A trip around some Cotswold villages and the White Horse Hill, Uffingham

 

I was nearing the end of my stay at Eynsham near Oxford so I decided to call into a few Cotswold towns and villages.

My first call was Cheltenham which is the most complete Regency town in Britain and one of the few English towns in which traditional and contemporary architecture complement each other.

Cheltenham lies beneath Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds and above the vale of the River Severn. It is known as 'The Western Gateway to the Cotswolds'. The village of Broadway being known as 'The Northern Gateway to the Cotswolds'.

I took this visit to Cheltenham because I have heard so much about it, so I thought that I would find out for myself. Well I wasn’t that impressed, however, to be fair it was a short visit and I hadn’t really done much research on where to go and what to look for. So I think I had better go again and explore the town more thoroughly next time. I do have a few pictures which show some buildings and parks. 

I took a scenic way home in order to call in some of the smaller villages and towns. I called into Bourton on the Water but it was full of sight - seers and there was nowhere to park, so I carried on to Burford for a short stop where I had  tea and cake in the church cafe before taking a couple photographs and returning home.

On the last day before coming home to Wales, my son took me to   Uffingham to explore the White Horse Hills. The strenuous climb to the top of the hill is rewarded with seemingly never-ending views. On a clear day, the panoramic vistas stretch over six counties. Simply relax and take a break as you admire the scenery. We did that as we ate our sandwich lunch in the light rain. 

One last piece of information for older walkers like me. I am approaching my 80th birthday and quite fit for my age but I found this walk quite long and challenging as it was quite hilly with an ascent to the top, up and down while enjoying the views and then a quite steep accent back to the car park.

Here's a couple of shots of Burford very busy main street where there are many cafe's, pubs restaurants and quaint and old shops. One of the shops shown is a wonderful garden shop near to the church and the riverside car park.