Exploring Cotswold.

Spending a weekend inside the cosy comforts of home is heavenly but planning a wonderful weekend away, where you load up the car with wellies/umbrellas (it's England after all), food, coats, and hit the road, has its own kind of zing. I have always been a country girl and since being here, i have developed a very deep love for the old English countryside. Nothing can beat the lushness and serenity the country side can offer. Big cities and sky scrappers suffocate me. Thus, Cotswold, a classic English village renowned for it's honey-limestone bricked cottages, had to be in the list of places to visit .

It’s been quite a while since our trip. May 2015, to be precise. The first day of it is documented in this post. The day spent in the cabin was something we both would never forget. A totally different but fun experience. Since we had booked only a day in the cabin, we packed up the next morning and set out to explore the rest of the village. It was perfect weather. A bit of chilly breeze but the sun shone in all it's glory. Not having any set destinations as such, we drove around sinking in the visual delights of the place till we reached our hotel. The navigation took us through winding country roads, past farms and open canola fields.

We stopped over at Broadway for lunch. It is so exceptionally crisp and clean that you could lick the road and not be bothered to wipe it . I immediately felt transported to a sort of Tudor period and could imagine people walking about in their long heavy smocked dresses with corsets and bonnets. People are so polite and pleasant too. They always seem to be in merry spirits. You would want to give everyone a hug!

Everywhere I looked it was surrounded by beautiful landscapes, with gorgeous fluer embracing the old structurally identical thatched buildings. There were food stalls put up and the town was buzzing with smiles and chatter. There was a Ferrari exhibition too, much to his amusement. 

We quickly grabbed a bite and as instructed by a kind old kind man, drove further into the village where it was much quieter. Every building or mansion looked so well made. I was not prepared for quite how much I'd fall in love with the place. The colour of the brick, the tiny doorways and the green ivy which climbs so many of them are so quintessentially English. I can imagine people here burning the fireplace in the evening with a cup of tea. So very English!

Seeing the photographs on the internet is one thing, but going through something in real life is incomparable. As beautiful as they can be, photos can never bring out the true beauty and experience behind the camera. 

We also visited the popular Hidcote Manor garden, created by Lawrence Johnston  in 1910, which is now owned by the National Trust. It is so vast and incredibly maintained and had a sense of tranquility. With nothing else but birds chirping, sheep grazing in vast undisturbed field and beautiful sights of all kinds of fluers around, it was the perfect relaxed noon for us.  This place is a must visit during spring, although hay fever sufferers might find it extremely tough to cope after. 

I had the impression that this village is tiny and two days would be enough for us to cover everything. Wrong! Cotswold is an area of 25 miles (40 km) across and 90 miles (145 km) long (thanks Google!). It was impossible for us to cover all the major spots in just two days. No regrets nonetheless. We can always go back and so we shall!