March 25 - 31, 2015 - Cheltenham & Market Towns

Greetings all,

It has been some time since my last post, as we have had a rather uneventful few months outside of Christmas. On March 25 we headed off to Cheltenham to dog sit for John and Adrienne as they were taking a short break to Lisbon. We took the back roads down with me as a navigator. This route kept us off the highway, passing through small towns, villages and the country side. We stopped in Ludlow, a market town, and had a great lunch at The Rose and Crown, a former 13th century coach house. Ludlow is a very picturesque town. As we had left our cameras in the car while we walked around we decided to stop by on our return to Liverpool to take pictures.

Spring has really sprung in the south west compared to the north as you can see from the picture on the left of the daffodils. This was taken in the park right across the street from  John and Adrienne's home. On the 26th we headed off to Tewkesbury as I wanted to get
pictures of the wooden knight and horse on the roundabout into the town. Traffic was heavy but Fred did manage to find a spot to pull over so I could get out and get my pictures. We then headed into the town as I wanted to check out a store in which we had shopped at Christmas time. As the weather was rather cool I purchased a couple of sweaters for myself. I could not find what I wanted for our Grandson Paul in the shop. From Tewkesbury we decided to head off to Ledbury in Herefordshire a short 30 minute drive away.

Ledbury is a borough whose origins date to around 690 AD. As a town it was created on a bishops manor. The picture on the left is of the Market Place, a structure built in 1617.  We stopped and enjoyed some refreshment in a pub then shopped for some local beers and ciders as well as picking up a single malt scotch that has chocolate undertones. We then headed back to Cheltenham to start our dog sitting duties as J&A were heading off early to  the airport on the 27th.

After J&A were safely on their way we decided to head to Burton-on-the-Water after lunch. It is a small town in the Cotswolds. Again I am in search of a store I remembered from a trip here a number of years ago, looking for larger placemats. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of the size I wanted. We walked around the town taking some photos and then relaxed in a pub to enjoy some refreshment before heading back to tend to the dogs.

The weather was unkind to us as it turned cold, wet and very windy. We relaxed around the house with the boys for the next couple of days but did head out on Sunday for lunch at the Plough Inn in the tiny village of Cold Aston.

The picture on the left is rather unique as it warns of an amphibian crossing. Not sure if it is for frogs or toads as it was by a river that was rather fast flowing at this time of year. We enjoyed an excellent meal at the pub which really was a Sunday Roast dinner. Fred enjoyed a Gloucester Old Spot pork dinner and I had half a chicken. The portions were huge and I had enough chicken left to make sandwiches for our evening meal. The pub itself is one of the most picturesque in the area and would be a wonderful spot in the summer as there was plenty of outdoor seating.

Monday the weather was still cool and wet in the morning but did clear up so we took the boys for a walk and I was able to take more pictures of the spring flowers. We had them out for a couple of hours and I got some great shots which you can see on my Facebook wall. We had dinner duty for all of us as J&A were due to return home from their mini break. Beef and chicken kabobs with rice was the meal and Fred braved the rain to barbeque. Dessert was an apple tartin with whipped cream.

On Tuesday we headed off early as we wanted to stop in Ludlow on the way home for photos and lunch.

Ludlow is a market town located in Shropshire with the oldest part of the town founded in the late 11th century after the Norman conquest. There are nearly 500 grade listed buildings in the town which include medieval and tudor style half timbered buildings. The one pictured on the right is of the Feathers hotel. We also took time to visit the Parish Church of St Laurence, which has its origins in the 11th century. It was rebuilt and enlarged in 1199-1120 and became the parish church in 1120. It is the largest church in Shropshire The picture below and to the left is of a the ornate carvings on the bottom of seats in the choir.

We visited the Crown and Rose again for lunch and had a large meal so that we didn't have to cook once we got home. Fred had the sausage and mash which was served inside a Yorkshire pudding. The meal was huge but he managed to consume the lot. I had a very tasty burger made from local rare-breed beef. We also purchased some sausage from an award winning butcher. We did not explore all there was to see as the weather was cold and many things were closed as it is not yet the tourist season. The castle in town looks worth a visit at a future day.

The balance of our trip was uneventful and the weather held off with just the occasional rain showers.

Ta ra for now. Stay tuned for our next big trip April 9th to Aloha, Oregon to visit our Grandson Paul and the kids.

Sandy & Fred