The Cotswolds -Stroud’s Five Valleys

When writing my last post I realised I was doing my home town an injustice by not talking about the wonderful five valleys that both surround it and for which it is partly famous. Condensing all this into a single narrative would again have been a disservice.

The Cotswolds are full of beautiful hills, woods, forests and deep valleys and if ever you want to set off on a full day’s hike or plan a longer week or more walk you could try The Cotswold Way. This nationally recognised walk meanders through this beautiful land from Chipping Camden in the north of The Cotswolds to Bath in the south.

My focus, today, however are the valleys surrounding Stroud. The first of these lies south east – “The Golden Valley”, so called because apparently when Queen Victoria visited Stroud and travelled here from London and the train emerged from the Sapperton Train Tunnel she was amazed by the rural surroundings and described it thus.
The River Frome runs the course of this valley as it stretches from Stroud to Chalford. The Thames and Severn Canal Towpath meanders alongside the river and beyond, providing you with an easy four mile walk which starts just behind the Waitrose Supermarket in Stroud and ends near The Lavender Bakehouse at Chalford.
This local tea room with an upstairs gift shop provides guests with a light and airy refuge to take a well earned break from the chaos of life. The ethos of the café is very much about local food supplied by small producers. It’s one of my favourites, if you are in the area give it a try, but make sure you book particularly at weekends as it does get busy. 

North East of Stroud is the second valley -the Painswick Valley. Before explaining a little more about Painswick and its special features it’s worth highlighting two places to stop en route.
Stratford Park, on the outskirts of Stroud is a 56 acre park, which has won the Green Flag Award on multiple occasions by Keep Britain Tidy and was also a Special Innovation Award winner for Community involvement.
The park includes a leisure centre, with both an indoor and outdoor pool (open during the summer months) and tennis courts, there is also a museum, play area, skate park, lawn bowling green, children’s nursery, miniature railway, arboretum/woodland, lake, bandstand and free parking.
A visit to the Museum will, amongst other things yield information about the famous author Laurie Lee and even contains his school report.

A stroll around the lake and woodland is on it’s own worth stopping for, giving an opportunity to shake off civilisation and exchange it for nature in all its glory. All the outdoor photos that I’ve included in this post were taken here.

Also en route to Painswick, shortly after leaving Stratford Park, you will come across The Malthouse Collective on your right hand side at Salmon Springs.
Take a walk inside and you will find an Aladdin’s Cave of items, both old and new displayed by individual makers and dealers. Full of antiques, vintage and collectables and housed within historic surroundings it is well worth a visit.
The ethos here is a celebration of craftsmanship and creativity whilst also nurturing new talent and supporting small businesses.

Also within its depths there is a small cafe offering a good choice of breakfast, lunch and cakes.

Onwards to Painswick which is a historic wool town and one of the best-preserved Cotswold towns earning it the name ‘The Queen of the Cotswolds’”.
Beautiful buildings line the town’s narrow streets and New Street contains the oldest building in England to house a Post Office. The town also lays claim to the country’s oldest bowling green and the parish church of St. Mary has become famous for its 99 yew trees making it one of the most memorable churchyards in the country.

Painswick is also at the mid-point of the Cotswold Way, surrounded by marvellous walking country including Painswick Beacon from where you can see the Malvern Hills and Brecon Beacons on a clear day.
It is also worth popping into the Rococo Gardens while you are here. These gardens feature on the Historic England Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest having been returned to their former glory in 1984.

Running directly south of Stroud is the third valley -the Nailsworth Valley. The A46 runs along here from Stroud through Nailsworth and onwards to Bath. For more information about this artistic market town please refer to my previous post entitled “The Cotswolds -Shopping in Nailsworth”.

Running East of Stroud you will find the fourth valley -The Slad Valley.
This green and tranquil, slightly hidden valley became world famous following the publication of “Cider with Rosie” written by Laurie Lee.
Stopping off in the centre of Slad you will find the Woolpack Inn where the seat where Lee used to sit still remains. A visit to the local church will reveal Laurie Lee’s final resting place and the stained glass window commemorating this famous author for whom everyone locally still remains proud.
As a teenager in High School nearby, reading his book was more or less a rite of passage.
Many of the locations in the book are still recognisable today including, across the road from the Woolpack, the school house where Laurie, himself, was once a schoolboy.
The cottage where Laurie and his family lived when they first came to Slad, sits by the lake. It is a listed building and a private house, so unfortunately not open to the public.

Like all the other Stroud Valleys, Slad Valley is also full of places to reside in nature and walk including The Laurie Lee Wood, which was opened by his widow and daughter. This ancient woodland of over three hectares looks particularly pretty in bluebell season and is next door to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trusts’ Swift’s Hill nature reserve.
By climbing this local landmark you will not only find wonderful views of the Slad Valley but also a wealth of wildlife. The limestone grassland here supports over 130 species of wildflowers amongst which are thirteen species of orchid including the rare frog orchids, bee orchids and early purple orchids.
Alternatively you could opt to walk The Laurie Lee Wildlife Way which is a beautiful 5-mile walking route with ten poetry posts along the way featuring poems written by Lee himself which help to bring the surrounding countryside to life. It is quite steep in places but worth the effort. You can pick up a leaflet to accompany the walk in the Woolpack Inn.

The fifth and final Stroud Valley is Toadsmoor. This could be seen as a slight anomaly in so much as Toadsmoor branches off from The Golden Valley rather than beginning in Stroud itself.
Driving out of Stroud along the A419 towards Cirencester, and Just beyond the shops at Brimscombe, you will find a turning on your left that wanders up Toadsmoor Lane snaking it’s way towards Bussage, Eastcombe and beyond. This area is full of walks, just google The Toadsmoor Valley and you will be inundated with options. 

This beautiful part of the English countryside is so worth a visit. It’s quite sad that so many people visit the UK and focus solely on London.
This may be our capital city and also one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world with nearly nine million inhabitants and more than 300 languages spoken. however, believe me there is so much more to England than this, add a couple of days or weeks (if you have them) to your trip and explore the British countryside.

NB: This is the fifth of a series of posts about the wonderful “Cotswolds”. An area in the UK that you really shouldn’t miss out on visiting if you are coming to the UK. It’s full of olde world charm, history going back to the Roman era and beautiful architecture. Check out previous posts in this series plus more to come soon. 
Please don’t forget to comment and/or like. I love to hear what my readers think. Thank you

The Cotswolds -Stroud Hometown Glory

Whilst trying my best to stay cheerful through another miserable English Winter I have continued to revisit local towns that would feature on most tourists’ list when in the Cotswolds.
Swapping my viewpoint from one of being a local to that of a visitor, it’s interesting how differently you view what you often see as the “norm”. Come with me as I take you on a tour of this town, where I once went to High School, at the centre of “The Five Valleys.”
There is plenty of parking in Stroud, both long and short stay, but I chose to pay and display adjacent to the Shambles Market in Church Street as this then affords a nice circular walk around town. Leaving the car park behind, head along the cobbled street for your first stop – “Sunshine Health Food”.
For those of us who like to purchase seeds and nuts for breakfast or anything else healthy and/or organic this is a Stroud Mecca.

Established way back in 1927, in a bygone era before healthy living was even mentioned, families have relied on Sunshine Health to provide high quality health products and food with great service. With a rabbit’s warren of products to choose from, at prices usually lower than local supermarkets, it is a “must visit” every time we come to Stroud. Even the window display of fresh home baked bread will make your mouth water.

