UK: The Cotswolds

On day 2, we picked the "scenic route" option on our GPS to go from our hotel in Swindon to the grocery store in Circencester. It sounded charming. The road was mainly unpaved (I'm not sure it was even named) and wound through beautiful arching trees, tiny hamlets, and fields of horses and sheep. 

This was about the time we began plotting a move to the English countryside.

The town with the Waitrose (great store) was the first larger town we'd driven through, and I was surprised how close to the street all the old buildings are! There were places I could have stuck my hand out the window and nearly touched the walls.

The road got less charming and more precarious as we neared the village of Painswick. The village is set on a hill, and the little road winds up and down a valley to get to it. When we found it charming, the road was barely wide enough for two cars to pass. But it got scary when we were being hit by little branches on both side of the car on what was supposedly a two-lane road. And scarier still, when the little road through Painswick had buildings on both sides, almost no sidewalk, cars parked on the verges of both lanes, and a car trying to drive each direction. All in the space of about 1.5 American-size lanes. It really is a miracle we didn't hit something (good work, Todd).

We didn't hit "scenic route" after that.

We drove from Painswick to Broadway to Chipping Campden, where we stopped for a little hike and picnic.

Our hike went through another poo minefield full of unfriendly (but extremely picturesque) sheep.

The Cotswolds are certainly charming: thatched roofs, narrow streets, sheep, rolling hills. We'd both love to go see it in the springtime-- it will be a while, it's a pretty appropriate old person vacation.

On our way out of the countryside, we stopped by the tiny village of Bampton, a.k.a. Downton Town. We didn't go around it much, but we did stop to see the church/graveyard and "Crawley House."

We dropped off the car at Heathrow and took the tube into London. We'd gone less than one stop when I realized I left the camera in the rental car! (What's with me leaving that thing places? Couldn't I pick something less expensive?!) Of course, I was completely panicked and ran for my life back to the rental place. Luckily, only 20 minutes had passed and they had it waiting at the desk for me. So fortunate!