U.K. Trip Anniversary Posts - Day 7

The Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace and

Beautiful Sudeley Castle Gardens

[Photo taken in the Secret Garden of Sudeley Castle]

Another big day ahead. This was our worst day for weather and we were slated to drive through the beautiful Cotswolds! What a mean twist of fate. It was rather misty and slightly drizzly when we headed out in the morning but as the day wore on, we saw more clouds than we did precipitation. It felt so much like Washington, it was not particularly off-putting. If anyone had been feeling homesick... this would be the cure. ;-) The only spot we got rained on was as we finished our walk at Blenheim Palace. Just before some of us made the full loop and were nearing the palace, it cut loose with some serious rain. We were going inside for lunch anyway, so the timing was perfect. By the time we'd finished, it had passed.

Before we got very far on the coach, I made it a point to take a picture of one of Amanda's little mascots. There was a moose stuck to the inside of the windshield and his name was "Morris." I don't recall if this little bear had a name, but he made for a whimsical focal point when riding in the coach for long stretches.

It's looking Cotswoldy here... the villages in this part of the country have retained their original "flavor" and are a favorite spot for visiting tourists. The stone walls are classic and of a particular design. You'll see a sample in a couple of the photos. Thatched roofs are more commonly spotted here as well. She told us how much expense and maintenance could go into owning one... and that the term, "raining cats and dogs" had to do with small animals seeking refuge in the roof and bailing out during heavy weather. After having squirrels take up residence in our attic for a few years, I can only imagine how messy that could become. :-P

I decided to do a bit of Googling on this term and the above was considered "bunk" and not likely to be the actual backdrop for the phrase... although it has become one of the popular explanations. The source said it was more likely that hard rains would carry along dead bodies of animals (flooding)... but that may not be the origin of the phrase either... just more likely than having them living in the thatch of a roof.

At any rate... on to Bourton-on-the-Water. This was a beautiful little village. We were supposed to see Combe/Castle Combe on this day but it had already been invaded by a BBC filming crew. I wish we could have seen that (and the village is really special... take a look here)... but Amanda thought it too problematic. She asked us if we wanted to "ruin the BBC's reputation?" ;-) Instead of Combe, we got to stop at Bourton-on-the-Water and later, Broadway. Both are lovely... but Combe has a castle and I believe is a bit more picturesque overall. BBC can't be too far off the mark in thinking so also.

We've departed the coach and had a bit of a walk to get into the village. There's not much room for tour coaches in some of these streets. Our walk was a bit like taking the "alley" here but much more picturesque. You'll see part of the long walkway on the return pictures.

Marianne/"Mimi" posing in front of an art gallery.

I had not been able to do much gift shopping since we started and had a few kids still needing something, so when I saw there was an Edinburgh Woolen Mill outlet actually open at 8:00 a.m. ... I leaped at the opportunity to get that done. The week was more than half gone already. I picked up some Scottish tablet for Diane and found a nice Celtic style pendant/necklace for Lynda. Most of the group proceeded into the center of town and Joe Binetti took some beautiful pictures near the river...

Here you are... the path that takes us back to the coach. Get a load of that rock wall along the one side. There were some interesting plants growing on the left and I wasn't sure if they naturalized or were planted there... foxglove, dead nettle (wild looking but with white flowers)... that sort of thing.

Angie introduced me to real macaroons on this trip... and boy, were they delicious! They often bake them on what seems to be rice paper (you eat it) and they are chewy, moist and loaded with almond flavor. Instead of big shreds of coconut, they must use the desiccated kind, because you don't notice it as much. They are each topped off with a toasted, blanched almond. Boy... this makes me hungry. ;-)

Some beautiful scenery from the coach. We're heading to the Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. It's the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill and everything about the place was GRAND. The driveway says it all. ;-)

We're standing in the center of what is called the "parade ground." It was totally weed free and covered in beige crushed rock. The surrounding acreage had been redone years ago by Capability Brown. He's a famous landscape architect who strived for a natural look. Before his time the popular style for the rich was Victorian "carpet bedding." They would design ornate beds to mimic something like a Persian rug... then fill in the spaces with colorful plants... kind of a landscaper's "paint by numbers." ;-) The effect was pretty when gazed upon from a high window, but was labor intensive and extremely contrived. Capability Brown's work was sweeping, with open space and an ability to blend in with the surrounding natural landscape. You'll get the feel for that when you see some of the pictures on our walk. If I recall, Mimi also said he loved to surprise the garden visitor by placing special elements where they would be "discovered" during your walk along the garden path... and not until he was ready for you to see them. ;-)

The gardens right behind the palace were the Italian style... with loads of clipped boxwood and a water feature. It's pretty spectacular. I'm glad I don't have to clip all of those little hedges.

