For this week’s coffee share/afternoon tea, I am inviting you to join Bill and me on a coach tour to the Windrush valley in the heart of the Cotswolds.

The Cotswolds are a designated area of outstanding natural beauty to the north of Bristol. The gentle hills and honey coloured houses are popular with tourists particularly Americans, the royal family and celebrities. My grandfather came from Moreton in Marsh so I have known the area all my life. Last week we went on a Cotswold coach tour and I thought I would share some of my photos. We enjoyed lunch in Burford and tea in Bourton on the Water, one of the most beautiful of the Cotswold villages.

River Windrush

Our trip took us along part of the Windrush valley. The name Windrush is familiar to many people as the name of the ship which brought postwar immigrants from the West Indies to Britain. The Windrush itself is a shallow fast flowing river. It rises near Winchcombe in Gloucestershire and flows east for about 40 miles to meet the Thames at Newbridge near Oxford. The river played an important part in the woollen blanket industry from the mid-17th century, its fast-flowing waters were used to power cloth-fulling mills. The region’s open grasslands and hill pastures are perfect for rearing sheep for wool. Blankets made in Witney were sold around the country for hundreds of years. Sadly, the town’s last blanket mill closed down in 2002, the woollen blanket having been well and truly replaced by the duvet.

Burford

Burford is about twenty miles from Oxford. The high street slopes down from the Wolds giving beautiful views over the surrounding countryside. Many of the old buildings which date from Tudor times rest at precarious angles.

The beautiful parish church is mainly 15th century. It underwent some rather drastic restoration in the 19th century. When William Morris objected the vicar of the time replied “the church is mine and if I choose I shall stand on my head in it”

We chose not to preform any gymnastics in the church but instead enjoyed a sausage sandwich and a coffee in the garden of a nearby cafe and watched the ducks lazily swimming on the river.

Bourton on the Water

It is easy to see why pictures of Bourton on the Water regularly appear on jigsaws, calendars and Christmas cards. The river Windrush flows through the centre of the town. The fast-flowing river is only about 12 inches deep and generations of children have enjoyed paddling in the clear water. The five low stone footbridges that cross the river date from 1654 to 1911. When we visited lots of visitors were sitting on the grassy banks each side and enjoying the sunshine.

For keen walkers like me, Bourton on Water has an added attraction as several long-distance footpaths converge nearby. A few years ago, I stayed in Bourton on the Water for a walking holiday and one evening we each had to design a homemade boat and race it down the river between two of the bridges. I did not win but at least I did not have to retrieve a sunken boat from the middle of the Windrush like some of the other walkers from our group.

As you might expect Bourton is full of antique shops, gift shops, tearooms and other ways of parting the thousands of tourists who visit every day from their money. The Christmas shop is a particular magnet for locals.

This time we chose to revisit the model village and the bird garden. Both of which were created by local eccentrics.

Model Village

The model village was the idea of a former landlord of the Old New Inn. It took local craftsmen five years to build and was opened in 1937 to mark the coronation of George VI and queen Elizabeth the Queen mother. It is built to 1/9th scale and even has its own model village also to 1/9 th scale. At the time it contained a model of every house in the village and even a flowing river and water mill. The real mill is now the local motor museum.

I was pleased to see that there were several new buildings since I first visited sixty years ago and I was amused to note that although entry to the village itself was by contactless card only, the turnstile to the separate tiny models exhibition inside needed a pound coin which I felt was very English.

Bourton on Water Birdland

If you follow the river through the village you will reach Birdland. The bird garden was created by a retired local builder. Native ducks and swans were joined by pelicans, flamingoes and penguins who also enjoy the river water.

A few years ago there were even more unexpected arrivals. Birdland acquired a poplar wood which had been planted by Bryant and May to turn into match sticks. Match making is another redundant Gloucestershire craft and the trees were saved. After a few years some dinosaurs moved in, to delight visiting children.

Maybe the Windrush valley once looked like this.