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Cotswalds, Gloucestershire.
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Our forgotten England
Sarah Lester9/ 6/2008
`SHALL we shoot rooks tomorrow - or shall we go racing at Cheltenham?" It's not the kind of chat you'd hear in a Manchester local, but we're in a pub in the Cotswolds village of Oddington and things are a little different.
I didn't think this sort of England existed anymore.
Strangers actually speak to each other - slowly. They say `much obliged' without a hint of irony. And they smile.. they really smile.
Shopkeepers own their shops. They care about what they sell and I didn't see a Starbucks. It was blissful.
The Cotswolds are a sprinkling sprawl of villages across Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire and there is much to do in the area.
I went to Daylesford Organics where, if you don't fancy buying a yoga outfit for £400, you can nourish body and soul at the restaurant and a massage in the holistic spa.
But the best thing to do is go village-crawling.
Men in tweed
Be prepared to bump into men in tweed and women with large foreheads and Princess Anne style hair dos. At times it may feel like you've walked into The Wicker Man, but persevere. Even the villages' names have a sense of mystical foreboding - the Slaughters, Temple Guitings, Windrush, Lower Swell etc.
Much of the area's wealth was made when the wool industry dominated, but that business is long gone. Survival now seems to depend on tourists seeking a bygone era.
It's a sign of the times that many of the honey-coloured stone houses in the perfectly preserved villages have been bought as second homes by fedup urban folk who would rather commute massive distances than live in the city.
I wasn't a big fan of Bourton-on-the-Water dubbed (probably by those who live there) the `Venice of the Cotwolds'.
It has a river running through it, and not much else except for lots of tourists all there presumably expecting Venice but getting, well, an English village with a river.
Much better was Moreton-in-Marsh, although don't as I did go to the weekly market - `the biggest in the Cotswolds' according to the guidebook - expecting to find Provence-style stalls when in fact it's more like Bury Market without the black puddings.
It's well worth visiting Stow on the Wold where there is a thrilling chocolate shop called Miette. Try the Belgian chocolate-covered organic pears. Sublime. There's also a lovely independent book shop and a string of tea rooms. What more could anyone want?
Lovely shops
Also stop at Broadway - lined with 16th 17th and 18th century houses and lovely shops - and Chipping Campden, which used to be one of the most important wool towns in the Cotswolds.
Another must see are The Slaughters. Apparently meaning `muddy' not death, there is a beautiful half-mile walk from Lower to Upper Slaughter along the river.
In general, walking is the best thing to do in the Cotswolds. You can stroll from village to village, along tracks through fields and by streams, stopping at sleepy pubs.
The Cotswolds are littered with cottages to rent out. But there couldn't be better than Rose Walk in Upper Oddington. Until around three years ago they were inhabited by an elderly woman who lived in one room - and her sheep who lived in the other.
But don't worry, things have definitely changed. The once dilapidated buildings have been transformed into three exquisite cottages.
They are furnished to perfection, and are every inch the Cotswold idyll. I've never understood why people who like to stay in cottages think it's acceptable to spend a week's holiday in a place that's worse than where they live. Too often holiday cottages are grubby with tired décor and elderly care home style furniture.
Rose Walk is the perfect antidote to anyone who's had that experience. Our cottage felt like no one had stayed there before. With an Aga, wood-burning stove, underfloor heating, beamed bedrooms and lovely country kitchen, it was perfect. Real thought had been given to every detail, with the aim of providing maximum comfort.
The cottage is perfectly placed for exploring the north Cotwolds, a few miles from Stow. One tip, if you like good food - and I mean really good food - then go to the Horse and Groom in Upper Oddington. It is quite simply one of the best places I have ever eaten at.
When I returned to Manchester from the Cotswolds, for a short time, I moved a little slower and I smiled at strangers in the streets. They looked at me with suspicion so I stopped. I'll save my newfound village behaviour for my return to the Cotswolds.
From September there are two further one-bed cottages available at Rose Walk (making three one-bed and one two-bed) and I will send you an amended brochure for your information. A seven- night stay in a one-bed cottage is between £450 low season to £750 high season and the two-bed cottage is £650 low season to £950 high season. Shorter breaks are available on request.
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10/06/2008 at 21:16