Well, it was raining today. It was not always raining heavily - in fact, most of the time it was just misty or drizzly - but there were moments when it really came down. Despite this, the vacation must go on. So we both climbed on our bikes after eating our English breakfast. That's me below trying to figure out where to go next. The directions are on my handlebars in a plastic protector. Julia has that country sense of direction. Streets do not have numbers or names: instead, you just turn right next to this pub or by the sign for the primary school.
Our first stop was the picturesque village of Blockley. John and I had listened to a murder mystery set in Blockley on our trip back from Portland. I cannot really recommend the book, called something like Blood in the Cotswolds, but it did give us a lot of facts about the history of the place along the way.
We had one of our first real downpours while we were in Blockley, so we sought refuge in the parish church there. As you can see, if was undergoing some renovation.There was a guide which explained what parts were Norman, what was medieval, and what renovations and "improvements" had been done during the 18th and 19th centuries. Unlike most Cotswold towns, which went into a severe decline after the Civil War (roughly 1640 so you don't have to look it up on Wikipedia), Blockley was a flourishing center for silk production. So a great many homes in Blockley, as well as part of the church, date from the early 18th century. One particular item of note: in a glass case by the entrance of the church they have on display a first edition of the King James Bible. It was bound in wood covered with velvet.
When it finally let up a bit, we left Blockley and headed on. We went indeed "over hill and dale" and we saw some nice scenery along the way.
Our next stop were the villages of Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter. I have no idea why these villages have such a macabre names, but the sheep you see above probably are some clue. Despite the moniker, Lower Slaughter is remarkably picturesque.
We had lunch at a hotel there. The food was quite good, and it felt great to be out of the drizzle. But we could not stay too long because Lower Slaughter was only a little over halfway on our trip. So we got on the bicycles and headed back towards Chipping Campden. We stopped along the way to get out of shower, to catch our breath after a particularly brutal hill, or just to admire some of the houses.
The last few miles were the driest and most downhill of the route. Before we knew it, we were back in Chipping Campden.
We both warmed up with a hot bath, had some tea and napped. In the evening we decided to try a snack at the an Indian restaurant which Aaron and Susan had mentioned the night before. We walked in and who did we see but ... Aaron and Susan! So we joined them for a remarkably good dinner and even better conversation. They had ridden their bikes to Stratford-upon-Avon for the day. We'll be there with car on Saturday where we have tickets to Julius Caesar.
