Day Tour of Southern Cotswolds (England)

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 Above image shows view of Sudeley Estate from Castle Gardens.

This evening, I am reprising a private tour from the past.

Today, we benefited from warm and sunny weather.

After fond farewells at our excellent Moreton-in-Marsh lodgings we drove  west for about 30 mins to visit Toff Milway Pottery Studio which, unfortunately, appeared to be deserted. On way we stopped to view and photograph fields of Oil Seed Rape (Canola) the brilliant yellow blooms of which were resplendent in the Spring sunshine.

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We next moved on to nearby Sudeley Castle & Gardens, which proved to be an excellent choice.  This is not a ruin but the lived in home of Lady Ashcombe. The castle is rich in heritage with spells under Royal control including Richard III, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I and Charles I having involvement over the centuries.

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In addition to the royal connections adverted to above, there are romantic ruins, superb gardens, exhibitions, medieval church, art and treasures to view. Setting in a 1200 acre Cotswold estate provides another dimension.

After an hour or so we moved on to Bath to watch glass blowing at the Bath Aqua Theatre of Glass. Bath proved extremely busy and parking was a challenge. However, we just made the glass blowing demonstration in time.This proved very interesting and informative.

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After departing Bath we moved to our new lodgings in Cheltenham where we will spend two days visiting local visitor sites.

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