Wednesday, September 25, 2013 Around and around we go – STOP!!!

Wednesday, September 25, 2013  Around and around we go – STOP!!!

Today was a little different.  We split up into parts for the day.  Linda and Phyllis decided they would rather stay in Bourton on the Water and explore town in greater detail so they stayed here and did just that.  Wouldn’t you know – Linda bought some yarn today!!!  They said they had a really nice day and enjoyed having a stay-at-home day.

The rest of us loaded up and headed out.  We first went to Showshill and found the Snowshill Arms pub that was suggested by a friend of Sarah’s.  It is a typical little pub with lots of locals around and we enjoyed it tremendously.  

 At the counter, they handed us some menus and a pad of paper and a pen and said to write down what we wanted, then take it to the bar to pay for it.  That’s what we did and it worked well.   

We ate ham and cheese toasty, gammon (ham) and eggs, breakfast baguette, turkey baguette and wonderful chips (French fries!!).  And then there was dessert – hot apple pie with vanilla ice cream, blackberry ice cream, and a mixture of small desserts – all wonderful.   

When we were getting back into our car, Sarah found her next car.  What do you think?? It's a Ferrari.

 

We roamed around Snowshill for a few moments and looked in the church and cemetery and then headed for the next town.

Stanton is just beautiful – the buildings are of the softest yellow stone that I’ve seen and most of the houses had very large and very colorful rose bushes in front of them.   

We drove through the village (as usual) and ended up at the top of the town at the Mount Inn (which is where Trevor, our first taxi driver said we should visit).  He was right that the view was beautiful.  The air was sort of hazy but you could still see a long way and that the scenery was beautiful.   

We went back down through the down and couldn’t find the church we were looking for so we followed a tractor to a barn to ask for directions.  As we turned into the farm, we found sheep wandering loose on the grounds so of course, we had to stop to take photos of them.  One of them walked over to the car and Sarah got to actually pet it on its head.   

We drove on when it started to eat the tire!!! 

We drove up to the farm and asked directions from a lady who was getting into her car.  Instead of telling us where the church was located, she said to follow her since she was going into the village anyway and she would show us when we got there.  As we drove back up the street, she stuck her hand out the window and pointed to the driveway to the church.  We waved to thank her as she drove on.  The churchyard and church was surrounded by a nice fence with a very nice wooden gate with nice iron fixtures that we use to open or close the gate.  We saw gravestones dating back to 1646!!!  Inside the church, we located the pews that have grooves worn into them by years of dog leashes being held on them.  

 

 It was an interesting place.

We then drove on to Stanway, about 2 miles down the road.  This little village was pretty but nothing to compare to Stanton.  There is a large manor house and a pretty church right next door, but that was all of interest here.

We then went on the Winchcombe which turned out to be a town, not a village.  It was on a road that got higher as we entered the town.  This main road was a two lane road, but there were cars parked on one side, or the other side, or both sides during most of the town.  The town was quite busy and there were many cars and people.  We drove to the gate of Sudely Castle but didn’t visit it – again we were looking for a particular church that had a unique feature. As we returned to the main street and continued up the hill we found the church – mainly by following the steeple.  I would not park in any of the ‘parking spaces’ on the main road so I pulled into a narrow driveway right by the church so the others could get out to see the church and its grotesques – many people would call them gargoyles but since they are not used as rainspouts, they are not gargoyles.   

No one went into or out of the driveway while I was there, so that worked out well.  Instead of backing into the main street, I decided to pull forward farther into the driveway and turn around there.  Good plan with just one little flaw.  The portico or whatever it’s called that goes over the driveway was not made for large vans.  We made it through but only because everyone in the car sucked their breath in all the way!!  When we got to the parking lot at the end of the driveway, it was tiny but we managed to turn around, barely.  If our car had been any larger, I doubt we would have been able to make it.  

We had completed our list of villages and towns for the day, but there were two others that we hoped to see.  Since things had gone so well, we decided to go on and try it.  We made it to Cheltenham (pronounced Chelt nam) and things went very nicely.  It was not a village or a town – it was a city!!  I announced as we left this city that I felt I might be able to drive in the city of Oxford after all – it wasn’t too bad. 

Then we headed to Gloucester (pronounced Glou ster) to see the cathedral where some of the Harry Potter movies had been filmed.  Everything went well until we got almost there.  Then the traffic stopped.  We could see the top of the cathedral but we were on an interstate type road with controlled exits and could not get off except through the roundabout where there had been at least one wreck and perhaps more.  During the hour we sat on that road, we had to move over twice for an ambulance to get through.  When we got to the roundabout, I went around and to the right instead of going left (since NO one was actually going anywhere left) and we got to tour some of the countryside toward Sandhurst.  I was in a convoy of several vehicles trying to get away from the traffic jam and we moved nice and quickly, but we didn’t really get anywhere much. 

When I headed back into Gloucester toward the cathedral, I got caught up in rush hour traffic and again, no one was going anywhere quickly.  We decided we didn’t really want to see the cathedral (!) so we headed back home.  Guess what – no one was moving that way either.  Well, we moved but it was very slowly.  We saw several police cars racing down the road past us and we had to move over once or twice for an ambulance to get past.  Gloucester did not turn out to be a good city for us.  I don’t know if I want to go to Oxford or not but I certainly do not want to go at rush hour!!!! 

 

We finally made it out of town and into the countryside on the way home.  The traffic was moving and we made good time.  At least we did until I took a wrong turn at a roundabout.  Instead of being patient and going more than a mile to turn around, I turned around in a wide place in the road – mistake.  I went through a couple of big holes off the edge of the road and we dragged bottom, but there was no damage to the car.  I was not happy with myself but since there was no harm done, I guess it’s okay.  I’ll try to be patient next time.  We went on and I missed another turn – guess I was tired.  This time I just let Myrtle adjust her directions and we saw new scenery. 

By the way - Sarah has been wondering why they paint the letters S L O W in really big letters on the roads in this area.  I have no idea why they would do that, but if you know, please let Sarah know.  She seems to think it's important for some reason.

We arrived back at our little village and went to the co-op for groceries.  Then we went for gas.  Myrtle took us to two gas stations that were unavailable but she finally found us a good one on the third try. By this time, the children in the back seat (I will not name any names but those of you who know Paula and Sarah will probably guess who I’m talking about!) were tired and a little antsy. As soon as I got back in the car, one of them said “She’s lying.”  This was before the other one had said anything!!  It was an interesting ride the rest of the way home.  We may have to play the silent game on our next day out. 

Now our gas tank is full for our hard day tomorrow or we think it may be difficult.  We plan to leave at 6:30 in the morning, yes you read that correctly, to get to the city of Bath to take an all day tour on Stonehenge, Avebury and some other places I can’t remember right now!!  I can’t imagine how I will be up and at ‘em that early in the morning, but I expect I will be!!  I’ll let you know how it turns out.