For a look at all of our photos from our Cotswolds Adventure, click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.10154548876146887.1073741940.593681886&type=1&l=f31c239235I
Another great sleep and downstairs for breakfast with the group. Two of the ladies plan to meander around Bourton, two of us will take the 10.5 km easy walk to Burford, and two are taking the 14km medium walk.
At 9:30am precisely we depart on our coach and each group is dropped off according to the distance they are walking – we are doing the shorter, or easier walk. We get off at Little Barrington and, as we have the most amount of people, I offer again to be the back marker. Tall Dave F. (we have two guides named Dave 😃), seems like a laid back fellow with a wonderful dry sense of humour that you miss if you are not listening.
The clouds and wind are ever prevalent this morning, but the rain never comes thankfully. We walk through fields and country lanes and the scenery is lovely. Over hill and over dale we go, taking our time to look around and take photos should we desire.
We stop at 11am for ‘elevensies’ snack, and onward past Westwell and Holwell. We stop in Holwell and have lunch near the church and around the base of a war memorial with a medieval looking chain. We sat on the wide base around the statue eating our lunch. Dave, in his subtle humour, comments ‘a lovely place to sit with our backs to each other so you don’t even need to converse’ 😄😄.
Not long before 3pm we arrive in the beautiful little town of Burford with its ‘High Street’ (Main Street) lined with 17th & 18th century inns & houses. It also has a lovely packhorse bridge we need to cross which is one way traffic only.
The sun has come out and it transforms the whole town and countryside. The beauty of the region is more pronounced and resembles a storybook picture. Beautiful. Doris & I take a seat at a sidewalk table of The Priory Restaurant facing the sun and all activity of High Street. Perfect for people watching. It was tea time, and although we didn’t have tea, we certainly had the cakes! I tried the homemade Victoria Sponge cake and it was heavenly. I love how everything is homemade!
Burford
The medium walk folks arrived shortly after, followed by those on the hard walk (19km). Just before 5pm we were all on our coach and back in Bourton within 15 minutes.
Routine has been set: we go to the cozy little bar at the house; Natalia the bartender gives us a hard time and then serves us; more folks gather; stories of the day are shared with plenty of laughter and dinner is served. A lovely routine I would say!
Being Sunday, dinner was a typical British dinner; roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with trifle for dessert. Veggies were served family style and it was just like Sunday dinner at home.
Tonight’s entertainment is a ‘ghost walk’ through the town. The fellow conducting the tour was quite the character (many said he looked just like Ozzy Osborne) and called it the ‘Bloody Bourton Tour’. It wasn’t as scary or gory as it original sounded, mostly interesting history of ghosts of the past. It was actually quite entertaining.
A great day!