My Week in England Report...Part III
Oct 30th, 2003 | 08:31 AM
#1
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Joined: Feb 2003
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My Week in England Report...Part III
Day 6: Castle Combe
Our plan was to see Bath and Lacock this day, but my Dad got a cold. So we decided to see the little village of Castle Combe, which is right out of a fairy tale. We had lunch at the pub in the village called the White Hart. We both had Ploughman?s lunches, which consist of some ham, cheddar or stilton, bread, and salad. Very filling and tasty. We both had Wadworth IPA to drink. They we headed back to the Manor and had afternoon tea by the fire. We then had some cognac at the bar, as we stared out at the rain. (BTW it only rained one day in ten). We ordered room service that night and went to bed early. This place was really awesome! I felt like I was living in the someone's 14th century castle.
Day 7: Chipping Campden
Up early and headed north through the Cotswolds to Chipping Campden. Wow! All I can say is that these Cotswolds towns are special. If you love history you can?t miss them. It?s like being immediately transported back into the 15th century. We checked into the Noel Arms. Beautiful little coaching inn that King Charles actually stayed at after losing to Cromwell. But I will say this hotel was the lowlight overall on the trip. The hotel was understaffed and the staff they had was very young. They seemed unhappy and les affair. One night the bartender in the cute little pub had all his friends there and it was a loud party of 21 year olds. You couldn?t get to the bar to order food, and the lounge tables were a mess. We had room service bought up, but our food was cold. I would not stay here again. Chipping Campden however is gorgeous. We saw St. James church and the Market Hall. We had lunch at the Eight Bells Inn. Talk about and old pub?wow! We had Hook Norton IPA to drink.
Day 8: Cotwolds
At 9:30a Genny from Tour Gems picked us up at the hotel for a our day tour of the Cotswolds. She was fabulous. I highly recommend her. We saw Stow on Wold, Bourton on the Water, Burford, Bibury, Stanton, The Slaughters, The Roman Villa at Yanworth, and an old Saxon church in one of the villages. Her knowledge is shocking. I know quite a bit of history and there was not one question she could not answer. She took us into churches and knew everyone who was buried there, who designed what, and the time periods for each style. My Dad and I really enjoyed the personal tour.
Day 9: Blenheim and Windsor
We checked out of the Noel Arms and after doing some wool shopping in Chipping Campden, we drove south to Woodstock and Blenheim Palace. We took a full tour of the palace, which is very impressive and then walked the gardens. From there we drove to Windsor where we checked into to the Sir Christopher Wren House. Beautiful Hotel! From 1676, it was actually his home. We had a great room looking out at the Castle. We took afternoon tea downstairs, and then went to see the Castle. It was too late for a tour so we explored every inch of the cute little town, and the great park and then headed back to the hotel. We ordered room service for our last night and sat and recounted our whole trip. We headed back to NY the next morning.
Amazing trip?I will return!!!
Our plan was to see Bath and Lacock this day, but my Dad got a cold. So we decided to see the little village of Castle Combe, which is right out of a fairy tale. We had lunch at the pub in the village called the White Hart. We both had Ploughman?s lunches, which consist of some ham, cheddar or stilton, bread, and salad. Very filling and tasty. We both had Wadworth IPA to drink. They we headed back to the Manor and had afternoon tea by the fire. We then had some cognac at the bar, as we stared out at the rain. (BTW it only rained one day in ten). We ordered room service that night and went to bed early. This place was really awesome! I felt like I was living in the someone's 14th century castle.
Day 7: Chipping Campden
Up early and headed north through the Cotswolds to Chipping Campden. Wow! All I can say is that these Cotswolds towns are special. If you love history you can?t miss them. It?s like being immediately transported back into the 15th century. We checked into the Noel Arms. Beautiful little coaching inn that King Charles actually stayed at after losing to Cromwell. But I will say this hotel was the lowlight overall on the trip. The hotel was understaffed and the staff they had was very young. They seemed unhappy and les affair. One night the bartender in the cute little pub had all his friends there and it was a loud party of 21 year olds. You couldn?t get to the bar to order food, and the lounge tables were a mess. We had room service bought up, but our food was cold. I would not stay here again. Chipping Campden however is gorgeous. We saw St. James church and the Market Hall. We had lunch at the Eight Bells Inn. Talk about and old pub?wow! We had Hook Norton IPA to drink.
Day 8: Cotwolds
At 9:30a Genny from Tour Gems picked us up at the hotel for a our day tour of the Cotswolds. She was fabulous. I highly recommend her. We saw Stow on Wold, Bourton on the Water, Burford, Bibury, Stanton, The Slaughters, The Roman Villa at Yanworth, and an old Saxon church in one of the villages. Her knowledge is shocking. I know quite a bit of history and there was not one question she could not answer. She took us into churches and knew everyone who was buried there, who designed what, and the time periods for each style. My Dad and I really enjoyed the personal tour.
Day 9: Blenheim and Windsor
We checked out of the Noel Arms and after doing some wool shopping in Chipping Campden, we drove south to Woodstock and Blenheim Palace. We took a full tour of the palace, which is very impressive and then walked the gardens. From there we drove to Windsor where we checked into to the Sir Christopher Wren House. Beautiful Hotel! From 1676, it was actually his home. We had a great room looking out at the Castle. We took afternoon tea downstairs, and then went to see the Castle. It was too late for a tour so we explored every inch of the cute little town, and the great park and then headed back to the hotel. We ordered room service for our last night and sat and recounted our whole trip. We headed back to NY the next morning.
Amazing trip?I will return!!!
Oct 30th, 2003 | 09:14 AM
#3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 897
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I enjoyed your report, but wondered why you had room service so many times? Just tired out at the end of the day? Also curious, if you don't mind my asking, what your budget was for the trip? I'd like to see what it would cost for your level of travel (I'm the self-catering/rent a mini-car type).
Oct 30th, 2003 | 12:36 PM
#4
Original Poster
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 53
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I think we had room service three times, and yes it was mostly because my elder father was tired form long days of sightseeing. Although we went out for so many meals, we liked the idea of just enjoying our room, especially at the Manor House in Castle Combe. As far as budget goes, this was the most expensive trip I have ever taken. First because the dollar is just getting trounced by the pound (like 1.72). I would say it cost in the range of $3500 per person with flights and everything included.
