BURFORD, THE GATEWAY TO THE COTSWOLDS

The Cotswolds is one of Britain’s most picturesque places located in south central England about 800 square miles in land area and comprises a range of rolling hills that runs through five counties — Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire.  It is the favourite country retreat of the rich and famous — Kate Moss, Kate Winslet, Elizabeth Hurley, Prime Ministers Tony Blair and David Cameron and many other prominent figures in Britain own a Grade II-listed country pile in this part of England. 

One of the pleasures of visiting the Cotswolds is like traveling back in time — practically walking down the same roads that the Romans originally built —  and exploring the different medieval towns and villages, each with its own unique identity, yet all with those distinct and prominent Cotswold attributes such as the ‘wolds’ (old English for rolling hills), unspoilt ancient villages with historic churches, yellow-golden stone and thatched roof cottages, medieval market place, antique shops, etc.

VISIT TO BURFORD

Burford, a little town often referred to as the ‘Gateway to the Cotswolds’, is just 19 miles west of Oxford, and well worth the visit. It is originally a fortified Anglo-Saxon ford which later became a wealthy wool town.

Burford’s little village atmosphere even on the main high street is quite astonishing.

The famous High Street runs downhill towards a medieval bridge with a tiny river called ‘River Windrush’ and both sides of the street is lined by impressive ancient shops and houses.

There’s also plenty of chic accommodation, quirky shops and shopping to be had on the high street.

You can even head off the beaten track and explore the wonderful alleyways and side streets to unearth hidden gems such as charming cottages and beautiful courtyards.

It has a very impressive architecture of all the High Streets I’ve seen in Britain — the stylish antique shops, restaurants, pubs and tea shops are simply incredible.

The 16th century Tolsey building (picture below), was once the meeting place for medieval merchants, now a museum is a delightful place to visit for anyone interested in looking into Bruford’s industrial past.

Another real gem with many interesting memorials showcasing some of Burford’s historic past is St. John the Baptist Church. The ‘Burford Levellers Martyrs’ have interesting memorial plaques in the church along with some of Burford’s great families such as King Henry VIII’s barber-surgeon. (The so-called ‘Burford Levellers’ started in this little town and grew out of the conflict between King Charles I — who believed on the divine right of the king — and the Parliament — representing a demand for the sharing of power. The conflict eventually led to the infamous English civil war in 1642–9. Some of Oliver Cromwell’s army, who were besieged in the church in 1649 watched from the roof of the church as their ringleaders were executed in the churchyard.)

This little town also has the distinguished claim of having the oldest pharmacy in Britain, Reavley’s, which opened in 1734.

Burford is indeed one gorgeous English town where you can spend hours gawking at the beauty of every building, each shop and all the cottages you pass.

Little changed over the centuries in this little town, and it has so much character and history.

It is a popular destination for its beauty, history, antique shops and other attractions.

Almost all of the houses I’ve seen have a name inscribed on the doorway and have old wooden door I truly love and wish to have. Told Jared numerous times that if we ever build a house somewhere, anywhere in the world, I’d like to have a similar one or an original door of an old English church building that closed down. 

You can visit the hotel frequented by King Charles II and his mistress, the English actress Nell Gwynn, and also where Lord Nelson used to dine.

The three medieval bridges match with all of the old buildings.

 As you walk downhill on the High Street you can see the stunning view of the rolling hills to remind you that you’re indeed in one of England’s historic ‘wolds’.

Spring and summer months is the perfect time to visit the Cotswolds. The scenery is simply stunning; whichever way you turn to is ‘Instagram-worthy’ and will make you appreciate the quintessential English charm found nowhere else but in this very part of Britain. Visiting the Cotswolds is truly a unique experience. Its proximity to London and the abundance of historic villages to explore make it an ideal place to getaway from the hustle and bustle of city life. Traveling to Burford is quite easy — you either drive for an hour or so depending on the traffic, or take the bus from central London to Oxford for 50-60 minutes then take another bus to Burford for about 15-20 min. Alternatively you can take the train to Oxford and hire a cab or take the bus.

Note: This is first in a series of historic towns and villages we visited in the Cotswold this summer. Here’s Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s hometown. Also, another beautiful and interesting place to visit in the Cotswolds is the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, and I did a review last summer of Blenheim Palace.

A JOURNEY TO BRITAIN’S NORTHERNMOST ISLE (3RD OF 3 PARTS)

Our visit to Shetland was precipitated by a friend’s invite for Jared and I to explore the islands. He told us that we will see the northernmost tea shop, northernmost police station, northernmost bus stop, northernmost hotel — practically everything northerly, and boy, was he right! We’ve seen everything northerly in the British isles when we visited the tiny island of Unst. To get to the island, we took the ferry for about half an hour (the car was loaded on a ferry) to an island called Yell and then on to another ferry for 45 minutes to Unst. What completed our trip was the visit to these islands.

I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Most northerly Tea Room.

Most northerly food shop and gasoline station (photo taken from inside the food shop).

