A planted trough in the late summer sunshine, Tetbury
There's a feeling in the air…the summer has imperceptibly turned into very early autumn…the last days of school holidays have arrived…leaves are beginning to turn and fall, the swallows were gathering on the wires last week as I drove to Hungerford. It's a good ending to August - the temperatures have risen again and it's a delight to be out and about in the golden light. But that delight is tempered by a feeling of 'making the best of things' - for it is certain that in the weeks to come, though there will (hopefully) be many more days of sunshine, there will also be increasingly long nights and chillier mornings…we turn towards the darker days of the year.
So it was in that spirit of enjoying each day fully that we set off last Thursday to visit one of our favourite parts of the countryside here in the UK - the hills and valleys, villages and towns, churches and market places of the Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire. The Cotswolds became prosperous in medieval times as a result of the high quality of wool produced by sheep grazing on fine pasture land - a prosperity that financed the beautiful architecture of the towns and churches, which have hence become known as 'wool churches', filled with notable glass, wood carvings and elaborate tombs.
Charming alleyways, hidden corners - Tetbury
The towns and villages are also a pleasure to just wander around (one of my favourite activities), exploring narrow alleyways and tiny courtyards in search of all manner of interesting and unusual shops. Last week's little trail took us to the towns of Stroud, Tetbury, and in between (and fleetingly) Minchinhampton. (Don't those names roll deliciously round the tongue?!). We are very fond of Tetbury and seem to discover more intriguing shops and buildings each time we visit - but we had not made our way to Stroud before. We arrived in rain, but left - after an excellent Italian lunch (proper Italian, too, with Bocelli on the radio!) - in bright sunlight, to climb up a narrow road along the steep scarp slope to Minchinhampton.
Covered Arcade, The Shambles, Stroud
Plaque in the covered Arcade
A cheeky Squirrel, fossicking in the churchyard of St Laurence
High on the top of the hill with Minchinhampton Common (owned by the National Trust) spreading for 500 acres all round, we did, in fact, manage to take a right rather than a left and in so doing - missed the centre of the town completely!! No worries, as this led us down some lovely, peaceful lanes with striking views across the valley to remote farms on the other side - and everywhere…sheep, sheep and more sheep. (I love sheep - so this made me very happy!)
Sheep happy-scratching against a dry stone wall, outskirts of Minchinhampton
We arrived in Tetbury in time to spend a good couple of hours investigating a real variety of shops - some very 'High End' antiques - with their doors closed and discrete displays in back rooms into which only the very wealthy (or very naïve) were venturing, to a number of very enticing charity shops at the other end of the spectrum (though even the 'stuff' in the charity shops was definitely of some quality as befits discards from this affluent community).
Top Banana!
One of my own personal favourite places to browse was in the five floors of the 'Top Banana Antiques Emporium' - where numerous dealers offer items of a huge variety and in all price ranges. The owners have created a really welcoming atmosphere - I will certainly revisit next time I am there; more than enough in that one building to make a couple of hours in the town worthwhile if you are just passing through.
Many nooks and crannies, containing many treasures, over five floors
The lovely, friendly proprietors of Top Banana - with a little purchase that needed to come home with me!
We had parked at the other end of town, so were positively compelled to browse in a number of other shops on our way back to the car! To gasp at the prices in the Highgrove shop (The 'Prince Charles Premium' heavily applied!!), to partake of coffee and cake in one of the best coffee shops on the planet...
The wonderfully crazy, exhuberant Rainbow interior of the Blue Zucchini Brasserie in Tetbury
...and the serene back courtyard garden - a heavenly place to take tea
...raid the cheese shop next door and then be entranced by the beauty and interest of some of the Asian artefacts on display and for sale in Artique; this was a most intriguing shop/gallery with a wonderfully serene atmosphere and a very memorable welcome from the owner, George Bristow. Even though we bought nothing on this occasion, I am drawn back to re-visit - both because of his genuine warmth and willingness to share his knowledge of the items - and for an intense longing to acquire something from the interesting and unusual artefacts for sale there.
Beautiful Asian artefacts - Artique
An obligatory (for church crawling me) visit to the church of St Mary, another encounter with and contemplation of the beautiful and enigmatic 'Mary' murals in the entrance -
'The Annunciation'
and home again, along the noisy, pressurised route of the M4 motorway - only a few miles on the map but a million miles in atmosphere from the enchanting Cotswold countryside.
We're already planning our next visit...
The Market Hall, Tetbury
Enjoyed the photos
Posted by: wayne webster | Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 01:00
Count your blessings, Roz, if you are having lovely summer sunshine and delicious end of August days! Over here ... we are melting! Today Wednesday is the coolest & middle day in a 9 day run of triple digits heat wave (triple digits is anything 100 & over -- about 40 degrees Celsius, more or less.) The cats have to stay inside from noon until almost 9:00 and they hate that! I hate it too -- my electric bill will be astronomical!
I'm finding that my autumn is my favorite season these days. I rather like the nights drawing in, and a chill in the air after lovely golden mellow days. Much easier to just throw things in the crockpot & let them bubble away all day than to cook something when it's so hot! We sometimes get hardly any fall at all -- the heat of summer hanging on until mid-November and winter starting early. Winter doesn't last either -- the fruit trees start blossoming in late January. And I'd much rather less scorching heat and the other three seasons lasting longer!
Thanks for the wee tour of the Cotswold towns. I did get to the Cotswolds, just, when I was there: Burton-upon-Water and Upper & Lower Slaughter. I fell in love, and would live there if I could (but that would mean winning the pools -- fat chance!) I'd also live in the Lake District but that's also impossible! On my budget, I could probably afford the Outer Orkneys!
And your yard, as usual, is lovely! Enjoy it until it's time to close down for the winter.
Posted by: Kate | Wednesday, August 30, 2017 at 22:20
Oh, you've made me want to visit!
Posted by: EditorJamieC | Saturday, September 02, 2017 at 20:42
The Cotswolds! One of my favourite places. We used to stay in Long Compton, which was not far from Chipping Camden, but travelled all over the area during numerous short holidays there. In the early 1970s, when I was on holiday in Dorset, I had a boyfriend who came from Tetbury - a holiday romance, I'm afraid it didn't last, although we did keep in touch for a little while. I still think of him occasionally and wonder what happened to him, even after all this time. I wonder if he remembers me!
Posted by: Lesley | Wednesday, September 06, 2017 at 20:08