Lady-on-the-Wold
Blog: A Lady in London - 7 November 2009
After last weekend's otherworldly experience, I needed a trip that would bring me down to earth. And what better place to come down to than the beautiful English countryside? Yesterday my boyfriend and I set out to enjoy the charming towns of the Cotswolds.
After picking up our rental car at Heathrow, we set off for Burford, a town just west of Oxford. We ate a hearty lunch of local meats, produce, and home-baked bread, then walked around admiring the beautiful old stone houses.
Our next stop was the busy town of Bourton-on-the-Water. Though I'm sure it's an excellent place when devoid of tourists like us, the quaint high street and mellow river were a bit busy for our liking. We contented ourselves with wandering down the deserted side streets before taking a mile-ish ramble up to Lower Slaughter.
Don't let the name put you off; Lower Slaughter was one of the most beautiful villages we saw in the Costwolds. Charming and brimming with summer flowers, the river and stone houses were straight out of a fairytale. We walked passed the old mill and then headed back onto the trail for the walk to Lower Slaughter's northern neighbor, Upper Slaughter.
Upper Slaughter was an even prettier, even more fairytale-like town than its lower sister. We walked along a quiet stream and up to a church on a hill. So strong was the fairytale spell that we found a home for sale that we were ready to shell out millions of pounds for on the spot (those millions of pounds were hopefully to be found growing on the fairytale tree in the back yard).
We rambled back to Bourton-on-the-Water and drove down a quiet one-lane road to Bibury. We luckily arrived late enough in the day that we were practically the only people there. The town itself was stunning, and we availed ourselves of the myriad photo-ops that presented themselves. We also availed ourselves of a great beer garden at the local pub, thankful that the gorgeous weather was still going strong at seven o'clock at night.
We swung back into Burford for a quick dinner at a pub and then drove home to Hampstead and used our new parking spot for the first time. On the way from the car to the flat we were met by a band of local foxes, which we took to be a good omen that our return to everyday life would still be exciting.
After picking up our rental car at Heathrow, we set off for Burford, a town just west of Oxford. We ate a hearty lunch of local meats, produce, and home-baked bread, then walked around admiring the beautiful old stone houses.
Our next stop was the busy town of Bourton-on-the-Water. Though I'm sure it's an excellent place when devoid of tourists like us, the quaint high street and mellow river were a bit busy for our liking. We contented ourselves with wandering down the deserted side streets before taking a mile-ish ramble up to Lower Slaughter.
Don't let the name put you off; Lower Slaughter was one of the most beautiful villages we saw in the Costwolds. Charming and brimming with summer flowers, the river and stone houses were straight out of a fairytale. We walked passed the old mill and then headed back onto the trail for the walk to Lower Slaughter's northern neighbor, Upper Slaughter.
Upper Slaughter was an even prettier, even more fairytale-like town than its lower sister. We walked along a quiet stream and up to a church on a hill. So strong was the fairytale spell that we found a home for sale that we were ready to shell out millions of pounds for on the spot (those millions of pounds were hopefully to be found growing on the fairytale tree in the back yard).
We rambled back to Bourton-on-the-Water and drove down a quiet one-lane road to Bibury. We luckily arrived late enough in the day that we were practically the only people there. The town itself was stunning, and we availed ourselves of the myriad photo-ops that presented themselves. We also availed ourselves of a great beer garden at the local pub, thankful that the gorgeous weather was still going strong at seven o'clock at night.
We swung back into Burford for a quick dinner at a pub and then drove home to Hampstead and used our new parking spot for the first time. On the way from the car to the flat we were met by a band of local foxes, which we took to be a good omen that our return to everyday life would still be exciting.
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