15 December 2020

The Cotswolds

Designated as an area of outstanding beauty The Cotswolds is the name given to a huge area of beautiful countryside running through five counties - Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.

As well as 800 square miles of beautiful countryside it has vibrant market towns, impressive churches, vast manor houses and picturesque villages built with beautiful honey coloured Cotswold stone. 

We visited three towns on our day trip in October. First stop was Cirencester.

After a look around the market, cathedral 

shops and an antique market we had worked up an appetite for lunch. M and I are great fans of fish and chips. Lots of places had it on the menu but then we just happened on the Malt and Anchor fish restaurant, and I'm glad we did. We both chose cod and twice cooked chips with peas. I opted for the smaller serving which was adequate for my appetite. It was excellent, food, service and value - highly recommended. They also offer a take away service. If I lived in Cirencester I would be a regular visitor 😋

Our next visit was to Bibury 

We had plenty of time to wander around this pretty village
described by William Morris as 'The most beautiful village in England'

St Mary's, a fine Saxon Church

Arlington row cottages was originally built in the 14th century as a monastic wool store. In the 17th century it was converted into a row of weavers' cottages. The cottages are lived in by tenants although you can book a holiday in number 9

Our final destination was Burford with its famous
High Street sweeping downhill towards the River Windrush.


The High street also has some lovely historic shops and houses on both sides.

This shop has signage advertising Early English oak furniture and other interesting objects!

We ended our day at Huffkins tea room.
We wanted a cream tea but they had run out of cream so we had a scone, jam and a lovely cup of tea. 

∼ Stay warm and well ∼
Polly x

19 comments:

  1. Very picturesque! When we were in England a number of years ago, we sampled many fish 'n chips shops too. Some were outstanding, some were just okay, and only one was so terrible that it was literally inedible. Actually, that was in a hotel restaurant.

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    1. We have had some bad ones too. I had to ask for a replacement meal in one restaurant a while ago.

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  2. Wowww Polly, dat is een heel mooi leerzaam tripje geweest,
    en wat hebben jullie veel moois kunnen bekijken, schitterend!!!

    Lieve groet,
    Josephine

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    1. Thank you Josephine, we do visit some lovely places.

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  3. I never knew where the Cotswolds got its name, nor that it was an area of 5 counties. I need to look again where my English ancestors came from and see if any were from that area. It is just lovely! I’ve never heard of twice cooked chips? We have twice baked potatoes that are mashed with sour cream and cheese. Thanks for the beautiful post.

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    1. According to a google search twice cooked chips are first cooked at a relatively low temperature, then at high heat, which gives the nice crispy crust :-)

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  4. What a wonderful day out, you took us on such a great tour. Such a shame they had run out of cream.

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    1. It was Lorraine, but the scones were very nice with butter and jam :-)

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  5. You were in my neck of the woods, Cirencester is my local shopping centre.

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    1. I thought it was Rosemary. You are lucky living in such a beautiful area.

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  6. Such a gorgeous area. How I’d love a wander there.

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    1. We only had a day trip but we agreed that we would like to have a holiday there.

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  7. Was in England about a year and a half ago. Can't wait to get back into travel. Lovely photos and I need to visit The Cotswolds.

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  8. I had a wonderful tour of the Cotswolds (1 day tour) with four towns but that meant we didn't have nearly enough time in Bibury, which is beautiful indeed. I love that area. I'd love to see Cirencester and Burford now, too. What a great time for you.

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    1. It is interesting to see a few places in one day but its much better to be based there and spend more time exploring.

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  9. An interesting tour, since I've seen very little of the Cotswolds. There are so many pretty little villages all over the UK that just quietly get on with being pretty!

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    1. There are Nick. Stamford and Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the Lake District, Scotland, Suffolk. So many pretty places to visit.

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  10. We must visit the Cotswolds some time, maybe next summer. So many pretty villages. Proper English countryside as we think of it.

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