Hidden Cotswold Tour 2nd April 2024
Judee had been planning this trip after major back-surgery so it was touch and go from the start. But fortunately, evertyhing turned out well. I was at Bantam Cottage in Kingham at 10:00 am to pick up her and her husband, Jeff and take them on her third tour with me.
The brief was to find some new little gems!
Swinbrook
On our last trip I took them to Swinbrook and introduced them to the Mitford sisters. Since then Judee has read a book on the sisters and stired her fascination. So, we stopped for coffee at the Swan and had time to look at the pictures and chat about the fascinating life and times of the family.
We then popped up to Asthall to have a look at Asthall Manor from the outside.
Swinbrook is a small village on the River Windrush, about 2 miles east of Burford. Apparently untouched by time, it is the quintessential English village with its stone walls, pretty church, cricket pitch with wooden pavilion, and an old stone pub next to the old stone bridge across the River Windrush.
Burford
It was a five minite drive to Burford where we were fortunate enough to find a parking space and wandered down to the church which was unfortunately closed.
I love the history of Burford from the haunting of the High Street by Lord and Lady Tanfield to the 347 prisoners held in the Church overnight.
Burford is a beautiful old Cotswold town. Its High Street slopes down from the high Wolds, providing beautiful views over the open countryside, down to the willow fringed River Windrush in the pretty Windrush valley. A fine three arched medieval bridge crosses the river at the foot of the hill.
Bibury
It was no surprise to find Bibury packed and no easy parking spaces. Judee had been here twice before, once in the pouring rain!
So we did a drive up and down looking at Arlington Row as we passed.
On the way out we did stop to look down on to Bibury Court, ex hotel, but now a huge private house.
The main attraction of Bibury is Arlington Row. A group of ancient cottages with steeply pitched roofs dating back to the 16th Century.
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Eastleach
From the crowds at Bibury we moved on to the almost total tranquility of Eastleach Turville and Martin.
It would have been ideal if there had not been something going on at Brize Norton. Noisy tankers seemed to be coming and going all afternoon.
Despite that we did have the historic clapper bridge to ourselves.
Eastleach is made up of the two former parishes of Eastleach Martin and Eastleach Turville. They are separated by an old stone road bridge and an ancient clapper bridge, both of which span the narrow River Leach.
The Clapper bridge dates back to the middle ages and has been used by people and horses for centuries.
The Bell Inn Langford
During our coffee break in Swinbrook we discussed the options of having lunch in a pub or spending a short time wandering around Oxford.
The choice was firmly in favour of a relaxed English Country Pub. And I had the perfect one in mind.
Unfortunately, the restaurant area with a lovely log fire was fully booked. But, there was plenty of space in the other bar.
We had a good lunch and thank you for treating me.
The Bell Inn Langord is a privately owned and run pub tucked away in the countryside. The owners believe in good, simple pub food. There is a cosy bar area with lots of seating to have a quiet drink, a separate restaurant with open fire and a view of the pizza oven, also a large beer garden overlooking the open countryside.
Blenheim Palace
We set off towards Blenheim Palace. Our route took us close to Brize Norton, the source of all the noisy jets.
I dropped them off at the palace and waited for them.
I think that the Fashion Icon exhibition rather over-dominated the rooms.
By the time they finished it was time to head to Heathrow to catch their flight to Singapore.
Blenheim Palace is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-Royal, non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of Palace. The palace, one of England’s largest houses, was built between 1705 and 1722, and designated a UNESCO World heritage Site in 1987
Route
Fortunately the traffic was not too bad, a small blockage on the M25, but nothing serious.
We said our goodbyes as they took the next leg on their journey to Singapore and then Vietnam.
It was another good day touring the Cotswolds and lovely to see you again.
If you enjoyed my tour and would be happy to share any thoughts or photos please click on the TripAdvisor link below. Thank you
