Cotswolds day 2

Before we began our day as a group, Monte, Dad and I all headed to the end of our street to check out the village church. Amazing! It got its first church bell in 1670....pretty old. It amazes me how they have beautiful churches for tiny villages.

First thing today we headed for Broadway. It is a very cute, more upscale village. 

Paige bought a key in an antique store. It was from the 1740's. The oldest thing we own!

It was cool to see the mail carrier delivering his mail.

 We just walked around, had lunch and then drove on to the Broadway tower.

There were beautiful views from the top of the tower.

Next we went to see the lavender fields near Snowshill. When we got out of the car the smell of lavender was overwhelming! The farmer was cutting his crop so I'm sure it was more fragrant than normal.

From there we went on the the village of Snowshill. On the way there I snapped a photo of a typical two lane road.

Not for the faint of heart! It is pretty scary, I'd imagine, in a car driving these twisting roads at fast speeds not knowing what is around the corner and if there is room. But, you throw in a 9 person van, a driver from California, and then terror strikes. Then you throw in darkness of night, double terror! But, Monte our trusty driver has kept us safe!

Snowshill

So cool how the village is built around the church. How'd you like to have a grave in your front yard?

We had been walking, exploring and getting tired. We decided to head to Chipping Campden for dinner and see the last village for the day. Again, an amazing view, such old houses, most all seem to be around 1600 yet our pub was from the 13th century. 

Wish we had more time to explore! The day ended before we were ready. But, probably didn't end soon enough for our driver since now he was forced to drive home in the dark trying to find our way.

All the villages we have seen so far are very different, but all very beautiful. 

An  interesting thing to report is that you get engaged here as often as you like! ( when you use the bathroom you lock it and then there is a sign saying it is engaged / in use)

Also, if the road is blocked by a truck, and cars pass by him very carefully and successfully, that doesn't mean a 9 person van can :-)