Saturday 2nd April
A beautiful clear blue sky and a balmy 14 C at 0845 our first very cheerful morning weather wise as we leave Oxford for Cambridge. We have a far less eventful exit from Oxford than our entry!!
From Cambridge with its punts and manicured, but unused lawns to the Cotswold today. In the Cotswold there are wonderful honey colored villages riddled with beautiful old mansions, thatched cottages and lovely old churches. The area is surrounded by lush rolling hills. We were aiming for Chipping Campden as we made our way there the roads became decidedly narrower. As we inched our way around the village we unfortunately ran into the kerb as a car tried to pass us on the very very narrow streets, we have probably blown the 650 pound excess on the car but them the brakes. The village of Chippin Campden was absolutely beautiful and we tried to check into a hotel but the towns accommodation had been booked out because of a local wedding. We moved onto the next village Mickleton to see if there was any accommodation available, to our delight there was. The Three Ways Hotel was a delight. Not cheap but they offered to upgrade from a standard room to a superior which I found more than satisfactory. When Spock walked in they upgraded us again to a King size theme room for the price of a standard. Our room was in the theme of a Spotted Dick/ Dog. There were murals on the walls of dalmatian dogs and cooking utensils, it was very effective and possibly the nicest hotel room that I have had the fortune of lodging in. Mickleton is a very quaint little place with crooked stone cottages, it had a very lived in authentic feel. It was refreshingly unpretentious with narrow winding streets and graceful town houses, an affluent and elegant place.
After settling in to our room we wandered down to the local pub The Butchers Arm, well this pub was a delight, very small and quaint full of locals drinking on a Saturday afternoon. There was Chris perched up on a stool leaning back against a beam at the bar - a man the size of Dick Adams and reportedly the owner of the Village, as he owned all the land around the village. One can only assume that he inherited his wealth as by the look of him he certainly didn’t work for it. Chris liked a bit of banter and was very keen to chat to us about the Port Arthur massacre, obviously what Tasmania is known for abroad. We had a pint and reserved a table for dinner at 1900. When we returned for dinner we were seated next to the publican’s parents whom we got chatting and drinking with. George and Karen were delightful company as was there daughter Karen. I ordered fagots for dinner which turned out to be large meatballs made of only god knows what, some things are best not known. However they were delicious, Spock fancied a steak and they had a 2 for 1 offer because it was Saturday evening. Of course Spock was in his element having 2 big plates of steak, salad and chips delivered to him. It was great being in the local sharing stories with the locals playing skittles even being shouted a round or two by the publican, that’s what happens when you stay for 5 hours drinking steadily. I finally dragged Spock back to the hotel so the publican could close the pub, we were both pissed at crickets but as happy as larks. We are not doing it tough over here at all. We had such a brilliant evening. Mickleton will certainly be remembered fondly.
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