Onto the Cotswolds...

Hearing rave reviews that the Cotswolds is the jewel of Southern England, we couldn't wait to get there and start exploring its quaint towns.  Contrary to our naive expectations that we would be staying in a remote and secluded lodge surrounded by rolling hills, our beautiful hotel, The Montpellier Chapter, was set in the bustling town of Cheltenham (far bigger than any of the towns we have visited thus far) within walking distance to a restaurant and shopping-filled promenade.  In retrospect, it is no wonder our earlier Internet search had found so many laundry service shops available there!

Luckily, our hotel was perfectly located to do just that and so we headed out, each day in a different direction, to explore.

We visited a lot of towns during our time (11 in total!).  For our readers' and our own sakes, we will not got into detail about each of them (although there is a list of them at the end, just in case).    Instead, we will say that there is a reason that these towns are voted some of the most romantic in England.   They host beautiful old stone homes that are very well-maintained for their age.  The homes are unique in character but share an architectural design that creates cohesion.  They have exquisite gardens and stunning views of the rolling hills. There is a quiet serenity in these towns - like you have gone back to another time, before life got so busy.

There isn't much to do in these towns except wander around and drink tea.  The people in the Cotswolds love their "cream tea", a cup of tea with 2 scones.  We still cannot figure out why there is always two scones but perhaps it is so that you want you to sit and stay a little longer than when you just have one. 

A few highlights must be noted -  

In Broadway, there is a large watchtower built on Beacon Hill that overlooks the town and offers gorgeous views of the countryside.  The history of the tower is unusual - it was commissioned by Lady Coventry who wanted to see whether a torch lit in a tower on Beacon Hill could be seen from her house.  And so she paid for the tower to be constructed.  Good news for Lady Coventry - her very expensive experiment worked -.   she could see the tower light easily from her house! 

Upper and Lower Slaughter have a recommended walking trail between them.  The trail consists of three fields joined together with no paved footpath.  But lots of sheep.  There were no route markings on the trail and the only way to guess that you were going in the right direction was when you saw a sign asking you to shut the gates behind you.  To keep in the sheep, I suspect!    

Once in Lower Slaughter, we actually tried to continue on a more paved path to walk to Bourton on the Water but the trail was so covered in horse manure that we couldn't find a clear enough path to make it there cleanly.

The hamlet of Ebrington has a pub, the Ebrington Arms, that serves vegetarian (and non-vegetarian) Sunday Roast.  The place is so popular (surprisingly, not because of its vegetarian options) that if you want to park you must either go all the way back to the neighbouring town 3 miles away to find a spot or get creative.  We opted for the latter and Beth and the car still have nettle stings from the off-road steep-hill parking maneuvre devised.  Interestingly, the passenger who came up with the genius parking option was the only one to walk away unscathed.

In the end, Geoff's favourite town was Bourton on the Water, partly because of the canal running through it and partly because it had the most energy and buzz.  Even though the canal water was only 1 foot deep, it was lined with tons of people both sunbathing beside it and wading through it.  Beth's favourites were Chipping Campden and Painswick, likely because they both felt the most lost in time.  Almost untouched by the new world.  

Although not what we had originally envisioned, it turned out that Chelthenham was the perfect place for us to stay.  It provided the modern amenities we needed (clothes washing and an awesome juice bar!) just steps away from the serenity of the Cotswolds.


Towns Visited:

• Painswick
• Cirencester
• Tetbury
• Chipping Campden
• Broadway
• Stow-on-the-Wold
• Bourbon on the Water
• UpperSlaughter
• Lower Slaughter
• Burford
• Ebrington 

Bristol brought it...

We weren't quite sure what to expect from Bristol.  Traditionally a shipping and  manufacturing town, Bristol has gone through a recent transformation, changing its focus to become a more cultural hub in the UK.

