Friday, December 12, 2008

Touring the Countryside

After our return from London on Monday night, I have spent the days this week with Scott's parents and we have toured many sights and attractions in the English countryside. On Tuesday they toured Warwick Castle; on Wednesday we went to Oxford; on Thursday we saw Kenilworth and then Stratford-Upon-Avon; and today we toured a number of villages in the Costwold's. It has been a packed week of driving, sight seeing and of course shopping in each of these destinations (my father in law is a VERY patient man!). It has been nice that we live in such a central location to be able to use our home as a base in order to explore all of these great areas and attractions that England has to offer.
Warwick Castle and its grounds. 
Cassie & Craig in front of Christ Church College in Oxford.
Craig inside the Dining Hall of Christ Church College. This room was the space used for filming part of the Harry Potter movie. It was the Hogwart's dining hall in the movie. 
The quad at Christ Church's College at Oxford. Christ Church's is Oxford's largest college and has seen 13 of Britain's prime ministers as students prior to their days in office. 
Craig & Cris in front of William Shakespeare's House in Stratford-Upon-Avon. 

The streets of Stratford were each decorated differently with lights and decor...very festive!
The main round-about in Stratford's town centre decorated and hosting a street market on Thursday.
Our first stop in the villages of the Cotswold's....Bourton-on-the-Water. It is often referred to as "the Venice of the Cotswold's" because the River Windrush runs right through the centre. 
A cute sweet shop in Bourton. There were quite a few sweet shops and bakeries in each little village/town.
Craig & Cris on the bridge over the river in Bourton-on-the-Water. 
The second village we visited was Stow-on-the-Wold. We visited Ann Willow's Tea House to have a bite to eat. It was adorable! 
Inside Ann Willow's Tea house - very quaint, charming, and a delicious serving of food and drinks!
In Stow-on-the-Wold - the Royalist Hotel which is the oldest INN in England. It dates back to 947 A.D.
A shop in the village of Morteon-on-Marsh. Notice the Christmas Treet hanging out of the flag stand out of the side of the building. We saw these all over the Cotswold's and though they were quite amusing. 
A final stop in a town called Shipston-on-Stour. It may not actually be an official town of the Costwold's but it was on our route home and was quaint and lovely all the same. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yep, those are all the places we go when relatives are in town...Have you been to the New Forest yet? Bath? We have set tours in place (the A tour, the B tour, etc), and it depends on who's visiting which is offered!