I checked out Walking in the Cotswolds from the Crowthorne library; there are many great walks within an hour or two from us. We chose Buscot to Kelmscott because it is close-ish and I read that William Morris lived in Kelmscott. He was an architect, artist, textile designer, author, printer and an important associate of the English Arts and Crafts movement. He is a fascinating man who helped establish the modern fantasy genre and his writing influenced J. R. R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. He is inspiring me right now!
Every morning we wake up to these beautiful spider webs on our cars.
The walk starts in Buscot, which we didn't see very much of. It appears to be a very small and charming village.
Leaving the lock we started on the walk along the Thames.
The path is lined with electrified fencing, a little nerve wracking with boisterous bodies to supervise.
The cement structure in the photo above is a World War II pill box, one of three or four seen on the walk.
This was our first visit to the upper Thames, a much quieter part of the river.
I love walking with the boys. They tell jokes, sing songs, are entertained by sticks and rocks and leaves and tell us long stories.
Here are my hand written directions. I was tempted to not write it all down, but they were so specific and we would not have found our way without them.
Approaching Kelmscott, there are cottages and a manor house inspired by William Morris.
I know there are gobs of photos, but the entire walk is amazingly beautiful. And the weather was misty and quiet adding to the magic.
We stopped for a nice late lunch at the Plough Inn, and honestly were underdressed, but they welcomed us warmly and the beef bourguignon was so good I wanted to lick the plate clean. Regretfully, they ran out of the herbed dumplings!!
I want this fence!
This next photo was the home of William Morris in Kelmscott. It is open to visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the summer months.
As we began our walk out of town back to Buscot, it became apparent that we were not going to make it back in daylight.
The last 45 minutes of our walk was in complete darkness, walking through fields, up and over mossy, slippery stiles and across footbridges, reading my hand written directions by the light of our cell phone.
Every morning we wake up to these beautiful spider webs on our cars.
The walk starts in Buscot, which we didn't see very much of. It appears to be a very small and charming village.
This is the Buscot Lock house, the smallest lock on the River Thames. Beside it is a National Trust picnic area.
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| Sunshine on Mike's shoulder...can you spot it? |
Leaving the lock we started on the walk along the Thames.
The path is lined with electrified fencing, a little nerve wracking with boisterous bodies to supervise.
The cement structure in the photo above is a World War II pill box, one of three or four seen on the walk.
 |
| Can you see Michael? |
This was our first visit to the upper Thames, a much quieter part of the river.
I love walking with the boys. They tell jokes, sing songs, are entertained by sticks and rocks and leaves and tell us long stories.
Here are my hand written directions. I was tempted to not write it all down, but they were so specific and we would not have found our way without them.
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| Cross the footbridge. |
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| Kale shakes! |
Approaching Kelmscott, there are cottages and a manor house inspired by William Morris.
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| Detail of slate tiles. |
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| Manor house. |
I know there are gobs of photos, but the entire walk is amazingly beautiful. And the weather was misty and quiet adding to the magic.
We stopped for a nice late lunch at the Plough Inn, and honestly were underdressed, but they welcomed us warmly and the beef bourguignon was so good I wanted to lick the plate clean. Regretfully, they ran out of the herbed dumplings!!
I want this fence!
This next photo was the home of William Morris in Kelmscott. It is open to visitors on Wednesdays and Saturdays in the summer months.
As we began our walk out of town back to Buscot, it became apparent that we were not going to make it back in daylight.
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| A home on the river. |
The last 45 minutes of our walk was in complete darkness, walking through fields, up and over mossy, slippery stiles and across footbridges, reading my hand written directions by the light of our cell phone.
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| La belle Iseult, William Morris |
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| Madonna and Child, Edward Burne-Jones, example of stained glass from Arts and Crafts Movement, Winchester Cathedral. |
You are giving me the travel bug!
ReplyDeleteKristin, good! I would love to live for a while on that little river boat with the smoke wafting up from the chimney.
ReplyDelete