The Cotswolds and beyond
By Walt Frasier
» More from Walt Frasier
12:01 a.m. PT Sep 2, 2006
First of three parts
What turned out to be one of our 'funnest' trip in years, unfortunately started out in a very stressful manner. But that's life. So let me tell you how it all began:
My partner Dianne Marie and I arrived at Heathrow Airport outside London, some 13 hours after leaving San Francisco. We immediately rented a car and attempted to drive to The Cotswolds. Yes, I said "attempted," because it took us forever to get there.
Just getting out of the Heathrow area was a struggle, mainly because of all the road construction going on. Our aim was to get onto the M-4 motorway, the equivalent of an American freeway, but we kept missing it because of what to us was poor signage at their "round-abouts." We usually saw the signs right after it was too late to follow them.
So we drove mostly on one of their "A" roads, which go through all the little towns and villages. And depending on the number of digits following the "A," these roads become progressively narrower and by the time we were on a road, such as "A-312," the road was down to two narrow lanes with no shoulders, but bordered only by stone or vegetative hedges.
Of course, the Brits drive on the "wrong," i.e. left side of the road, which added to my stress level. Needless to say, I was pretty worn out upon arriving at our first destination, Stow-on-the Wold.
Stow-on-the-Wold, which means "Meeting Place on the Hill," and at 800 feet elevation the highest place in the region, is a charming little village in the heart of the Cotswolds region of England. It encompasses approximately 80 x 30 miles in the southwest of England. In the high season, it is full of day trippers, but it becomes much quieter at night, and then parking became less of an issue.
The proprietor of "The Pound," was a warm and friendly, middle-aged woman, who has only two rental rooms in her B and B, which was built in the 15th century. It seems people were a lot shorter then, else her 6-foot, 2-inch tall son would not have had to go around stooped over in most of the rooms.
As luck would have it, our three nights here turned out to be the hottest July days England had had in the last 100 years. Of course, the place had no air-conditioning, so a small fan in our room was all we had to cope with the heat.
We left our car untouched for the next two days and set out by local bus to explore the immediate area, places with colorful names such as Bourton-on-the-Water, Morton-in-Marsh and Chipping Campden. Each of these small villages had its own charms, whether it was a little stream flowing by, houses with thatched straw roofs well over a 100 years old, or quaint little pubs or cafes. One of the restaurants was named "Eagle and Child," and they claimed to be the oldest inn in all of England.
Our next stop was Exeter in Devon County, in the Western part of England, where the weather became a little cooler due to our proximity to the ocean. Our original plan was to visit Bodmin, sister city to Nevada City, and Penance, sister city to Grass Valley, both situated in Cornwall County, the most Western tip of the country, but when we ran out of time we opted to explore the Dartmoor National Park and Forest, just outside of Exeter.
The driving here was not easy since the roads were mostly very narrow, but the landscape, full of heather and gorse, was beautiful in its starkness, peppered as it was with Neolithic sites, such as tombs and various ancient bridges. Most of this land is unspoiled and populated by wild ponies and free roaming sheep, and much is still owned by members of the Royal Family and used for hunting, etc.
Our very full day ended at Teignmouth, a little seaside resort, and incidentally the only place on our England trip where we saw the ocean. Naturally, we had to have some fish and chips here for dinner, even though we had to wait half an hour at the "Jolly Good Fish and Chips" place for them to fry it. That's because they prepare all orders fresh as they are ordered.
Our last stop in England was Bath, primarily known for its ancient Roman Baths, which the Romans called Aquae Sulis. Of course, these 116 degree F. mineral hot springs were famous long before then for their assumed healing powers. However, today they are not being used, except as a historical World Heritage site.
The baths are surrounded by a modern fine museum, which displays Roman artifacts, statues, as well as the actual mouth of the hot spring. Amazingly, the spring water spouts forth as hot as ever. We spent almost three hours here. After all, we wanted to get our money's worth, a hefty equivalent of US $16 per person. Then there is the distinctive Georgian building style throughout the city, the best examples of which are The Circus and the nearby Royal Crescent, dating back to the 18th century.
Next week: The Republic of Ireland.
