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Travel StoriesThe Middle West Of England
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
Ride Date 11 July 2024
By Ren Withnell
"I reckon about 180 miles sweetie". And the weather is a bit moist this morning but hopefully it should ease off as the day goes on. I suppose we could use the motorway but I think we'll be fine going across country, especially as we both have Sat-Nav which means I won't get lost. Well, not too lost. Hopefully. Maybe. OK ok, less lost?
Cheshire is actually quite pretty. I think the problem is with Sharon living almost next door to Cheshire and us riding around here quite often it's easy to stop noticing. It lacks drama though. There's no great mountains, you're never far from another small town, and there's no seaside. The large towns are, err, large towns, the villages are very pleasant. There are the odd spots where the money is repulsively ostentatious. Cheshire is nice, just not that interesting. We both agree it'd be a nice place to live though.
Our convoluted and meandering route takes us through Audlem and thence to Market Drayton. Morrisons provide us with a brew and our first rest. Shropshire is a little more interesting even if it's just because we don't get here quite as often. It does have more hills, it also has Telford which is a town complete with concrete flyovers and traffic. Things rapidly improve as we pass through the now familiar territory of Ironbridge and Broseley.
Glamorous views from Market Drayton Morrisons.
Bridgnorth merely provides a place to stop and visit the "rest rooms" as the Yanks would say. Bridgnorth is oddly nicer than I expected, I mean it's never going to make it on the top ten quaintest UK villages but I was expecting a glorified industrial estate so I was pleasantly charmed. And the public toilets are clean.
Bridgnorth is better than expected.
I've had a problem with The Cotswolds for some time now, 2017 to be precise. We passed through back then on my way home from Dad's and I found it too damn wealthy, too damn perfect, too damn nice, and there's not a single washing machine, settee or Land Rover on bricks in any of the front gardens. There's a large area much in the same vein as the repulsively ostentatious bits of Cheshire.
I ought to know better. Yes, OK, Stow-on-the-Wold is still nice but I'm from Bolton, everywhere seems nice. I must have different glasses on today as it's not feeling quite so Chelsea Tractor and Old School Tie, there's a Mazda and a kid pulling wheelies as we fill up at the petrol station. Maybe it's because Sharon and I are earning more than we did in 2017, we don't feel quite so poor. Oh, damn, that's a rather nice Merc 4x4 with tinted windows. Pffffft.
Not every car is prestige, and they have traffic jams in Stow-on-the-Wold.
We kind of know already that Ashbury is a small pretty village, we've got Google StreetView. However Ashbury is not a disappointment. As we roll into the village the flowers are in bloom, the trees are verdant and vibrant, and the thatches are omnipresent. Any moment now Miss Marple will pop up and accuse me of murdering a terribly nice vicar in the knave with a gold plated lectern.
You can't miss the pub come hotel, the Rose And Crown dominates the ancient cottages and small village. Within is your usual country pub but not all is quite as it first appears. Has there been a murder? No, but someone's making the staff use a new computer system and it's thrown everyone into disarray. Between the pleasant smiles and polite comments there's an air of tension, someone's not doing their job, someone else is hacked off and this blasted system ain't helping. "There's your keys Madam" has the merest hint of bitterness behind it as Sharon books us in.
The accommodation for the night. You can't miss it.
The room is fine, nothing special mind but we didn't pay special prices. It's clean and smart and fresh although the floorboards undulate wildly and creak with ancient character. We are perfectly satisfied as we make a brew and throw off our sweaty bike gear.
We've booked in for an evening meal at 1900 and I notice our waitress doesn't seem to be suffering with the other staff, she's friendly, alert and attentive. I can't decide however if we've ordered the wrong items off the menu and it's not to our taste, or if the food is a bit disappointing tonight. It doesn't matter, we've dined and we'll be fine. Let's go for a walk?
Ashbury is every bit the quintessential English village. If you look closely actually most of the houses are, I dunno, less than say 80 years old but it's the thatched roofed and small windowed cottages we tend to notice. On this Thursday evening there's barely any traffic and the couple of dog walkers we meet civilly say good evening. Sharon spends far too much time with her nose in flowers and we jokingly scoff at the fact one car is, wait for it, 10 YEARS OLD!!
