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Originally, I wanted to explore the Cotswolds by bike. Bob adjusted and lent me his. I cycled to the High Street of Broadway (about half mile away) in the morning. It’s a handsome street with many pretty houses in honey-coloured Cotswolds stones.

When I was returning to the cottage, the shops had just opened, the first tour coach arrived and the tourists were already busy snapping pictures. Later (after visiting other Cotswolds villages), I found out that Broadway’s layout is quite different, eg. their High Street is so much broader (maybe thus the name Broadway).

Bob told me that Broadway used to be a major rest stop for the horses as they would be pulling the carriages over the steep Fish Hill (right at the end of High Street) on the way to the region’s highest village, Stow-on-the-Wolds. These days, a modern highway re-routes the traffic from Broadway. You can still see the huge doors in front of some houses, these were the inns. The carriages and horses used to be kept in the backyard while the travellers rested in the rooms above.

In order to preserve the beauty of the area, all new houses must be built using Cotswolds stones, whose colours get richer through age. So, it’s quite easy to tell which are the older houses. Houses in different regions

use stones from their local quarry and that created an unique identity of the place. For example, those in the Lake District use the dark grey, flat and thin slate stones.

Well, I ended up not cycling for the rest of my stay in Cotswolds. The bike is still too high for me and I couldn’t reach the brake very well. Jo suggested Blenheim Palace, near Oxford. On the way, we stopped by another

Cotswolds village, Chipping Campden, which is said to be the prettiest village in England. It’s truly pretty, with an ancient marketplace right in the middle of their High Street (I think almost every English town or city named their main street as High Street). Jo also showed me her dream cottage, one overlooking a great view with rolling hills. We had a sandwich at another pretty village near Blenheim, called Woodstock.

Blenheim Palace is a baroque residence where Sir Winston Churchill was born. The current Duke of Marlborough still lives there. We just walked the grounds and it was huge. At a place very far in (perhaps a mile or so), I

was surprised to find a herd of sheep and many pheasants running around. Guessed they let out some part of the land for farming.

We came across many obstacle beams. Jo told me that Blenheim Palace hosts an annual equestrian tournament and she volunteered to be helper twice (her task was to weigh the rider with the horse). Of course, Jo was the best person to tell me all about how the rider and horse would handle each obstacle and the strategy etc. Fascinating!

Bob was back when we returned and since there was still daylight, he drove me to various quaint villages. He was the best guide as he practically walked most of the paths after he moved here. Stanton and Stanway are

petite residential villages (as usual, pretty too, actually, the rest are also pretty so I would not repeat it again). Bob lamented that too many of the houses were bought by people as holiday homes, so the villages are fairly quiet most of the time.

Went to Upper and Lower Slaughters (I know, weird name), both are so pretty (there I go again) that the residents actually put up signs of ‘no entry’ for tour coaches. Next is Burton-on-the-Water, so called Venice of the Cotswolds with a river running through and many bridges. Then, Stow-on-the-Wolds. Being on high ground, it was truly windy. Bob showed me a pub which uses a coffin as table. He also told stories about the various manor houses that we passed.

What would you do when you are presented with pretty images one after another? You sigh and sigh and sigh…………..