Sibling Safari to the Land of our Birth: The Cotswalds -- so cute

the area of the Cotswalds we toured

I just love the Cotswalds and I am so glad that my brothers and I decided on a couple of days in this area to relax and get over our jet lag.

The main square of Castle Combe

After we picked up our car at the airport on Thursday morning, we set the GPS courtesy of Minas, for Stratford-upon-Avon. Unfortunately, Aphrodite, the GPS, whom Robert has now named Jezebel, was still programmed from our bicycle trip to eliminate highways. It took us a while to realize that and then we stopped to buy a real map and ask for directions.

The house of the Bard in Stratford-Upon-Avon

On the motorway we made better time and soon were in Stratford-Upon-Avon where the first order of business was lunch; as we were starving. After that, we strolled about trying to avoid bumping into tourists and minding to look right when crossing the street: no small feat when you have crossed the ocean and have been awake for far too many hours in a row.

I was the one who wanted to see the birthplace of the bard but it was quite disappointing. Apart from the house itself and the swans on the river running through it, Stratford is mostly a tourist destination full of small gift shops and plenty of bus tours. We did not stay long.

the old covered market in Chipping Campden

We soon made our way to Chipping Camden which is a delightful little market town where we wandered around and took plenty of pictures, especially Robert who can't seem to get enough of the stone buildings.

We finally made our way to our delightful and out of the way country inn, The Green Dragon where a drink in the cosy pub and a good dinner in their restaurant was all we had in us before we turned in for bed.

the Green Dragon Inn near Cowley

the scenery near Cowley

The Cotswalds are lovely but the roads are very narrow, our vehicle is large and everyone drives like crazy men. The country-side and the villages would be lovely for biking but there is no edge to the road, no room to cycle and way too many cars going far too fast. William is doing a terrific job of driving and I am doing my best to navigate using a combination of the GPS and a map.

Will and Rob

Rob and William are lots of fun. They tease me unmercifully, sing and burst into poetry or off colour jokes and comments and we often reminisce about the stories about Mum and Dad from our childhood. I think we are achieving our goal for this trip: of re-connecting as siblings and honouring the memories we have of our parents.

Rob finds a hat

The weather is sunny but cool. Yesterday we walked the Cotswald country-side for 6 hours - must have covered at least 12 km. It was Rob's idea and it seemed like a good way to counteract the jet lag and get us moving again. At first we wandered uphill on narrow tracks gazing at the sheep and taking large numbers of pictures.

In one tree covered lane, my brothers thought a fencing match might be a good idea. I caught it on video and we showed it over and over again that evening finding it funnier with each viewing. Unfortunately I can't seem to upload it to the blog.

hiking through a field of horses in the Cotswalds

Of course, the path took us through fields of horse and cows, not my favourite creatures to be sharing space with, and of course, we got lost. That took us back to those narrow edgeless roads and lunch in a pretty horrible road-side inn. We took our lives in our hands walking on the road for a while before we found a parallel walkable field and then a path across the fields back to the hotel.

Catherine in the public stocks in Stow-on-the-Wold

By mid-afternoon we reached the Green Dragon and I decided we needed a bit more of a cultured environment before dinner. The boys humoured me and we set off for Stow-on-the-Wold, a quaint little place where my brothers promptly put me in the stocks. It didn't take us long to finish our wandering as the shops were shutting down and the last of the tourists were pulling out.

Back in the car, we found that the traffic was busy so we decided on one more stop in Lower Slaughter and this was a delightful decision. No cars, no tourists, just an adorable little village and perfect light for picture-taking. We rather thought that the inhabitants of this village tried to keep visitors out and there were certainly no shops or cafes to loiter in. However there was a lovely posh hotel with acres of green lawn on the far side of the tiny river at the entrance to the town. Looked like an idyllic place to spend a romantic week-end.

Rob takes pictures

the old mill wheel of Lower Slaughter

W e had enjoyed a fantastic day but were happy to return to the warm and cosy pub of The Green Dragon for late afternoon drinks in the pub, more silliness and then dinner.

the houses along the canal at Castle Combe

On Saturday, we headed toward Bath for a day of wandering about this gracious old city which was highly recommended by William. Unfortunately, when we were nearing the town, the line-up to get off the motorway was exceedingly long and was moving at a snail's pace. After fifteen minutes of this, we opted to get out of the line and spend the day visiting more cute Cotswald villages.

Rob and Will and the cottages used by the hotel in Castle Combe

We first took in Castle Combe which is absolutely charming and perfectly kept partly due to the fact that the fancy manor hotel had bought up a number of the nearby cottages for guest accommodation. We spent some time wandering and more sitting at an outdoor cafe watching the people.

stopping at the Catherine Wheel in Bibury

We then decided to move on, heading for the Rick Steeves recommended Moreton-on-Marsh. It got late and we settled for closer Bibury which was full of tourists and disappointing compared to other Cotswald villages. We did enjoy a stop for a snack and a libation at the old coach inn called The Catherine Wheel - an appropriate name for our rolling escapades.

a home owner's translation of No Trespassing

We did think the signs found in this town, as so many other English towns, to be quite hilarious. The English never use one word when fourteen will do. But we loved to read them aloud to each other, often puzzling over what the heck these people were trying to communicate.

And then it was back to our lovely pub for more good food and a nice bottle of wine.

And did I mention that I love the Cotswalds?