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! 

SUMMER SOLSTICE WALK

It's the longest day of the year. The sun rose at 4.45AM and set at 10.34PM. Aside from being the Summer Solstice, there's a full moon, the first of this combination since 1967. I was 11 years old! The Solstice period fell between the planting and harvesting of crops, leaving people who worked the land time to relax. This is how June became the traditional month for weddings. 

It's a beautiful evening in a wonderful place. I'll celebrate life by taking a short walk to Upper Slaughter and back. Starting at the hotel, through the village, over pastures, along the River Eye, to Upper Slaughter, cross the river again and retrace my steps as the sun goes down. 

The Hotel

The River Eye in Lower Slaughter

I'm Such a Peeping Tom, Do They Even Make Dundee Marmalade Anymore?

Still Muddy But So Tranquil

rtc

Into the Next Field

The first view of the  late 16C Upper Slaughter manor house, now a hotel, is like something from a movie set. It's so quiet! Only the running water, distant sheep, birds. 

Stone Footbridge Over the Eye

Upper Slaughter

The  name "Slaughter" comes form the old English "Slohtre", which has nothing to do with  massacre or death but means "Muddy Place." You got that right! The 12C church with a sunken walkway was originally St Marys. In the  1400's  it was changed to St Peter's. There was a castle  here at one time, it's purpose and facts about the builder are unknown.  The castle mound is on a bend in the Slaughter brook and just looks like a grassy lump, Upper Slaughter was a Roman settlement, but no remains are here.

St Peters Church, Upper Slaughter

Another Evening Observer

SHEEP FACTS:

Sheep have very good memories. They can remember at least 50 individual sheep and humans for years.

Sheep have been known to display emotions, which can be identified by the movement of their ears. 

Sheep are extremely intelligent animals capable of problem solving. They are considered to have a similar IQ level to cattle and are nearly as clever as pigs

Female sheep are very caring mothers and form deep bonds with their lambs that can recognize them by their call when they wander too far away.

Sheep only digest 50% of what they eat. The rest can be ( and is!) sterilized and made into paper.

Sheep sleep 8 minutes a day.

Sheep poop 2.2lbs of poop a day. 

Sheep do not poop in their sleep. 

Sheep have a field of vision of around 300 degrees, allowing them to see behind themselves without turning their heads. 

An Hour Later, Back at St Mary's Lower Slaughter

Thank you England, thank you Earth, thank you Sun, thank you Feet! 

SHORT DAY of VILLAGE HOPPING

Days ... ok...weeks....of rain and cloud can make even this Anglophile feel dreary. I don't mind walking in drizzle, mist and mud but a continual biblical deluge is a show stopper. Plans to walk the short mile to Bourton to drop off laundry, walk around and have tea have been aborted. On to Plan B, driving to Broadway and hitting the villages. No matter, Broadway is always a slice of heaven. My old stomping grounds where my love affair started in earnest.

This stage of the trip is in Lower Slaughter at the newly refurbished Manor Hotel, now called The Slaughters Manor House. I can't say its new style, "country living as interpreted for today" does it for me, too many mirrors, purple walls and chrome, but the room is comfortable, there's a warming towel bar and it's clean. 

The food isn't up to par, it will be tea shops,picnics and pubs.

View From My Room - The Stable Block

My Room is Called "June"

The Medieval Big Screen

Time? Just Look Out the Window!

Hidden Purple Garden to Check Out if the Rain Ever Stops

First priority of business is a stop in Bourton to drop off my dirty clothes at Marys Laundry. I've often washed clothes there. They're so nice and cheery in their cute shop surrounded by small washers, dryers and clothing. Walkers, vacationers, locals all converge. Dirty clothes in, clean back by lunch. 
Off to the Big Three - Broadway, Chipping Campden and Burford for shop wandering and food. 

Stuff!

What's This? Sun in Burford! 

After a busy day of pavement you have to snag the opportunity to walk when you can. The sun is still out and Lower Slaughter to Bourton is only one and a half miles. If you're going for the Lemon Drizzle Cake, the rule is you walk for it. 

Days of Rain Makes for Mud

Doesn't Get Much Better

The River Windrush, One of My Favorite Walks