We've walked past the fountains and are going beyond to the path which would lead to a rose garden.

Joe Binetti took this picture. The photo I was taking was really more for a couple of my daughters than myself. It's the next one after this...

If memory serves, we were told that Sir Winston Churchill proposed to his wife in this structure. The path we were on ran close to the building, so I didn't get it all in. The scene from this spot was very pretty... a peek-a-boo view of a small lake.

Did you notice how huge some of those old oaks were? I thought the one looked like it was curtsying to the passers-by. :-) When we got clear of the trees, this spectacular view of the castle opened up before our eyes. Awesome. (One has to wonder how long it takes to mow that grass.)

Angie recommended this ginger beer and I think I liked the label nearly as well as the beverage itself (not actual beer... more like ginger ale). What a great mustache! I have a distant uncle that sported a similar one... just saw that picture this last year when a distant cousin sent it via email. I'll try to find that and drop it in for a smile. He was of German descent and not English as far as I know... but it represented what was seen as stylish in the earlier part of this century.

William Holtz, of Milwaukee.

As I walked to the car park, I saw this poster of an aerial view of the palace and grounds. Sorry for the glare of the flash.

The next stop will be our second Cotswold village... Broadway. We had a skinny 45 minutes here to walk around and mostly take pictures. I had a brief chat with a fellow whose family was on vacation with his parents. He said his father lived in eastern Canada and they lived in South Africa... so they met in the middle. :-)

It's my turn to buy more of those delicious macaroons!

The pretty blue flowers belong to "plumbago" ... a rather tender perennial. It was very popular here and looked beautiful next to the color of their masonry. I recently saw some at Home Depot, tagged as annuals. It was tempting, but I resisted for now.

This old horse hitching post fascinated me and I must have spent over five minutes trying to photograph it to its best potential. I think I failed, but you can get an idea of what it looked like. It was just in the grass, between roadway and sidewalk.

The last photo you saw was from the coach... we've left Broadway and will stop next at Sudeley Castle, in Winchcombe. This place was pure magic. The castle was still being used by a fairly young family. They had several children and the grounds around the actual castle were private. The rest of the gardens are open to the public part of the time (probably by appointment). One of the famous parts of the garden is a ruin of an old tithe barn. My favorite part was their "secret garden" (originally designed in 1979 by the late Rosemary Verey, but reworked in 1998). I found a neat map on their website and think I'll drop it in. We walked the full circle around this place. The first photo was taken through the coach window as we neared the car park.

The car park is off to the left and we walked in on that side and first saw the tithe barn. We moved in a counter-clockwise direction, finishing off near the pheasantry and healing garden... before doubling back toward the car park. The castle is the largest building with the smaller one to the right being St. Mary's Church.

Joe Binetti took this one... and a few more sprinkled in later (there are only two photos with me in them and he took both of those).

A very old Atlas Cedar. You'll see another later with a pheasant perched overhead. ;-)

Joe Binetti took the next two. I never did see the Knot Garden. I think I spent way too much time in the Secret Garden... and didn't want to leave. There was an axis in the center of that where they'd placed clumps of chocolate cosmos in each corner (4) ... it was heavenly. Not the reason I stayed, but it sure was a pleasant experience to walk nearby. :-)

Sigh... a few photos from the Secret Garden (and also shown at top)...

Joe caught this while I was trying to take the long shot at the top and again below. It turned out a little blurry and I had to crop it to see my face... but I'm grateful to have a picture of me in my favorite part of this garden. Loved Sudeley! I even bought a few things at their gift shop... including a bar of homemade soap.

Their Portaloos were very clean and impressive. Canada should check into these things. You wouldn't believe some of the toilets we saw while on lovely Vancouver Island (and some where you could hardly see at all). Ignorance is never bliss in a bathroom/restroom/toilet/loo. ;-)

More photos from inside the coach... we're on our way back to Cheltenham.

A few months before this trip, I'd had some back and forth emails from a budding soapmaker in Wales. He was such an articulate and interesting chap in the emails, I thought it might be fun to meet with he and his wife if it was doable... to exchange soap and chat, etc. They had to drive for about 90 minutes to get to our hotel from Caerphilly and talking with them over dinner at the end of our busy day was pure pleasure. :-) We exchanged soaps and he also brought some homemade, authentic Welsh cakes. I ate several and shared the rest with my traveling companions the next morning. Thank you again, Malcolm and Chris! :-)