I couldn’t resist posing for a photograph in front of the most northerly bus stop, and the most colourful I’ve seen — it  has flowers, books, table and chair and candies for anyone to enjoy while waiting for the bus. 

Shetland is absolutely beautiful. Its vast expanse of striking wild beauty will awe any first time visitor  — its craggy terrain; the towering sea cliffs; the empty hidden beaches, the turquoise seawater; the haunting nature; the boundless blue skies; the tiny wild flowers in the meadows — the landscape is indeed quite dramatic. The tranquillity and sense of vastness and openness is truly a world away from the hustle and bustle of London life.

Having lived in a small town (I was born and grew up in a little town in southern Philippines just a few minutes walk to the Pacific Ocean), I am relishing the thought of going back to the countryside. Visiting Shetland, especially the islands of Yell and Unst, reminded me of my hometown — it has none of the big city drawbacks. These cluster of islands may not be easy to get to (there is no direct flight there from London), but I love the bucolic scene and immensely enjoyed the visit. Also, it is a blessing to have a little bolthole in Shetland — thanks to our friend Kevin who has given us an open invitation to come anytime we want to get away. Shetland is an authentic rural escape where time seems to stand still and I can’t wait to visit again!

Here’s the previous posts:

In Part 1 I focused on the mainland especially Lerwick, the capital town as well as the nearby villages.

In Part 2 it was about meeting local people and some historic sites on the island like Scalloway Castle, Clickimin Broch, etc.

A JOURNEY TO BRITAIN’S NORTHERNMOST ISLE (2ND OF 3 PARTS)

Shetland may be remote and wild; but it is an oil rich country and the public infrastructure is one of the best in the UK. Despite its small size, only 1,468 sq km, and a relatively small population, just over 23,000, the Shetland Islands Council is the richest in Britain with £266 million in reserve — thanks to the oil industry revenue. (Apparently even London’s royal borough, Kensington/Chelsea and Westminster are in continuing deficit every year).

Shetland has well-maintained road networks, bridges, public housing, hospital and other public facilities that’s far superior than any boroughs in Britain. If you drive around the Shetland isles, from the mainland to the other smaller inhabited islands, you’d never come across a single pothole. Even the Council Housing is a proper single detach house equipped with all of the modern fixtures (unlike the high-rise, tiny, crammed and dirty Council flats in London). They have free accommodation (dormitories) for high school students whose families live outside of the mainland; the residents get massive discounts on travel — 50% off on the airplane and 30% off on the ferry — and practically everything is highly subsidised. Every year the pensioners also get two free return tickets by ferry if they want to travel to the mainland UK. These are just some of the benefits that the residents of Shetland get to enjoy on a daily basis.

Crime figures suggest that Shetland is also one of the safest communities not just in Scotland but in the whole of UK. We were told that on the outskirts of the town centre many people leave their doors unlocked.

Shetland is an intriguing mixture between Scotland and Scandinavia. The unpredictable weather, craggy landscape, deep fjords, and architecture are wistful reminder of the Scottish Highlands and the Nordic countries.

 Buildings were traditionally made of stone, but some are made of corrugated iron.

The recent trend in domestic architecture however, is leaning towards Scandinavian timber design, colourfully painted, in a style that was once common in Shetland.

There are houses that simply stand out like this particular bungalow with walls decorated with various seashells — quite unique and full of character.

There are also many derelict houses and church buildings all over the islands.

With enormous bright skies, the scenery is quite stunning especially when the sun is out.

We drove, travelled by ferry, rambled around to explore the isles and stumbled upon some very interesting places.

One of the most amazing places we saw is called Mavis Grind. It is the narrowest land in the whole archipelago. This narrow strip of land with sea on either side, is almost an island in itself, and joins it to the rest of the mainland of Shetland. This is a very unique spot to view the North Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

If you stand on the Mavis Grind you can see both the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean from the road (right and left side on top and bottom photos respectively). It truly is a remarkable place.

 People there say that if you stand on the Atlantic Ocean you’ll be able to throw a stone into the North Sea but you have to have a strong arm to be able to do so.

Also, the Shetland Islands have an extremely fascinating history and extraordinary heritage well worth exploring. We visited Scalloway, Shetland’s ancient capital, and toured Scalloway Castle, home of Patrick Stewart — Earl of Orkney and Shetland.

We tried to explore every nook and cranny of the castle and were very impressed by its cleverly crafted stonework. It was built in 1599 and its elaborate stonework is a fine example of Tudor era tower house.

We also visited Clickimin Loch, one of Shetland’s major archeological sites. Built around 6th-7th century BC, the stone-walled fort is a well-preserved remains of a prehistoric settlement.

Shetland doesn’t have many trees or woodlands, and apparently, it has a lot to do with wind and foraging sheep.

But we drove through roads lined with well-established trees, and visited a park where we got a glimpse of different trees, shrubs and several flower species such as bluebells and foxgloves.

We’ve meet Garry Dean, a Welshman who brought back into the island one of the only ten dying breed of four-horns Shetland sheep.

Evidently these four-horns sheep is native to Shetland but originally brought into the island in the 11th century by the first settlers from Norway.

