At last! Spring has arrived. The clouds cleared and we have had such lovely weather this week. Even better for me as I have had two delightful tours this week with a couple from Chicago.
As ever, I prepared my VW vehicle in the morning with a good wash and scrub and my little posy of flowers to go inside.
I collected my guests from their beautiful Oxford hotel in the morning and took them off to Burford, Bourton on the Water, Stow on the Wold and then to my favourite pub in the Cotswolds in a village outside of Burford. In the little village of Shilton is the Rose and Crown pub.
Why do I love this little pub so much? Well, Matt the landlord is your perfect landlord. My guests go dreamy eyed in this pub. The food is excellent, friendly Matt owns the pub, I have gotten to know the regulars, their names (and their favourite seats at the bar!) and they are always consistently friendly and chatty to my guests. My guests are always VIPs in my world and I appreciate any Cotswoldy folk who understand this and assist in wanting to chat to them and find out all about them and where they are from. Matt knows that that their sticky toffee pudding has to be on the menu that day I’m coming. It’s the best, anywhere.
After lunch I took my guests to Cotswold Woollen Weavers, which I just love. This business in the village of Filkins is unique, selling British made blankets and clothing, using high quality products. The site itself is fascinating. The shop is housed across an old farm site so the individual buildings include a huge barn and smaller former animal sheds, all centred around a pretty courtyard. Its charming and of course, my guests loved it there, and appreciated that it is a special place.
On the second day, we went to Hidcote Manor Gardens. You definitely need a car to get you there, it is quite remote. The gardens are still in skeletal form at the moment, though the spring flowers are all in bloom – daffodils, polyanthus, and, oh my! Magnolias. The trees there are huge and stunning right now. Another week and they will be in their full glory. It always feels like such a privilege to visit Hidcote. I am in my ultimate happy place when we go.
Guests always like the gift shop and I love the plant shop. I managed to leave without even buying a single plant! Probably because I know I have lots of planting still to do at home in my own garden, so no new purchases until all my new plant ‘babies’ have been taken care of.
In the afternoon we went to Broadway village, where my guests wandered at their leisure for an hour around all the small shops and boutiques. We threw off our jackets and visitors were enjoying ice creams! In March! The great British public cannot resist the opportunity to sit outside on a bench and enjoy a My Whippy 99, (old school whipped vanilla ice cream in a cone with a chocolate flake that used to be an extra £0.99 when I was just a little girl )
Everyone was smiling and frankly, grateful to be there in that peaceful, scenic Cotswold village on a warm bright day in spring.
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