STOW on the WOLD: Where the Wind Blows Cold

Are they not the sweetest things? They aren't babies, they're full grown. At first I thought they were a field of puppies. I've said it often, walking shows you things and gives you time to appreciate the world around you. You never know what you'll come across.

I didn't see this coming, I'm always in the minority where politics are involved, I  tend to think people will do the right thing (according to me, of course ,in this case vote out) and take the most rational long term view but it never works that way. This is why I stay away from the news: find sand, place head.  I'm glad I changed my dollars when I did, hopefully it won't be too bad. 

 It's always fun to have a destination walk, where you can take a cross country footpath trek, wind up in a town or village with lunch, stores, sights, then walk back, never having gotten into the car And I even had to get my shades out ! At least for a while. I ended up with a days total of 9.6 miles, not bad!

Shadow, Shades and Lavender

Looking Back Towards the Hotel in Lower Slaughter

The Sun Has Left Me Already

Rut Roh: Lots of Muck and Manure 

Then into Fields of Wildflowers and Bees

Please, grant me the vision of thirsty eyes

to drink in the golden summer hour                                      
held captivated by the windswept sky                       

Where crows circle low, insistent with cries                           
and meadows are ablaze with wildflower                          
Please, grant me the vision of thirsty eyes    

Nether Swell Manor

Not old! Built in 1903 Nether Swell Manor was a school and has now been bought by a developer who is putting up some single family homes on the property.

Business as Usual at Hyde Farm

One of the best parts can be when you walk through people's back yards, then you get to see their lives up close. Gardeners, blacksmiths, laundry day, cooking smells, horses, people going about their day, all the while strangers walking by is totally acceptable. And the friendly farm kitty.

Well Marked Route

Market Square: Stow

One of the Many Medieval Passageways

Market Square and Lucy's Tea Room

I cut off the busy road through the cemetery and the professional looking community gardens to step into Stow. 

Originally known as Edwardstow, the town was founded in the 11C and part of the oldest Parishes in the Cotwolds.

There is an unattributed couplet “Stow on the Wold where the wind blows cold and the cooks can’t roast their dinners.”  because the ancient and historic Stow  is the highest town in the Cotswolds, with nothing standing between Stow and the distant cold sea winds that whip by so cold you can't get your fire to stay hot. 

Somewhat of a Local Tradition I Won't Be Trying One

Beyond Shopping, Seeing into the Buildings That Used to be Homes

Considered by many to be a jewel of Gloucestershire charm, I find it charming, welcoming but not really beautiful. It has the honey stone, the cafes and quaint antique shops nestled next to vendors of high-priced country styled stuff, chocolate shops, cutesie dog and chicken print cushions, $400 rubber boots mixed in with the useful and sensible local needs. People live here and they don't want the tourists to forget it. It has a "Come spend money, come enjoy but don't tell us how to live" attitude. Stow is a grand dame Cotswold town. You wouldn't know it's rough and tumble beginnings or that it didn't have main water drains until the 1930's. People still had outhouses and trucked in their water from nearby wells. 

The Victorian Police Station and Sessions Court 

And It's Open! 

 In Stow for the month of April there were 6 cases of anti-social behavior, one of shoplifting, 2 of burglary, one traffic and 2 criminal damages including arson.

A Break at Huffkin's With Cotswold Berry Tea,
Rosehips, Currants, Raspberries

Architecturally it is undeniably beautiful and stately with many of the buildings dating or predating the Civil War, in which Stow was an important Royalist stronghold and the locale for many battles.

In 1646 a Royalist army marched through the Cotswolds in a desperate attempt to join up with King Charles at Oxford. They were confronted at Stow by a Parliamentary force. The fighting was fierce and deadly. The Royalists were defeated and over 1000 imprisoned within the church.

So great was the slaughter that it was said that ducks were able to bathe in the pools of blood that formed on the street leading away from the market square. 

I'd rather think about pork pie, ham, cheese and chutney at my favorite tea shop - Lucy's! 

The Market Cross was erected as a symbolic reminder to the traders of medieval times to deal honestly and fairly . It stands in the the square to this day. 

Today it is a resting place and meeting point for locals and visitors. Although restored and repaired several times a cross has stood here since the 15th century. 

Don't They Seem so Peaceful and Happy?

On the River Dikler



A beautiful walk and a nice day in Stow, as always. Back to Lower Slaughter! 

Wildflower Country Lane Walking

To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 
And Eternity in an hour.

Blake

When I searched for a sheep breed to ID, like these guys, I get "There are thought to be more sheep breeds in the UK than any other country in the world" and a days worth of photos. No clue, but lovely! They're smiling!