Today we have a tour booked and have arranged to be picked up at the Paddington Hilton at 7:45. Since we know it takes about 30 minutes to get to Paddington from the hotel, we decided to have a 6:20 breakfast, catch the 7 pm train and have some extra time ‘just in case’. So we headed down for breakfast to learn that today being Sunday they are not serving until 8. We figure ok, we will grab something at Paddington Station and head off immediately so we have some extra time there. We arrive at the train station and wait – wait – wait and wait some more. While we wait we are told that the train will arrive on a different platform than normal. Good to know so we adjust. The train ends up being about 35 minutes late arriving so we are getting a bit concerned. We end up heading off on the train at the original time we had planned to do so which means we arrived at Paddington Station with about 10 minutes to spare for breakfast. We grab a breakfast sandwich and take it to the meeting place to eat. I am thinking this is not starting so great, but from this point on the day only got better and better.
Bibury is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. The artist and craftsman William Morris called Bibury "the most beautiful village in England" when he visited it. The Church of England parish church of Saint Mary is Saxon with alter additions. From AD 1130 until the English Reformation it was a peculier of Osney Abbey in Oxford. (Sorry no picture taken since we only stopped for about 10 minutes for Arlington Row pictures.)
Arlington Row is a row of honey-coloured 17th century stone cottages with steeply pitched roofs which once housed weavers who supplied cloth for the nearby Arlington Mill. The River Coln flows alongside the main street. Its water supplies the trout farm, where up to ten million rainbow trout can be spawned yearly, but usually around one to two million are spawned.
After taking our pictures we got back on the bus to travel to our next destination.
Bourton-on-the-Water is a large village in Gloucestershire in the Cotswolds area. It is known as the 'Venice of the Cotswolds' because of the bridge-spanned stream that runs through the village. Bourton is still considered a village despite harbouring approximately 4,000 inhabitants. We arrived to sunny skies and the heat of the day starting to be felt. We so enjoyed walking along the paths beside the narrow stream which has bricked edges and a shallow water depth. The kids were having great time wadding in the water which was no more than 6 to 8 inches thick. We also found the gift shops appealing as we were looking for gifts to take home, and found them along the streets here. The hour we had to spend checking out this village went really fast and we soon headed back to the bus to move on to Burford.
The history of Burford in the cotswold began in the middle Saxon period with the founding of a village near the site of the modern priory building. This settlement continued in use until just after the Norman conquest when the new town of Burford was built. On the site of the old village a hospital was founded which remained open until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The modern priory building was constructed some 40 years later around 1580.
Between the 14th century and the 17th century Burford was important for its wool. The town centre features some houses from the 15th century which are still inhabited today. Its most notable building, however, is the Church of England parish church of Saint John the Baptist, which is known for its merchants' guild chapel, memorial to Henry VIII's barber-surgeon, Edmund Harman, featuring South American Indians, and Kempe stained glass.
We arrived to a very busy village with the main street of the town packed with people and vehicles. Our tour included having lunch at a local pub providing a selection of ‘authentic British pub food’. However as we arrived at “The Mermaid” pub we were seated in the upstairs floor. What is interesting is that the beams were so low that we all (yes even me) have to watch our head as we moved around. The food was excellent. We had scheduled an hour in the village and with eating lunch we did not have much time to scout around town, but other than the church, everything to be seen could be seen on that very busy main street – it was a village after all. Then back onto the bus to head through the Cotswold country to find the Blenheim Palace.
I just want to comment about the Cotswold countryside which has a rich history . The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the "Heart of England", an area 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The highest point in the Cotswolds range is Cleeve Hill at 1,083 ft (330 m). The name Cotswold is sometimes attributed the meaning "sheep enclosure in rolling hillsides", incorporating the term "wold" meaning hills. The area is characterised by attractive small towns and villages built of the underlying Cotswold stone (a yellow oolitic limestone). In the Middle Ages the wool trade made the Cotswolds prosperous. Some of this money was put into the building of churches so the area has a number of large handsome Cotswold stone "wool churches". The area remains affluent and has attracted wealthy people who own second homes in the area or have chosen to retire there. As we drove through the countryside we enjoyed views of quaint Cotswold Cottages which have remained unchanged externally for hundreds of years. There were examples of thatched roofs, slate roofs and tiled roofs recognizing the variety of different methods of waterproofing the houses.
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, and the residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is 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 circa 1724.
Its construction was originally intended to be a gift to John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough from a grateful nation in return for military triumph against the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. Designed in the rare, and short-lived, English Baroque style, architectural appreciation of the palace is as divided today as it was in the 1720s. Today it is unique in its combined usage as a family home for the current Duke of Marlborough, mausoleum and national monument. The palace is also notable as the birthplace and ancestral home of Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. There was several rooms dedicated to his memory with exhibits of his paintings, letters and books.
Following the palace's completion, it became the home of the Churchill family for the following 300 years, and various members of the family have in that period wrought various changes, in the interiors, park and gardens. At the end of the 19th century, the palace and the Churchills were saved from ruin by an American marriage. Thus, the exterior of the palace remains in good repair and exactly as completed. We walked through the Winston Churchill memorial to walk through the State Apartments and exhibits. Although these rooms have survived so many years intact they are not the most spectacular palace rooms we have visited. However, for a private home the tapestries, the incredible gold leafed ceiling carvings and period furniture and fixtures are impressive.
We left the inside of the palace to walk around the gardens. We walked out to the gardens with the fountains, sculptured shrubs and statutes. Beyond the gardens from the terrace you can see a river which is created by a dam. The lawns are extensive and there are several different gardens on the property, for example the Secret Garden, The Italian Garden, the Marlborough Maze, and the Rose Gardens. On the property is the Blenheim Dam and Cascade Pumphouse. The Vanbrugh’s Grand Bridge crosses the Queen Pool and leads to more lawns and trees. We walked around the gardens for a bit and then sat under a large shade tree to watch a bit of cricket being played. We asked a gentleman sitting on a bench to explain a bit of the game so we are slowly learning about this extremely popular game.
We finished by having a closer look at the Italian Garden with the sculptured shrubs which looked like ducks in a pond of water. However, the garden was closed to visitors since there was a wedding going on who had the gardens for their private function.
As we left the palace we were greeted by a small band walking towards the front gates being followed by a open horse drawn carriage. The wedding party was arriving for the wedding so we were able to watch the procession go by.
Our day ended when we returned to London and was dropped off by the Lancaster Gates close to Paddington Station. Our tour guide had suggested that if we wanted a good Sunday British dinner we should go to “The Swan” and have the Carvery of traditional Sunday Roast with Yorkshire pudding.
The Swan in Bayswater is one of London's most famous pubs, a landmark, and the only pub overlooking Kensington Gardens. Built in the early 1600s, it underwent a massive refurbishment in 2006 following a flood. The traditional feel has been retained, with an island bar and leather padded seating. History has it that prisoners were brought here for a final drink before being taken to the hanging tree at Marble Arch! Hence the origin of the sayings 'one for the road' which is the last drink ever and 'on the wagon' which refers to being taken away for the last time!
We finished the day by heading back to the hotel arriving at 8 pm so it really was a long day, but a very enjoyable one.
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