Bourton on the Blog

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Bourton on the Blog

Postby Gary » 13 Nov 2009, 19:48

Accompanying Ann, Isabel and I on this 7 day holiday (21st August 2009 to 28th August 2009) was my mother in law and my father in law.

A holiday in the Cotswolds was originally the wish of my father in law who had never been there before and, who, despite major heart problems was adamant that he was going to enjoy himself.

And enjoy himself he did.

In fact we all did.

To be honest if someone had suggested to me beforehand about going on a holiday to the Cotswolds I probably would have given them short thrift.

I don't know why.

Maybe it was the idea of pushing my father in law around in a wheelchair for 7 days in the area that had me thinking?

The Cotswolds is not exactly the flattest part of the country.

Unfortunately our trip down was horrendous. Some music festival was on somewhere en route and other things conspired to double the estimated travel time.

By the time we reached Bourton I reckon we had been travelling for 6.5 hours and Bourton was very quiet by the time we got there!

Kudos to B Mobile - A company in Bourton on the Water who rent out wheelchairs and other aids to mobility.

Ann had spoken to a gentleman called Sean prior to our arriving and he had suggested to us that he could drop off the 'lightweight' wheelchair at the cottage for us.

A quick phonecall to let him know we were running late and lo and behold there he was waiting for us at Bow Cottage in his van. He didn't want paying straightaway either - he suggested we got settled into the cottage first.

Fantastic service all round.

We were all struck by the beauty of Bourton on the Water.

Images that have stayed with me from that day we arrived:

An old bridge that we drove over. A lovely summer evening. 'The Mouse Trap.' A church. A sign advertising a farmers' market on Sunday. The Perfumery. The stone walls. The shops. The cottages. The peace and quiet. Victoria Street. The small lounge in the cottage. The cottage garden. A 'dog walking his owner'. Some ducks. Another bridge.

It may seem strange to those who have the stamina and patience to read this thread that over the course of the week we didn't venture much outside Bourton on the Water - but in all honesty as the days flew by we didn't honestly feel we needed to.

Day 2:

Much of this was exploring what Bourton on the Water had to offer.

It's a place that appeared choc full of people during the day and very quiet by night.

That suited us fine. There was a great atmosphere by day and the weather we had was great.

Ann, Isabel and mother in law went to explore the perfumery on Day 2 and I took my father in law (wheelchair et al) to the Motor museum.

I have to be honest and say that cars don't exactly set my world alight but I love things history and this museum delivered this in bucket loads.

I wasn't expecting much from the museum but I was very much surprised.

It was much bigger than I thought and very well laid out.

I would advise anyone to go and to take their time when going round.

Look up at the ceiling when you can because by just looking in front of you you may miss all sorts of bikes and memorabilia from the past hanging from the rafters.

If there is a space in this museum to be had you can bet your life there will be something on show there.

I loved the sixties / seventies section: the caravan, the LPs on show, the Rolf Harris Stylophone, the mini, the petrol pumps, the bikes, Brum.. everything.

Excellent value for money and one of the best museums I've set foot in in a long time.

We met up with the others outside the perfumary and it appeared that they had really enjoyed themselves.

The £5 tour they had taken had proved good value for money although they had reluctantly passed on the "Make your own perfume" session that was available for a little over £100

Day 3:

What is it about The Edinburgh Wool Mill? :-)

Not a shop I often frequent but a shop both my wife and mother in law felt the urge to enter every time we passed by the front entrance.

...And that was a few times I can tell you!

I may be mistaken but I'm sure it was open on the sunday as well.

How many woollen scarves and cardigans can you look at?

How many tins of shortcake biscuits on sale in the sale can you contemplate buying for neighbours?

Luckily the four of us managed to bypass the Mill shop first thing on the sunday.

My father in law glanced and smiled at me from his wheelchair when we just happened to cross the road some way up from the said shop.

He was aware of my tactics.

..Shrewd man that! :-)

The hill towards the Farmers' Market was small & so was the market but.. Hey! It had a great atmosphere.

Bread. Meat. Cider. Pies. Flowers. Chutney. Cider. Pickles. Trout. Cakes. Cider. Cheese. Honey. Jam. Cider. Sausages...Have I mentioned Cider?

