Taking Charlie for a walk, I decided to 'go exploring'. Instead of heading down into Bourton, I turned right and after a short walk, I came across one of those Public Footpath signs for Windrush, Charlie, and me walked down the footpath, and it opened out onto a beautiful stream, the sort of view an artist would love to paint.
These were your classic chocolate box images, I can see it now: Caramels of the Cotswolds.
I never saw any fish in these streams, which was funny as there were a few signs saying NO FISHING. Maybe people fished for ducks? There were plenty of those.
We passed a field of sheep, which Charlie was totally confused by.
The path actually led us back into Bourton, so the idea of seeing somewhere different kind of backfired on me. 😆
We did come across a ford, however. If you ask me, you'd be OK driving through it in a 4X4, but I wouldn't fancy it in a bog standard car.
Charlie and I headed back to the cottage. We'd planned to go to Stow-on-the-Wold and Broadway, given that the two places had been a washout last time we tried to visit.
So I'm really sorry, I don't have any pictures for the following two places. The ones I took turned out horrid. 🙁
Stow-on-the-Wold
It's a gorgeous medieval-looking market town, but be warned, parking is minimal. There is parking in the market square; however, you need to get there early. We managed to secure a spot, and the market traders were just setting up, so we decided to look for somewhere to get breakfast.
We found a fantastic little place called The Hive (That name gets about, don't it?) The Hive breakfast was amazing.
Sourdough toast, poached eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, fresh parsley and homemade baked beans. I wasn't that keen on the baked beans if truth be told. They tasted like they'd been made with the juice of tinned plum tomatoes. A bonus in my book is any place that lets your dog sit with you while you eat and doesn't require you to retreat to a garden or some out-of-the-way corner. The wife was really impressed with the toilets! 😂
"They've got real bouquets of flowers in there! And posh handwash." She said.
There weren't that many shops tbh, although we did find a pet shop and bought Charlie some Lamb treats. The market stalls were really good, though. One was selling goat products, milk, cheese and meat. I passed on goat sausages, though.
As you can imagine, there are a LOT of Americans and I presume Japanese. A classic American lady spoke to us while we were at one of the market stalls:
"What breed of dog is that?" She said. I always love this question because when I tell people, they're generally none the wiser. I always phrase my response this way: "OK, are you ready for this? He's a Coton de Tuléar" Now, usually I have to back that up with "They're related to the Bichon." but no! "Oh, I know the breed well." said our new American friend. "My brother breeds them." I was shocked. In the eight years we've had Charlie, that's the first person who knew the breed. I really wish I'd bothered to ask her name now.
As you can imagine, house prices in a lot of these villages are eye-watering to say the least. The wife particularly liked the kitchen in this one.
Me: "Wait there a minute and I'll just pop in and see if they take Klarna?"
Broadway
This, so far, is our favourite village in the Cotswolds. There are lots of classic shops along the length of the high street.
We went into a shoe shop as the wife liked the look of some boots they had. Between you and me, I was a bit surprised as they looked like riding boots? They were black with a broad brown band around the top, but as most men will tell you, never make a comment when your partner is trying something on. 🤣
Wife: "I have problems with boots, I have fat calves." Assistant: "Everyone has one foot bigger than the other." Wife: "No, I have fat calves." Assistant: "I'm sure you don't."
The wife starts to pull the zip up.
Assistant: "Oh?" Wife: "I told you I have fat calves."
Bwahahaha
We'll do this and then set off
We didn't have time to do the Maze, maybe if we come back, we can have a look. Instead, we chose to look around Birdland.
Now, I don't like zoos; I don't like any venue that houses captive animals. I can just about stomach safari parks and maybe a zoo that's famous for its conservation work. I have to say, Birdland could have been worse.
We were a bit too close for comfort with the penguins. A couple came that close to the very low wall that, with a slight stretch, and if you're dumb enough, you could have touched them.
Over by the cafeteria, they have a couple of parrots flying free. One dive bombed the wife and scared the living daylights out of her. I didn't laugh, honest.
And that's it. After the birds, we drove to The Farmer's Dog and then home, but hopefully you've already read about that.
My actual name is Pete. This is why I have the username dickturpin
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