Castles, Cake, and Open Road

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...

 One nice thing about Cotswolds towns is that they're very small, so if you're not in a leisurely mood where you want to sit in a little cafe and have a cream tea and then while away the hours in shops, you can see a lot in one day. Since there are too many towns in the Cotswolds for me to feel leisurely in any way, we tried to knock out as many as possible.  Our first early-morning stop was Bourton-on-the-Water, known as the Venice of England and located on the River Windthrush. We had tried to visit Bourton on our first day in the Cotswolds, and it was insanely packed--like Disney World level crowds (because it was a bank holiday for Easter and England's spring break). We kept on driving and resolved to come back another day, arriving at around 9 am to ensure we beat any crowds (parking is very limited in these towns).   She was having fun, I promise Since it was so early, most things were closed, and in Bourton there actually is a lot to do--there's a huge bird sanct...