Just past Sunshine look out for the small lane on your right which will take you down to The Shambles Market, open 8am-3pm on Friday and Saturday.
In the shadow of St Lawrence’s Church, The Shambles is one of the oldest areas in Stroud. On the right is the Old Town Hall which dates from the late 1500s. The market stalls used to be housed in the arches under the Hall.
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, preached from the butcher’s blocks outside the Church Hall on the left on 26th June 1742. There is a Blue Plaque to commemorate the event.
There was a chapel here in Saxon times but Stroud became its own parish, separate from Bisley in 1304 and the Church was rebuilt in the mid 1860’s, the only remaining part of the original building is the Church Tower with its spire.
Another great feature of beginning your exploration here is that you will find a series of History Boards giving more information on all these buildings. These will also take you around the town pointing out other historical and interesting parts of Stroud.

There has been a market here for centuries in one form or another. The original market benches can still be seen against the wall on the left, as you go into the Shambles.
They were originally further down but have been moved here to preserve them. It is a wonderfully atmospheric place to visit at any time, but on market days it is worth taking a minute to stand and absorb the history.
Picture times gone by when the sounds of women chatting, stall holders shouting their wares and children playing would have transformed this small street into a thriving, busy area.
On the left hand side of the current market you will find the entrance into the indoor section where local artists, craft makers and collectors display their goods for purchase.

As you exit the market onto the High Street, turn right and venture into Moonflower. This is the original gift shop with a second branch just down the street.
Moonflower started life in 1979 and has been trading as a family run business for 40 years, moving to the High Street in the heart of Stroud in 1986.
This beautiful shop is well worth browsing stocking a wide range of ladies clothes, shoes, accessories and jewellery. As a company they aim to buy carefully and responsibly so the customer can in turn feel good about what they buy. Ensuring there is a selection of ethically produced and / or vegan products available that leave less of an impact on our world they aim to support local communities where they are produced.

Walking on down the High Street take a left into Kendrick Street and make a stop at “Mosaic” and it’s fellow shop “Intrigue” which are opposite each other. These two great shops are packed with literally hundreds of unique items to buy from clothing to Far Eastern ornaments. Don’t miss the wonderful hat display in Mosaic! The two shops truly reflect the diversity of the town.

If you are in need of some sustenance then the Little Ginger Deli and Cafe, on your right, just before Intrigue is worth a visit. This family run, dog-friendly deli and café was established in December 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and has developed a loyal customer base not only for the great coffee, homemade cakes and quiches, the selection of salads, and mouth-wateringly good deli sandwiches; but also for it’s exceptional customer service and warm, welcoming atmosphere with a menu that caters to various dietary requirements.

If you wish to visit the famous Stroud Farmers Market you can take a left into Threadneedle Street where Walkers Bakery stands on the corner.
There has been a bakery here for over 100 years. This is a family run, independent bakery where you will find naturally fermented, hand moulded, vegan bread with no additives. For me this is where my Mum took me to buy Lardy cake on a Saturday!
This traditional English tea bread is made from plain bread dough, enriched with sticky sweet lard and sugar as well as dried fruit and mixed spices.The dough is rolled and folded several times, in a similar way to puff pastry, which gives a layered texture.
The memories I have of eating this warm sticky sweet cake like bread in front of the open fire on Saturday teatime will remain with me forever!

The Farmers Market takes place every Saturday morning. You need to be here early if you want to find a parking space and not get caught up in the endless crowds of locals and tourists alike who venture here.
Launched in 1999 by Jasper Conrad and Isabella Blow the market has been featured in many magazines and TV programmes as well as winning awards including “Farmers Market of the Year” in 2001, 2007 and 2013.

If like me you are not in Stroud on a Saturday then follow Kendrick Street down to Sim’s Clock which stands proudly in the centre of the local road network. This was a popular meeting place when I was a teenager when the local cinema was just behind it on Russell Street. Alas it is gone now but this where I saw my first ever family movie “Half a Sixpence”! What can I say? My Mum loved Tommy Steele!

Returning to the clock and standing directly in front of it is one of the aforementioned history boards. This one encompasses the history of George’s Square including both the clock itself and the Subscription Rooms standing proudly on the corner of Kendrick Street and George Street. The Subscription Rooms were erected in 1833 with funding for the build being obtained through public subscription, hence its name. This Grade II listed building hosts a variety of entertainment including music, dance, theatre, visual arts, spoken word, exhibitions and workshops. On 31 March 1962 it hosted a little known band called The Beatles!

Heading down George Street with the Subscription Rooms on your right you will pass various other small independent Stroud shops before reaching the crossroads where George Street meets King Street. Opposite you to the right of the new Starbucks/Health Centre there is a pedestrian walkway that leads down into Five Valleys Shopping Centre. In addition to an array of shops from cheap to expensive, the highlight of this part of your tour of Stroud is the wonderful fairly new Indoor Food Court. This offers street food style stalls from Sushi to Pasta and Ice Cream to traditional Fish n Chips, with tables and chairs provided so you can take a break. Don’t forget to check out the mural which gives an insight to Stroud from a bygone era with the beautiful Cotswold Hills in the background.

If you exit the shopping centre up the second pedestrian walkway you will come back onto King Street with WH Smith opposite you. Turn left and then right and you are back onto the High Street where you can now make your way back up past some more shops to your starting point.

NB: This is the fourth of a series of posts about the wonderful “Cotswolds”. An area in the UK that you really shouldn’t miss out on visiting if you are coming to the UK. It’s full of olde world charm, history going back to the Roman era and beautiful architecture. Check out previous posts in this series plus more to come soon. 
Please don’t forget to comment and/or like. I love to hear what my readers think. and also look forward to your recommendations of places to see in the Cotswolds for my future adventures Thank you



Time Out -Should We Be Kinder To Ourselves?


I went to my first spa with two friends twelve years ago and yet I still remember that first experience.
We were staying on site for a weekend in a lovely wooden chalet amongst the trees and the sights and sounds of nature. If this wasn’t enough of an escape, we also decided to book an afternoon of relaxation at the spa to “fully immerse ourselves in our break away from life, and shut ourselves off from the world”.
We were there to chill and to forget about the mound of emails collecting on our phones, some of which were no doubt from work despite our email boxes declaring us to be on holiday!
I remember there being loads of women, mainly over the age of forty, in swimsuits and men with slight paunches walking around in cosy, fluffy white dressing gowns. I initially felt slightly at odds with the idea of walking around in just a dressing gown but soon adapted to the slow pace. It was like being on a record player turntable and someone had changed the speed from 45 to 33!

When I hit my mid century year I was still on my own, eleven years into balancing single parenthood and a career and decided to return to the same spa. We were just starting our special celebratory year “the 16-18-50 year” when, in addition to my mid century, my two children would turn sixteen and eighteen years old.
What a great way to start this special year- chillin out and relaxing together. 
I was shocked to see how much had changed! Looking around there were more bikinis than swimsuits. Slim, I only eat lettuce, young girls were there with their friends, their mums or their partners.
Is this the new trend I remember asking myself? Going to the spa with your boyfriend when you are a teenager because you need to de-stress from modern day living? Stressed – I didn’t know the meaning of the word at that age. I was too busy enjoying life living away from home for the first time. What will they be like at my age I pondered?

How the world is changing, my dear old mum, god rest her soul, wouldn’t even of heard of a spa much less spent good money visiting one. It had taken me over thirty years of hard work to discover this haven of tranquility. 
I was a typical newbie back when I had first visited, a lot like my daughter was on this occasion. Looking around, I remember worrying about people looking at me, not knowing quite what the purpose of it all was, systematically moving from room to room making sure I experienced everything there was to offer, I couldn’t possibly leave if I’d not tried it all!!

