In Love with England: The Cotswolds

Home in Stanton


Beautiful Street in Stanton


Three Story Gate in Stanway -- the Lord of the Manor still runs this Village!


Upper Slaughter Manor Home


Stow-on-the-Wold

Arriving at the Smith's in the Cotswolds was like driving into a movie! Several times over the weekend, Professor Smith and I laughed about life in the Cotswolds feeling like a life lived in Disney world. It's just too cool to see that some people really live life in a picturesque, beautiful world.

The Smith's cottage, Hill View Cottage, is simply precious. It is an ideal, perfect cottage with an enchanting English garden. The interiors are well-appointed but comfortable and oh-so-very English, down to the blue and white Spode china! A public bridleway ran between the Smith's cottage and a hill covered in sheep. A public bridleway is a footpath where hill-walkers and horseback riders can venture through the Cotswolds, village to village. Several times over the weekend I saw horses with riders trotting down the path. It was great! And these footpaths are everywhere.

Friday afternoon the Smiths took us for a walk through their village and through several pastures on a pathway. We saw the manor home which now hosts the Buckland Manor, along with several other charming cottages.

Saturday we toured a gorgeous home in Stanton -- two villages down from Buckland. It's known as the Beverly Hills of the Cotswolds. We also visited all the following villages: Laverton, Stanway (with a Lord still running the village), Moreton-in-Marsh, Bourton-on-the-Water, Upper Slaughter, Lower Slaughter, Broadway, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Chipping Campden. In addition to the villages, we took in the breathtaking views of lavendar fields! What a dream! We also made a stop at Dover Hill which boasts on overlook to many of the villages. On a clear day, from Dover Hill we could have seen Stratford-upon-Avon. It was pretty cool!

We finished Saturday with dinner at a local pub in Evesham. It's asparagus season in the Cotswolds and every item on the menu included that yummy green vegetable. I particularly enjoyed the hollandaise sauce which accompanied the asparagus. We could have even had asparagus ice cream for dessert. (Imagine that-- but it was on the menu!). Outside the pub, Morris dancers were ready to dance the night away in traditional fashion. The pictures should explain it all. Seeing the dancers in full garb, I had another "Disney" moment. Who wouldn't? We were the only tourists in that particularly joint, the rest were locals, and we watched how the locals spent their Saturday evenings. It was too much fun.

Sunday morning we took one last jaunt through the hillside with the Smith's, had a delicious meal, and were off on the road. I was sad to leave the Smith's. They are the most gracious, giving, loving, hospitable folks one could be around. I will always remember this past weekend fondly -- not simply because of the Cotswolds but mostly because of the kindness of the Smith's. I hope that Matt and I will become the kind of people who are able to give of ourselves in much the same way.