The Stanway Fountain opened in June, 2004. The single-jet fountain which rises over 300 feet is the tallest fountain spray in Britain. The fountain has a two inch bronze nozzle and the water is driven from a 100,000-gallon reservoir, 580 feet above the canal in which it is placed, and is operated by remote control! Follow me as we explore the “Cottages of the Cotswolds.”
The Fountain at Stanway House UK
Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold. Where will the Cotswold Cottage gate takes us?
The Cottage Gate
Every year, in early spring, when my garden is beginning to bloom, I tend my garden in the early morning hours, before it gets HOT and HUMID, sometimes still in my nightgown…….don’t tell the neighbors please! In the evening I curl up on the couch to watch my favorite British gardening detectives, Rosemary and Thyme. The gardening mysteries feature Rosemary Boxer and Laura Thyme, professional gardeners thrown together by a sudden death, who are forced to re-access their lives. Their friendship leads them to gardening ventures set in the beautiful villages and gardens of the English countryside. Being gardeners, they overhear secrets and dig up clues which lead them to solve crimes and capture criminals, and at the same time handle floral problems! The series ran from 2003 to 2007, but I watch the mysteries every year, one episode at a time and never tire of it!
Would there be a real place that mirrored the villages and gardens in the Rosemary and Thyme mystery series? I wanted to find a place where Miss Marple, from the Agatha Christie books, (the finest mystery writer of all time, in my opinion) would be settling down to tea with her cronies in the afternoon. They would be in the garden…….with the fragrance of fresh bloomed flowers…..sweet cut grass….. bees all a buzz…….
I found that delight in the villages of the Cotswolds.
Bramley House
The Bramley House Cottage
For this adventure we are driving northwest from London, to our first stop, Chipping Campden, (population 2,206) in the Cotswold (meaning market) district of Gloucestershire. In the Middle Ages, Chipping Campden was the wool trading center, and High Street is lined with fine honey-colored limestone buildings built with Cotswold stone. The Market Hall was built in 1627 and the grand wool church, St James, in 1500. Local wealthy silk merchant, Sir Baptist Hicks, built the Almshouses and the Woolstaplers Hall in the 17th Century. His home, the Campden House, was destroyed by fire during the English Civil War, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Parliamentarians, but his descendants still live in the Court House attached to the site.
From the 17th century on, the village was known for the rural Cotswold Olimpick Games. Later these games became the Robert Dover Cotswolds Olimpick Games because the games were held in late May, on Dover’s Hill. One of the noted games was the sport of shin-kicking. (Hay was stuffed down pants to ease the blows) This game and others are still played today during the Cotswolds Olimpicks. Following the end of the games there is a torch-lit procession back into town, after the bonfire and fireworks display, and dancers take over the local square. The next day the Scuttlebrook Wake takes place. The locals wear fancy dress costumes and follow the Scuttlebrook Queen and her attendants into the village, with the Morris Men leading a decorated dray. Then there is dancing around the Maypole and the prizes for the games are handed out. The Morris Men (from “Moorish” dancers) were working peasant men, who wore shin pads, (a holdover from the shin-kicking games?) and are considered to be the original rural folk dancers of England. The current Morris Men of the Cotswolds, claim their lineage to the early dancers, only one of four teams in England who can boast this achievement!
In Chipping Campden we will be staying at the Bramley House B&B, not far from Dover’s Hill. It is a lovely double Cotswold stone cottage with an additional cottage overlooking the lavender garden. Jane cooked English breakfasts, made to order, and served it with cereals, yogurts and fresh pressed juices. She was also very helpful with choosing our sights of the day. We stayed several days, picking a new village everyday to explore! It is a gardener’s paradise! Enjoy!
For information about Bramley House see: http://www.bramleyhouse.co.uk/
We’re going to the Cotswolds! Join me as we head through the beautiful English countryside as we begin our journey: Cottages in the Cotswolds!
A Cotswold Cottage
I Loved the Umbrella Trees!
