Gloucester Fortnight - Part 4

To read about this trip from the beginning - click here.
Gloucester

After a week of scoffing yummy food we knew we had better do a Parkrun. The weather was much better and we both did the Newent Parkrun, then went back to the guesthouse and watched James Martin's cooking show while washing and getting read to go to Gloucester. The key sights  - also known and the Gloucester 12 are: -


Gloucester Cathedral
There was the Crucible art expo on at Gloucester cathedral so we popped in there. Apparently some of the Harry Potter movie scenes were filmed in the Cloisters. Then we had lunch at the Guildhall. The Guildhall was having a One Direction special and was swarming with teenage girls. Then we took a stroll over to Gloucester Quays. Here old harbour warehouses have been restored and you can eat, shop, watch narrow boats tie up for the night, explore preserved old boats or read info boards scattered about giving info on how the quays worked in days
Bourton on the Water Cotswolds
gone by.

We headed back into town and had a take-out jacket potato at award winning pie shop just before they closed. We needed to have an early supper before going back to the B & B.

Sunday morning our guesthouse owner had come to terms with the demise of her cat and all the traumas of traveling so we decided to have her award winning breakfast. It was good. And good value. They do tend to go on about award winning this and award winning that in the UK. Almost every place had some award
Bourton on the Water Cotswolds
whether it was biggest pub, best pub, smallest pub, most loved pub, widest selection of beers pub. Basically every second place had won some award or other.

After breakfast our host kindly lent us a book on scenic drives in The Cotswolds. I don't know why we thought we could do it in a day. It's not a massive area (100 miles from north to south) but there are a LOT of villages and you mostly travel along narrow lanes which slows the trip right down. Houses in The Cotswolds have a distinct character, many built in honey coloured Cotswold stone. Timber and thatch also feature in local architecture. Development is limited to preserve the historical ambiance. You can also cycle or go walking through The Cotswolds. Go to www.cotswolds.com for more info. Sundays are busy and families flock into the region to wander around the villages, shop, eat ice-cream, have lunch,
Burford Cotswolds
visit museums about local industriess and characters, or just hang about. If you fancy something completely different try the - Museum of Mechanical Music - www.mechanicalmusic.co.uk .

The area in and around Gloucester has such a wide variety of things to do. From our walks in the Wye River Valley next to Wales, The River Severn, the country fair and book expo near Cheltenam, Gloucester itself and the historical buildings to The Cotswolds. We got to see a lot. The following morning we headed back to London to my husband's aunt. She had a fortnight without us and I can say hand on heart, was pleased to see us. If only for a few days.

For more on other places to visit scroll to My Holidays and Trips.

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