Bourbon With Some Water or Bourton On The Water

We stayed up late last night watching Arthur and George and planning out our day today.  As a result Kay was up at 8:30 and I got up at 9.  Not the early start we had planned but that's what we get for staying up until 1 AM.

We have had a hard with figuring out the weather.  It seems to be different here depending on the county.  We had the most gorgeous day yesterday at Highclere and when we took a break to eat lunch in the Tea Room, it poured rain on everyone who was outside.  By the time we finished our lunch the sun was out again and it never rained again.  Today the sun was out here this morning but it was cold and it showed a 50/50 chance of rain.  We decided to keep it relatively local instead of a 2 hour drive each way.

Our goal today was Bourton on the Water and Kay wanted to visit the Upper and Lower Slaughters too.  While I was getting ready I heard Kay talking to Felicity outside and she told us about another place near Whatcote to go see the Bluebell fields.  She had just finished playing tennis and we were just leaving.  By the time we got everything loaded in the car it was windy and cold and terribly black.  We had umbrellas and raincoats so we were going anyway.

Now that Kay has built up her driving on the other side of the road confidence, she really enjoys going on the road less traveled or one lane roads.  One of them today didn't even have a number or a name...the Garmin called it "Road".  Anyway she programed the GPS and off we went.  We weren't far on the road when we saw our first male pheasant of the day.  They really are beautiful colors but apparently have seen many of their friends get run over by cars and tend to disappear quickly into the hedges or walls that line every road in this area.  This is what defines property.  We also didn't get far before we could see the rain in the distance and soon it was pouring on us too.  It was coming down quite hard and the wind was blowing it sideways....we plowed on through and soon came to a sign showing Lower Slaughter.

This was a place Kay had been with her sister a few years ago and she wanted to go back.  It truly is one of the most picturesque places we have been so far.  We find a place to park and before we could get out of the parking lot to the street the weather strikes again.  This time the temperature feels like it has dropped 30 degrees since we left home and the wind is blowing at blizzard speed and not only is it raining but it is hailing as well.  Tough girls that we are, we continued to the street and walked on to the church.  We were so cold and couldn't believe how the wind was blowing.  We were dressed pretty warm but did not have our gloves with us.  We walked along the canal with the cute bridges and cottages along the way.  We took a bunch of pictures and then headed back to the car.  We made it back and looked at each other and laughed not believing the weather we had just experience.  We survived so well done us!

Again leaving we are on these one lane roads where you have to pull over if someone is coming the other way.  We crested this hill and there in front of us was a street sweeper!  I guess with all the rain if they don't keep the mud at bay, the road would disappear.  There was no passing but he pulled over after a while and did let us pass.  When we got to Bourton on the Water it had stopped raining.  We found a place to park and headed out on foot.  Kay wasn't exactly sure where we were until much later but once we got down to the water we could see the shops a couple blocks up.  This is a beautiful little town crowded with tourists and shopping with Tea Rooms and Cafes everywhere.  The cute bridges that cross the water are really pretty but have no railings so don't lose your balance while crossing or you will be wet.  Lots of ducks in the water which had a very strong current.  We did some shopping and bought a few things (I found a great gift for Chris here) then we went and had lunch and tea.  We shopped a little more then headed back to the car and home.  We did not need the umbrella we carried with us as the sun was out the entire afternoon...Kay insists the sun follows her everywhere she goes....I'm currently a believer.

Again on our road less traveled we found many amusing sights and then encountered the first stop sign we have seen here.  The usual sign you see is "Give Way" which means you don't have to stop if you can see it is ok to go.  Anyway on our travels we wound up at the highest point in the Cotswolds called Broadway Tower.  We went in the parking exit but luckily nobody was coming out.  It was too late for us to go since they were closing within the hour so we took some photos and decided we would do this another day.

We got home and unloaded everything and went out for our evening walk to check out the sheep.  The wind is still strong tonight and once the sun went down it was really cold.  We just finished dinner and we are going to watch a movie.  Still deciding our options for tomorrow.

Day 4 is in the books!