It was different this second time, I wasn’t new to the experience anymore. I knew what each room had to offer or I thought I did, there were a couple of subtle changes, things had been moved around a bit and I got to try two different rooms for meditation. But I’d changed too, there was no rush, it was more an opportunity to surrender myself to my own solitude. To wipe out all thoughts of work, to relax my mind.
I also spent some time people watching whilst chilling on a spa bed wrapped in a cosy brown comforter. I remember smiling inwardly at the middle aged women in their bikinis with their flat stomachs, thighs not meeting in the middle and wondering how much time had gone into looking like that? It’s a good look, don’t get me wrong and no doubt that’s why they were not here on their own unlike me but I remember feeling more natural.
I wore my bikini with pride as a mum. I had a few spare tyres and a chest that never shrank after my daughter was born but so what. I knew I needed to lose a few pounds, well a couple of stone to be more precise and I’d forgotten to shave my legs before embarking on the trip but I don’t think anyone noticed so why care? Everyone was just doing their own thing.
Some were what I call experts, they relaxed into sleep or read avidly, they were escaping reality and just doing as they pleased.

My daughter joined me in the Japanese sea salt room and I could see her questioning face. asking herself “what am I doing here?” She found a water bed, curled up like a baby in a cuddly blanket and slept for the remainder of the session.
Conversely my son had the air of someone who knew what he was doing. He was relaxing with a confidence he customarily exuded in unfamiliar territory which I admired and he has continued to carry this with him through life.
In the meditation room I remember lying back and closing my eyes. The music took me far away, soaring like an eagle over mountains and forests. I’d not meditated before but remember thinking about Julia Roberts in Eat,Pray,Love and committing to learn……………

I never did learn. Here I am some ten years later and apart from taking advantage of a spa voucher I was gifted at a local hotel I’ve never returned to the spa. That was my daughter’s one and only visit too.
My son conversely loves the spa and has visited several different locations including a mega posh one in London. In fact he recently treated a friend to a day at Champneys for his 30th birthday.

I think my life just got too busy and relaxing or taking a day out was never a priority.
I think I channelled my money into holidays and more recently travelling instead of treating myself to a day off from life.
Maybe we should all take a day off from life every now and again. Cut ourselves off from the outside world and just recoup. Give ourselves time to gather our thoughts, reprioritise and just chill. There is no doubt that the pace of life today is still pretty hectic.

I’m retired but I’m so busy I sometimes wonder how I ever had time to work.
I guess it doesn’t have to be a spa. It could be a hike out in nature in total seclusion with a lunch on a log in the forest or perched on the side of a mountain overlooking a fantastic view or a raging sea.

It could be a picnic on a beautiful summer’s day in the middle of a field full of flowers with a poetry book to hand. Maybe one you bought but never got around to reading.
I remember reading about such adventures in Jane Austen books and in romantic novels.

When did we stop caring about such ideas? When did we allow life to take over?
It feels like this is the time of year to commit to a fresh start. To try and be kinder to ourselves. To respect that our mind not just our body needs rest sometimes.
To take that time for ourselves away from life and all the multitudinous tasks that we see around us everyday that need completing and just step off the roundabout that is life. ……

Are All Friendships For Life?

As Big Ben tolls, heralding the start of another New Year, I think we often reflect upon the past, the present and the future.
We think about the people currently present in our lives; family, friends and maybe even work colleagues. It’s that time of year when we seek fresh beginnings and ponder whether this is the year that we need to make changes even within our close circle.

I am fortunate to have a group of good friends that I have made at various stages of my life from primary school up to my days as a funeral celebrant.

As someone who is currently at the midlife stage I have learnt across the years, though, that friendship is not always forever. The most common reason for a friendship ending isn’t tension; it’s just that friendships fizzle out. You basically outgrow each other. A friend may move, get a new job, start a family or move onto a new stage of their life which is no longer compatible with your own. One study found we lose about half our friends every seven years.
That quantity of loss is not true for me but, at this stage of my life, I’m not afraid to lose a friendship.


I’ve learnt from experience that the decision to move on from this type of relationship is often mutual but neither of you wants to take that first step. In reality as you cool the connection you will nearly always find that the other person doesn’t pursue it either, so actually you were both feeling the same way. I can think of three friendships, in particular, where this was the case.
The first was a friendship of about 16 years. Dawn and I had met through work, this then developed into a social friendship but as the years rolled by we were both moving into different phases of our life. I had become a single parent whilst she was a mature student pursuing a university degree which, not surprisingly, took up a lot of her time.
Throughout our friendship there had also always been the presence of another third party -Nicola. Nicola was one of those possessive friends, the type who has to be the BFF, who makes it clear that you are treading on her toes and regularly posts pictures of the two of them laughing and joking. One of those people who laud it over you with phrases like “Dawn and I had a fab night out, just the two of us” or “oh didn’t Dawn tell you we are going to see that new film that’s just come out” .
Personally with two children to bring up single handed and a career taking all the rest of my energy, I found my social time becoming more and more precious and I seriously didn’t have the energy to get into a competition with Nicola. I just got to the stage where I found it easier to step away. Three years later we moved from Essex to Gloucestershire which probably should have cemented the end of our friendship.
Weirdly though Dawn tracked me down 14 years later on Facebook and we reconnected. It’s a hard friendship to maintain as she has since moved as well and we now live many miles apart but we both try to catch up regularly across the phone or FaceTime.

The second friendship was only about four years in length and ended soon after I moved to Gloucestershire. Again our lives took different turns -having recovered from a serious illness, through which I was present as much as possible, and given birth to her first son, she also went on to study for a degree and we drifted apart.

The third friendship had also begun at work. Hannah and I both worked for the same company and about a year after I had moved West we began to meet socially.
As female Managers, at the time, and both with fairly young families, we had a lot in common. I guess it was about eight years later after she had left the company and taken a new role that our friendship began to fade. She met a new circle of people, worked “normal” hours and our lives moved on separately. I sometimes look her up on Facebook and wonder if its worth trying to rekindle our lost friendship but I tend to feel fate has its own way of filling your life with new hobbies, interests and friends and so tend to carry on.

Moving back to Gloucestershire brought the possibility to reconnect with old school friends. My senior school life wasn’t that great (see previous post “Life Experience vs The Tabloids”) plus when I moved here in 2005 I was still busy working whilst being a single parent so time to socialise wasn’t a priority. I did often wonder sometimes when I wandered through the local town and villages why I never seemed to bump into anyone I knew.


However back in 2020 when Covid hit and time suddenly stood still, I made a point of trying to locate an old friend – Diane who I hadn’t seen since I was probably about 21 years old. We’d managed to stay in touch for the first three years after leaving school but then life took over and we lost touch. It was actually her sister, who was on Facebook, who pointed me in the right direction for which I am forever thankful. Once life restarted outside of the Covid bubble we reconnected in person and have become friends with her and her husband seeing each other as frequently as life permits.


Through Diane I also was introduced to another group of girls who used to attend my senior school. This group meets up for a meal about once every three months. It was quite nerve wracking the first time I attended but as time has gone on I’ve found it easier. Unlike Diane, who lived abroad for a period of time, this group of up to eight individuals have mainly stayed in the “Stroud bubble” as I call it. People in this area are predominantly white, conservative by nature and don’t tend to explore the world. I find it hard to relate to their lives and no doubt they feel the same about mine.
I’ve mixed with all levels of society, various backgrounds and endless amounts of different ethnic groups, as explained in several of my previous “Opinion” pieces, which I’d like to think have given me an all round perspective on life as a whole.
I sat and listened to this group of girls on our last night out, pre Christmas, and realised how far apart we really are. Having never experienced the cross sections of life that I have they give opinions about topics purely based upon what they have heard or read and not on what they have actually experienced. I am beginning to see how this is going to play out and doubt I will stay in touch with them in 2024.

