Monday 2^nd June                            TYSOE  -  CHELTENHAM  -  HIDCOTE (GLOUCESTERSHIRE)

Robyn writes: Today was another adventurous day exploring Warwickshire and into Gloucestershire – lots of driving through gorgeous Cotswolds villages and lanes.

We woke up around 7.30 / 8 – most satisfactory! Carol was taking a friend to the dentist, so it was just Lex and I off on our travels. We’d decided our first destination for the day would be the city of Cheltenham, another place beloved by the Georgians for its spas and beautiful buildings. We headed out around 9.30 for the trip to the Cheltenham Park & Ride, and our route took us through some of the famously beautiful villages in the Cotswolds (hence many, many tourists.)

We saw a gorgeous field of poppies!

We travelled through Moreton-in-Marsh first, then on to Bourton-on-the-Water, where we really would’ve loved to stop for a cuppa, but just couldn’t find a park. We thought we had one, for one exciting minute…..then Lex realised that the almost obliterated words painted on the road actually said “Disabled”. So, on we drove. It all looked just lovely but eventually we decided to keep going.

Bourton-in-the-water did look gorgeous, but alas, no parking.

We reached the Park & Ride about 11.30, and fortunately there was a bus waiting there. It only cost us 5 pounds to park there and the return trip into town – they are really excellent value. We enjoyed the trip into town, as it was a double decker bus, and we sat right up the front on top. Cheltenham certainly has some beautiful Georgian / Regency buildings. We got out at The Promenade, and had a walk around, before lunch at The Artisan Bakery (expensive but nice – 24 pounds for both of us for two sandwiches and hot drinks. Admittedly, Lex’s roll was huge, but that’s still a lot of money for what we got!) We explored a bit more and found the Royal Crescent – modelled on Bath’s but somehow not as impressive. Bath’s has huge sweeping lawns and a ha-ha in front it; this had heaps of cars parked in front.

The statue of King Neptune once stood in front of the Spa

Lunch at the Artisan Bakery

Beautiful Georgian buildings

The Royal Crescent

After exploring the city centre, we hopped back on the bus and were whisked back to the park and ride,where we decided to head home via the National Trust property of Hidcote, about three quarters of an hour to the northeast. Again, a lovely drive through ravishing Cotswold lanes and villages before we reached it.

Lovely scenery and villages

Hidcote was a manor house owned by a priory until it was dissolved in 1539 by Henry VIII (of course). It then became a farmhouse until Lawrence Johnson and his mother Gertrude bought it in the early 1900s. Lawrence began establishing the gardens around the house, using Arts and Crafts ideas and plants he’d sourced from around the world on his many trips. He went off to fight in WWI and fortunately came back to continue expanding his garden, which was fairly complete by the 1920s. He transferred it to the National Trust in 1948 so it would always be looked after. And it is a simply stunning garden – it rambles for several acres, with different ‘rooms’ and areas, long vistas and the biggest yew tree we’ve ever seen. There’s a ha-ha around it to keep the sheep out (excellent idea!) and so many pathways to wander up and down.

Hidcote

So pretty!

Massive yew tree on the right

They used to swim in this pool, but now it's a home for newts!

We only had about an hour and a half, but it was a lovely place to explore. We also had afternoon tea in the café, located in the old stables, so it was a very good outing to end the day.

An aside: I'd always been quite contemptuous of anyone who posed the question, "What goes on the scone first - jam or cream?" It always seemed to me so obvious that the answer was, the jam goes on first, and the whipped cream on top.  BUT, having now met a lot of cream teas with the divine Cornish Clotted Cream, I have become a convert to the idea of cream first (it's so thick), THEN the jam on top.  Radical, I know, but I thought the world needed to be aware of this!

After that, it was only a half hour’s drive back to Carol’s. We made a delicious chicken curry for tea, Lex washed up, and now we have to contemplate packing, for tomorrow is a moving day – we are off to Norfolk.