While in Bath, we take a day tour to the Cotswolds

On' our second full day in Bath, we set out on a tour with Mad Max to the picturesque villages of the Cotswold Hills.

As we were leaving Bath, our tour guide told us a little about the "Bath stone".  The entire city is built of the cream-colored limestone.   An important feature of Bath Stone is that it can be cut in perfect angles to form the building blocks.

However, some of it doesn't look so great.

He pointed out a building that has not had the limestone cleaned of centuries of dirt and smoke from the chimneys.  It looked almost black in comparison to the cleaned-up limestone which has the creamy color.

Then it was on to our first village, Castle Combe.  It is said to be the prettiest village in the Cotswolds.

This has been a movie and historical drama film location for Stardust, Warhorse, Poirot as well as the original Dr. DoLittle and maybe even Pride and Prejudice.  Evidently this market area was featured in the films.

It's called the medieval market cross.  When deals were made during market, the parties would stand under the cross.  And it was always located next to the church...guess it kept the people honest in their transactions.

St. Andrews church

The beauty of the villages is the result of wealth and then economic disaster.  Wool was the large industry in medieval England and it was said that the Cotswold wool was the best.

The Cotswold region prospered; beautiful homes and churches were built.  Then the woolen industry collapsed with the Industrial Revolution and the rise of cotton.  People left their homes and time stood still in these villages.

Today's industry is tourism.

Cotswold architecture is at its best in the picturesque Arlington Row village, built in the 14th century.

This was the perfect time of year to see lots of blooming flowers....and it was a perfect-weather day!

We did see a couple thatched-roof houses.  This one I barely caught as we sped by.

As we drove along the countryside from village to village, our driver/guide filled us with stories.  He pointed out a house that had a 'witches cross' on the gable.  It would only be on houses built before 1735 as the belief at that time was that when witches flew over, they would see the cross and flee.

After 1735, they knew better.

At Stow-on-the-Wold we stopped for lunch at a charming little tea room.

Cake and scones with clotted cream and jam.  It was delicious!

The last village we visited was Bourton on the Water.  It is known as the Venice of the Cotswolds with its 5 quaint stone bridges over the meandering River Windrush.

We enjoyed our time here walking along the river and sitting watching the ducks swim by.

On the way back to Bath, we passed by Highgrove, Prince Charles' home in the Cotswolds, near the town of Tetbury.

This is all we could see...one of the entrances.

From the internet I grabbed a photo of Highgrove castle.  It is famous for its gardens.

When teenager Prince Harry visited his father at Highgrove, he would often get into trouble at the nearby Rattlebone Inn pub.

Back in Bath, we had just a few minutes to get ready for dinner with two friends that Terry met on his Everest Base Camp trek. 

This was the tallest hamburger I have ever seen!

Amanda and Edd live not far from Bath and we enjoyed an evening reliving the trek and learning more about each other.

It was a great way to end our visit to Bath!

The next morning we head to Southampton to board the ship for our Norwegian Fjord and Midnight Sun cruise.

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