He also breeds the famous Shetland ponies — not very big, only stand up to 42 inches high at four years old or over. They are very charming, friendly, and pretty captivating creatures.

We’ve also meet other local residents, visited tiny villages and we wandered around the mainland coastal walkway, but it’s worth mentioning one of the highlights of our first two-days in Shetland — it was meeting a few Christian Shetlanders who continue to make an impact in the lives of people on the island.

Shetlanders are incredibly welcoming and very friendly people. We learned that among family and friends, it is rude to knock on the door when you visit their home. You just show up unannounced, straight into the living or dining room, and you’ll be offered tea, or coffee, or whatever you fancy.

 We’ve meet a young couple, Alisdair and Rhoda MacPherson, with their four adorable boys. They live in a very nice and comfortable modern home with magnificent views of the sea and the surrounding valley.

Rhoda prepared a delicious dinner for us and we really enjoyed the food and the fellowship. I must mention Rhoda . . . aside from juggling motherhood and a family business, she is into all sorts of creative pursuits such as calligraphy, stampin’up, etc. She is very artistic, so sweet and kind, and a truly admirable lady. I absolutely adore her. Please check out her Instagram account Rhoda MacPherson and follow her — it’s full of beautiful photos of her artwork and some stunning photos of Shetland that will totally inspire you.

Their kids are all smart and good-looking, and the youngest, 2 year-old Cole, stands out because he’s a particularly funny little boy. We still laugh when we talk about him and the things that he said. After dinner at the MacPhersons, we attended a mid-week worship at their church. We greatly enjoyed our time with them, and it was a great blessing to meet some new Christian friends in Shetland.

There’s another couple we’ve meet and visited at home.

Davy and Jean, both in their late 80s, are native Shetlanders and friends of Kevin.

 Davy shared stories about his ancestors who were some of the few people sent by the Norwegian/Danish king to inhabit Shetland back in the 14th century. Evidently his family and a few others, to this very day, are related to at least half of the residents on the island. We listened to Davy and Jean’s fascinating stories over tea and biscuits. Oh and we got to try salted leg of lamb — top picture shows the huge piece of meat hanging on the ceiling.

Their house has 360-degree panorama of the sea, lochs, and hills — from the living room to dining, kitchen, and bedroom, anywhere you go around the house the views are incredible.

This is the view from Davy and Jean’s kitchen window. The loch has 12 miniscule-islets that Davy skilfully built one by one for each grandchild as soon as they’re born. He told us that he named each one of them after his grandkids; that he has a map that he shows to them from childhood to assure them that they owned an island (I can only imagine that their grandkids bragged about owning an island in their grandparent’s backyard  ). They tried to encourage us to relocate to Shetland. They couldn’t comprehend that in London people had to lock their doors, can’t leave valuables in the car or don’t know their neighbours. As we were leaving Davy said, “Hope to see you again soon! Please move to Shetland!”  “Only if we get to live in your house, and if there’s sunshine all year round!” I jokingly said. And he replied, “You can bring some sunshine from the Philippines, and we’ll sell this house to you then.” 

And so our journey is to be continued.

In my third and final instalment, we travel farther north. I’ll be talking about our visit to other islands including Unst, at the tip of Shetland. It was recommended to us by our friend Kevin, who I’ll quote, said: “You’ll see all of Britain’s most northerly — house, police station, post office, bus stop, tea shop, lighthouse, outpost, etc!” And boy was he right!

Note: Featured image is from ‘Promote Shetland.’*

*Part 3 is here.

A Journey to Britain's Northernmost Isle (1st of 3 Parts)

It is an odd place, Shetland. I had never heard of it until a good friend of ours informed Jared and me three years ago that he bought a holiday home here. He’s been making frequent trips to Shetland since the 70s, and been inviting us to visit and explore the islands. Continue reading “A Journey to Britain's Northernmost Isle (1st of 3 Parts)” →

The Window Tax of Yore

 
Since time immemorial the ruling elite of this country have contemplated how best to fund the armies that protect the empire, maintain the roads and infrastructural needs of the country, and finance various public expenditures.  Taxation has always been the answer but in different forms. Once upon a time, just about 400 years ago, it was the humble window that was taxed.  Continue reading “The Window Tax of Yore” →

Blenheim Palace Gardens

During our visit to Blenheim Palace three weeks ago we saw some of the finest examples of England’s artistry.  From the tapestries and paintings hanging on the walls to the exquisite furnishings and the grandiose ceiling — everything is a work of art and shows the skills of the artists and craftsmen who made an indelible mark at the Duke of Marlborough’s palatial home. Continue reading “Blenheim Palace Gardens” →

Memories of a Tropical Paradise

We were in the Philippines from mid-January to mid-February of this year and it was a great blessing to be in the tropics to get away from the freezing cold London weather.  Our third week was spent at Club Paradise in Palawan, one of the best tropical destinations in the country.  Thanks to our very generous benefactor for giving us this exceptional gift. (Thank you L&P 🙂 ) Continue reading “Memories of a Tropical Paradise” →