As we finish up the Traipsing Through Tuscany tour, I learned two things on this trip to Rome. First, always ask how many flights of stairs there are to the abode you plan to stay in and two, never cut in line when it is raining and there is an older Italian woman waiting in an informal queue or in the shadows. Well, it is never proper to cut in line, but first know if there is a line and where it might actually be. I did witness the results of such a blunder or was it simply a tired wet Italian woman not to be put off?
Arriving in Rome, we took a cab to the B&B. Pushing open the heavy oak door, after being buzzed in, there were immediately two flights of stone stairs to reach a plateau area of tables and chairs on the roof of the building we had just walked up. The hostess met us here and took us to our room, in a remodeled villa, up another four flights of stairs, in another building. So everyday in Rome it was up and down six flights of stairs twice and sometimes more. I did not look forward to the end of the day and since we had opted to stay out a little further in the “burbs” there was also a trek each day to the metro station before the exploring began. The B&B room was new, elegant and very chic, but I would take the room with the nuns at Santa Brigida Convent over this. (See “Off to Roma” post) https://cadyluckleedy.com/2013/04/30/off-to-roma/
We took several walking tours with Art Viva; “Rome in One Glorious Day,” the “Masterpieces of the Vatican and St Peters Tour” and “The Original Walking Tour.” BEWARE, wear your most comfortable walking shoes! We walked well over ten miles, the first day, during the tour alone! I would also take the tours over several days with rests between. They were EXCELLENT and we learned a lot, but we were really pooped at the end of the day and then there were those “STAIRS” to look forward to!
After one day out, exploring, touring, eating, and walking, it started to pour. We looked to hail a cab and got in a queue behind a group of six at a taxi stand. A cab stopped, the six piled in and out of nowhere an elderly woman flung herself at the back cab door, pulled it open and in no uncertain terms, in rapid fire Italian and gestures, ordered the occupants out of the cab. When they didn’t get her message she flew to the front door of the cab and told off the cab driver as well. The cab driver told the occupants they would have to get out, and they did. The old woman with her wet, soggy pull-cart of groceries jumped into the cab and off it splashed. We left the queue and walked in the rain to the metro station, realizing it might be easier just to take the metro. Soaked through and through, my shoes squeeking, I again had the STAIRS ahead! We did enjoy our time in Rome, but would to do it differently the next time! Live and learn! That’s what traveling is all about! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Rome! Enjoy!
For more information on Art Viva Tours Look HERE!
Since we have been touring Italy here are some street life scenes I thought you might enjoy!
And here is the video of the Festa del Corpus Domini, that takes place the end of May in Orvieto, Italy. For more information about Orvieto, look at the posts in Destinations under Orvieto, Italy! Enjoy! See:https://cadyluckleedy.com/2013/08/09/festa-del-corp…omini-may-2013/
In 1820 Italian archaeologist, Giovanni Caviglia, discovered the statue of Ramses II, (31 feet in length) near the southern gate of the temple of Ptah, in the ancient ruins near Memphis, Egypt. Because the bottom of the statue has been broken off, the limestone monument is currently displayed lying on his back.
The Colossal, as it is called, was reconstructed and erected in Ramses’s Square in Cairo in 1955. In August 2006, contractors moved his 3,200-year-old statue from Ramses’s Square, to save it from exhaust fumes that were causing the 83-ton statue to deteriorate.
Ramses II
Linked to Travel Themes
Today head south through the beautiful Tuscan hillside to the village of San Casiano dei Bagni. The village was discovered by the Etruscans and known for the abundant (42) thermal springs which were later developed by the Romans. There are still 5 star spas to be found here!
