There is something about the English countryside. Charming stone houses and thatched roofs. Small winding country roads, country farmhouse kitchens and pubs full of laughter and the most lovely of folks. I mentioned we were off for some travels recently and our first stop was London on the way to the English countryside. Last week, we hopped a plane and landed in England & have been in the English countryside for the past several days exploring. Today I am sharing more about the Cotswolds and village of Castle Combe- and having a few issues getting the video to post so check back for that as well.
The Cotswolds -Castle Combe
Just straight out of a fairytale -the Cotswolds is the most beautiful spot we have been in England. It has been on my list of places to visit and so, since our travel plans had changed this trip and we found ourselves landing in London instead of Paris- we decided it was the perfect time to plug an extra couple days in there.
We landed in London and hopped the train to Chippenham which is at the lower end of the Cotswolds area. We had a few villages on the list to visit- and would have loved to have visited more. Best laid plans of mice and men- we happened to arrive on a bank holiday weekend. Which meant, transport was chaotic and not running as usual. Next time, we will rent a car or hire a driver to take us around all the places we want to go for the day.
And lots more posts coming- I took a TON of photos. Prepare for English countryside overload!
Countryside Charm
We didn’t stay in Castle Combe- but you could stay in there if you are visiting when there is availability. (avoid bank holidays!) Burton is where we stayed and it is a small town-just a couple of restaurants and not much else. They have a bus but the locals told us it isn’t very reliable and runs on its own schedule. We stayed in a pub -which I didn’t know was a thing. And we enjoyed dinner with the locals at the pub as well as the loveliest of breakfasts with the farm animals at a farm shop across the street. The epitome of slow living folks. Sipping coffee overlooking the countryside with the animals was insanely relaxing and centering. Something I very much needed.
And yes, we have decided Kevin and Clover need some pygmy goat friends like these. lol
Castle Combe
The village of Castle Combe was just 2 miles from where we stayed. You may have heard of it before- or seen it before. It has been in many movies and is said to be the most photographed village in the Cotswolds. It did not disappoint at all.
We started out to walk there- but two issues. The roads are very small with no shoulders or sidewalk. And I had pulled my calf a few days before we left and so was taking it a bit easy (aka limping along) on mileage. So we called our cab friend who dropped us off and he took us over to the village. We wandered the streets and snapped a zillion photos of the details and fell in love. Yes, coffee has been on repeat this trip.
As with most of the very old villages- the houses were built with stone and lots of attention to detail.
Architecturally, Castle Combe has remained unchanged since the 15th century – meaning nothing new has been built, there are not street lights or other modern day things to clutter the calmness and views. We were told that parts of the village date back to the 12th century.
And that charm was around every corner. Every. Corners. I could probably share 100 photos but I will get into trouble with my tech guy who has to fix the glitches when I overload and might have said I share way too many photos already. But tucking in a few favorites and recap all the do’s and don’ts in a separate post.
It is seriously a dreamy old antique countryside village and I felt like we had stepped back in time. We spent a couple of hours wandering here so you could absolutely fit it in on the list as you traveled from one village to the next in the Cotswolds. Though it is small – it is well worth the stop! We explored some more and will be sharing each village as well as some tips and more details if you are thinking of a trip as well.
And would you believe that this morning- I woke up in Paris? We are in Paris for some work, some exploring – but it is all fun. I packed my big camera for a couple of special photo shoots here this week but I will share a few peeks as I work.
Happy Monday all.