Day 13 - Chipping Campden: Tour with Les

Les, is one of the owners of Cornerways B&B, and he doubles as a driver and a tour guide. Martha and I took advantage of that today with a four hour tour of the northern Cotswolds. Les is a lifer from the area and was born in Ebrington - E bring ton.

Les had a plan for the tour and Martha and I settled in to listen and learn.

I am writing this from the Eight Bells pub, named because it stored the Eight bells for St James Church, while it was being built just up the street. Les and Carole and well as their son Jack were married in St. James. The pub has something called a Priest Hole, which was used to hide priests from the monarchy, when churches and priests fell out of favor.

St. James church was built in the. 15th century. Of course it has a cemetery, but also vast lands which belong to the National Trust, ensuring they will never be built upon. The locals graze their sheep on the land.

Just down the street from the church is the old horse and cart wash. That’s correct, it was filled with water and the people ran their horses and carts through this trough to clean them.

After we left Chipping Campden, it was on to Broadway, for a few things we missed yesterday.

The Broadway Tower. On a clear day you can see the Black Hills of Wales from the top of the tower. JRR Tolkien is from the area and it is believed that this tower was the inspiration for one of the battles in his books.

The Hounds: We knew they were there but did not walk far enough yesterday. Boys on the left, girls on the right. Just hanging out between hunts or exercise or whatever hounds do when they aren’t hunting…

After Broadway we headed to Snowshill, where Les told us that wherever you see a church, there is a pub within a short walk. This is where a screen from Bridget Jones Diary was filmed.

We cruised through Stanton and Stanway where there was another church and legit thatch roof houses. We learned that today’s thatched roofs have chicken coop like wire covering them because back in the day, animals like cats and dogs burrowed into the roofs to stay warm. But then when it rained, they would be washed out, hence the saying “raining cats and dogs.” Also, each thatch maker adorns his roofs with a certain animal sculpture perched on top. That way, you knew who wove what roof.

There was a minor road rage incident. The roads are very small here, very small. We nosed out in traffic to turn right and an oncoming car was not pleased that we impeded his progress. He honked and screeched to a stop as we moved further into the intersection. Les rolled down his window (in the states, this would be proceeded with obscenities and hand gestures) in England, Les calmly said to the offended driver, “There’s no need for that, Mate.” And we carried on.

And then we were on to Bourton on the Water; a very cute, busy village, situated on the River Windrush. I might describe it as a creek, but who am I to judge. We got out and walked a bit, and yes there was a pint as well. Kids, dogs, horses, kids on horses, were all playing in the river. It was very picturesque.

Driving through the Cotswolds, I tried to capture the beauty of the countryside. The pictures do not do it justice. It is so pretty and green and rolling hills. The purple crops are lavender.

We went through Upper and Lower Slaughter and finished in Stowe on the Wold. Wold means hill so Stowe on the Hill. Stowe has a square instead of a high street. We also learned most high streets are curved so the wind cannot just barrel through the town.

Lastly, driving around the Cotswolds for four hours gives you an immense appreciation for how stinking narrow are these roads. Yowsa, when a car comes at you, you automatically suck it in. There’s road in CC where the car that is farther along gets to proceed and the other car has to back up.

Road shots and a hilarious road sign.

My buddy Margie Venmod for a few drinks on her and we took advantage of that on a beautiful Sunday. Beers in Bourton on the River - definitely more of a creek, and Chipping Campden. Thank you.