In the end, Bristol was a real highlight for us for many reasons:

• The waterfront has been  revitalized and boasts restaurants, walking paths and modern apartment buildings.   Their boat trips along the river are short but give great insight into Bristol's history and proudly display its innovative architectural updates
• Our hotel - the Hotel Bristol - still wore its industrial exterior but was beautifully renovated inside and ran like a five-star hotel, offering some of the best service we have enjoyed this far.  
• Its Hippodrome offers first-class theatre productions. We enjoyed an evening of Dancing in the Rain, a production that sported incredible dancers, an ambitious set and 12,000 litres of water.  
• It has great restaurants such as Meluha, an Indian fusion restaurant which might be Beth's favourite Indian restaurant to date.
• It offers numerous waking paths, including a hike along the water and up to the Clifton Suspension Bridge that crosses the River Avon and gives spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.
• A tearoom in nearby Beese's that requires a drive down a terrifying unpaved deep-drop road but that served Quorn hot dogs and jacket potatoes that made the drive more than worth it.  

As we checked out and the hotel gave us bottles of water to keep us hydrated for the next stage of our journey, we really felt that Bristol is on the right track!

Oh Bude...

After hearing so much about the beauty of Cornwall and how lovely English seaside towns are, Geoff was very excited to be heading for the northern Cornwall town of Bude. The weather looked like it would be perfect for the stay, the hotel looked attractive and was "steps from the beach",  and we were both looking forward to the sand (a rarity in England) beach set among rugged cliffs (also a rarity in England).

The drive in was lovely, with the Sun beaming down and the landscape getting more and more rugged.

Our hopes began to moderate somewhat as we drove through the town of Bude -the road followed a shallow, fetid, algae-water canal that supposedly was once England's 2nd most important waterway, with cheap wood clapboard surf shops lining the route and more than a dozen ice cream stands selling identical faux ice-cream.

Up ahead was the beach, we could see people walking by with wetsuits on, and families carried blankets and picnic baskets in anticipation of a fun surf-filled day ahead.

As we crested the ridge, there it was. Where everyone was heading. The beach? Wait, that cant be it can it? There was about a mile of sand, strewn with pockets of tidal water, covered in rotting seaweed, and with boats that were hardy (read: cheap) enough that the owners just let them rest on the sea floor when the tide went out.

Dominating the scene was a large parking lot, which featured as the central viewing object from pretty much any angle that was tried.

Beach goers had set themselves up amidst the tidal detritus, spreading their blankets out steps from the parking lot but 100s of yards from the actual water. Had they been there since the tide went out? Surely they wouldn't have wasted the effort of donning a wetsuit if they could barely see the water?

As we pulled up to our hotel, we saw the prize jewel of Bude, the seaside pool. This answered the question of why people were wearing wetsuits. They were wearing them into an ugly concrete pool that was filled with water at high tide, but which was nowhere near the sea during daylight hours.

Perhaps our hotel was "steps from the beach" at high tide, but during the day it was about a 15 minute hike. The hotel was actually quite nicely decorated, but the advertised beach view could only be realized by peering through the windows of the camper vans parked in the omnipresent parking lot.

Our hearts sank as we realized that this is where we would spend our next 4 days. 

Still, in a stoic attempt to make the most of it, we bravely set off for the town's best restaurant, Life's A Beach, which proclaimed that we would be wondering if we were on the Italian Riviera after experiencing their beautiful atmosphere and food.

Well, I think the Italians should consider a defamation suit for such a proclamation. Life's A Beach is a few notches below Wally's Burger Shack. It did have the advantage of being about the only place in town which did not focus its view on the parking lot, but sticky picnic tables built on a concrete escarpment serving whatever happened to be dredged up from the deep-fryer most certainly does not remind me of Portofino.

After giving up on our gross meals, we began the hike to the beach. Perhaps there was a hidden cove somewhere that could inject a little romanticism into this experience? Alas not. The cliffs were indeed beautiful dropping ruggedly into the sea, but it was nigh impossible to get a decent view of this. 

