Traveling from Bath to the Cotswolds on a Sunday was a real trial. See my page named "Train Travel" for thoughts and feelings regarding train travel. Turns out that Sunday isn't a good day to travel by train. HOWEVER, you should know that the view from the train exceeded my expectations. Imagine green rolling hills, hedge groves, trees, pastures, and of course, sheep.
The name of my home base town is Moreton-in-Marsh pronounced MautinMash. You eliminate some of the consonants and run the whole name together. It's one of the few towns in the area that has a train station and it's one of the lesser visited, less touristy towns. Most of the villages have somewhat inconvenient public transportation but with patience, some walking and a Rick Steves' guidebook, you can get around.
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| A view of the main or high street in Moreton-In-Marsh from the very wide median that divides traffic. Streets in these little villages are very wide since they were once used to bring the sheep into town for selling, shearing, etc. |
The Cotswolds are all about walking. The circle signs on the kissing gate give the name of the town and list directions to other walking paths and towns.
I headed out for a short 4 mile walk to an Batsford Arboretum. There is a mansion in the middle because the land was donated to the England National Trust and turned into an arboretum on the condition that the house could remain. The mansion is private property which is sort of a bummer because it looks like it would be fascinating inside.
Along the way I met a lot of people, travelers from America, Australia and an English woman who used to live in Portland. Once I arrived at the arboretum I basically collapsed. Literally. Well, I didn't need medical aid or anything but I had to lay down on a bench because my feet were killing me. There is no way for me to know how long I laid there because I fell asleep. On the way home I stopped for tea and while sitting there enjoying my snack I dozed off at the table. My waitress thought I was nuts.
The next day began with a "learning experience" which is a nice way of saying "these people really frustrate the heck out of me". Rick Steves' is always signing the praises of the Tourist Information office (TI) in each city but don't you believe it. This is one thing that he is not always correct about. Sure it only happens about 3% of the time but HA! he's not perfect.
When you ask for help from a TI you need to remember that the staff there may be very literal. You must take each topic and question to the next level. Example: Rick had mentioned that the #8XX (I couldn't remember the full number) bus has an all day pass so I could hit as many of the villages as possible.
I asked the woman "Does the bus #801 goes to both Stow-On-The-Wold (Wold means rolling hill) and Burton-On-The-Water and is there an all day pass?"
She said "Yes, it goes to both towns but it doesn't have an all day pass. Just tell the driver where you are going and he will charge you as needed."
So, I get on the #801 bus and tell the driver my itinerary and he says "You should be on the #855 it goes to both places and has an all day pass."
My reply "Well I wish the woman at the TI would have told me that, I discussed my plans with her."
"Typical" was his sardonic retort.
This is just one of many similar stories. Before the bus question, I asked about a tour of Blenheim Palace scheduled for Friday & Saturday only. Blenheim Palace is in the Cotswolds and a grand must-see-palace, pronounced Blenem. Since I was leaving before Friday we determined that I wouldn't be able to tour Blenheim. Later I found out that the brochure I was referring to was for a specific tour group and Blenheim is open everyday. I totally could have gone on my own. Grrr. I was annoyed for about 3 minutes and then added Blenheim Palace to my "What To Do Next Time I Go to England" list. That made me smile.
It was market day in Moreton-in-Marsh. Traffic was rerouted from the main street and the whole length of the street was full of booths of goods; handmade crafts, used books, fresh bread (unsliced, unwrapped - when do we ever see that?) stacked loaf upon loaf, fresh baked pastries, fresh local cheeses, food carts, a butcher booth - meat stacked on a counter completely unrefrigerated and I mean huge hunks of meat about 9 inches thick and chicken & ducks plucked with their heads still on, clothes (hideous cheap ugly clothes), produce, etc. It was really fun just to walk around while I waited for my bus.
Off I went to Burton-On-The-Water. It is a fun place to walk around and they have great ice cream too. The bridges were used for bringing sheep to town way back when.
Next stop: Stow-On-The-Wold. You can make your way around this little village in about 45 minutes - IF there weren't so many tourists. A convoy of coaches (big buses) inject hoardes of tourists into these tiny towns by mid-day. Arrive early or after 3pm when things have thinned out a bit. Worth a visit even with the crowds.
Behind this church, St. Edwards, is a famous door way bracketed by two ancient yew trees. Apparently J. R. R. Tolkien hiked the area extensively and sketched this doorway many times.
During the 2 months I traveled, the Cotswolds was the only place that I wanted to spend more time in than what I had alloted. There was more that I wanted to see but I was tired of walking. On the day I left for York, knowing that I was going to spend the day on the train - sitting - sounded wonderful. I will definitely go back to the Cotswolds soon.
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