I also made contact with another old school friend Hilary back in December 2020, again through Facebook. We commented on each others’ posts but didn’t actually arrange to meet up until September 2023 after I had returned from six months travelling.
It’s early stages but Hilary has as much life experience as me, if not more, having climbed both the corporate ladder and the ranks within the armed forces. She has also, by choice, explored the world, often on her own which is amazing to hear about. I’m looking forward to seeing how this will develop over time.

Before I complete this post on “Friendships” I feel I have to mention one very sad fact about trying to rekindle friendships in later life. Don’t leave it too late.
When I left Essex back in 2005 I left behind one of my closest friends -Adam. We had worked together for about five years and had supported each other through thick and thin. We tried to stay in touch once I moved West but life took over and he eventually moved back to East Yorkshire from whence he had been brought up.
Bizarrely when I was in Barbados in 2006 we had contacted each other out of the blue and he was flying out there on holiday literally the day before I was due to fly home. We tried to meet up that night but it didn’t come to fruition and then life went on.
My thoughts turned to Adam again back in February 2015 and I started to look for him on Facebook. Sadly I discovered that he had passed away in December 2012 and it was too late. I was absolutely gutted.
I’ve recently finished reading a Christmas book entitled “Meet Me Under The Mistletoe” by Jenny Bayliss where the author describes a similar situation “The worst part of all -the part Elinor couldn’t get her head around – was that Tristan wasn’t in the world any more. it hadn’t mattered that they hadn’t seen each other from one year to the next, because she’d known he was in the world somewhere. And suddenly he wasn’t. She would never see him again; that option had been removed from the universe. “


If there is someone out there who you keep thinking about getting back in touch with, stop thinking about it and just do it. You have nothing to lose………………..

Please note -I have changed the names of my friends in this post as I feel using their real names is an invasion of their privacy.

Christmas Shopping in Olde Worlde Lille

We visited Lille back in April of this year whilst doing a three month tour, by rail, of Western Europe and vowed to return -See my previous post “My New Friend Lille”.
So here we are, having caught the Eurostar direct from London St Pancras into Lille Europe.
Our hotel is within walking distance of the station which is handy since a bitter cold winter wind is blowing as we leave the concourse.

We have two days to explore the city shops and absorb the Christmas atmosphere with visits to old Lille, the Christmas Market and finally the modern Westfield Eurolille on our agenda.

Sustained with breakfast from the hotel we turn right onto Rue de Pierre Mauroy, right again onto Rue du Molinel and then head to the Statue of General Faidherbe. This marks the entry into Rue de Bethune which is a a pedestrianised old street at the centre of the city. Strolling along Bethune introduces you into the individuality of old Lille. Our first stop is the Hema Department Store.
HEMA was founded almost 100 years ago in 1926 opening their first store in Amsterdam. At the time, department stores in the Netherlands were mainly for the wealthy and the staff mostly spoke French.. Ordinary people were on a tight budget and couldn’t afford to shop at them.
The founders, Leo Meyer and Arthur Isaac, wanted to open a department store for the ordinary folk. It was a store where a nickel was worth a dime, stocked with everyday items. Plates, soap or towels, at affordable prices. The store was a hit and the company expanded beyond Holland into Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France and Austria.

The attraction for us is the Christmas decorations.
When I was a child decorations in the home were mainly handmade paper chains and colourful paper ceiling decorations which came in balls. As you unwound them, you twisted them as you went to form arcs across the room from one corner into the centre. Repeating this so you had four chains all meeting in the centre of the room.
In each quadrant you would then hang a paper ball. These came folded flat and you had to fold them outwards to form a sphere and then paper clip them together so the ball remained in place. The central decoration was always the largest ball or in some cases you would have another green paper decoration which when folded out and secured displayed a lovely Christmas tree.
Surprisingly the window display had these very same decorations which I hadn’t seen for probably 40 years back in the UK. I couldn’t resist going in and buying some to take home including some lovely rainbow coloured balls. Somehow a couple of packets of white chocolate snowmen also found their way into my basket, which alas never made their way home across the Channel after late night munching in our hotel room!

Walking past Dr Marten’s and Levis and heading on up the street we arrived at Grand Scene on the right. We had vowed to come back here and eat amongst the street food booths but unfortunately it was too early and then when we returned in the early evening it had closed. Note to self to check opening and closing times next time!
Across the road is probably one of my favourite stores in the world –Pylones!

This colour explosion began back in 1987 when the founders, Jacques & Léna Guillemot opened their first store in Paris on the Île Saint-Louis. As they proudly say on their web site “We shake things up, we reinvent them and lovingly embellish them with motifs from in-house or independent designers. Bright, subtle, figurative or abstract, our objects are real creations! Why Pylones? Just like the real pylons out there, those huge structures that circulate energy and cross borders, we wanted to spread our arms wide to hug the planet and transmit the good vibes!”

I walk into this store and immediately leave my cares behind and a smile is plastered across my face. This store just makes me happy! I love all the colour, it just explodes at you and I could honestly spend a fortune here. It takes me ages to choose only those items which I feel would make good Christmas gifts. I really have to rein myself in. As is normal in France gift wrapping is offered at the till but in my case I politely refuse.

Further along the road we swing left into Rue Neve and make our way towards the Grand Place. I smile at The Little Wizard’s Shop and the ongoing existence of Etam, which disappeared in the UK many moons ago.
We return to Notting Hill on the square for a welcoming cup of coffee and a cake. I always think about the film with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts when I sit inside this little cafe, looking out onto the many visitors and locals going about their day. I wonder why they called it by this name?
Having temporarily rested our legs we head out once again, circumnavigating the central Christmas wheel and rides to enter Furet Du Nord. This is another revisit. Such a great book shop featuring some English books and a great array of cards and stationary.

Heading across the square to Rue Esquermoise we stroll up this lovely street resplendent with many small independent chocolate shops. The window displays, at this time of the year, are amazing. The creations astound us. My favourite is Chocolat De Beussent-Lachelle with a white chocolate snow scene with a milk chocolate Santa on his sleigh pulled by his nine reindeer careering down the mountainside. It retails for 65 euros but wow what a unique present this would make.
You will also find some lovely small patisseries along this road displaying everything from proper French croissants to rows and rows of macarons.

At the crossroads where Esquermoise meets Rue Basse is Fromagerie Philippe Olivier – Les Bons Pâturages. We have agreed to purchase some real French cheeses which I can nestle in a wicker style hamper I have at home and gift to my friend and her husband alongside a good bottle of champagne.
As we peruse the cheese on offer it is evident fairly quickly that unless we are going to stand and inspect them with Google Translate to hand we need help. The manager of the shop smiles politely and welcomes us in French. Alas he doesn’t speak English.
Fortunately his young assistant, who is due to start work in ten minutes, kindly agrees to begin early and with her excellent understanding of English assists us in choosing a nice selection. She manages to cover provenance so the cheeses we leave with are from across France, milk origin so we have goats’ cheese as well as cow’s milk and sheep’s milk cheese and finally everything from soft to hard to smelly!
I’m so happy with our purchases it really brightens my already enjoyable day.