Someone likes Ashbury, because someone thinks she's posh.
It's not ALL like this, but it is a lovely village.
I'm sure a murder-mystery must have been written about here.
We take a bath - a bath not a shower - and get ready for bed. This is far a more humane experience than camping. There's no losing your sock under a pile of cooking utensils and waterproof garments, there's a mains socket to charge the phone, there's no mud by the door and the sleeping arrangements are warm and comfortable. It does rather eat into the holiday budget though.
It is good to reassess and revisit, The Cotswolds area is still awfully posh but I'm starting to see a little character in the place too. I'm also enjoying how Sat-Nav allows us to keep off the motorway network without being perpetually and hopelessly lost. We've had the weather on our side. I think we've had a good day today.
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Prologue - The Middle West Of England
In a completely unnecessary level of exposition Ren explains the lead up to a short break. There's genius maps to help in case you're bored.
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
It's about time Ren rethinks his position on what is generally considered a nice part of England. It's all very nice, but is it too nice?
Reader's Comments
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I don't wish to discuss money Ed, it's so vulgar. But English B and B's, food, drink, snack stops are all incredibly expensive. I don't know when it happened but we went from OK to blummin eck sometime ago.
Consider this....
From our recent trip. Near the toe.
One nights bed, breakfast and evening meal including
Beer and water on arrival.
Wine with the evening meal.
Coffee aplenty.
Undercover parking for the motorcycle and the loan of some anti mossie stuff.
How much I hear you ask for a room and food to die for. Good wine too.
On the credit card it translated to £108.00.
I'll attach a link.
The most expensive country we visited was undoubtedly France. Everything was expensive with the possible exception of pure accommodation.
Upt.
https://www.ilpago.eu/...
16/10/2024 13:27:54 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Why are we Brits so prudish when talking about money? Some places I've worked you can get fired for even discussing wages, in Norway that information is publicly available.
£108 ?!?!?!? Beer, I don't drink beer, or wine, or coffee. Food I do eat and I do do sleeping though. £108 seems like an awful lot to me... then let me think. A "cheap" room in the UK, £50 to £60 these days. A good meal out, £20 per head minimum. Breakfast £8 to £10 per head. Yeah, OK, I can see how that £108 is fair value, and my prices are me being cheap.
17/10/2024 08:13:01 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I have to say (well I would wouldn't I) that I don't find France more expensive than here. It's still quite easy to find the €15 menu du jour with 3 or 4 course and often 25cl of wine thrown in. It's worth searching out the Relais truckstops where the food is generally excellent and cheap (look for the car park full of artics). Coffee is rarely more than €2. I do agree that evening meals can be pricy but lunchtimes (dinner to you Ren) are generally far more affordable.
It's a while since I've stayed in a French hotel but a quick shufti at the Logis de France website shows me loads of rooms in the €60 - €80 range.
And of course municipal campsites are happy to take €12 a night including electricity......
17/10/2024 12:21:18 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I certainly wouldn't argue about French and English prices, both just as eye wateringly expensive.
But after 8 countries, Italy definitely came out on top for quality and value. No where else came close.
Don't even start me on Belgium!
You could spend money in Italy but you had to try quite hard. Whereas Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, France etc, just think of a price and double it and you'll be close. Northern Italy was a little more expensive than the South for probably no better reason than it's a richer area.
The southern Italians were more pleasant too. Until they got on or in a vehicle of course.
I know Ed suggested £20.00 per head for an evening meal, that would not be easy to achieve in anywhere calling itself a restaurant. You'd get a simple pasta mains and a glass of water for that, but little else. And I don't do water, that is unless it is mixed with ground coffee for five minutes then poured into a suitable mug.
Those €2 coffees are pretty rare too. Yes at a truck stop or small town cafe maybe but on the autoroute, autastrada, autobahn, not a chance, double it and you'd be close. Plus those small town cafes are all turning into Costas or holiday homes.
But those are the joys of travel and coffee is way more important than money.
Upt.
17/10/2024 15:34:07 UTC
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Travel StoriesThe Middle West Of England