Day trips from London # 1 - Cotswolds
After spending every weekend for about two months visiting few of the popular tourist attractions in central London, I wanted to explore places out of London and what's better than notorious England countryside. Still not completely confident to travel on my own, I went with couch travels - quite convenient in many ways, however, I would most definitely prefer travelling on own.
I didn't get off to a great start as underground transport was cancelled over the weekend which, I later learnt, is not uncommon in London and wouldn't be of utmost inconvenience as there would be replacement bus services, however, the commute time changes considerably. (Note: always check transport schedule especially when planning to catch a bus or train out of London, ahead of time. Registering oyster card online enables weekly updates on any disruptions).
We reached coach stop almost 5 mins later to scheduled pick up time which attracted quite a few disapproving glares.
After about 2-3 hours driving around the city for other pick up points( if underground was working, choosing last pick up point would've given little more time), we reached a common coach station for a brief rest stop and reshuffling among the coaches according to the destination. I left my phone in the previous coach which isn't a regret as it turned out to be an opportunity to enjoy the place instead of spending the limited time taking pictures.
After about an hour passing through the green fields with cottages spaced so far away from each other we reached our first stop, Burford. We got one hour here - seemed just sufficient to explore this cozy little place (not for me, wonder if a lifetime would be). There is only one main road, called as high street in England, lined with small shops and restaurants - most of them sell yummy ice creams😍. Number of narrow paths on both sides of the main road lead to residential areas - one such path led to a small church with a stream of water running on the other side. This place seems to be the definition of simplicity, comfort and beauty. Everyone seemed so happy and chirpy as if they don't have a care in the world.
Never felt one hour pass so quickly and I found myself back in the bus this time passing through different picture - houses are more close to each other, vast green fields being replaced by perfectly manicured lawns/gardens, roads relatively narrower and elevated. Soon we reached next stop - Burton on the water which is bigger than Burford. We got three hours here and tour manager advised to have picnic by the pond. However, we set to explore the place instead, trying to find a way to reach the hillocks surrounding the place. Met with dead ends and in the verge of giving up, we were greeted by an elderly and nice gentleman and, on chatting with him for few minutes, we found out the way to reach the hillock and also a place to rent bicycles. I struggled so much to ride the cycle uphill (spending all the time in front of computer have major consequences😥), finally reached top of the hillock where there is a single cottage with a wonderful view and a pack of llamas in front. A lovely lady came down from the house and greeted us and we had a pleasant chat with her and her husband. We learnt those llamas are actually alpacas and got a children's book, with alpacas as main characters, as gift from them - seems like a lot of people mistake them to be llamas. Though I was slightly worried about getting delayed, when they mentioned the cottage is also a b&b, suddenly I wasn't in hurry anymore to get back to our group (almost as if I wished to miss the bus and stay back at least for another day). Finally dragged my unwilling self back to the town and rushed to coach stop. Until then, I didn't realize that I had nothing all day except coffee and ice cream, however, didn't feel tired or hungry. On reaching London, I got my phone back from the coach office👼, went home and crashed. My first trip turned out to be the best in England and major motivation to keep travelling.
Few pics from friends phone: (maybe I did regret forgetting my phone a little)
I didn't get off to a great start as underground transport was cancelled over the weekend which, I later learnt, is not uncommon in London and wouldn't be of utmost inconvenience as there would be replacement bus services, however, the commute time changes considerably. (Note: always check transport schedule especially when planning to catch a bus or train out of London, ahead of time. Registering oyster card online enables weekly updates on any disruptions).
We reached coach stop almost 5 mins later to scheduled pick up time which attracted quite a few disapproving glares.
After about 2-3 hours driving around the city for other pick up points( if underground was working, choosing last pick up point would've given little more time), we reached a common coach station for a brief rest stop and reshuffling among the coaches according to the destination. I left my phone in the previous coach which isn't a regret as it turned out to be an opportunity to enjoy the place instead of spending the limited time taking pictures.
After about an hour passing through the green fields with cottages spaced so far away from each other we reached our first stop, Burford. We got one hour here - seemed just sufficient to explore this cozy little place (not for me, wonder if a lifetime would be). There is only one main road, called as high street in England, lined with small shops and restaurants - most of them sell yummy ice creams😍. Number of narrow paths on both sides of the main road lead to residential areas - one such path led to a small church with a stream of water running on the other side. This place seems to be the definition of simplicity, comfort and beauty. Everyone seemed so happy and chirpy as if they don't have a care in the world.
Never felt one hour pass so quickly and I found myself back in the bus this time passing through different picture - houses are more close to each other, vast green fields being replaced by perfectly manicured lawns/gardens, roads relatively narrower and elevated. Soon we reached next stop - Burton on the water which is bigger than Burford. We got three hours here and tour manager advised to have picnic by the pond. However, we set to explore the place instead, trying to find a way to reach the hillocks surrounding the place. Met with dead ends and in the verge of giving up, we were greeted by an elderly and nice gentleman and, on chatting with him for few minutes, we found out the way to reach the hillock and also a place to rent bicycles. I struggled so much to ride the cycle uphill (spending all the time in front of computer have major consequences😥), finally reached top of the hillock where there is a single cottage with a wonderful view and a pack of llamas in front. A lovely lady came down from the house and greeted us and we had a pleasant chat with her and her husband. We learnt those llamas are actually alpacas and got a children's book, with alpacas as main characters, as gift from them - seems like a lot of people mistake them to be llamas. Though I was slightly worried about getting delayed, when they mentioned the cottage is also a b&b, suddenly I wasn't in hurry anymore to get back to our group (almost as if I wished to miss the bus and stay back at least for another day). Finally dragged my unwilling self back to the town and rushed to coach stop. Until then, I didn't realize that I had nothing all day except coffee and ice cream, however, didn't feel tired or hungry. On reaching London, I got my phone back from the coach office👼, went home and crashed. My first trip turned out to be the best in England and major motivation to keep travelling.
Few pics from friends phone: (maybe I did regret forgetting my phone a little)
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