We are spending the weekend in the Cotswolds with Helen’s sisters and cousins which is an almost sometimes annual event. We find a rental cottage out of season often in the Cotswolds because it is in a roughly equal travel distance for everyone. We are staying in Winson which is a couple of miles from Bibury which has been in the news recently because an inhabitants has brought a bright yellow car and has, shock horror, parked it outside where they live, but it is messing up tourists photo’s of the quaint cottages.
I left work at 16:00 and picked Helen up on my way through Aylesbury at about 20 past four. The traffic was quite busy but moving until we got to the A40 on the north west of Oxford where as usual it ground to a halt then moved very slowly as the sets of traffic lights released us in dribs and drabs, I disobeyed the sat nav as we neared Winson and went cross country for the last 5-6 miles. We passed through Bibury but it was too dark to see the offending vehicle.
We were the third vehicle to arrive out of 5, but everyone had arrived in time for dinner to be ready for 19:30, which is one of the advantages of being equidistant for everyone. The rental property was very extensive with all five bedrooms upstairs, in total there are 5 bathrooms two of them en-suite. With the bedrooms upstairs it meant that the downstairs was very spacious, two lounges and a massive kitchen diner worked well for us.
I was in bed at a reasonable time, was soon asleep and did not notice everyone else going to bed so I must have got to sleep quite quickly, and after a good night sleep was up a reasonable 08:30 refreshed and ready for a day of walking and socialising. The plan was to walk to Bibury to see the yellow car and if possible get a bite to eat.
First thing there was a sprinkling of snow, but it was raining which did not bode well for our walking plans, however by the time we were ready to head out the sun was shining and there were clouds about, it was cold made worst by the wind. The plan was to walk to Bibury on footpaths that followed the river, which would involve crossing the river twice. We walked through the village of Winson and found a footpath across the park/field, which led to a collapsed wooden bridge over the river. Luckily there was a newer bridge 30 yards down stream.
The path took us up hill and parallel to the river but we were soon off the footpath by not paying attention to the map. Our inattention cost us a slight detour, but we were soon on a track called Potlickers Lane! At a lovely Cotswold village called Ablington we crossed the river then did a short stretch on the road before picking up a footpath that took us around the outside of Bibury and into the village at the far end.
As we got to the edge of the village we spotted the yellow car which was surrounded by people taking selfies of themself with the car. We took our own pictures then headed to the hotel/pub we wanted to eat at. Unfortunately there were no tables available so we decided to try the Catherine Wheel pub up a hill just outside the village. They fortunately were able to accommodate us and we had a great pub lunch, I would recommend the venue.
The walk back was the same route but slightly shorter as we were at the closer end of Bibury. The weather was still cold but sunny perfect for taking photos. We got back to the hut at 1600 and the women got on with the jigsaw, rock n roll.
Dinner was a buffet of cheese pizzas and other nibbles. I was in bed by 10 and Helen was not far behind, we had not taken an afternoon snooze like some of the others, in the morning we watched some of the Murray Jokovic tennis final, but I went for a walk after the second set, the weather was too good to be indoors. I walked for about and hour and a half and I came to the conclusion that the Gloucestershire council do not spend much on footpath signage something that is done very well in comparison in Buckinghamshire. I did see one of those useful phone-boxes that had been re purposed as a book exchange,
When I got back Murray had almost lost the tennis and N had made a great mung lentil curry, with stir fry peas, rice and all the trimmings, it was lovely and I will try the recipe myself sometime. Helen and I made a sharp exit after lunch we wanted to get back home in good time as I had to be up early the next day as I was travelling. All in all a very good weekend.