Glencoe, Isle of Skye, the Lake District & More!!
Jul 6th, 2023, 06:44 PM
#21
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Hi Karen, I haven't had time to process more photos and it may take a while. I am going to post a message soon about the Cotswolds to finish up my trip report but I may be able to post a few photos in a couple of weeks.
Last edited by Sapphire; Jul 6th, 2023 at 06:52 PM.
Jul 14th, 2023, 09:46 PM
#22
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Days 11 to 13
If we had been able to spend another day in Great Britain, we would have added another day to the Cotswolds. But we did well to go there during the week when it was less crowded.
Day 11 - Drive to the Cotswolds, stopping at Coventry Cathedral
On Tuesday morning, we left Grasmere with the plan to visit the Ruins of Coventry Cathedral on the way to the Cotswolds. My sister was eager to see it, and we were happy to go again. The website said it was open but we found access limited due to filming. When we arrived, there was a notice about the filming and someone standing at the entrance told us when they would be done. So we had lunch at the nearby Metropolis Restaurant before walking around the Ruins. The film production was moving to another location when we returned, and we were able to walk around the bombed out Cathedral for a bit before they returned.
When we reached the Cotswolds area, we purposely drove through Upper Slaughter and then Lower Slaughter on our way. These villages and winding roads were as beautiful as I remembered, and we had a glimpse of a white horse running in a field before turning down the road to Lower Slaughter. We would return and spend more time in Lower Slaughter the next day but we were eager to get to our hotel. So we drove through Burford and then along the country lanes which took us to nearby Asthall where The Maytime is located. This was a great place to stay! The hotel is on a lovely property, and our rooms were accessible from the patio where there were tables for people who wished to sit outside with their drinks or meals. (Bonus that there was ample parking and no stairs to get to our room.) We were delighted with our stay here.
Day 12 - Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold, Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Lower Slaughter
This was our one full day in the Cotswolds. We decided to go to Bourton on the Water first and managed to get there before the tour buses arrived. It was lovely to be there early in the day, and we were ready to move on as more tourists arrived.
Our next stop was Stow on the Wold. We walked through the town, went to St. Edward's Church and the beautiful door with ancient yew trees on either side. Then we had a delicious lunch at the Old Bakery Tearoom. (It is a little hard to find as it is inside another building but we felt it was well worth the effort.)
Our next destination was the Kiftsgate Court Gardens (near Chipping Campden) and walking here was a lovely way to spend some time. Our last stop of the day was Lower Slaughter but first we made a small detour to see the small, old Hailes Parish Church across from the Abbey ruins near Winchcombe. (I wanted to see what remains of some old mural paintings on the walls.) Our first destination in Lower Slaughter was The Slaughters Country Inn. We stayed here overnight on a previous visit and enjoyed coming back for drinks and a brief walk. Then we went to the The Swan Inn in Swinsbrook for dinner. We sat outside and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Then we went back to The Maytime for our last night in the Cotswolds.
Day 13 - Bibury, Windsor, and a hotel near LHR
On Thursday we drove to Bibury early in the morning, walked along the River Coln and enjoyed seeing the homes along Arlington Row. We managed to get there before it was too crowded and took our time. We had hoped to get to Castle Combe as well on this trip but we ran out of time. We had offered to stop by Windsor before spending the night near the London Heathrow Airport, and that is what we did.
The drive to Windsor is relatively easy but there were several road closures that made it take longer than expected. We had tickets for touring Windsor Castle at 2:30 pm, and we planned to have lunch at the Duchess of Cambridge Pub. After parking at the River Street Car Parking, we made our way to the pub and enjoyed a lovely lunch with lots of gluten-free options for my sister. Then it was off to Windsor Castle.Our visit ended up being shorter than we had hoped because there was a long queue of people waiting to enter the gates. (We probably waited in line for at least 30 min past our entry time but my sister was happy with a quick tour of the castle, seeing Queen Mary's Dollhouse and a quick walk outside before time at the car park ran out.) Then it was a quick trip to the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel where we checked in and dropped our luggage before returning our rental car. We ordered a taxi for the next morning (6 am) to make sure we arrived at the airport with plenty of time before our flight.