Walking on down the road we turn right in front of “Paul” a beautiful boulangerie and head along Rue Lepelletier to our final shop for the afternoon “Le Comptoir du Miel” -the honey shop. This is an oasis for my hubby who adores honey and will in the future keep his own bees. I love the fact that in France you find these particular, individual shops catering to just one product but in such spectacular fashion.

This shop, since 1987, specialises in the direct sale of rare and unusual honeys from beekeepers in France and around the world. Offering a selection of honeys from independent beekeepers from several countries: France, New Zealand , Madagascar, Australia, and many other wild and distant places.
Again we could have spent a fortune but limit ourselves to a key selection.

Whilst our day out shopping ended here, we took a break and then ventured back out in the evening to eat and visit the Christmas Market.

With more than 900,000 people visiting this market every year it is an arresting spectacle full of pretty lights, hunger inducing smells and 80 decorated chalets selling a variety of gifts and presents to take home.
Navigating your way around so you don’t miss anything is the first challenge but one real positive is that they limit the numbers that are allowed in at any one time. Yes, this may mean you have to queue to enter but once inside you can at least admire the stalls without pushing through crowds of people. Opening times are available on line but coming in the evening definitely lends more atmosphere.
We really enjoyed the Christmas feel, the lights and the sheer variety of purchases available.

Visiting Lille at Christmas is a unique and rewarding experience with a lovely balance between old and new. I would truly recommend this beautiful city x

New Year’s Resolutions Have Come Early This Year!

Do you make New Year’s Resolutions? Are you good at keeping them or do you wander off track within a couple of days, weeks or maybe months?

I’m not fastidious at making them although in years gone by when my girlfriends and I met up for our annual Girls’ Christmas Weekend we would avidly discuss our previous year. We would resolve to make things better next year with at least three commitments each which were then reviewed the following year.
These days, and about twelve years on from when they first began, we still meet up but the NY resolutions disappeared with the onset of Covid in 2020. I think we just felt that the whole world was spinning on its axis, nothing could be taken for granted anymore and surviving the epidemic was enough!

This year my resolutions have come early!
Whilst we were travelling for six months, and right at the end of the trip, we were in Washington and walked about seven miles on the first day sightseeing. I returned to our Air BnB and rather stupidly twisted my knee whilst struggling to lift my suitcase onto the bed! Immediate pain shot up my leg and I crumpled to the floor.
Never one to be defeated I managed to settle myself on the sofa, researched what it might be and we took the next day off, rearranging some of the remaining days, so I could apply the RICE method: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate.
It seemed to do the trick and the next day we were back out n about although we limited the walking to no more than five miles and I swallowed painkillers every 4-5 hrs!

On returning to the UK I returned to my normal exercise at the gym, starting with only three sessions of aqua aerobics on week one, four sessions on week two and then five on week three. My knee seemed to be fine so I added in an aerobics class and a pilates class in week four.
Following the pilates class I woke up the next morning with pain but not in my right knee, it had switched to my left knee! I rested it for the rest of that week and then went back to the beginning of my exercise cycle and only three classes of aqua aerobics the following week! To say I was annoyed would be an understatement. I was already struggling psychologically to settle back home after six months away and then this had happened. I just wanted life to get back to normal.
A subsequent x-ray has revealed I have Stage 3 osteoarthritis in both knees and a floating piece of bone in my left knee. Exercise is encouraged but only the correct exercise. I’m currently awaiting an appointment with a physio to find out what I can and cannot do.
It’s really frustrating not only because I miss exercising but I am off on my Girls Christmas weekend tomorrow and then hubby and I are going to Lille. We visited the city on our European tour earlier this year and vowed to come back to do some Christmas shopping. We are then travelling to Holland to see one of my old school friends. The thought of hobbling around either of these places doesn’t really thrill me.

My knee wasn’t the only issue unfortunately………….
If you have read one of my earlier posts entitled “Midlife -Menopause” you will be aware that I am prone to UTI infections. The last twelve months have been crazy with eight infections combated by antibiotics. When we returned from travelling, and before making any plans to go anyway else, I thought I should finally try and get this sorted. An ultrasound scan revealed there is nothing wrong with my kidneys, bladder or any sign of a hernia, well that was positive.
I then went for a cystoscope and an appointment with a urologist. This revealed that my uretha is very inflamed and unfortunately it doesn’t stop there. In his opinion the continuing reliance on antibiotics for my infections has caused changes in the gut microbiome.
Certain microbes activate immune T cells that promote or suppress inflammation. In a healthy microbiome, this means the immune system does what it’s supposed to: pathogens are destroyed, and harmless cells are free to go about their business.
When your gut microbiota changes one of the side effects can be chronic inflammation. So in a nutshell, the antibiotics led to my microbiomes being upset, which led to inflammation not just in my uretha but also in my knees and some of my lymph nodes.
Apart from taking two tablets a day for the next three months I also have to:

Try and feed my microbiomes what they like

Make sure I hydrate my body daily

Start exercising in the correct way

Lose weight

Adopt an anti inflammatory diet

And thus my New Year’s resolutions are made for me!
Although we have the NHS here in the UK and medical care is provided free, the reliance upon this service has increased to such an extent that the service is quite honestly in crisis. Getting an appointment to see your GP can be 2-4 weeks! To see a specialist or consultant you have to be referred by your GP. Once the referral is sent off it can take up to 6 weeks to be given an appointment but the appointment can be anything from 3 months -12 months in the future depending upon your specific medical issue and how long their waiting lists are. These figures do not fall within the National Health Service guidelines but unfortunately are the reality.
Based upon this I have already downloaded some literature in order to learn more about my knee issue and how to help myself:

Arthritis Reversed: Groundbreaking 30 Day Arthritis Relief Action Plan by Mark Wiley


Arthritis Care: Osteoarthritis Symptoms, Prevention, Treatment, Exercise & Diet by Kenneth Lowes

Natural Arthritis Cure: The Natural Cure, Treatment and diet for Different Types of Arthritis: End The Pain by Pete Samonis

Arthritis in Knee, osteoarthritis in knee. Exercises, Stretch treatments, Home Remedies, Knee Replacements and Knee Braces by Robert Rymore

I am not the type of person to be defeated by any health issue and will now be taking the time to read, digest, learn and glean from these books what I feel is relevant to me.

Happy New Year 2024!!!!



Washington DC -What a Capital City!

I have been fortunate enough to visit many capital cities during my travels from London in the UK, to Rome in Italy, San Jose in Costa Rica, Georgetown in Grand Cayman and the list goes on but our visit to Washington stands out as being up there in my Top Three. Why I hear you ask?

A Walking City – I do like a walking city
Every capital city I’ve ever visited falls into one of two categories:- walkable or not walkable. I don’t mind travelling in and out on a bus, train or tram but once in the centre of things I like to be able to walk and not rely upon public transport. On our first day in Washington the bus from our Air BnB dropped us off along Independence Avenue and from here we walked to the Lincoln Memorial to begin our explorations. In total we walked seven miles but, in awe of all the magnificent sites, we never even realised!

Public Transport:
We liked the public transport in Washington. Armed with Citymapper and/or Google Maps we were easily able to navigate our way into the centre or out to Arlingham Cemetery for example.
Both the buses and the metro were safe, clean, reliable and staff were friendly and helpful when we needed them.
As a visitor I always feel this is a good measurement of a city. No one wants to sit on a bus or metro with dirty seats. Sorry London you definitely fall into this category!
Additionally unfriendly staff and/or lack of information as to where we are going just makes life hard -Fort Lauderdale was like this. The bus drivers grunted and the electronic overhead stop indicators were often switched off. Without a battery pack on board, my mobile would have been drained before we even reached our destination
Finally safety is a big plus or minus. We rode one metro in Philadelphia and believe me one was enough. My husband is 6 ft 3 but even he felt unsafe. Thank goodness we were only riding a couple of stops.

