Monday, August 28, 2006

A trip to the Cotswolds with Auntie Abi

Natasha's old work friend Abi visited us for the public holiday whilst she was working on a case in London. After showing her the sights and sounds of Banbury.. which took about 10 minutes ;) ... we bundled into the car and headed off to Stratford-upon Avon.. the home of the great bard himself, William Shakespeare.

The plan was to take the long way around and go via the Cotswolds, stopping off in Hook Norton for some local pub food and Hook Norton beers.










After a local pub meal at the Pear Tree Inn (featuring Hook Norton ales brewed about 20 metres up the road at the main Hook Norton Brewery) we took the 'scenic' route to Statford via Chipping Norton, Churchill and Bledington. Bledington was a pleasant surprise, as we were greeted with a 'ducks crossing' sign in the middle of the city center. Normally such signs are a let down.. but this time we saw a lovely gaggle of ducks crossing the road to frolic in a nearby stream.

As an aside, I know that one has a gaggle of geese.. what is the correct word for a flock of ducks... is a flock correct?




We then proceeded to Stow-on-the-Wold.. a delightful town smack bang in the middle of the Cotswolds that just screams 'tourist trap'! We'll perhaps visit there some other time, not on a public holiday.

We then proceeded to Stratford, descening along the A44 from the hills on the Cotswolds into the plains of Warwickshire.. the section that descends into Broadway is spectacular. We arrived in Stratford at about quarter past four.. to be confronted with bumper-to-bumper traffic outside of the town centre. So we turned away from the town centre and headed back to Banbury. Oh well.. we'll head out to Stratford another day!

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