The Cotswolds is a group of villages set in rolling hills (wolds). Bath and Stratford-upon-Avon are also considered Cotswolds, but for this part of the trip we centered around Moreton-in-Marsh and Chipping Campden.
More photos are available on the Cotswolds page.
2-Nov
We had allowed some extra time in our schedule ot make sure we got to the train on time in the morning, and as it ended up we were able to catch an earlier train out of Bath than we expected. When we got to Oxford for our transfer, however, there was no earlier train to Moreton-in-Marsh, but we ended up not having to wait too long anyway.
After getting off the train, we found our B&B but we apparently caught Charlie (the proprietor) out of the house. Fortunately his wife showed up a few minutes later and we were able to drop off our bags and head out to find the Tourist Information Center. We picked up some brochures and bus timetables, then wandered around the Tuesday Market before we needed to catch our bus to Chipping Campden.
Footpath across a farm in Chipping Campden
The first order of business was to grab some lunch, which was quite good (forest mushroom soup and breads for Melody, Brie and cranberry relish sandwich for me). Having re-energized, we started walking around the town, which ended up not taking very long. One thing we wanted to do was to find one of the public footpaths, which go all through the Cotswolds. We did find one which ended up going through someone's farmland; the paths are on public rights of way, so it's not unusual for that to happen.
As we were heading back towards the bus stop, we saw lots of kids walking away from Chipping Campden School, all with blazers which had the school's emblem on them. It was fun watching them go by; we saw the teen-aged girls talking about boys, the lone boy who looked like he had a rough day, and others, just like you'd see in a movie.
As it ended up, the bus we were looking for didn't run that day; another couple was also looking to get to Moreton-in-Marsh, and we confirmed with each other that's what the schedule said. It was about an hour and a half before the next one, so we found a coffee shop where I had an Italian hot chocolate (the kind which is almost like pudding). We went back to the bus (which was going to be at the stop across the street) and eventually that same couple showed up again. The bus did show up, and we made it back to Moreton-in-Marsh in time to grab dinner at a pub. Back to the B&B to do some laundry and hang it up to dry.
3-Nov
We went down for our continental breakfast to find another guest already seated at the table. He was from Costa Rica, and was in Moreton-in-Marsh on an internship. We enjoyed chatting with him, and he was very interested in hearing about Melody's work with open souce software. Since he had paid for the hot meal, he was working his way through that. Charlie (the innkeeper) suddenly came out with hot breakfasts for us, saying that he was cooking anyway, so he thought he'd bring some for us. I wonder if he wanted us to get a taste of the full meal to see if we wanted it the next day.
Our destination of the day was Blenheim Palace, so the first leg of the journey was a train trip to Oxford. We then stepped out of the station right to a bus stop, where we would cath our ride for the rest of the trip. We told the bus driver we wanted a couple returns (round trip tickets) to Bleinheim, and he gave us an odd look. He was wondering if the palace was indeed open (which it was; we had checked), then said that this time of year there wasn't much to see. We thanked him for his advice, grabbed our tickets, and sat down. The next stop, a guy got on asking the driver for advice on when to get off since he was meeting friends in Yarnton. "Do you know which stop?" "No, they just said Yarnton." The bus driver rattled off a few stops, but none of them rang a bell to the guy, who ended up calling his friends to check which stop it was. When we did get there, the driver let him know that's where he wanted to get off. A while later, we arrived at the Blenheim Palace gates and walked our way to the entrance.
Blenheim Palace
There are several parts to visit the palace. Most of it is open to the public, but one wing is the home of the Duke of Marlborough. The first exhibit showed lots of Winston Churchill memorabilia; he was born in the palace, being a direct descendant of John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. He also proposed to his wife on the grounds, and is buried in St. Martin's Church, not far from the palace.
The next part we toured was the guest rooms (including some very impressive tapestries) and the palace library. We then went on the Untold Story walk which takes you through part of the upstairs of tha palace. However, instead of viewing rooms, it's set up with rooms decorated as different eras, and there were videos and animatronics to explain the palace's history. Since that part ended in a café, we grabbed a quick lunch, then proceeded to the gardens. We spent most of our time in the Secret Garden, enjoying the variety.
Melody had earlier arranged to try to meet up with Anne, a friend of hers from the conference, so we gave her a call. Anne volunteered to pick us up from the palace, so we went to meet her by another gate. The gate we originally entered was closed, and another couple was also looking down at the closed gate. We were wondering why a woman was pushing a stroller down the road anyway, then the other couple mentioned they thought she lived in the house just inside the gates. We proceeded to the other gate, and fortunately that was the one Anne had parked near anyway.
We got a quick tour between Blenheim and Anne's place, which was in a small village. After dropping off our stuff, we went on a quick walk around the block with her so she could walk the dog and pick up some take-out menus from a couple places. After getting back, we helped her prep for a few side dishes, then she called to order some entrées. We had a great time, and seemed to never run out of converstaion topics. After dinner she drove us all the way back to Moreton-in-Marsh (yes, not a trivial distance!) where we packed most of our stuff and then not long after, fell asleep.