Winchcombe is a lovely little town, and we took some time to walk about after breakfast before heading out on our hike. Pastry shops and butchers and tea houses are all around town, and overnight parking for 1 pound British.
Our Cotswold hike took us first to Sudeley Castle, once owned by the royals but purchased by a private family around 200 years ago. Damaged by Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War, some of that damage has never been restored. However, many of the interior rooms have been remodeled with period pieces or furnishings that were bought with the house, and some present day furnishings. The current owner is a lady from Kentucky, whose present husband (the family heir died of a heart attack at 40) is a construction magnate, and her two children live in London and Hawaii and summer at the castle.
The highlight for Lynne was seeing the final resting place of Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII's six wives. On this trip she has now (almost) visited 5 of the 6. At Sudeley, the gardens have been fabulously rebuilt. There is also a pheasant area with various owls, peacocks, pheasants and other fowl. We can only guess what happens to these birds ultimately.
After lunch, we headed into the English countryside, armed only with a map and some lightly worn paths. We crossed fields (some recently plowed), climbed fences, and worked around mud bogs. We saw wild and domestic animals ... deer, rabbits, squirrels and several grouse (could have been
partridges, certainly not pheasants), and cows and sheep that we walked right by, including the largest cow we ever had a close encounter with! We visited an ancient Roman villa, and saw a floor built 2000 years ago. It was a lovely afternoon, but didn't seem that different than a walk through Goochland, except that walking through private properties was encouraged.
We showered and changed, and headed back to a pub we passed on our way into town. We had the pleasure of talking with a couple of locals, both in construction, who spoke glowingly of the business opportunities. We then returned to the Lion for our farewell dinner. Tomorrow ... Heathrow!
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Location:Back Lane,Cheltenham,United Kingdom
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