The Cotswolds
Day 4
12,968 steps (4.77 miles)
Wed June 11 - 73°
Following the walking tour, we rode on to Stow-on-the-Wold. Some members of the tour asked Avery if she wanted to attend Oxford when she goes to college, and while she did think the campus was beautiful, she wants to attend somewhere a little closer to home. Although, if she goes to Oxford, we would have an excuse to visit England all the time...
This morning we checked out of Brooks Guesthouse and were on the coach at 8:30 am making our way to Avebury stone circle. On the way, we drove through quaint Cotswold villages with plenty of thatched roof cottages. At Avebury, you can actually walk amongst the stones with some sheep to keep you company. But beware, along with sheep comes.... sheep poop, and lots of it!
Group Activities
Check out the roots on these trees!
We spent a little over an hour in Avebury amongst the stones and sheep, and then took the coach on to Oxford. We were on our own for lunch and grabbed sandwiches at Taylor's in The Covered Market, where we ran into friends from the tour. Avery bought a milkshake on our way out and we joined back up with everyone for a 2 hour walking tour of Oxford University.
St John's College
Divinity School
All Souls College
Solo Activities
We arrived in Stow-on-the-Wold a little after 5 pm and checked into our hotel, the Sheep on Sheep Street. We had the evening to ourselves, but Deb offered an optional walk through the town and a few of us took her up on the offer.
This door at St. Edwards Church is thought to be the inspiration for the entrance to Moria in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.
After the group walk, we wandered around the town a little bit more and then decided to have dinner at the hotel. Chris and I both had the Wild Mushroom Linguine, which was fantastic! Then it was time for bed.
Day 5
6,329 steps (2.96 miles)
Thurs June 12 - 69°
We all started our day with French Toast at the hotel restaurant for breakfast before making our way to Stanway House. We had a guided tour of the house and grounds (you can only take pictures outside). It was quite interesting to see how the aristocracy lives now. Not always what you think!
Group Activities
This fountain is the tallest gravity fountain in the world!
The grounds at Stanway House are 5000 acres of lush, green beauty! We walked through some to get to the working flour mill on the property, where we had a guided tour and saw it in action.
This pond powers
the water wheel
When the tour concluded, we had a few minutes to walk around before getting back on the coach. It was drizzling a little, but what I really noticed was how quiet it was. You could actually hear the rain, the breeze, and the birds. This, coupled with the beautiful surroundings, is part of why we chose this tour. Not only to see the cities of England, but more so for the countryside. Wouldn't it be amazing to live here?
If you need a moment of calm...
Solo Activities
Once we returned to the hotel (a little after 12:30 pm), there was a group walk through the countryside planned, but the weather had other ideas. That walk was cancelled, but Deb offered a different one that would be less muddy. However, we decided to head out on our own and explore Stow.
We grabbed lunch at Avenue: ham and cheese toastie for me, jacket potato with chili for Chris, and pizza for Avery. We got some delicious treats at the Cotswold Chocolate Co, and wandered through the stores around the Market Square. We all loved Tara's Antiques. We grabbed a scone at Huffkins, and enjoyed it back at the hotel with a cup of tea in our room before meeting up with the group again.
Group Activities
At 5:45 pm, we met up with Deb and the group and played an easy game to help us to get to know the names of our tour members. Then we all ambled over to The King's Arms for a group dinner. This hotel and pub is twice the age of the United States...it's 500 years old!
After the meal, a group of local musicians played for us. This was definitely one of the most fun evenings on tour! At one point they asked if there were any members on the tour who would like to perform, and a gentleman said yes! He likes to write song parodies, and he performed two of them with the help of the musicians. He continued to write and share new ones with us throughout the rest of the tour. Fun!