We finally had a sunny day in the Cotswolds, and we made the most of it! We got up early to beat any potential crowds and started in the lovely little village of Stanton. I won't lie, there's nothing to do there (that I found) except walk around and enjoy the tranquility; apparently in the church there are notches where shepherds used to tie their dogs. That wasn't especially thrilling to me, so all we did was a quick trot down the main road. It is very beautiful, though.
Elowen loved picking "wishes" and would shout excitedly whenever she saw one. She can't tell you what her wish is though--those are secret.
The Sheppey Corner Cottage, built in the 16th century--note the thatched roof.
Our next stop was the town of Broadway, which in my opinion had the most to do if you love shopping and snacking. But of the same honey-colored stone as the other Cotswolds villages, it really stands our for its gorgeous wisteria. The shops and restaurants line a main road, and we got there before anything opened to ensure we could get a parking spot. (I was first-world traumatized by the crowds in Bibury, which I'll cover in another post.) Most of the buildings were built in the 16th and 17th centuries and served as coaching inns.
Isn't this amazing?
The cutest little candy shop with every sweet you've never heard of but want to eat
Since we were there before lunch but all feeling hangry, we stopped into Broadway Deli to get a snack to hold us over. I was really tempted by these stuffed croissants; Elowen had a croissant and Taylor and I shared a really phenomenal ham sandwich from the counter service.
We strolled down High Street and into little shops, getting a hot tea and letting Elowen pick out a toy in Rikki Tikki, the local toystore; we also did a gin tasting and I ended up with a bottle of bramble gin (though the cream gin was a close second favorite and tasted like Christmas). Finally, the Broadway Hotel opened and it was time to eat! The Broadway Hotel was built in the 16th century and was originally built as a retreat for abbots; it overlooks the village green.
Potato soup with crispy leeks and sourdough
Duchess chicken with mushrooms and mashed potatoes
Treacle tart, which I've read about but never tried! I don't need it again, but I'm glad I tried it.
After lunch, we took Elowen to the Cotswolds Farm Park, where you can feed goats, sheep, and pigs. Elowen had a blast running from pen to pen, lecturing the goats on being polite (and telling some of them they needed a bath).
After Elowen ran out of food, we headed over to Snowshill, another tiny village where there's not much to do but the views are lovely.
And finally--did you think the day was over??--we stopped briefly in Cheltenham, which a bartender told us was much nicer than Gloucester (and it did indeed have considerable high-end shopping). Jane Austen visited Cheltenham to take the waters at a spa, and it also has a Hatchards bookstore (it was amazing; the London location has been open since 1797).
We stopped into the Sandford Alehouse on the way to the car, and even though I wasn't hungry I had to try their fried chicken pop-up for the chipotle mayo and chimichurri chicken tenders and the bacon, cheese, and ranch fries. Delicious.
And that was the end of another lovely day!
Comments
Post a Comment