Friday, April 28th, 2023 Stow-on-the-Wold, UK
Dating from the 18th century, Stow House was a fantastic place to stay – right on the main street just down from the market square, the stone-built house had 3 floors, 5 bedrooms, and just oozed character.
Daylesford Farm Shop was a short drive from Stow near the town of Bamford, and we headed there for breakfast. Farm shops have become a huge hit in the UK over the past few years; originally set up as a way for a farm to sell its produce direct to the consumer, many have developed into sophisticated shop and restaurant combinations - Daylesford is a prime example and has become very famous as a foodie mecca. Over 25 years ago Daylesford began to focus on organic farming methods and their vegetables, meats and cheeses are fantastic. The location offers a gigantic array of products and has a café, restaurant, and bar. We ate breakfast in the Trough Café (it has a Michelin Green Star), it was very good though a bit pricy.
Next stop was the Cotswolds Distillery, a very small boutique facility located in the middle of the countryside; it was started in 2014 by an American and its gin has become quite famous – it is even featured on the Cunard ships. The distillery also produces a range of single malt whiskies.
Our final stop for the day was at Bourton-on-the-Water a very picturesque village with a high street flanked by long wide greens and the river Windrush that runs through them. The river is crossed by five low, arched stone bridges. They were built between 1654 and 1953, leading to the nickname of "Venice of the Cotswolds". The village is absolutely stunning with little shops and cafes – the stone bridges are very photogenic; as you can image this place is a popular tourist stop, though not too busy today. The houses and shops in the village are constructed of the ashlar yellow limestone characteristic of the Cotswolds and they have the embellishments that make Cotswold architecture so picturesque: projecting gables, windows with stone mullions, and stone hoodmoulds over the doors.
The Bakery On The Water was a great place to rest-up, have a coffee and a snack; everything was baked in the café and we sat out back in the garden with picnic tables and a small stream that looked like it fed a mill at one point.
Back in Stow-on-the-Wold we wandered through the shops and up to the market square. The lady in the toy store told us a story about how JRR Tolkien used to visit Stow while he was at nearby Oxford University, and it’s rumored that he used the door of St. Edwards Church as the inspiration for the Doors of Durin in one of his Lord of the Rings books. Following the directions the toy store lady provided, we found the church and the famous door – it was quite impressive in a creepy sort of way.
Comments