Chipping Campden and Broadway Tower: 17/4/23

 Breakfast is served late here, and mindful of the problems I have had with the Full English, I settled for poached eggs and avocado on toast. It was about 9.30 when I set out for a day around Chipping Campden, but since the sky is covered in clouds and looks exactly the same from 6 AM to 6 PM anyway, and the temperature remains the same at around 13 degrees, the time of day really doesn't matter, apart from my ensuring that things are open when I get there.

I found a pharmacist and bought some calamine lotion for my face and neck -- not the smelly pink liquid in a bottle, but an aqueous solution in cream. A very cursory survey of pharmacies here suggests to me that they don't have the same range of items as we do -- for instance, I was unable to buy urea cream elsewhere. But this stuff is helping to relieve the irritation.

Then I walked out along a loop track through Broad Campden, and across the sheep fields back to the road. It's lambing season, and most of the sheep have tiny babies scampering after them. But there's also the odd dead sheep and dangling placenta as a reminder of just how ghastly the whole business of life is. Hawks in the sky and lots of big grey and black ravens. The path was muddy but just about passable, with hundreds of footprints showing just how popular these walks are.

Back in Chipping Campden I took the car out and headed for Broadway Tower. Broadway, confusingly, seems to be a town, but Broadway Tower is nowhere near it. It's also, confusingly, on a narrow road, and of course since my car GPS only recognises street names, it took some finding. But I got there at last. It's a small tower -- only four storeys, with a room in each storey -- but beautifully made and preserved. Very expensive entry, but I'm getting used to that by now. Note to self: next time take out National Trust membership beforehand. It might even pay off now, but it certainly would have before I arrived. Although then, of course, I didn't know I would be driving.

A bored young girl checked my ticket and I climbed the stairs. The tower was built as a folly and inhabited by various notables, including William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, though they must have got sick of going up and down stairs. And the view from the top is spectacular.

There's a cafe and shop nearby, which is understandably more popular than the tower; a deer park and a circular walk around the site. It's actually on the Cotswold Way, so odd little groups of walkers come through and mingle with the tourists for a bit before going on. I had a nice lunch with pumpkin soup, cheese and a roll, and climbed back in the car with an aching knee.

I had briefly planned to inspect Evesham, but I gave up after getting bushed on the way there, and headed back to Chipping Campden. Again the stupid GPS was very little help, and I ended up driviing around the town twice before finding my way back to the parking lot. I dined off leftovers, watched a couple of episodes of Shakespeare and Hathaway, and went to bed.

Tomorrow, with luck, I visit a working steam railway and a castle.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tolldown to Bath via the American Museum: 25/4/23

 Tolldown's full English breakfast at the Crown was less generous than most other places, with only one small slice of toast and a single egg, but it was adequate, and I set out for the drive towards Bath in bright sunshine and a good mood -- which abated as I wrestled with the traffic. I had decided to come in obliquely via the large recreation areas to the south-east of Bath, but even getting there involved lots of narrow roads, up and down hills, one-way traffic lights for roadworks, and crossing the centre line to get around parked cars. On the way I drove through Bathhampton, which is where Arthur Phillip came from, and is buried, though I didn't know it at the time. This is also where they have a genuine private toll bridge, with two collectors holding out a bag and getting GBP1 from every car that comes through. At about 9:30 I reached my first destination, the American Museum, set up on the outskirts of Bath by yet another couple of rich gay Americans. This claims to be...
Read more

Day 5: Dunedin

Started the day with a walk down from the ridge of the Otago Peninsula. All the walks here either go straight up a mountain or straight down to the sea, so I went down as far as I could in the time available and then toiled back up again. Nice views over the sea and green farmlands, including some geese waddling uphill in a long line to be fed. In Dunedin I booked the coastal rail trip for 11.10 and then just strolled around a bit. They have closed off the famous Octagon to traffic, and the retailers aren't happy about it. Even with bunting and a stage it doesn't look particularly glamorous; I can't see it becoming a tourist mecca, even wth the visiting cruise liners. Caught the train along the coast and got to see the other side of the bay. Again, very spectacular views, with the same train captain giving his travelogue; but a much shorter trip which doesn't actually end anywhere important; just stops and turns around. Back in Dunedin I had fish and chips for lunch and...
Read more

Day 14: Te Anau to Alexandra

Quite a long drive, with a choice of routes. I chose to avoid the long windy mountain route with sections called things like 'The Devil's Staircase' and took the slightly longer (+15 mins) alternative back through Gore. The splendid weather continues, with bright sunshine all day and sunburn a real hazard. By the evening the temperature had risen to 29, and then the breeze kicked in. I stopped once for coffee in the morning, then continued on to Gore, where I had a pork burrito for lunch. Everything was open this time but I was still unable to find a place where I could get just, say, a Caesar salad. But the burrito was nice, and I ate it beside the river which was bursting its banks just a couple of days ago. Turned north at Gore and followed the Clutha River through the middle of the island. There was a bit of up-and-down but not too much, and some nice towns along the way. I stopped at Roxburgh for a stroll around, anf again at Alexandra itself, which has its o...
Read more