Free Entry:
This was an amazing plus point for a capital city.
We honestly couldn’t believe that nearly everything is free to get into. You often have to book a date and time, in order for them to manage numbers, but hey who cares when you don’t have to pay.
Entry fees account for a large proportion of our expenditure when we are travelling so to save on this was a real bonus.
In comparison for two of us in Paris we spent £48 to gain entry into The Palace of Versailles, £51 for an off peak ticket onto The London Eye and an astronomical £125 for The Empire State Building!!! (All costs in pound sterling at today”s exchange rates) .

Green Spaces:
With so many cities overcrowded with tourists and cars it was a pleasant surprise to find that Washington isn’t like that. There are many parks, gardens and squares throughout Washington, in fact 24% of the city’s area is park space and 99% of Washington’s residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Overall, the city has 683 parks and greenspaces.

You could actually feel it wherever you went, just the sheer openness of the city.
On our first day we walked from The Lincoln Memorial alongside the Reflecting Pool to the World War II Memorial, then through Ash Woods to the Martin Luther King Memorial.
From here we headed around the Tidal Basin, visiting the other memorials until we reached the National Museum of African American History and Culture, it was lovely to experience nature alongside what is essentially the centre of a capital city.

Nature abounds in other capital cities don’t get me wrong, for example Hyde Park or Regents Park in London, El Retiro in Madrid and Prince’s Street Gardens in Edinburgh but can be lacking in others. You can walk around and just feel closed in by the buildings, the people and the traffic.

Architecture:
The variety of architecture also hits you in Washington.
Maybe because this capital city is only just over 200 years old it exudes variety.
Many of the government buildings, monuments, and museums along the National Mall and surrounding areas are heavily inspired by classical Roman and Greek architecture.
The White House, the U.S. Capitol, Supreme Court Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial are all heavily drawn from these classical architectural movements featuring domes, columns in classical order, large pediments, and heavy stone walls.

The main Library of Congress, however, was built in Beaux-Arts style, popular throughout the world in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
In contrast The National Museum of African American History and Culture is a stone based Neo classical building influenced by African Art, the inside of the metro stations evoke the 20th century Brutalism movement and the list goes on!
My mobile camera was in overdrive throughout a lot of our wanderings around the city.

What was also surprising was the lack of skyscrapers. Such a rarity in any city in the world today but another real positive architecture wise. It gave a feeling of space, of n to being closed in.

And finally…………
The sheer volume of places to visit matches if not exceeds other capital cities but for us it wasn’t the amount of monuments but the sheer size, artistry, imagination and thought behind them.
Seriously if you visit Washington do not miss the Memorials dedicated to Lincoln, The Vietnam War Veterans, World War II, Martin Luther King, Thomas Jefferson etc but for us above all else stood the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
At first I was totally underwhelmed thinking that the first section I saw was it!
Then I realised that the memorial actually consists of five outdoor rooms- one is a prologue and the other four represent each term of his office.In total it covers 7.5 acres!
It is so different to any of the others using not just stone but landscaping and water features to tell his story of being President.
This man is not part of my history, being from the UK, but I left feeling he was more in touch with the people of his country than anyone else since in either of our countries. Twenty two quotations from Roosevelt’s presidency are engraved in the red South Dakota granite walls of the memorial.

My favourites that are as equally relevant today, given the broken political situation both of our countries find ourselves in are:

“We must scrupulously guard the civil rights and civil liberties of all our citizens, whatever their background. We must remember that any oppression, any injustice, any hatred, is a wedge designed to attack our civilization.”
January 9, 1940

“Men and nature must work hand in hand. The throwing out of balance of the resources of nature throws out of balance also the lives of men.”
January 24, 1935

“I see one-third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”
January 20, 1937

If any country in the world wants to build a monument to commemorate an episode in history or an important person they should come here first and see how it is really done!

If you ever get a chance to go to Washington please go, you won’t regret it!
To all those we met on our travels in America and to those we didn’t who follow my Instagram or blog, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!




A Tale of Two Cities -Wells and Glastonbury

Having visited Glastonbury we stayed overnight in Wells and then ventured out to the city itself on foot. What a contrast!
Only 6 miles from Glastonbury, a town of integrity and differing cultures/beliefs, Wells is in every sense, except size, a city of historic architectural and religious wealth and feels as if it should rank alongside other elite university cities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Wells is the smallest city in England with about 12,000 inhabitants but it can call itself a city because of the famous 13th century Cathedral.

We started our adventure by visiting the market which comes to town every Wednesday and Saturday. We strolled around the many stalls where we expected to find your traditional local market selling home grown produce and wares and I guess there is some of that but there was more than your fair share of artisan food stalls, arts and crafts and independent drink suppliers. We love these types of market and can see the attraction to clientele living in the surrounding area where the average property price is currently about £100,000 over the national average.

The market is the central hub from which other attractions radiate and is definitely part of the city’s social history growing and developing alongside it’s wealth. There are several cafes with tables and chairs spilling out on the pavement where you can sit, take a moment and imagine in times of yore all the local folk drifting in on market day to sell their produce, hand made goods and pots of honey. The sound of excited ladies chatting as they catch up on local gossip and children running around people’s feet chasing a ball or just playing tag.

Wells is a medieval city but it dates back to Roman times. People settled here because of the natural springs that bubble up creating wells. These three wells, dedicated to St Andrew, one in the market place plus two others in the gardens of the Bishop’s Palace, gave the city its name.

After browsing the market we made our way to the cathedral again dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle and the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells. This is an absolute architectural triumph from which many other cathedrals followed. Having since visited Canterbury, Lincoln and York this certainly stands out as a forerunner. It was the first Gothic cathedral to be built in England, it was finished in the thirteenth century, though there has been a church on the site since 705 AD. The baptismal font from the Saxon church of Aldheim (c. 705) can still be seen and is still in use.
As you stroll through you certainly get that feeling of walking where many have trod before you whilst also looking up and being entranced by the sheer brilliance of its production.

Don’t miss the Cathedral Clock sited in the north transept.  Dating from about 1325 it is an astronomical clock, the second oldest surviving clock in England which still has its original medieval face. Apart from the time on a 24-hour dial, it shows the motion of the Sun and Moon, the phases of the moon and the time since the last new Moon. Every quarter of an hour is marked by the chiming of a quarter jack. This is a small automaton visible to the right of the clock, the statue hitting two bells with hammers and two with his heels. This is then followed by jousters on horseback rotating around above the clock face with the same jouster losing the mini tournament every time!

The tombs and monuments around the cathedral include one tomb dating back to the 17/18th century which shows graffiti existed even then with people inscribing their name and date on it.

There are also tombs dating back to the 900’s which shock me in their intricacy. These actually made me question if we’ve evolved at all in terms of stonework production. How did they manage to produce something of such elegance without the modern day tools and machinery we are accustomed to?
On the walk back to the entrance you can exit the cathedral into their enclosed gardens. In the far corner of one of these there is a cut out window which when you peek through looks into the gardens of the Bishops’s Palace. Like an exploring child I had to find the other side of this when we moved onto the Palace itself.

