South West England

After a busy day of traveling involving a flight from Grenoble, France to Stansted , London; a drive into the West Country of England to the small village of Stanton in the Cotswolds, our home for 4 nights. Stanton consists of idyllic golden stone cottages set in green pastures with the only commercial establishment the local pub at the top of the hill.



On our first day we journeyed north into Warwickshire to visit the medieval Warwick Castle – a grand building with towering rampants. The property is owned by the same company that owns Madame Tussauds so wax figures are set up throughout the castle rooms recreating scenes of medieval life.


There was also a display of the operation of the Trebochet, a medieval catapult firing canon balls, and a magnificent display of falconry which involved eagles & other birds of prey.
The boys loved it sparking an interest in Medieval history.

Day two we traveled south to visit the world heritage site Bath and the amazing roman baths. The Bath’s entrance fee included an audio tour that included commentary aimed at children keeping them entertained throughout even Oliver loved it.


Bath is a beautiful town and we enjoyed a picnic in the parade gardens and wandering around past Pulteney Bridge to the Circus and the Crescent.



We ventured out onto the Salisbury plain to visit the much anticipated Stonehenge which was amazing

but straight after these photos it absolutely bucketed down – adding to the atmosphere?

A local day was called for so the big boys and I walked to the neighbouring village of Stanway to start the day arriving at this lovely thatched cricket pavilion sitting on staddle stones.

We traveled into nearby Gloucester and visited the Cathedral – particularly for the cloisters for all those Harry Potter fans you may recognize these as the corridors of Hogwarts. We also called in at the ‘Tailor of Gloucester’ for the Beatrix Potter fans.

Back home for lunch and the boys were very good doing their drawing etc whilst Mum & Dad enjoyed a mid afternoon cheese plate (and wine) at our local pub.


Another stroll called for so we did a walk between the two lovely villages of Upper Slaughter and Lower Slaughter with our three young adventures, feeding some ducks along the way.
The final evening back to our pub for dinner – huge servings, nice food
and the boys thought their sticky toffee puddings were the ‘best dessert I have ever had’.