Short UK trips, Sat, 13 Aug 2022 | written by Jemmon
Jemma and Simon at a Castle, City, Park, Ruins/Excavation in Europe, UK

We picked up Boony the van in Bristol and left for Portishead for a fish and chips and a walk through the villa part of town to the beach and back to the town and the really ugly marina.

Then we drove to the Cotswolds and found some parking on a farm which had an open gate and a huge pile of manure next to some rusty farm vehicles. Had great sleep until the next day we got quite passive aggressively told off for staying there.

Next, we visited the Roman villa in Chedworth – not a massive site, but some interesting story and a nice area. Very hot day.

Driving on lots of very cute small roads, constant hills, beautiful tree tunnels. Lots of cute little villages in the way. The driving itself was an adventure. Places we visited:

  • Bibury – super cute waterside, pretty cottages, a paid trout farm.
  • Bourton-on-the-water – very busy, lots of people, we decided to leave and stop being a part of the problem.
  • Naunton – beautiful and quite empty. We had a much needed naked bath in the stream behind the Baptist church. Interesting dovecote, walk around the field, and picked some brambles.
  • Stow-on-the-Wold – a bigger place, nice church, big market square. Not as picturesque overall.
  • The Slaughters – a short visit to another cute cottage village.

In the evening, we headed to Amy and Tuomas’ wedding reception at the MatarΓ‘ centre. Met lots of Jemma’s old friends, danced, spotted many Perseids and drunk a fair bit. On the next day, we headed south to:

  • Tetbury – just to see one part of the town, the cute Chipping Steps.
  • Bowood House – we actually meant to go to Lacock, but saw signs for this one on the way and decided to give it a go. Massive grounds, a village fair in full swing, a great kids playground, and an estate house that was mostly closed and didn’t have much in terms of historical explanation. Fortunately, we got a full history run from a guy working there.
  • Avebury – we’re always in for some standing stones, and this is the largest circle in Britain! Amazing, though Stonehenge makes a bigger impression because it’s just more manageable. Less is more in size in this case. Also, building a village and a road through the circle doesn’t help with appreciating it, though admittedly the village is very pretty. Lots of sheep around, escaping the heat and stealing all the shaded places.

Off to Wells now!