The grounds of the Bishop’s Palace are themselves a quiet retreat from the hustle and bustle of the market outside. With spacious lawns, seats all along the moat and further interior grounds on which to relax, picnic or just take a breath, there is an immediate sense of tranquillity as if life is on pause.
The Palace has been home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for over 800 years and feels like the central spoke of the wheel from which the city has grown in wealth. Surrounded by a moat, visitors cross over a drawbridge, walk under the portcullis and enter the 14 acres of gardens which lure you in at every turn, willing you to explore.

We chose to take a break here in the cafe aptly named The Bishop’s Table. This is accessible prior to actually paying the entry fee for the Palace. The cafe has a complete glass front allowing great views from inside if it’s not the weather to sit outside on the terrace. It was a pleasant interlude with dessert being taken on the lawn, thanks to two lovely young ladies from a stall on the market called Somerset Blissful Bakes, check them out on Facebook!

Moving onto the palace itself we managed to learn quite a bit about the many bishops who have lived here before, intertwined with the history of it’s development, but it was a bit lacking in atmosphere and ironically soul less.

Back out in the sunshine we walked around the Grade 2 listed gardens, mainly laid out in the 1830’s by Bishop George Law. Now partnered with the RHS it was a true pleasure to walk around and a complete contrast to the austere rooms of the palace. There are plenty of benches and grassy areas where you can relax between admiring the beautiful flower borders, the well pools, the community food allotments and of course locating the other side of that elusive window from the cathedral!

Our final port of call was Vicars Close which is sited on the other side of the cathedral.
Originally 42 houses (one per vicar) these houses were built in the 14th century with the perfectly in line chimneys added in the 15th century. As you wander along the Close you have to try and look beyond the modern trappings of the 21st century when cars and recycling boxes didn’t exist and imagine it as it was, a home for everyone working at the cathedral. It is claimed that this is the oldest residential street in Europe.
I wandered right to the end where the chapel and library are situated and I must admit a few members of the Wells Cathedral School in their dark blue uniforms made it feel again a bit like an elite university city.

These two cities of Glastonbury and Wells definitely offer a complete contrast but each also has it’s own unique attraction. When taken together they give you a real sense of ying and yang.

Glastonbury -An Ancient Town Full of Integrity

If adventure is to experience different ideologies, new places and ways of life, alternative cultures and the exploration of opinions then Glastonbury is the place to do this.
It is an absolute hive of activity buzzing with people unafraid to be themselves whilst surrounded by the trappings of a modern society and enclosed within the remains of a medieval town. Known for the myths and legends surrounding both Glastonbury Tor, a prominent hillside rising up from the surrounding flat landscape and the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Together some would say they have made the town a thriving centre for mystical, New Age, alternative spirituality.

Integrity means being true – to who you are, what you say, and what you believe. And doing so even when no one is around to see.

Glastonbury has integrity in abundance.
Leaving the Cotswolds behind for a couple of days and staying in Wells, I arrived makeupless with my hair au naturalle to find the town full of lively characters playing a multitude of instruments wearing whatever they desire.
Shopkeepers unafraid to offer crystals, witches brews and mythological ornaments alongside religious deities from many a belief to both the local residents and tourists willing to explore their own ideas. It’s not a place for conservative coach tours full of close minded serious individuals. It’s an adventure for those willing to explore its depths.

We began our day by mooching around the shops taking in the atmosphere and wandering around the market. Those that could be described as New Age seemed so happy to be alive, they smiled, they interacted, they displayed their integrity without shyness. It was refreshing and at the same time relaxing.

Glastonbury has one of the best natural shops we’ve seen -Earthfare. In fact it’s almost a supermarket full of everything you could want if living a vegetarian, vegan or just healthy lifestyle and laden with our purchases we put them back in Conan before going back into town to visit the abbey.

The abbey was founded in the 7th century and enlarged in the 10th century before being destroyed by fire in 1184 and subsequently rebuilt and by the 14th century was one of the richest and most powerful monasteries in England.

It’s ruins, a grade 1 listed building and scheduled ancient monument are associated with the legend of King Arthur whilst Christian legend claims that the abbey was founded by Joseph of Arimathea in the 1st century. Whatever your belief it is definitely a place enveloped in spirituality. You cannot fail to be impressed by the creative intricacy when standing amongst the ruins of a building created some 7 centuries ago. How did they have the skill and the patience? How did they scale such great heights without scaffolding?

Wandering around the grounds you are surrounded by nature whilst still in the centre of town. There is a sense of peace and tranquillity, an air of relaxation. It’s definitely a place to return to more than once armed with a picnic, a good book to read and endless time.

Leaving the abbey behind us we stopped at a lovely vegetarian cafe -The Blue Note, managing to find a table on the terrace outside in the afternoon sunshine. If like us on a day out you crave healthy salad as an alternative to your normal branded, reproduced, mediocre food fuel this is a definite place to try.
Following our lunch which left us both satiated and ready to move on we returned once again to Conan to top up our parking before heading out to visit Chalice Well and heading up the Tor itself. The route to the Tor is easy to follow and Chalice Well is a beautiful haven at which to stop en route either before or after your hike.
According to legend the Chalice Well is believed to have sprung from the ground at the location where the chalice (the Holy Grail), that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and in which drops of His blood were caught during the Crucifixion was placed.
Visitors can still drink the water which is today believed to possess healing properties.

Armed with a map of the gardens it is easy to follow the route around and visit each listed highlight. There are some lovely areas where you can stop and press pause on the life button, meditate or just soak up the quiet elements of nature. The water flows through the garden and there is a small pool where you can paddle or bathe in the waters. Overall just an oasis of calm….

The pathway up to the Tor is just behind the Chalice Well. Rising to 518 feet or as my Apple Health told me later equivalent to climbing 31 flights of 16 stairs, unless you are super fit, it’s not an easy climb. As a midlifer who walks regularly but definitely isn’t super fit I was quite pleased when youngsters half my age were also panting and taking a breath.

If you take a look at The National Trust website, who look after this precious hill, you will find a wealth of information about it’s history:
“Beneath the hill, it is said, that there is a hidden cave through which you can pass into the fairy realm of Annwn. There dwells the Lord of the Celtic underworld Gwyn ab Nudd with the Cauldron of Rebirth.

Later tradition has it that here lies the Holy Grail brought here by Jesus’s uncle, Joseph of Arimathea. The Cauldron and the Grail were both the object of quests for King Arthur and his knights.

Glastonbury has a long tradition of being ‘The Isle of Avalon’ where King Arthur went after his last battle. The monks of Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have actually found his grave in 1191.

Jesus is said to have come to Glastonbury as a boy, traveling here with Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph was a tin merchant and had travelled to the South-West for this valuable metal. This legend inspired William Blake to write the famous poem ‘Jerusalem’;

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the Holy Lamb of God 
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?’

Again whatever your belief prepare to be astounded by the 360 degree views from the top where on a clear day you can see out over the three counties of Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset as well as across the Bristol Channel to Wales.

Needless to say we returned to Conan full of a sense of achievement from the climb and leaving Glastonbury with a feeling of having experienced a great adventure encapsulated into this town full of integrity.

The Cotswolds – Royal Tetbury

When I was a young child my mother used to take me and my sister on the bus, from our home in Minchinhampton, to Tetbury on a regular basis.
We used to get off at the famous central Market Place and then walk up Cirencester Road to see my grandmother. She used to live in a bungalow in the middle of a field at the top of this road just before the junction with London Road and Cherington Lane. I remember it well particularly the lengthy vegetable patch with the outside loo positioned near the top!

