Yesterday was a great day out. There is a large section of the Cotswolds in the north east that our trails don't touch upon and yesterday began the process of rectifying that. We went right to the extreme of the Cotswolds to start exploring Woodstock, just next to Blenheim Palace. What a funky, gorgeous bustling little town it is. Immediately upon exiting the car your eyes start to find interesting things all over the place. There is loads of amazing stuff we can weave into a treasure trail here.
From Woodstock we traveled up the A44 to Chipping Norton. I have to say that it lacks the WOW factor of other places in the Cotswolds. It has a wide open market town centre, but its very busy with cars, which puts you off, but there's a big BUT coming. We walked around a little and followed the signs for the church off the main square and were immediately rewarded with some stunning almshouses, probably the best i have seen. The church itself is impressive and you begin to see loads of the towns history put front and centre with loads of history to read and discover. From the church you can walk round, back to the square via the charming Diston's Lane. By the end of my time in Chipping Norton i was fan.
Leaving Chipping Norton behind we drove south on the Burford Road to find Shipton-under-Wychwood. This is quite a big 'village' with some impressive stuff so explored a lot of streets by car and on foot, finding a wealth of brilliant things and ideas. The impressive Shipton Grange House is pictured below.
We explored the nearby villages of Milton-under-Wychwood and Ascott-under-Wychwood before driving on , along some beautiful country lanes before reaching Bledington. It opens up in front of you and makes your eyebrows rise as the central village green with a little brook running through the middle is lightly surrounded by warm cotswold cottages. Lovely pub, The Kings Head, just off the green offers the perfect setting for refreshments as the day came to a close.
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