As we travel around this beautiful part of England, through tiny lanes & across vast rolling hills, in pretty villages & bigger towns everywhere there are marvelous dry stone walls. Some are ancient & falling down, some brand new & everything in between. I think they're really beautiful & have tried to capture a few in photos ( surprise, surprise) but going through my head has been a poem I heard on the radio once & it goes like this : I a...

Our lovely stay in Badger's End cottage in Chipping Campden has been so delightful I thought I'd make a special entry of some of the local area highlights. The cottage is just one street behind the high street (as they say in England) & is secreted behind a simple door between the Post Office & the Co-op through a tiny cobbled laneway. Built of  golden stone & with the universal pink rose climbing over it's walls it is a perfect place to stay wit...

Had a mini holiday within a holiday when we went to stay with Jim & Rosie in Bristol for 2 nights. Only a reasonably short drive from the Cotswolds & we were in the city of Bristol where we had a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days in the company of this lovely family. It was a pleasure to share in meals with the boys in the back garden, breakfasts at the table, walks in the countryside & generally being included in their busy lives. We went with Jim ...

Spent another delightful afternoon in Kiftsgate Garden close to Chipping Campden. The house sits on top of a hill & the garden encircles it but then leads down the steep escarpment to a pool lawn with a magnificent view over the countryside.  It is the creation of 3 generations of women gardeners, has many beautiful 'garden rooms' & is home to the spectacular Kiftsgate Rose - claimed to be the largest in England. It has a vast spread right to the top...

After the advice of many people not to drive because you never find a place to park, we went by train to Oxford for the day. An easy walk to the town then waited by the green bicycle for the Footprints Walking Tour. This turned out to be two hours of great fun & insights from Tom, a very personable young man with a great British accent who walked & talked us about under the dreaming spires! We really enjoyed his stories of the Bridge of Sighs, The Bodleia...