These days Tetbury is often known locally as “Royal Tetbury” since Prince Charles (as he was then) moved into Highgrove back in 1980.
Located just 2 miles south west of Tetbury this Georgian neo-classical style house was built between 1796 and 1798 on the site of an older property.
The house was purchased by the Duchy of Cornwall for Charles, ahead of his marriage to Princess Diana. As such, ownership has now transferred to Prince William when his father acceded to the throne and he became Duke of Cornwall on 8 September 2022. The King and Queen, therefore, lease the house from the Duchy to use as a country residence.
After much renovation and hard work, Charles opened the gardens 25 years ago to visitors and up to 40,000 people now flock here every year to take part in garden tours and specific advertised events.

With over 1300 years of recorded history Tetbury, itself, is the second largest town in the Cotswolds and was developed on the site of an ancient hill fort, on which an Anglo-Saxon monastery was founded.
Like so many local towns and villages it played an important role in marketing Cotswold wool and yarn during the Middle Ages. As a result many of the houses you can still see today were originally built and financed on the proceeds of the sale of wool. Others display the changing architectural fashions of the last 400 years.

We arrived mid morning and having parked at the Chipping Car Park and paid for a 3 hr stay we wandered into the small adjacent shopping arcade for our first introduction, that day, into what now makes Tetbury famous -antiques!
Back in 2018 Homes and Antiques magazine named Long Street in Tetbury one of the UK’s top 10 favourite streets for shopping.

Browsing the lovingly designed small shops within the arcade we relish the fact that you are allowed to meander at will without the normal pressure of eagle eyed shopkeepers. The owners are around if you need them but merely impart a friendly smile and greeting which we willingly return.

Moving on we go to the Market Place, at the centre of town, which dates back to 1655. Being Wednesday there is a small farmers market, which can also be visited on Saturday, with their stalls perched underneath the beautiful pillars.

Crossing over to the right hand corner of the small roundabout we then begin our own stroll along the righthand side of Long Street.
French Grey is always a nice place to start. Founded by Sally Marks in 2005 this independent business that has grown into 5 beautiful shops over the years, is a great place to browse for gifts, jewellery and home accessories and is the starting point today for what turns into a pilgrimage to candles and diffusers. Every shop seems to haver a display. The ones sold here are hand poured and made in Wiltshire.

Moving along we are soon outside the famous Jesse Smith’s butchers. Owned by the Hawes family and with ancestry dating back to the early 1800’s this shop opened in the 1980’s. There is always an extensive array of meats, deli and other cooked items on display to choose from.

Moving on past the local Co-op supermarket we enter the beginning of the antiques quarter starting with the fairly new Amy Perry Antiques, then continuing onto Philip Adler Antiques, Westwood House, the Anne Fowler Antique Shop, Decorator Source and Trilogy Antiques, Dimity and Miss Brown’s Nice Things until we eventually arrive at Domestic Science. If you have read my previous post entitled “The Cotswolds -Shopping in Nailsworth” you will have read about my introduction to this independent home and lifestyle store.
This branch is arranged over three floors and has another brilliant cafe-Cafe 53 sequestered next door with a well crafted outdoor garden space at the rear. It was busy even midweek and thus with no tables currently free we booked a table for 1 p.m.
With just under an hour to kill and having fairly briskly perused the previous long list of antique shops we walked on up the road past The Police Museum (check this out online if you fancy visiting, it has free entry but restricted opening times) and crossed over the road to the far right corner and entered Top Banana Antiques.

I’m not going to lie, I’m not a great fan of antique stores although my appreciation of such items seems to be deepening as I too become older, maybe I am beginning to see the value of aging things?
The Top Banana Antiques Mall is an Aladdin’s cave. It’s like walking into an old, friendly home with rooms filled with everything you might be looking for to furnish your home or present as a gift for a birthday etc. This is my type of antiques shop. No posh voices, accentuated displays or inflated prices.
With over 50 dealers specialising in items such as Antique Country Furniture, Prints and Oil Paintings, Georgian and Victorian Furniture and China, French Painted Furniture and Kitchenalia, Antiquarian Books and Prints, Vintage Clothing and Textiles, plus a whole lot more it is well worth dropping into.
Just like the small mall at the start of our trip today no one is there to harass you. You can just meander at your will and if you are interested in an item you just take a note of its location and then make your way up to the retail point to discuss purchase.

Antique shopping finished for us for the day we make our way back to Cafe 53.
Opened in 2005, Café 53 began its life as a small 20 seat cafe, tucked behind Domestic Science. As its popularity grew the business expanded. You can now either enter direct from the shop or alternatively via the doorway entrance on Long Street. The dining area is light and airy and overlooks a lovely Mediterranean style water garden, with additional seating.
We take our seats at our reserved table right next to the window affording us a lovely view of the garden.
It’s a bit of a cold, Autumnal day so sitting inside is preferable although some folks are braver than us and take the outside option. We enjoy a beautiful lunch opting for the Ultimate 53 burger and a Saganaki Greek Salad followed of course by cakes and washed down with great hot coffee. This cafe is slightly more expensive than it’s sister branch in Nailsworth but that’s Tetbury pricing for you!

Conscious of our car park ticket running out my husband kindly walks back to the truck to refresh our parking for another hour while I make my way back down the opposite side of Long Street towards the Market Place. Skipping past another array of antique shops I stop off at The Cherry Tree.
With two shops, one here and the other in Malmesbury you can browse their beautiful range of ladieswear, fine gifts and decorative accessories. It’s certainly different to the normal hum-drum of so many High Street retailers, offering something that is quite often unique.

We finish our shopping on Long Street by popping into the Highgrove Shop. This is an opportunity to take something home from the King’s estate!
There’s lots to choose from whether it’s a gift you are looking for, some chinaware, a book or art, bath and body products, gardenware, even luxury food and drink including Highgrove champagne. They have done well to deliver so many choices in what is in effect just a local shop.

No visit to Tetbury is complete without a wander through Artique in Church Street. This amazing Central Asian Interiors and Carpets Shop is a rare find in the Cotswolds but so worth a visit. It really feels like you are entering a small part of India.

Housed in Talboys House since 1980, with carpets from Afghanistan, tribal furniture from the North West Frontier and exotic interiors from India it is so homely and warm.
It has grown to become one of the country’s leading sources of Central Asian artifacts and is so worth a visit while you are here.

Church Street is where my Mum lived in lodgings and thus where my Dad met her and romance blossomed.
Our final internal visit is just across the road from Artique – St Marys’ Church. This church also forms part of many family memories, aunts and uncles were married here, cousins were christened here and grandparents are buried here.
The impressive spire can be seen from all directions as you enter the town, the nave dates from the late 1770s, but the best part for me are the high box pews which are fast becoming unique as other local churches seek to replace them with more modern chairs and furniture! The church, as a whole, has a lovely light and airy feel to it. It is worth popping in, even if like me you may not be religious.

After a wander around the graveyard we make our way back to the car park making sure we stop off at Chipping Steps. These are in the corner of The Chipping car park and represent one of the original entrances to the town. The cottages running down the side, thought to be originally weavers’ cottages are really quaint and a great representation of the beautiful Cotswold’s district.

NB: This is the third of a series of posts about the wonderful “Cotswolds”. An area in the UK that you really shouldn’t miss out on visiting if you are coming to the UK. It’s full of olde world charm, history going back to the Roman era and beautiful architecture. Check out previous posts in this series plus more to come soon.
Please don’t forget to comment and/or like. I love to hear what my readers think. and also look forward to your recommendations of places to see in the Cotswolds for my future adventures Thank you