Day 8, Part 2 -- 1 May 2013 - Bibury, or I've Died and Gone to Heaven

After I left Sudeley Castle, I drove back to Winchcombe and found a little spot for lunch. My regret is that I can't for sure remember the name of the place. It was a pub, but they sent me to the back terraced lawn, where several picnic tables were already filled with people, their dogs at their feet. It was so bright and warm that a sun umbrella would have been nice. My selection for lunch was, of course, the "bacon" with melted brie cheese and avocado; no cranberry sauce this time.

After I paid, I asked the barkeep what the quickest way to Bibury would be. She replied that there was a beautiful country drive I could take but it was one lane in many areas, and twisty and hilly. She saw my look of consternation and so directed me another way. Of course I forgot what she had said as soon as I buckled up and started the car. NavMan to the rescue. Guess which way it directed me? You got it. The twisty, hilly, one-lane-in-most-spots beautiful country road. I would have been an idiot to go any other way.

A few hints at driving a road like that: when spotting an oncoming car, one of you is going to have to pull over, practically into the ditch, to let the other one by. For the next 30 miles, I encountered only one driver who "took" his right of way and barreled through. Oh, and a very large tour bus. I gave him his right of way, no questions asked, and silently cursed that there was no law forbidding very large tour buses from traversing that road. The other thing that I found is that when I gave the other driver right of way to pass first, they always smiled and waved at me. Always. And I smiled and waved back. Except for the bus driver. He was probably too busy keeping that yacht-on-wheels from going over the edge.

At several points, I drove on a normal two or four lane road for a bit, but most of the trip was the one-lane thing. And there were a few stretches that they had those dry stack fences for quite a ways on both sides of the road. Regret: I didn't get a photo. After a time, what with all the shifting up and down, I began to feel like a Grand Prix driver. What does that tell you about my speed . . . ?

I pulled over when I came upon this view. The little village way down below? Winchcombe. Shows how far the little Corsa and I climbed in a very short time.

 

Zoom in on Winchcombe.

For being over 30 miles away, I reached Bibury in around 45 minutes. In Bibury there's a place called Arlington Row that sits off the road, and it's quite the internationally known tourist spot to photograph. Parking on both sides of the road is abundant for cars and tourist buses alike. I didn't see Arlington Row right then. All I saw were many cars pulling off to park, so I pulled off, too, but only to make a phone call to the Bibury Court Hotel to find out where they were. A quarter mile down the road and excellent signage led me right to them. I remember thinking, I feel like royalty because I've just arrived at my castle. (Little green Corsa sure stands out, doesn't it?)

The wall just beyond the large evergreen establishes the north boundary of the property, and the lane to the left of that tree is the one coming in from the main road.

 

And where the person in the red coat is standing? That's the east boundary. This was also one of the views out the window of my room.

To the right of the view above, the property extends to the River Coln, which is just beyond that large, leafless tree.

 

You can see a bit of the river here as I turn back toward the south side of the Bibury Court.

 

Original structure was built in 1633.

 

They had a number of umbrellas for guests to grab if it was raining. Nah. Seems like I brought warm sunny weather all the way from Florida.

 

Each room had a name. Mine was Barebone's. It was anything but.

 

When I came through the door . . .  the window to the right overlooks the front entrance and courtyard where my car was parked. The other window looked out onto the expansive lawn and beyond. With the windows open, I could hear bleating sheep in the pasture beyond the lawn.

And if you followed my trip on Facebook, this is the bathroom I raved about. Well, the bedroom, too. All of it actually. Now you get to see it secondhand.

 

 

Sure got used to those towel warmers.

 

I insert this photo here because it has an interesting story. On one night table was Blenheim Palace still mineral water, on the other was sparkling water. Blenheim Palace was the birthplace and boyhood home of Winston Churchill. The water was excellent.

 

I have to admit that sleeping in all of these very, very old places gave me the willies just a tad. You know. Ghosts? Starting from when I stayed at Russells of Broadway, I said a prayer every night that if there were any evil spirits around, they would be banished while I was there; and if there were friendly yet mischievous spirits, that they would leave me alone. Or better yet, banished also until I had left. Honestly, I felt at times that God placed guardian angels to watch over me while I slept. In any event, I never had one bad dream or felt an unexplained touch or had any of my stuff mysteriously moved.

 

From the outside looking up to my room.

 

It's the window on the right -- the one with no lamp on.

 

 

For my first day there, I (surprise!) did a ton of walking. The hill full of sheep beyond the hotel's lawn intrigued me, so I set off for there first.

 

See the lane to the left coming from the main road? After gazing upon and listening to the sheep, I followed that lane behind me back up to some houses that I'll post below. Let's take a closer look at the sheep, especially the lambs, first. Aren't they adorable?

Close up detail of the dry stack fence.

 

A much better look at the River Coln. The sheep and pasture are way to the left (obviously out of the photo). This bridge is an extension of the lane seen earlier. And with such intriguing buildings beyond the river, of course I had to walk and explore. Of course.

This is a tributary leading into the river beyond the wooden bridge.

So further down the lane I go.

 

Then I found a spot to sneak peek back over the lane and into the pasture.

Walking onto the arched bridge.

 

One shot I did not get was the pasture fencing running parallel to the river, about 20 feet away from it. When I came back to this spot from my extended walk up the lane, a lamb was bleating its heart out for its mama. The lamb had somehow gotten outside of the pasture fence. When it saw me approach, it ran up to the gate, which had a sign reading, "Private Property. No Trespassing." I thought, if I'm trying to get the lamb back over the fence to its mother, how can they fault me for "trespassing." So I climbed over the gate and tried to approach the lamb. Mama ewe was having none of it, though, and ran back the other way, bleating the entire time to try to draw the lamb away from me. She succeeded. The lamb was too fast for me to chase. The only time I panicked is when the lamb was about 40 feet away from me and suddenly took an interest in the river. Mama bleated at it again, drawing it back. All I could do was say a prayer that the lamb would find its way back through the fence into the pasture.

 

I walked back to the hotel and then on around back of it, where I found acres of beautiful gardens. I can't imagine how different it will look during the summer with everything in full leaf.

The stone wall is the boundary of the hotel, and this church set on the other side. I loved the bells that chimed the hour.

The back of the hotel. The extended glass solarium is where I ate breakfast both mornings I was there. Who wouldn't love that view back out to those gardens?

 

That first night I dressed up somewhat and dined at the hotel in the formal dining room. When I sat down, there were more forks and spoons and knives in the place setting than I had ever seen, anywhere. I didn't know what half of them were for. If I had had my camera, I would have taken a photo. The food was excellent, all gourmet with combinations I never would have thought of. The wait staff acted like they couldn't do enough to please you, your wish was their command. Service? They had it in spades.

 

When I returned to my room for the evening, I was one happy, happy girl. Couldn't wait for what the next day would bring. Hopefully, though, no more stranded lambs.