I bought some cider.

I had never tasted cider that didn't have fizz in it before but I tasted some and bought several bottles of the stuff.

..er....as you do!

I think I remember drinking some of the cider when the family had a game of cards that night.

I also remember having a flush of sorts but it had nothing to do with the card game.

The words "Old" and Isaac" come to mind - I thought that was the name of the cider but my wife duly informs me that was the brand name of the pickle we bought at the market.

Pickle?

I don't know about you but the idea of relish or pickles on my sandwiches doesn't exactly fill me with gastronomic excitement.

Get this though..I can't get enough of the stuff since I have been back home and I have been looking for it in the markets of St Helens

I'm hooked and it worries me.

Jeez! What do you call an addiction to Tomato relish?

I enjoyed the market. I enjoyed the walks. I even enjoyed pushing my father in law in his wheelchair.

Bourton on the water isn't totally wheelchair friendly:It took great strength to push my father in law up one particular stone bridge crossing the Windrush and had I not held on tight to the contraption on the other side then no doubt he would have freewheeled and landed face first into an unsuspecting tourist's Ploughman's Lunch.

I'm glad we went on holiday.

..and I'm glad my father in law came too.

Although his illness meant he nearly didn't.

Day 4:

I loved the model village at Bourton.

I love model villages full stop but this one was unique.

It was a model of the village of Bourton all recreated on a 1:9 scale - Usually model villages are built in a scale of 1:12 and are based on a 1920s / 30s idyll of a place somewhere that is 'forever England'

What I liked about this quirky set up at Bourton was the fact that there was a model of the village within the model village (Does that make it a scale of 1:81?)

All the shop names were true to Bourton..None of your Lee Key the Plumbers' Merchant here :-)

To be fair the model village isn't totally suitable for wheelchairs but my father in law enjoyed what he was able to see and the sun shone that day.

Favourite shop / attraction for 3 out of the 4 of us along the main Bourton High street goes to another quirky place: The Living Green Centre - Things Eco with a wonderful garden at the back complete with grass on the roof and a bath..

Don't take it from me - Take a look yourselves if ever you get to Bourton. It's a great place!

I said 3 out of 4 of us because my favourite place just had to be the model shop.

Come on..Which forty something guy doesn't like a model shop?..I'm talking Hornby, Farrish, Bachmann, Ertl and Thomas the Tank here.

Best of all for a couple of £s you can walk through the turnstiles at the back and view some truly great model railway layouts.

Kids there looked restless and bored.

Adults didn't.

I left the others milling outside the Edinburgh Woollen shop and sneaked into this wonderful oasis on a couple of occasions in the holiday.

I think if my father in law hadn't been feeling unwell that day and stayed at the cottage he would have loved the place!

Ah well..

That night I had arranged to meet someone for the first time in person after communicating via 7 years worth of email correspondence. He turned up in his car and parked behind the cottage and we went to a local, quiet pub and spent the night talking about things amusement parks.

What a great night!

What a great person!

What great company!

...Cheers Nick! :wink:

Days 5 & 6:

Well, day 5 had seen all 5 of us venturing out of Bourton to Stow on the Wold and The Slaughters and beyond in the car.

It had all been very nice.

But on the morning of day 6 my father in law wasn't feeling too good.

We remained in Bourton.

No problem that.

Bourton in it's way is a self contained theme park.

Besides we were liking Bourton.

I don't think I would have liked to have been one of the many tourists that we saw get off one of the many coaches and have just a couple of hours to make the best of the place.

Like anywhere you need time in a place to properly appreciate things.

Bourton on the Water is no different.

The sweet shop with the jars of sweets. The cottages. The Windrush. The bridges. The ford. People sitting on the grass. Fish 'n' Chips. Arty Crafty. Bill Barr Fine art. Bits 'n' Bobs. Discount China. The Church and the board advertising its services. The sign advertising The Farmers' Market. The Mouse Trap. The pottery next to the Budlea with all those butterflies on it. Seasons at Christmas Corner. Shalom. The Post Office. The tourist information centre. That dog taking its owner for a walk again. Early morning walks to the bakery to buy croissants and pain au chocolat and bread.