All in all, it was a great trip. There are things we would have done differently in retrospect, but we were delighted with the beauty of the landscapes we saw, the friendly people who initiated conversation with us (primarily tourists from the UK), and the variety of places we stayed and ate. My sister and I both enjoy photography, and we came home with wonderful memories and many photos.
Day 11 - Drive to the Cotswolds, stopping at Coventry Cathedral
On Tuesday morning, we left Grasmere with the plan to visit the Ruins of Coventry Cathedral on the way to the Cotswolds. My sister was eager to see it, and we were happy to go again. The website said it was open but we found access limited due to filming. When we arrived, there was a notice about the filming and someone standing at the entrance told us when they would be done. So we had lunch at the nearby Metropolis Restaurant before walking around the Ruins. The film production was moving to another location when we returned, and we were able to walk around the bombed out Cathedral for a bit before they returned.
When we reached the Cotswolds area, we purposely drove through Upper Slaughter and then Lower Slaughter on our way. These villages and winding roads were as beautiful as I remembered, and we had a glimpse of a white horse running in a field before turning down the road to Lower Slaughter. We would return and spend more time in Lower Slaughter the next day but we were eager to get to our hotel. So we drove through Burford and then along the country lanes which took us to nearby Asthall where The Maytime is located. This was a great place to stay! The hotel is on a lovely property, and our rooms were accessible from the patio where there were tables for people who wished to sit outside with their drinks or meals. (Bonus that there was ample parking and no stairs to get to our room.) We were delighted with our stay here.
Day 12 - Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold, Kiftsgate Court Gardens, Lower Slaughter
This was our one full day in the Cotswolds. We decided to go to Bourton on the Water first and managed to get there before the tour buses arrived. It was lovely to be there early in the day, and we were ready to move on as more tourists arrived.
Our next stop was Stow on the Wold. We walked through the town, went to St. Edward's Church and the beautiful door with ancient yew trees on either side. Then we had a delicious lunch at the Old Bakery Tearoom. (It is a little hard to find as it is inside another building but we felt it was well worth the effort.)
Our next destination was the Kiftsgate Court Gardens (near Chipping Campden) and walking here was a lovely way to spend some time. Our last stop of the day was Lower Slaughter but first we made a small detour to see the small, old Hailes Parish Church across from the Abbey ruins near Winchcombe. (I wanted to see what remains of some old mural paintings on the walls.) Our first destination in Lower Slaughter was The Slaughters Country Inn. We stayed here overnight on a previous visit and enjoyed coming back for drinks and a brief walk. Then we went to the The Swan Inn in Swinsbrook for dinner. We sat outside and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Then we went back to The Maytime for our last night in the Cotswolds.
Day 13 - Bibury, Windsor, and a hotel near LHR
On Thursday we drove to Bibury early in the morning, walked along the River Coln and enjoyed seeing the homes along Arlington Row. We managed to get there before it was too crowded and took our time. We had hoped to get to Castle Combe as well on this trip but we ran out of time. We had offered to stop by Windsor before spending the night near the London Heathrow Airport, and that is what we did.
The drive to Windsor is relatively easy but there were several road closures that made it take longer than expected. We had tickets for touring Windsor Castle at 2:30 pm, and we planned to have lunch at the Duchess of Cambridge Pub. After parking at the River Street Car Parking, we made our way to the pub and enjoyed a lovely lunch with lots of gluten-free options for my sister. Then it was off to Windsor Castle.Our visit ended up being shorter than we had hoped because there was a long queue of people waiting to enter the gates. (We probably waited in line for at least 30 min past our entry time but my sister was happy with a quick tour of the castle, seeing Queen Mary's Dollhouse and a quick walk outside before time at the car park ran out.) Then it was a quick trip to the Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel where we checked in and dropped our luggage before returning our rental car. We ordered a taxi for the next morning (6 am) to make sure we arrived at the airport with plenty of time before our flight.
All in all, it was a great trip. There are things we would have done differently in retrospect, but we were delighted with the beauty of the landscapes we saw, the friendly people who initiated conversation with us (primarily tourists from the UK), and the variety of places we stayed and ate. My sister and I both enjoy photography, and we came home with wonderful memories and many photos.
Last edited by Sapphire; Jul 14th, 2023 at 10:44 PM.
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