Hey folks! So here's the long-awaited post of our Cotswolds trip-- sorry to be getting so behind on these.
This is R&R week here at ASE, which consists of lots of trips, and lots of expectation of getting work done (the first has happened, the second.... yeah, no. I'm not being productive at all).
We got up nice and early and hopped on the bus, and drove almost two hours to... Broadway! Bet you didn't guess I'd be so close to Broadway, huh? Well, of course, Broadway is a tiny little village in the middle of the Cotswolds, which, according to Andrew Butterworth, is sheep country. The Cotswolds were very rich villages many moons ago, because they were the center of the textile industry ('cuz that's where all the sheep were), and nowadays, they are a 'tourist honeypot' (thanks again to Andrew Butterworth for his adorable phrases)-- quaint country villages with pretty, green, rolling hills (covered in fluffy white sheep).
Sorry. I got distracted by sheep. Anyway, we went to Broadway, by way of Broadway Tower.
Give my regards to.... Broadway Tower?
Broadway Tower is what those up on their 18th century architecture call a "folly"-- basically, a totally pointless structure built by rich people to show off how much money they have to just throw around. This particular folly was built by the man who owned an estate about 12 miles away as a birthday gift to his wife-- the whole point was that it had to be big enough for her to be able to see it from her bedroom window. Yeah.
The Tower has been somewhat useful over the years-- it was useful militarily for a little while, and at one point it housed several Pre-Raphaelite painters, and someone used it as a normal house a few decades ago... and now it's just a place to see some spectacular views of four different counties:
Uh... this isn't scenery, but it's our whole programme! Yay!
Then we embarked on a trek down to the actual village of Broadway-- it involved a two mile walk down through pastures, over gates (yes, we climbed over gates), down some big ol' hills, and through some sheep.
Oh, it's just so picturesque!
Frolicking down the hill. No, really-- we actually frolicked; skipping, twirling, running... it was so marvelous. I felt five years old again. And really, you can't not frolick through fields like these.
HEEPS!!! We actually just walked right through a pasture full of sheep. It was great.
Then we actually made it to the village itself, which was cute, and had lots of antique shops and such. But we just walked through-- we were all very hungry by this point, and lunch was at the next stop.
Aww. It's cute. Ok, I'm hungry-- let's go.
Stop #2: Bourton on the Water. We took a quick bus ride a few villages over to this equally cute village, where we all split up for lunch. My friends and I went to a pub-- pretty standard, but nice-- I'm really starting to get attached to pubs... I'm going to miss them.
"Yo Duck. I saw your mutha last night. She looked good, if you know what I mean." Oh man, Oxford punting.... good times.
Ok, I'll stop being sentimental and stuff. We took another bus ride to Chavenage House-- a great estate in a town between two royal residences (OH, AND HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? PRINCE WILLIAM IS ENGAGED! So much sadness for every single woman in England... *sigh*).
Right-- Chavenage. Our tour of this house was one of the most unorthodox I have ever been on-- it was lead by one of the members of the family that still lives in the house; it's still in the hands of the second family that came into possession of the house... in 1560-something. Yep. Their dogs were running through the house with us (and I think most people were too busy petting the dogs to pay attention to the tour at times), we got to sit on the chairs, and hear stories about how Uncle Rupert would oogle the actresses that came to the house when various period dramas were filmed there. It was hysterical, but also really interesting to hear about one of these houses from the perspective of people who actually live there, who deal with the lack of electricity in parts of the house as well as how ridiculously cold it gets during the winter.
Here's a little bit of the front entrance. Constructed from stone and glass from a nearby cathedral that Henry VIII had demolished. Cool stuff.
Oh, and one of my favorite things to hear (NOT) on a tour-- the house is haunted. Like, creepily haunted, by the ghost of MP Stephens, one of the early members of the family. He was one of the leaders of the opposition to Oliver Cromwell's plan of disposing of the king during the Civil War, but then changed his mind at the last minute. His daughter put a curse on him, and sure enough, a few weeks later, he fell horribly ill and died, shortly after Charles I (the disposed-of King) was killed. Those present in the room at his death felt his spirit depart, and just then, they heard a carriage outside. It was pulled by six black horses, and magically passed through the gates. Stephens' spirit stepped into the carriage, and as it pulled away, servants saw that it was driven by a headless King Charles I. The room in which Stephens died (now called the Cromwell room) has been used, unsuccessfully, as a guest room-- no one has ever managed to stay the whole night in that room.
Gahhhhh. Creepy.
Uncle Rupert apparently told this story to Princes William and Charles when they came to visit one day (they literally lived like two miles away, and would practice horseback riding in the backyard of Chavenage), and young Charles noted at the end, "I believe he was a relation of mine...". Guess you have to be careful who you tell these stories to.
Anyway, the Cromwell room itself is super cool-- it still has its original tapestry-covered walls (which is so rare nowadays, there are maybe two other such rooms in existence), and they aren't behind glass or anything... the glories of private ownership!
After the tour, we had a rather lovely afternoon tea, prepared by our guide's sister. There were sandwiches, and mini scones, and cakes.... oh, it was so lovely. We ate everything. And there was quite a lot to eat.
The bus ride home was quiet-- we were all in the midst of food comas. The evening was also passed quietly-- we watched Toy Story 3, which was wonderful.... and that's about it.
Tuesday, I planned to be productive. That failed. I got nothing done. However, Clay and Tom and I spent the evening reading poetry to each other, and then having a spontaneous dance party/ lesson in the living room. That was interesting.
Today was even less productive, but really, really fun-- I went over to Flat 4 for a spontaneous "Measurements and Milkshakes" Party. Sasha and I took measurements for our Jane Austen dresses, and then we all went out to redeem our pub quiz prize of free milkshakes. 'Twas marvelous.
Afterwards, we went over to Linley House for an enormous potluck-- 25 people were there (plus ANDREW BUTTERWORTH), and everyone made absolutely delicious food, and we were so full by the end that we practically had to roll out of the building. Andrew Butterworth was the guest of honor, and he must have eaten three times more food than any of us, because everyone wanted him to try what they made (he loved my beer bread, by the way, which was actually an all-around hit). It was super fun-- and we're trying to organize a Chanukah party in a similar style!
Post-potluck, we all headed to the Theatre Royal to see the touring production of "Spamalot", one of my favorite musicals. I had seen it in LA (where it had a bigger cast and considerably larger budget), but this version was quite different-- they changed lots of lines, as well as a whole song (which made me incredibly sad, because it's my favorite-- "You Can't Succeed on Broadway if You Don't Have Any Jews" was sadly changed to eliminate the Broadway and the Jews... turned into Show Biz and Stars... so much less cool. *sigh*). Otherwise, it was hilarious, and wonderful, as usual. Much fun was had by all.
And now I'm off to bed-- have to get up early tomorrow for Glastonbury and Wells! Tell you all about it soon. Goodnight!
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