We gave up on the beach (never to return) and instead went in search of the castle, which led to our most pleasant surprise. On our way to the castle we found the unused tennis courts. This at least got us some exercise in the sun. The castle itself was okay, but its small size, refocusing as a mediocre lifeboat museum and sunken position left it worth a 15 minute visit at best.

Having done pretty much everything we could do in town in 3 hours, we headed back to the hotel to get some work done. To shake ourselves out of the funk we had fallen into, we went down at 17:00 to have a drink on the sun terrace overlooking the parking lot. The hotel was out of bitters and clearly could not mix a cocktail, but the setting was decent and we settled in for some liquid happiness.

It was at this point that we realized that the nice looking tapas restaurant at the hotel remained eerily dark and inactive as the dining hour approached. A quick check in with reception confirmed our concern - despite this being a weekend tourist destination, basically every restaurant in town was closed on Sundays! Reception helpfully suggested a pub about 25 miles away, or a tapas place that was a 30 minute walk that could "maybe" take us at 22:00 if we hurried through our meal.

All of this probably sounds a touch negative, but deservedly so. This was a waste of a coastline. No wonder so many Brits invade the Mediterranean beach towns.

Still, we managed to have a good time. The tennis was good, the hotel was comfortable, and we got a lot of work done. Plus, we got to sample authentic Cornish Pasties from "Tasty Pasty". Didn't exactly fulfill our fantasies of suntanning, beach volleyball and beach blanket reading, but at least now we know that we have no desire to fight the traffic hordes into Cornwall!

An ode gone wrong...

When we saw a sign for Weston Super-Mare on the highway, we knew we had to drop in for a visit. One of the home towns in our favourite Britcom, Gavin and Stacy, WSW seemed a hilarious and wonderfully off-beat place to visit.

Unfortunately, hilarious it was not.  We arrived to find the beach at low tide, making it almost impossible to even see the water without squinting.  Regardless, the beach was packed with people, all shielding their eyes from the overpowering blowing sand, and avoiding the donkey poo that littered the beach.  The pier itself cost money to even walk along but the funds clearly did not go towards its maintenance of the upkeep of the  very unsafe looking beach rides.

Wanting to salute our "tv friends", Gavin and Stacy, we tried to give the place a fair shake.  But  after we felt we had hit the mandatory minimum, we shook the sand out of our clothes and hair and drove out of there as quickly as we could!

An unexpected addition to the Bucket List...

I hadn't really thought about it until I saw the sign for "Cheddar" while we were speeding along the highway.  But at that moment I knew...having a cheddar cheese sandwich (or in Geoff's case, a cheddar cheese quiche) in the village of Cheddar was one for the Bucket List!

The village of Cheddar, the original home of cheddar cheese, turned out to be even nicer than expected. Although it did not have, as I had hoped, an actual river of liquid cheese running through, Cheddar has instead the largest gorge in England as well as a number of show caves.  

Although many people come for the rock climbing and cave experiences, for us it was all about the cheese.  And maybe it was the sun shining, the charming cafe we were at or the long time since we had eaten breakfast but that cheese sandwich and quiche were the absolute best!

Sparkling Bath

As Bath was one of Beth's favourite spots in rural England growing up, it was a must-stop on our tour.

Bath (originally named Aquae Sulis when it was first created in 60 AD) has only 90,000 residents but hosts almost 4 million visitors a year who come to the town to take in the beautiful old architecture but mostly to enjoy the ancient baths.  One of the best preserved Roman remains in the world, it is a credit to Roman architecture that the baths have held up so well.  If it wasn't for the lead piping they used as an irrigation system the baths would probably be fully functional today (fingers crossed that there are no lasting repercussions for Geoff's hand that was dipped in the baths before this discovery!).

