Upon leaving London, we rented a car at a suburb as far away as the tube would carry us (and oy, that is a story! Take it from us, check the trains for delays if you have somewhere to be at a certain time! Unexpected overnight lodging cost us an extra 120 pounds, hmm.)
But when we arrived at Aunt Debbie and Uncle Lucas' house, we found a darling niece, eager to play, so very cute and into everything!! We love her :) Asher is always up for a wrestle with a little creature.
The Cotswolds is just stunning, in a rural, rolling hilly and very green way. The vistas are spectacular! My sister is a lucky duck to get to enjoy such a beautiful corner of the world for a while. We spent quite a bit of time at Cleeve Hill, a 1000' rise outside of Cheltenham. It is a common grazing ground, dotted all over with sheep and lambs while we were there and emerald green as far as the eye can see.
Here we are on top of the world with perfect kite winds.
Looking down over villages below...
Another shot in daylight. We were up Cleeve Hill a few times!
We headed to Warwick Castle after a couple of days. Warwick castle began as an earthen Saxon fort in the 900's, then William the Conqueror built on the site in 1068 and it grew from there. Today it is owned by an entertainment company and has been restored and reenactments and expensive refreshments are served daily! (Hey, maybe a little tacky compared to other castle choices, but compared to American-style tacky it was quite tasteful! And great for kids.)
We really enjoyed many birds of prey and their speedy flying demos. Amazing!
and the peacock garden was full of gorgeous birds, showing their plumage and calling...awesome.
The jousting show was high energy with galloping horses, faux battles and death by the sword. Very crowded though.
Working trebuchet launched a large stone a few football fields away while the men inside walked to turn the wheels.
inside the castle
And a fun maze with history lessons interspersed.
Here's a tiny model village of the village of Burton on the Water. In the model village there is a model of the model village...and so on...
And oh, our little birder daughter was so delighted when we visited 'Birdland'. It was indeed a bit of land with lots of birds. Eden was in heaven (she has a thing about birds, no idea). Our only rainy day during our time in England, which Deb and Lucas say is unheard of.
England was watching out for Reuel
And onto the Jurassic Coast! We took an overnight to the West Bay area and stopped at Charmouth to hunt for fossils on the beach. We cracked a lot of limestone but never did find one to take home.
We did, however, find some fossils on the giant boulders!
Then off to West Bay with truly dramatic cliffs. Eden and Asher braved the 55 degree water! The kind that makes your feet ache to touch it.
Climbing down the side of the cliffs to the town
A little Lydia-sitting while Deb and Lucas took the kiddos to the arcade
And back in Cheltenham at the most fantastic park ever! Better than London parks!
Back at Cleeve Hill...absolutely endless-seeming carpet of grass--see the tree in the far distance on the ridge
Getting closer (careful! you must dodge the gifts of all those sheep as you walk)...
And arrived! As windswept as the single tree that has grown permanently sideways
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1 comment:
Wow! All that looked amazing! Looks like the castle choice was perfect. I bet the real jousting tournaments were crowded too.
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