Tania treated us to a weekend in the Cotswolds the week we arrived. The last time I was in London, I took the same drive through this picturesque part of England and my memories of the journey were of beautiful landscapes and serene surroundings. This time, we saw the same beautiful lush green fields and quaint villages although it was much less serene with a screaming baby and whiny little boy in the backseat. Nevertheless, I'm still very glad we did this although Tania might think otherwise! Hopefully, Ryan will have some good memories of our road trip even when he's older.
With these two little monkeys, just getting out of the house took forever. "Ryan, put on your shoes, take your bag, go wee wee... Mia, DON'T take off your shoes, put that shirt back in the bag...." Then there was the other case of me almost having a nervous breakdown when I asked Tania rather casually that morning if she had the journey mapped out and she told me, "oh we'll work it out" to which I replied "well okay, do you at least have a map then???" Apparently not, because we ended using her little A-Z. Call me anxious but the last thing I want with two restless kids in the car is to be driving around with no clear directions on where we're going!
The plan was to drive to Oxford, stop for lunch then drive to Warwick where we would spend the night and hit Warwick Castle the next morning. But as soon as we turned off at the Oxford exit we got stuck in terrible traffic. So much for lunching in Oxford so we bought some bacon sandwiches from a truck stand and ate them in the car instead. Three hours later, and several crying fits and temper tantrums, we arrived in Warwick and checked into a small B&B, Austin Guest House. The look on Ryan's face was priceless when we told him that this was our hotel! "This house is a hotel?"
Mama's little helper
I took the kids out for a walk and at the same time let Tania get some well-deserved shut-eye. There was a huge Tesco conveniently located just behind our B&B so Mama here had a blast walking down the aisles and picking up bits and pieces.
Icy poles on a hot, hot day (from Tesco no less!)
When we finally dragged Tania out of bed, we drove to Strathford-Upon-Avon for dinner. Of course once we were there, I just "had" to find Shakespeare's birthhouse. But after circling around the tiny town a couple of times, we gave up and just went for second best, Shakespeare's wife's house. Since visiting hours were over, plus the fact that Ryan had fallen asleep in the car, we could not go inside for a look but I still insisted that Tania run up to take a photo of the house - just for Mum!
Anne Hathaway's cottage
Back-breaking nap!
We stopped for dinner at The Bell, a local pub a few minutes away the cottage. It was such a lovely balmy evening so we ate out in the open air in their lovely courtyard with the sun still shinning down on us at 8pm. Even the kids perked up and behaved incredible well throughout the meal!
Pimms, juicy steak and well-behaved kids (for the most part anyway!) on a beautiful English summer night
Cheesy chippy grin - chips for dinner, what a treat!
Warwick Castle - a medieval castle built by William the Conquerer in 1068 sits on a bend on the River Avon. From 1088, the castle traditionally belonged to the Early of Warwick, and it served as a symbol of his power. The castle was taken in 1153 by Henry II. It has been used to hold prisoners, including some from the Battle of Poitiers in the 14th century. Under the ownership of Richard Neville – also known as "Warwick the Kingmaker" – Warwick Castle was used in the 15th century to imprison the Edward IV. Since its construction in the 11th century, the castle has undergone structural changes with additions of towers and redesigned residential buildings. Originally a wooden motte-and-bailey, it was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century. During the Hundred Years War, the facade opposite the town was refortified, resulting in one of the most recognisable examples of 14th century military architecture. In the 17th century the grounds were turned into a garden. The castle's defences were enhanced in the 1640s to prepare the castle for action in the English Civil War. Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke was a Parliamentarian, and Royalist forces laid siege to the castle. Warwick Castle withstood the siege and was later used to hold prisoners taken by the Parliamentarians. The Tussauds Group purchased Warwick Castle and opened it as a tourist attraction in 1978 (taken from Wikipedia).
This was definitely a day well-spent. Ryan was extremely excited about being in a real castle, seeing the knights and horses was an added bonus. It was a pity we missed the jousting competition several days. Ryan still talks about that and reminds me that we will HAVE to go back to see the jousting.
Our tiny room but it could still fit a single bed where I was standing
Impressive view of the castle tower
Prisoners in the stock
Sword wielding knights
Old (was) woman having a coronary at a tea party??? (Photo by Master Ngam)
Medieval armour (photo by Master Ngam - anything dangerous looking will get the attention of this 5 year old!)
Ryan's dream come true - surrounded by knights and horses
Looking a little worried coming out from the underground gaol
Mighty Ryan trying to extract Excalibur (some replica of it anyway!)
A new favourite - jacket potatoes
A little archer in the making - not bad on the targets
He enjoyed it so much we went back for a second round
Munchkins with Yee Chai
Outside the castle grounds
The four travelling companions
Waiting for the trebuchet show to start
The storyteller telling the tale of the mighty dragon slayer
Mesmerised - both with their hanging open
Walking up 200 steps to the top of the tower
Infront of the clock tower
From the castle, we then drove through the town of Chipping Campden, to our next hotel. After the B&B in Warwick, this place was luxurious in comparison. The kids actually had enough space to run about in the room, and thank goodness for the blockout curtains, we finally got over our jetlag and both kids slept until 7am the next morning. Bliss!
Room still in tip top shape
The next morning...
Poor little peasant girl
Breakfast of fried eggs, sausages, hash browns, blood sausage and fried kipper... delicious!
Babies of the family
Still terrified of the grass so poor Koh-koh ended up with a heavy load
Our hotel, also the home of the Pudding Club where "they keep the tradition of the great English puddings alive". Pity the puddings weren't as exceptional as they claimed to be.
From there we continued on our road trip and drove to Broadway, a pretty little town, the next morning. "The street through Broadway was an ancient 'ridgeway' and and the main road from Worcester to London. It remains a wide street or 'broad way' hence the name."
Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway
So pleased because he'd just scored himself a new toy from Yee Chai
Locally made ice-cream served by pink ladies from the pink striped ice-cream cart - just too hard to resist!
Now that's more like the London buses that we're used to. Sadly they're only used as tourists buses nowadays
Outside an old-fashioned lolly shop
Liquorice allsorts - just like the ones in his story book, Daisy Allsorts. Unfortunately, after one bite, he decided they didn't taste as good as they looked so he saved them for Daddy!
I would have dearly loved to have made more stops along the way but with the two little kiddies, jumping in and out of the car to look at quaint little shops or cafes just wasn't going to happen. Since it was already way past lunch time, we decided to stop at Stow-on-the-Wold to get some food. Actually looking back, I wish we'd stopped a further down at Bourton-On-the-Water instead. When we drove through the town, there were all these people having their picnics along the grassy banks of the river and they even had a band there providing entertainment for the weekend revelers. It looked like the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon. Oh well...
Strolling through "Stow-On-The-Wold"
Ryan and his travelling companions enjoying a bit of Bugs Bunny humuor as we wait for lunch
Sunday roast beef and yorkshire pudding, grilled chicken caesar salad (Yee Chai trying to be healthy) and kiddie's fish and chips
Bourton-On-The-Water - where we SHOULD have stopped
A gorgeous English summer day
The water looked so inviting but I'm not sure if I would have been game enough to share the same bath with those doggies!
Picture perfect - green trees, blue skies and fluffy white clouds