If there is anything I would say to anyone who might be reading this and thinking of going to Bourton on the Water it is quite simply this:

Don't snap your camera and go with images you will never get developed..

Be anti 2009, stay longer and let the images remain on your brain..

Take time to explore the alleyways and get a feel of the place.

If I sound like an advert for the place then so be it.

Day 6 was our first and only day of overcast weather..Well the morning anyway.

I felt the early morning weather took on the traits of the mood hanging over the family that morning:

One of worry and concern we had for my father in law.

It all seemed strange and somewhat spooky that the weather should reflect our mood of uncertainty and concern hanging over us.

I thought Personification and / or prophetic fallacy only existed in books and films...but no, it exists in real life too :-)

The quiet that morning as we sat around the kitchen table was interrupted by the sound of horses hooves: A guy riding a horse going past the cottage window and smiling at us as he rode by.

Welcome relief.

From that moment on my father in law was determined he wanted to go outside and enjoy the rest of the holiday.

"Let's go out"

Kudos to him.

The afternoon turned out fine and after the 5 of us had enjoyed eating an icecream and watching some ducks do what ducks do on the River Windrush we headed for Birdland.

I didn't have high hopes for Birdland.

I should stop trusting my judgement too much.

It was by far one of the best afternoons this extended family of 5 had had anywhere on our annual holidays over the last 10 years or so.

It was great just milling round, feeding the fish on the lake, looking at the penguins, staring at birds through wire mesh that perhaps we wouldn't have done back home and just enjoying what the place had to offer.

The sun shone on our quality time together.

The coffee and food we had was great at the cafe there and for a moment I felt more relaxed than I have for a long time.

It was just all so tranquil and nice that afternoon.

My father in law took many photos from his camera whilst sitting in his wheelchair but like all images snapped, they just didn't capture the essence of the time or place.

Even now when I look at the images I think that.

The Last Full Day:

I would definately go back to Bourton on the Water even though we probably saw nearly everything it had to offer. :-)

I say nearly because we didn't get to see the Dragonfly Maze situated next to Birdland.

The maze blarb:

"The Dragonfly Maze was inspired by a long line dating back to the year 2500 BC and was begun in 1995. The creator's ambition was realised by combining a traditional Yew Hedge Maze with a Rebus Puzzle. The central pavilion, constructed of local materials, houses the fabulous automated sculptures hand crafted by artist, sculptor and writer Kit Williams. Find your way to the centre of the maze, picking up clues on the way. Once you reach the ornate central pavilion which houses the mysterious 'Minotoad', see if you can discover the secret hiding place of the Golden Dragonfly"

..Sounded interesting anyway and I have to admit to liking these sort of things. :-)

It did cross my mind to go back there on our last full day but it wasn't to be and besides there was more shopping to be had.

..something to go back for.

I think we will go back someday.

I would love to.

Not sure when.

But definately will do.

Even now I still miss the compactness of the cottage. The breakfast table in the kitchen. The small front room where we played cards each night. The neat front lawn. The goodsized back lawn. Recycling the rubbish into several bins around the side of the cottage. Sitting in the suntrap of an extension at the rear of the cottage. The steep but perfectly manageable narrow stairs of the cottage. The comfy beds.

I even miss the outdated TV and its equally outdated VHS tapes in the drawer. There was even space to park the car around the side of the cottage which was a big plus for us.

To be honest I think all of us knew at the time that this holiday would be the last we would all spend together as an extended family of five but we just didn't talk about it at the time.

..and so it was to be.

Sadly, my father in law's condition deteriorated somewhat after we returned home.

Bourton on the Water provided an excellent backdrop to some perfect family time and its steeply pitched roofs and its stone mullions and its dormer windows and its warm yellow Cotswold stone and its welcoming pubs and its interesting shops serve, I think now, as a great epitaph of sorts to a man who will be very sadly missed by this family.

He died on the 22nd September 2009.

...Bourton on the Water?

Yes.

Recommended.

:-)

Thanks for reading

Gary
Please pass through the turnstiles if you are riding again.
Gary
 
Posts: 537
Joined: 26 Jan 2003, 21:45
Location: St Helens

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