Visiting the Cotswolds – a trip across three counties.
Marston Meysey is a one Street village, called The Street and is nestled in the picturesque countryside on the Wiltshire side of the Cotswolds. Its neighbour is Fairford, an RAF base which just happened to put on a 3 day 100 Year Anniversary of the RAF Air Tattoo for the first three days of our visit!
We also went to The Cotswolds in Gloucestershire and passed through the Cotswolds in Oxfordshire! Parched by the dry weather, but still beautiful England was all around us and absolutely no rain, well a little sprinkle for a few minutes but not even enough to wet the car!
Idyllic Country Life
Jacky
I had never been to Marston Meysey. It’s a little one street village on the edge of the Cotswolds and near Cirencester in Gloucestershire. I grew up in Gloucestershire but this area is like the upmarket end of the county.
Gerry and I had spent four hectic days in London and we both felt pretty depleted. Catching up with Dawn and Nigel and friends. Plus we were busy doing the tourist thing and had very little downtime in London. You just want to cram it all in you know! We felt pretty flat as we arrived in this quaint little village.
We were met by Scrappy, a large and distinguished Weimaraner. He barked as we approached and retrieved the key from the secure box but he was happy to see us once we walked in as though we owned the place. Such trust! Not only from the dog as it accepted a pair of strangers but from the owners who have this beautiful home and were quite happy for us to walk in and make ourselves at home, never having met us before! The owners were attending the first day of the Centenary Air Tattoo, a short walk up the road at Fairford. Planes were doing aerobatic manoeuvres and literally rocketing up vertically into the skies above us at regular intervals.
We unpacked, did some lunch and as we prepared to take Scrappy for a walk, the owners returned and showed us the ropes. Then we took off to the next field and sat and watched some of the aerial spectacular which was literally in our own backyard! By the time we got back, the owners had departed for their holiday and we had the place to ourselves.
Scrappy is an exceptional dog. He loves having his bum scratched and receiving a bit of fuss but he is a very content dog. On one walk he shot past me and knocked me over in his race to find the next rabbit trail and I fell on the edge of a bridge with no rails, into some nettles. If you have never been stung by English nettles, they cause very stingy hives and I had them all up my hand and between my fingers. The sting lasts for hours. It could have been worse. I was that close to falling off the bridge into a big bush of them! Scrappy was disciplined on the lead and never ran off too far. Important for a hunter as they can disappear for hours.
The house is made of the local Cotswold stone and is one of the most functional and spacious homes we have visited so far. When I say idyllic, I really mean it. Sitting in the garden, tapping away on our laptops, with the planes entertaining us overhead. The view of the fields before us and the dog playing with a stick close by. Walking through the fields with Scrappy racing ahead and again the aerial display right in front of us. Scrumptious meals are eaten outside in the balmy evening. And tonight may be a really deep Epsom salts bath and sitting outside by the bonfire.
Gerry
I have never really had much expectation as to what an English country home would be like but this home and this dog are a lasting image in my mind.
Some homes we have stayed in on this journey have been absolutely superb but this one felt like home right from the moment we drove in the driveway. Simon and his family were so accommodating and had everything organised for us. We just slotted in like we had been here several times before. When there is only 100 residents in the community it all feels warm and welcoming. The Air Show was epic as it was celebrating 100 years of the RAF. Seeing fighter jets take off then climb into the sky like a rocket, straight up, became almost normal everyday life after a weekend full of it.
On Monday, we headed off to visit Dawn’s daughter, Bella, in Stroud. Stroud is a Byron Bay type of town with lots of alternative healing modalities, lifestyles, cafes and events around the area. Bella and her partner Scarfy are both lovely young people. We had lunch at a cute little cafe which had lots of organic and gluten-free options close to the centre of town.
Once we had finished lunch Bella and Scarfy walked us up to where Jacky was having a McTimoney Chiro appointment and as synchronicity would have it Bella was going there the next day to start a spiritual course and she had never been in the building before.
While Jacky was being treated I played the tourist and wandered through the streets of Stroud. It had a pleasant vibe to it with its cafes, delis, old pubs and buildings. I came across a young Asian man in the streets who was playing the didgeridoo and his wife and daughter were dancing to the music. I just had to video this unique moment on our trip.
Another visit to a tourist spot was Bourton-on the-Water. Scrappy came along again as our friend magnet and did an excellent job as we walked the streets. At one cafe he caused a traffic jam as people stopped to pet him blocking the car traffic, as some of the side streets are quite narrow. It is so beautiful here as a lovely brook flows through the little town with a variety of little footbridges built across the stream allowing the tourists to stop at the cafes and little boutique shops.
You would think that we never spent time at home and you would be right because Scrappy was so well behaved whether in the car or on the lead. Each day we would go out exploring as the weather was spectacular. Another of our favourite spots was Cricklade, which we found when we Googled to find the nearest coffee shop. We hadn’t ventured in this direction but what a little gem we stumbled upon. It just happened to be the first settlement from the start of the Thames River. The town had a pub in between every shop on the main street a lot of them transformed from old buildings like stables, town halls or churches. We took Scrappy for a bit of a walk away from the town centre following the Thames Path. The Path actually led us to the little stream which was the start of the Thames. We got some great shots with Scrappy providing a few action shots as he jumped in to do a little fishing. I must say the Thames looks a bit more impressive here compared to London.
Probably our most exciting day was spent going back to Jacky’s childhood home amongst The Forest of Dean. Jacky has referred to her magical days of playing in the forest and its vastness and I could see why as we drove through the little villages interspersed amongst the forest. We also visited some old friends as we did a little Tiki tour in and around.
The hardest day at Marston Meysey was the last day because it was time to go. As I brought the suitcases out to load up the car I decided to give the car a bit of a vacuum so I left the back door open and before I could look around Scrappy had jumped into the back seat and was not budging. I thought if I got the vacuum cleaner going he would go back in the house, trouble was it was a Dyson and I couldn’t work out how to get it from floor mode to hand vacuum so I just left Scrappy there. Well, an hour later he was still there! It wasn’t until Jacky helped me figure out the vacuum that I was able to reluctantly edge him out. He was so lovable.