As the day was sunny and warm, we opted to skip our tea at the Bath Pump-House and head to the town's Thermae Spa and Baths for a real dip.  This £60 million building update came in massively over budget but the results were quite spectacular. The building hosted multilple pools of naturally warm mineral waters in and atop a building that seamlessly blended historical and modern architecture.  The rooftop pool offered exquisite views of the surrounding countryside so we opted to spend our afternoon up there, soaking in the sun and feeling healthier in the healing warm spring water.

Before heading back for a torchlight tour of the baths, we headed over for a quick dinner at Acorn restaurant, an all-vegetarian restaurant that was as good as any of the higher-profile London establishments we tried when visiting the city.  Thank you to the concierge at the Francis Hotel for he great recommendation!

Seeing the Roman Baths at night, illuminated by  torchlight, is magnificent. The naturally hot spring (reaching temps of 46 degrees celcius) is powerful, with over 1 million litres of water reaching the bathing site every day. The Romans believed that it was a mystical act but it was later discovered that the water source fell originally as rain water around 10,000 BC and then shot back upon hitting a weak hot spot in the earth's core.

The next morning we took a walking tour of the city, led by a charming mature lady who led the tour like a Drill Sargeant.  She outlined the way we would form around she when she talked, the line we would form to walk from site to site, and how we could ask questions.  Everyone followed the rules and between the orderly nature of the tour, her incredibly animated storytelling and the wonderful history of the town, it was one of the better walking tours we have done.  

We finished our visit with a quick stop to the gorgeous Royal Crescent and then a spot of tea in the serene and lush gardens of The Bath Priory Hotel before heading off to our next destination.

It had been about 25 years since Beth had been to Bath but she found it as enchanting as she had remembered.  

On the road again...

Once more unto the breach! We arrived in England on Thursday morning, quickly shrugged off the jetlag (a shower and spa treatment at Heathrow sure helped) and headed out once again in search of adventure.

Our first stop was just a waypoint. The Swindon Marriott was about as expected, though the onsite tennis court was a nice perk. We even managed to find a nice looking restaurant for dinner - the Old Bank - which had a nice little patio where we could soak up the glorious rays. Our lucky weather streak from London continued with nary a rain cloud in sight. Unfortunately, the restaurant was overwhelmed with patrons and it took us almost an hour to get our Pimm's, and the food we almost wish we didn't receive at all. Definitely an early morning departure from this town!

Next stop was Bath. We won't denigrate this beautiful town by including it in this post. It certainly deserves one of its own.

After Bath, our next stop was Exeter, which was also meant as a waystop on the path to Cornwall. After our Swindon experience, expectations were fairly low for this town, which included our cheapest hotel stay at the Mercure. What a wonderful surprise! After a drive into town through an industrial estate, we gathered out low expectations for a walk around town shortly after arriving. We really just wandered, having not bothered to put any effort into reading about the town.

After a short walk, we were blown away. We came across a beautiful cathedral, set in the midst of a pretty little square surrounded by restaurants and cafes. This was much more than we expected to find, and we chastised ourselves for thinking so little of Exeter. Yet there was more surprise to come. We stopped for dinner at Herbie's Vegetarian Restaurant. Its appearance was about what our initial expectations would have been - "down to earth" would be a polite description. But surprise number two came as we tucked into some excellent food - the Homity Pie was delicious! That made three excellent vegetarian restaurants in the space of 1 week.

Very pleased with this surprisingly impressive town, we decided to wander about after dinner to see what else Exeter had in store. This is when we encountered the best surprise - the Princesshay Mall. Built at the edge of the old Roman town wall, this mall was stunning. Built as a covered outdoor mall, it was an excellent combination of stores, restaurants, offices and living space. I rarely describe shopping malls as beautiful, but this certainly qualified.

Very satisfied with Exeter, we reluctantly left the next morning, wishing we had booked an extra day here, but eager to get to Bude, which had been described as the most beautiful beach-side town in Cornwall.