Walkabout England 2024 - Trip Report
I’m happy to report that another Walkabout tour is in the books, and what a special time we had with a special group of women. Let me give you some of the highlights of our Best of Town and Country tour.
London
Everyone arrived on Friday, May 17 and we hit the ground running with a walk around “our” neighborhood of Belgravia, followed that evening by dinner at a local French restaurant.
Mary Shelley, who wrote Frankenstein, lived in the neighborhood.
A beautiful mews in Belgravia.
The next day we traveled by bus to Windsor where we toured the castle and then had time to explore the town. Some of us even enjoyed lunch at a pub dating back to the 1700s.
On our last day in London we took a walking tour of some of the main sights, then enjoyed an Evensong service at Westminster Abbey.
Westminster Abbey
One highlight of our time in London was watching the storefronts of our neighborhood get decorated for the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show, which opened the day we left. Each store was decked out with flowers and plants centered around the theme of Fun and Games. I’m telling you, the British are so good at floral design! I’m glad we got to see a part of the festivities.
The Lime Tree Hotel where we stayed in Belgravia. Love this place!
Cotswolds
On Monday we traveled by train to the Cotswolds where we settled into our home for the next four days, the Woodchester Valley Vineyard. The vineyard is set in the western part of the Cotswolds amidst rolling hills and tiny villages. What a beautiful place! And the house is fantastic–big enough for everyone to spread out and relax.
The next day, our driver, Jamie, picked us up and took us to the towns of Bourton-on-the-Water, Lower Slaughter, Upper Slaughter, and Stow-on-the-Wold. One highlight was taking the short walk between Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter, which took us through some farmer’s fields and along a meadow path. This is truly one of my favorite places in the Cotswolds.
Bourton-on-the-Water
Lower Slaughter
On Wednesday, Jamie picked us up again and drove us to Bibury and Burford, two well-known, yet very different, Cotswolds towns. Bibury is small and is best known for the historic Arlington Row–a row of weavers cottages dating back to the 1300s. Burford, while a much bigger market town, is also very beautiful and boasts a church that dates back to the 1100s. (I’ll have more to say about that church in another post.)
Bibury in the rain. But everyone kept smiling!
After lunch in Burford, we set out for a place I had never been but had long wanted to visit after hearing about it on the Duchess podcast: Sudeley Castle. Now, Sudeley isn’t very often mentioned on travel blogs, probably because it’s a little off the beaten path. But let me tell you, it’s worth the visit.
Catherine Parr
Sudeley Castle was the home of Catherine Parr, who was Henry VIII’s last wife, also known as “the one who survived.” She is buried in the chapel here, making her the only English queen to be buried on private land.
A stained glass window depicting the love triangle between Catherine Parr, Henry VIII, and Thomas Seymour. Very interesting!
Catherine Parr is the only English queen to be buried on private land.
On our last day in the Cotswolds, we stayed at our lovely home. Our devotional that day was about finding stillness, so we had some time to spend in quiet contemplation that morning. Many of us took walks in the area, exploring the small community around the vineyard. But we all agreed that an hour without distractions was good for our souls after a busy, whirlwind week.
We ended our time at the vineyard with a private tour of the vines and the winemaking production given to us by the vineyard’s geologist, Rachel. She was such a great guide, explaining the winemaking process in a way that we could all understand. After the tour, we went back to the house for a private wine tasting of the Woodchester Valley Vineyard wines. I know English wines are not well known and may have had a bad reputation in the past, but I’m here to tell you that these are very, very good. (Sadly, they do not yet ship to the United States.)
Aside from some travel snafus that a couple of women experienced, the trip went so smoothly. Everyone we met was so kind and friendly, and best of all, welcoming to Americans. As I’ve said before, this place has my heart, and I can’t wait to return.
I think my fellow travelers would agree.
