a variety of fresh fruits and nuts.  Made a mental note to do the same back home, only that the yogurt here is not the same quality as in England.

We soon realize later that our full English breakfast was missing baked beans, but we realized too late, otherwise we'd given this feedback to our hosts Sandra and Jim who are the typical Englishy-nice couple in their 60s.

Soaking in the morning sun whilst waiting for our bus at the stop along Alcester Road

For the life of me, I forgotten where we took this photo... 

Anne Hathaway Cottage

Anne Hathaway Cottage from different angles

Just a few pictures of the lovely roses I saw.  If I stay in the UK, you'll be sure I'll have at least a rose bush in front of my front window ; )  OK, I'm daydreaming here.

This was the same bench that my Victoria, then 5yo, posed with a terrier in 2010

We hopped off at Mary Arden's Farm too but we did not go into the farm area, instead whilst we were waiting for the next bus, we had a good 10 minutes chat with the two gardeners tending the flowers there. 

The hop on-hop off tour buses

Doing a selfie with the flowers in town

We were walking to our lunch destination and I chanced upon... LUSH!  A homemade cosmetic brand that I've been looking out for.  My first purchase was in Hong Kong this June 2014 and I found their moisturizers and masks very effective, so I've had this mission to pick up more products here in the UK. Afterall, this is a UK brand, and boy is the price here so much cheaper!  Wish I could buy more if only I had more luggage space.  Oh well... there's always London - the original plan!  Dad got a seat the moment he stepped in, whilst I happily chatted with the promoter on the items that I needed.

Sorry, but I'm just so obsessed with flowers!  Here's more! 

Looking for our lunch destination was not difficult, as SuA is not a big town, and the road maps are easy to read.  There aren't many cars, and it was a pleasant walk along the streets.  We found Hathaway Tea Rooms located along High Street, which we picked from a local brochure and this turned out to be a great decision!  The experience was one of a kind - very English, very comfortable and most enjoyable.  It has rave reviews on the internet too!  Definitely MUST return to this place if there is a chance!

The Hathaway Tea Room dates back to 1610 and transferred ownership a few times before finally converted to a Tea Room in 1931.

The walkway to the gardens at the back.  Who wants to sit indoors on a beautiful summer day like this anyway?

See my dad grinning from ear to ear?  

My traditional cottage pie with minced steak - GBP8.25

Dad ordered the homemade chicken and leek pie - GBP8.25

So you see, the price ain't expensive if you don't convert and if you compare with the local bars.  What more, the quality and ambience is awesome, so I'd say this place is worth visiting!

From Top Left:  Our table number 68 and a bowl of sugar cubes... how lovely!  Top Right and Bottom Left:  the open garden, and Bottom Right:  Dad at the frontage

Enjoying a complimentary cuppa thanks to a cutting from the brochure

Me and a crown of petunias

Shakespeare's birth place

Enjoying an ice cream cone each and shopping at The Works.  I had rum n raisin flavour - my favourite, although it was not made with real rum.  Rainbow Looms fever was on sale here in The Works.  

After a walk through town, we headed to River Avon to hop onto the cruise which was part of the ticket deal.  The signage were not clear, so we ended up at first at the wrong side of the river and waited for close to 15 minutes until someone came over to tell us to go opposite.  The weather then was getting gloomy and rain clouds were over us with slight drizzle by then.

We took shelter in the boat as we waited for the cruise to start.  Another couple joined us later.

Colorful boats parked by the side.  I think these are privately owned

People lazing around at the park next to River Avon

This place brings back memories.  Check out the difference here in March 2010.  I can't help but feel a tinge of sadness because the ducks and swans are now a lot fewer, and I'm missing my family too.   I can imagine them running around like they did,  if they were here now

Dad and I doing another round of selfie as we waiting for the cruise to start (at the wrong side of the river)

A lone swan swimming

Gate and boat parking to private property

After this cruise, we sat at the park to finish off our sausage roll that I bought yesterday, and which dad was lugging all around in his backpack.  We decided to have this, and a pint of beer later and call it a day.

I couldn't find any pictures of the bar and our beers so I guess I forgotten to take them with my S95.  Anyways...

That's all for Day 4 folks!