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June 2009 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | | 28 | 29 | 30 |
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Kieron and I chose to spend our last afternoon together driving through the Cotswolds. It was the first sunny day in months and as we were driving out of Cheltenham, we noticed flecks of snow! The higher we came, the more snow there was. There was a storm yesterday and the news had indeed been talking about snow. But they often talk about snow. Most of the time, nothing comes of it. This time there was quite a lot. In many places there was enough for a plastic toboggan but we didn't see any children out enjoying the snow at all. Puzzling. We took the A40 westwards out of town and turned north on the A436, sign-posted for Stow and Bourton. Then we took the B4068 via the Naunton Downs, Naunton Village, a detour around Upper Slaughter, then Lower Swell and Stowe. We knew that Naunton is very picturesque because we've been there before. Upper Slaughter has a reputation as a honey pot village. In Stowe things were very busy. It's such a pretty little town with lots of intriguing little shops. We tried to find parking but couldn't so we drove on. After some fiddly navigation we were on the A424, past the scene of a battle in 1646, and then turned off to drive through Longborough. No prize for guessing that there is a long barrow near the village. It's cute too. Then we took the smaller road north past Bourton-on-the-Hill. Along the B4479 we drove through the large, prosperous village of Blockley. Then past Hangman's Hall Farm to the absolutely adorable Broad Campden. Broad Campden was our favourite village on this drive. It was a new find. We hadn't been there before. In Chipping Campden we were able to find parking, so we were able to have cream tea at Badger Hall. It was very, very good. Neither Kieron nor I finished our scones. They were big and the cake slices were more slab-sized. They were also very good. Definitely recommended. Rolling out of Chipping Campden, we headed toward Snowshill by way of the Broadway Tower. Up here there was even more snow. The larger roads had all been gritted but the smaller ones were full of snow and slush. In the UK cars are sold with summer tyres and at least in the south of England finding all-weather tyres would be hard. So even though Kieron drove very slowly, we did slide about a few times. Scary. But the quaint, snowclad Cotswold valleys and villages were beautiful. The storm had also downed quite a lot of trees. In many places they had been pushed aside but still obstructed part of the road. With the snow and flood in some parts of the county, the road crews were probably busy dealing with more urgent things. Snowshill was indeed covered in snow. So were the lavender fields above the village. It was beautiful. Heavy rain is forecast for tonight is for heavy rain, so it will probably all be gone by tomorrow morning. It was a rare occurrence. I'm glad I got to see it. I'd left my camera at home, so there won't be any photos from me. After Snowshill we took a long road through the countryside until we reached cute Winchcombe. There we turned back toward Cheltenham. Tags: cotswolds
Current Location: cheltenham
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We drove to Eastleach in Oxfordshire and walked along the river Leach. It was a very foggy day, as you can see in the photos below. We started by crossing the river on a clapper bridge, called the Keble bridge. Clapper bridge construction is very simple: you simply place uprights in the river and plop down your flag stones on them. Technically this is one step up from mere stepping stones.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Another view of the river itself. There is a house on the left in the photo, although it may be hard to see. Our walking guide said that the path was lined with daffodils in spring. We could see their noses peaking up. It's probably absolutely lovely here then. Today it was a tad nippy.  Wallpaper, feel free to use At the end of the path, there's a gate to St. Michael and St. Martin's church. There were some very old gravestones in the churchyard with carvings of fat little angels. St. Michael and St. Martin's church in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) ruralphotosLeaving the village, we walked along a track on the east side of the river. That's where we found this beautiful ash tree.  Wallpaper, feel free to use To return, we had to cross the river. I loved how subtle the photo of the old bridge came out, so I turned it black and white.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Colour version of the bridge in waterflowAs we got back to the village, the sun was starting to think about setting. It coloured the fog orange.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Black-and-white trees in landscape. Tags: cotswolds, weather
Current Location: cheltenham
mood: yulish
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Today's walk started at the hobbit-sized village hall in Edgeworth in the south Cotswolds, north of Cirencester. The area has been inhabited for a long time -- there's a long barrow not far from it and some tumuli. Looking at the map, there are uncommonly many Scandinavian place names north of Cirencester. Daneway and Frith Wood come to mind and in Edgeworth there were several house names starting with Rokeby. In a wall a postbox from George V's reign (1910–1936) had been placed. You can see some of the Royal-Mail-red paint has dripped onto the stones, mingling with the moss, ivy and lichen.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Going down a steep slope, I was accompanied by this brook. You can see that it was in beech woods and that the stone here is typical Cotswold limestone.  Wallpaper, feel free to use I was quite taken with how the brook cascaded down its little streambed. Here it's passing some moss-covered rocks, splashing and spraying merrily all the way.  Wallpaper, feel free to use The little brook eventually joined the larger stream on the right of this picture. I'm not quite as fond of this photo. In its lack of strong, primary focus it is rather old-fashioned. It's more about setting a mood than about grabbing the viewer's attention. If you're into this sort of thing, it's probably something you like to gaze upon for quite some time, imagining the sound of the stream, the crows wheeling above, sheep baahing in the distance. But if you're not, you probably move on abruptly.  Wallpaper, feel free to use My walk ended at the church in Edgeworth. It's a Norman church, started in the 11th century, with a slightly later porch. There are many old gravestones in the churchyard, including at least one with a skull on. There's also a picturesque Victorian lychgate on the valley side. Inside there are many brasses but they're not terribly exciting. The atmosphere, on the other hand, was lovely. Very contemplative with the afternoon light through the stained glass in the south-facing windows. I stayed a while.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Tags: cotswolds
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I parked my car at Bulls Cross on the B4070, east of Painswick (Kieron's favourite B-road, he says) and took the Wysis Way down and up and down and up again, before heading south toward Slad. But I didn't have time to go all the way to Slad before the sun was setting, so I ended up taking a lane most of the way back. Looking down the steep slope toward Slad Brook and Bulls Cross on the previous ridge.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Snow Farm had placed this ancient tractor like an exhibit to be admired, so I took a photo. There was also an ancient white-muzzled black lab there. It was barking and growling at me when it took me a while to find the footpath but I couldn't help feeling that he was mostly just going through the motions.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Slad looks tantalising through the smoke from a leaf fire. One day I'll make it there. If the name of the village rings a bell, it's probably because of Cider with Rosie.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Down Farm, on the right, is easily the stateliest farm in the valley.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Snow Farm is a lot more modest. As I was motoring up the hill here, I was wondering what it would have been like to live in Cheltenham all eight years I've lived in the UK. I think my impression of England would certainly have been more favourable if my commute had gone through such beautiful, tranquil places rather than the aesthetic misery of the London Underground.  Wallpaper, feel free to use The last photo of the day, as the sun was setting. I was nearly back by the car.  Wallpaper, feel free to use Tags: cotswolds
Current Location: cheltenham
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apel's journal
beeindruckt
