The Cotswolds

I was most looking forward to this day! The Cotswolds are made up of many different little villages & cities that are very picturesque and charming. I was ready for a day to just relax and walk around, enjoy the villages & shops and take in the scenery and be away from the more touristy parts. When researching the Cotswolds I found a "Romantic Road" route. I knew we wouldn't be able to squeeze in all of the villages but I got even more excited because when we went on our European vacation several years ago one of my favorite things was the "Romantic Road" route we did in Germany!!

The English villages did not disappoint. The weather, of course, was though. The rain did let up a little bit in the first village we stopped in and we were able to get one decent family picture.

It was almost impossible to get a picture without someone else in it because it turns out the Cotswolds are pretty touristy. Tour bus after tour bus of Asians were unloading right across the bridge. They would come swarming over and they seemed to find us more interesting than the beautiful surroundings....they were watching us and even snapping pictures of us! It was crazy. Once we finally got a decent picture we decided to walk around the little village some more.

 

We got back to the car just as it started raining again. We drove on to the next village of Bourton-on-the-Water. Even though it was still raining we had to get out because it was like a little Venice. Very cute!

 

This picture doesn't really do it justice. Unfortunately, I didn't really take many more. We were too busy ducking in and out of shops and tea rooms to get out of the rain. After we ate we went on to the other villages on the route and basically just drove straight through them because the rain wasn't letting up at all. We decided to get out again once we got to Stratford-Upon-Avon. We got out and walked to the different homes that Shakespeare lived in. We also walked to his wife's, Anne Hathaway, childhood cottage which is the most charming of them all. We didn't pay to go in to any of them and so we couldn't get that great of a view either.

Other than those sites we really only walked along a couple of streets. It seems like a cute little city with lots of shops. I know we missed a lot because of the weather. Whenever I read threads about top places to take visitors Stratford-Upon-Avon is always at the top. I'm looking forward to going back to the Cotswolds villages when the weather is nicer!

Shakespeare's Last Home

Shakespeare's Birth Home

This is a rarity.......they don't usually get along

The drive home was a good 3 hour drive but we had some great entertainment.....

Stonehenge & Nunney Castle

Weather was very wet, cold and windy today and never really let up so it was a quick day. The sights we visited were great though!

{Stonehenge}
We got there shortly after it opened. We were surprised at how busy it was already. I think we're going to have to get used to the crowds even on the not so nice days.

Avery was cold and her legs were "too tired to walk" after sitting in the car for an hour. So this means she refuses to look at the camera and makes a scene until we tell her this could be her only chance to get a picture with a natural wonder of the world......

we finally got her to at least look at the camera.

 

{Nunney Castle}

And, then a trip to the hotel pool was in store for the evening......

 

 

 

Wookey Hole & Bath

Day 2 - The weather forecast for today was the worst of all 4 days so we switched up our plans to do more indoor things in the morning and then head to the city of Bath later in the day. We were a bit worried about that because we were told to go to Bath EARLY but hoped that if it was raining it wouldn't really matter much what time of day we went. Of course the weather did start out a little yucky but was completely clear, sunny and warm by 11am and ended up being our nicest day.

{Wookey Hole}isn't that far from Cheddar. We were still able to tour a cool cave here but we were also do a lot of other fun indoor activities for the kids.

They age cheese in this cave. The cloths are covered in mold and it smelled awful!

There was a huge indoor play barn. One of the best we've seen.

 

The mirror maze was a lot of fun. Blake was cracking us up running into the "walls."

This little place was a lot of fun.

 

Next stop, {Bath}. It was PACKED! The city itself is beautiful and I would love to go back.....early. :) It was just hard to maneuver through people with our stroller, there wasn't really anything the kids were interested in and so they were quick to get whiney. We quickly toured the cathedral, stopped for some fudge, walked around a bit, and then decided since we were there we would wait in the long line to get in to see the Roman Bath House.

 

 

Windsor Castle & Avebury

Another American holiday, Columbus Day, means another getaway for the Hubers! Gotta love these 4 day weekends! :) We knew we wanted to plan a trip this weekend but took forever to decide where we were going to go. I finally made a decision and started looking for places to stay........and everything was already booked up or way too expensive. So, we just started scouring the internet for cheap places ANYwhere in the UK. In the end, Natalie hooked us up, yet again, with a fabulous deal at another fabulous hotel in the city of Swindon, which ended up being our home base for the sights we decided to see.

On our way to the hotel we stopped off at {Windsor Castle}.

It was a little wet out but not too bad. The city itself seemed neat but the kids don't like walking around too much so it was just a visit to the castle this day.

 

Once we bought our tickets, Derek left to go move the car because we only paid for an hour parking and we were told it would take at least an hour and a  half to go through the castle. The kids and I went ahead and went in and met a nice couple who took our picture. Avery refused to get in it. She probably still wasn't feeling well....she was just getting over the flu.

The Queen wasn't there. The flag flying on the castle was the Union Jack, not the Royal Flag.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos inside. Another bummer, we later learned that if we kept our tickets we could get free access for a year......too late, we already threw them away. Blast!!

Next and last stop for the day was the {Avebury Stone Circles} which was on the way to the hotel and only 20 minutes from it as well. It's kind of like Stonehenge except more spread out and you can get up close and touch the rocks.

A-very berry, sweeter than a cherry

The kids were spoiled upon check-in at the hotel with milk and cookies and an activity bag for each of them! Dinner was at the Spotted Cow which was really good.......we actually ate there twice!

The rest of the trip will be in different posts so stay tuned! :)