We headed off from Liverpool towards two days in the Cotswolds. We had a vague plan of where we wanted to go, but we were pretty flexible with it all. We stopped at a petrol station and grabbed a road map, to get a bit of an idea of where everything was, and to help us decide what we would drop in on. We decided we would visit both Hidcote Manor and Kiftsgate Manor. On the way to Hidcote, we stopped at a little antique shop around Mickelton and bought a fabulous plate and fancy bowl. We’ve decided we are going to replace our cheapo every day dinner set with odds and ends china plates and bowls from all over the place.
Hidcote was very pretty – a lovely garden created in 1907, designed to turn its 10 acres into ‘outdoor rooms’. It was really big, and quite busy, and we wandered through the different gardens, sniffing (with Jamie sneezing) our way along. Like most gardens we have seen, there were enormous hydrangeas, and a variety of colourful flowers, most of which I haven’t seen before. There was a long avenue of very tall trees, with some metal artwork giraffes tucked away in it. It was incredibly peaceful there, and I could well imagine horses and carriages in days gone by, rattling their way over the lumps and bumps in the driveway. There were bumblebees everywhere, and I tried so many times to get a good photo of one, and then Jamie noticed a little hare, tucked safely under some leaves in one of the gardens. I can’t say it was a very fragrant garden though, which surprises me with it being summer and all. The smell of the lavender and camellias at Antony is still impressed on my mind, and I was hoping this garden would be a mess of lovely smells, but alas!
Across the way from Hidcote, was Kiftsgate Manor. (http://www.kiftsgate.co.uk/). Jamie decided to sit this one out as she was sneezing a lot, so Mark and I wandered in. It was only open for another hour, so we had to walk quickly. It was a small garden, but it was the most beautiful garden either one of us had seen. I think because it was smaller, every type of colourful plant and flower was crammed into every available space. There was a section entirely full of different bright colours, with a fabulous little fountain in the middle. A series of hedges on the side, opened onto a lawned area with a very modern fountain made of metal water lillies atop 12-15 foot high poles. Each lilly spilled water into a very deep, black lined rectangular pond.
The garden was tiered, and also on the side of a very large hill, and so it spilled downwards, and looked out onto fabulous farmland (with black faced sheep). As we walked along the tiers, heading towards the lower gardens (and their amazing swimming pool), we came across some bunches of roses that were a lovely deep red, with at least 10-12 flowers in bunches, and around 6-8 of these bunches on the (very large) bush itself. They didn’t smell though! We made it to the lower gardens, and sat back and looked out across the fields for a while. There was a fir tree forest across to the side of the fields, and as the wind moved through it, the trees made a lovely soft rustling sound. It was beautifully quiet, and fantastically relaxing, so we just sat, and looked, and absorbed it all.
Back into the car and we headed back to Kenilworth and our hotel. We made a detour via Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare’s town) and pulled in to take a look at the very picturesque river. I should mention here for our fellow Aussies, it is daylight in England until around 9:30pm! Early sunrise, late sunset – so it’s helped us fit in seeing everything we have wanted to see. It was a little bizarre though as I am pretty certain I didn’t see ‘night time’ until we had been here for four days! Anyway, Stratford - there were swans everywhere we looked. People were feeding them from the riverbanks, so they were big, and happy, and en masse! We decided to go for a boat ride up the river, it was one of the things recommended in a travel book – so I wanted to do it. Not sure if Mark or Jamie were particularly keen, but once we were on the boat, gliding gracefully down the river Avon, we all settled back and soaked in the atmosphere – swans, signets and all.
Take a look at our Hidcote, Kiftsgate and Stratford photos here!
Take a look at our Hidcote, Kiftsgate and Stratford photos here!
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