Cornwall & London in Spring

What a scrumptious breakfast 🍳 we had included at our accommodation. Arguably the best one we’ve had in a long time! Full English breakfast with all the trimmings! Yum! 😋 (…after, just quietly, the most needed sleep in our own luxurious rooms)

William Morris called it “the most beautiful village in England” – The famous Arts and Crafts designer was enchanted by Bibury in the 19th century, helping cement its reputation as a quintessential English village. This was our next magical village location…

Biburys’ Arlington Row has starred in Hollywood films – The iconic row of weavers’ cottages appears in movies like Stardust and Bridget Jones’s Diary (it was Bridget’s parents’ home in the second film).

Arlington Row is featured on UK passports – A drawing of the row appears inside every UK passport as an example of historic British architecture.

Home to King Charles III’s private residence – Highgrove House, just outside Tetbury, is the private home of King Charles III. Unfortunately, we did not get to go to the gardens because it is booked out for the entire year from February. We did get to go to the Highgrove shop in the main street which was full of delectable delights including an entire range of teal products of which Mark took great delight in purveying. He may have bought a little something, as did I. I’m trying to resist buying ‘stuff’
but when a special King Charles organic tea 🫖 blend is on offer how can one resist 😜

We found a cute little garden Cafe and had coffee and scones with clotted cream and jam - making sure to put the clotted cream on first which is what the locals do!

Meandering along roads which are designed for just one vehicle was a little stressful at times, although Mark managed very well. I must admit, I had white knuckles by the end of it! Our next (and final) Cotswolds stop is also known as “The prettiest village in England” – Like Bibury, Castle Combe is often called the prettiest in England, thanks to its honey-colored cottages, medieval streets, and total absence of modern signage or satellite dishes. It has no street lights or new buildings – The village maintains its historic charm by banning street lighting and preventing modern construction within the old village area.

Yes, it was a whirlwind exploration of the Cotswolds but both Mark and I have been to many of the other villages on previous trips so we decided to concentrate on what we had not seen and venture onward to areas new to us both…En savoir plus