The Drive to San Casciano dei Bagni
San Casciano dei Bagni, a hill town overlooking the Val di Paglia, springs from a thick woods of oaks, chestnuts and ancient pines. The medieval village reveals a labyrinth of narrow roads winding around a church. Today the main entrance from the south, the “Porta,” leads to the Piazza Matteotti, where there are spectacular views of the valley below. There is also Ristorante Daniela, located right on the piazza. I was drawn to the charming cave-like ambience. Greeted by Daniela herself, we were delighted with the specialties of the house. Our meal of Tuscan ham, cheeses, homemade soup and pasta, was washed down with good local wine. Enjoy a day in San Casiano dei Bagni!
Ristorante Daniela is located at 6 Piazza Matteotti, San Casciano dei Bagni, Italy.
Our day trips from Montepulciano continue. Today we explore the village of Montefollonico, a small medieval hamlet surrounded by thirteenth century walls of fired bricks. In ancient times the village was called Monte a Fullonico. The Romans called “fullones” people that worked the cloths, so Montefullonico was the mountain of the cloth workers. The first noted people that lived here settled near the Benedictine Monks Abbey in the 8th Century. The monks raised sheep and dyed the wool. These small Tuscan villages give you a variety of views of the Italian countryside and life here. Enjoy!
The Sheep!
Next is one of my favorite spots in Tuscany! I am showing additional pictures I took of La Foce, the beautiful country estate of the American, Iris Origo, and her family. Her daughter continues to run the estate, garden, restaurant and B&B. There are tours offered of the estate and multi-layered gardens. This would be another excellent choice for a home base while touring Tuscany by car. For more about the story of La Foce I have detailed information in the post: https://cadyluckleedy.com/2013/04/11/war-in-val-d-orcia/. It is a must read about this heroic woman and her life in Italy!
For more information about La Foce see: http://www.lafoce.com
Montisi
The hill town, Montisi, population 500, is an ancient Etruscan necropolis. As small as it may seem, the village is divided into four communities, each represented with their own flag. The Castello is the area of the medieval castle. The Piazza, is the flat area located near the castle. San Martino is in the northeastern part of the village and the Torre, takes the name of the Tower of the Grange of Santa Maria della Scalla (a farming estate owned by a monastery), which was destroyed by retreating German troops in 1944.
The Civic Tower and the Colonna, in Two Different Communities
Civic Tower and the Colonna
Walking up the small hill to the restored tower, currently, the Grange is a private home built around two main courtyards, with a small theatre used for shows and concerts. It was here that a clay hand-made map was posted on the wall to point the way around the narrow streets in a circular fashion to locate all the sites on the hill. It reminded me of a scavenger hunt map! See the chunks of terra cotta on the wall? Following the terra cotta signs, the lane reminded me of the Stations of the Cross along a beautiful garden walk!
Pieve of the Santissima Annunziata
The Pieve of the Santissima Annunziata
The Map
Markers on the Montisi Walk
Markers on the Montisi Walk
Markers on the Montisi Walk
Mother Mary Pray for Us
The Markers on the Walk in Montisi
Streets of Montisi
Main Walk Montisi
Walking Montisi
The Only Cat in Town!
Returning to the lower ground of the village there is now a frescoed wall playground, the ruins of castle walls, and beautiful flowers, doors and windows. We spent a lovely afternoon in Montisi!
Tales, Thoughts + Tribulations of a Free Spirit in Suburbia
Travels on foot
Minding my mind, one thought at a time.
Un lungo racconto fotografico.
Featured
Photography, hiking, walking, and cycling across central Japan — from quiet mountain paths to everyday life around Nagoya.
Looking for meanings in words, images and sounds
Reflections on places traveled and photos taken.
Cruising with the Thyrre Family
Where my Travels and my Blog merge together.
The mental meandering that cross my keyboard
Website & Blog of J. Kelland Perry, Author
A photographic journey.
Photography celebrating flowers, plants, and the natural world
Roaming, at home and abroad
The Corner Garden
Photography, Travel and Retirement
Upgrade Your Travels. First Class Luxury Travel from all parts of the Globe. Business Class Airline, Lounge and Hotel Reviews, Stories and Adventures
A China travel and lifestyle blog
The Travel Lady In Her Shoes 