Home
Travel StoriesThe Middle West Of England
From The Quaint To The Bucolic
Ride Date 12 July 2024
By Ren Withnell
It's just not the same. I mean yeah OK I did wake in the night for a pee but I did not wake every hour with a sore hip or a numb arm or a cold face. I feel refreshed which leaves me asking "where's the fun in that?!" I mean how can you appreciate your own bed when the other bed you're sleeping in is comfy and warm? That's the point of camping ain't it? It helps you appreciate your home fully.
Breakfast is a full English as you'd expect and pretty much as you'd expect. Back in the room we pack and get ready to depart. Today ought to be an easy day. We're travelling from here in Ashbury to Sollers Hope near Hereford, around 60 miles although I have a slightly longer route planned. We can't be there too early and why waste the chance to have a look around?
Out on the road and the first place of note is Lechlade, initially I notice the campsite on the south side of town that's within walking distance of the town. Regulars will know this is something we like in a campsite and I duly mark up the site on my Google maps. Lechlade is not a large place and appears charming enough to use as a base for future potential adventures.
Burford presents itself well, complete with the honey coloured stone houses, cutesy shops and pubs, and a church that looks like it wanted to be a cathedral. Moreton-in-Marsh has the same coloured stone houses, cutesy shops and pubs, and the remains of a market square now car park - as if often the case. Winchcombe too, along with a local Morrisons who furnish us with chow and refreshments for this evening.
Not all that big, but very ornate and aspirational. The church in Burford.
Moreton-in-Marsh has the same colours and the same cutesy shops.
It is all terribly terribly charming. The countryside comprises of gently undulating fields, hedgerows, clumps of trees, and tiny hamlets and/or farms. It all evokes that Darling Buds of May feeling, Miss Marple and Midsomer Murders, perhaps Downton Abbey? Do I like it though? It's not "impressive" like a mountain range, it's not wild or remote or adventurous, and the roads aren't that interesting. Oh what's the way to put it? Charming? Agreeable? I'm happy to be here, I'm calm and enjoying the day.
Charming and agreeable rather than impressive and adventurous.
It's a blummin' good job we have Sat-Nav. It's also a blummin' good job I'd spent an hour back home looking on Google Maps and Streetview, otherwise we'd still be looking for our lodging three weeks hence. We're off the main road, down the side road, off the single track and finally onto a farm track. There's no passing places hereabouts, you simply head for the ditch or the hedge if you're unfortunate enough to come across another vehicle.
Our lodging was once probably a double garage beside a large fairly modern farmhouse, I'd say from the 90's or 00's. We have a bed and a settee and a kitchenette and a shower come toilet room. It is as described and it is agreeable, clean and functional. The owner's dogs have sniff and a quick bark, the owner takes a few friendly moments to welcome us and show us what's what and then we bring in the luggage.
Compact and very nicely done.
Ooooh lovely, that's a nice touch. A home made lemon cake on the table for our delectation, that won't last long with my sweet tooth.
Cake, Mmmmmmm.
Rather than allowing me to bury my face in the lemon cake Sharon insists I wait until after tea, how mean. Sharon rustles up some tasty morsels but alas all I can think of while eating real food is the cake. I'm eventually allowed a slice before I wash up, it is splendidly sweet with that lemon zing too.
Sollers Hope is but 9 miles from Hereford and there's a number of small villages hereabouts, but Sollers Hope itself is tiny and isolated. We take a stroll and find only the farm buildings belonging to the farm, one other large house, and a church. Having a church apparently makes Sollers Hope a village, I'd barely even rate it as a hamlet, more as the name given to a clump of buildings in the middle of nowhere.
This is the other house in "the village".
It is very rural, very pretty, and very tranquil. Could we live here? It would prove just too tranquil for myself. I'd like a shop for that milk I forgot or to grab a random snack. Perhaps a pub or two if I felt the need to be social once in a while. Maybe a bus stop in case the bike is off the road and I need to get to town for parts? I'm very happy here on holiday, it is quite idyllic, but it's just a little too bucolic for my lifestyle.
Sharon's take is slightly different but runs along the same themes. She's always dreamt of a country cottage and garden filled with flowers, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. However she'd also want a little of the village life where you know your neighbours and perhaps even interact with them, when it suits her of course. We're not antisocial as such, just, errrr... less social?
Before bed I sneak in another slice of lemon cake and we watch a little TV, eventually... It takes we 2 old farts far too long to work out how to get the damn thing going AND get the smart bit to connect to that new fangled interweb thingy. We both work in IT, and yet we can't operate a telly. There is no hope.
I am reassessing my thoughts on The Cotswolds. I've moved from "too perfect and therefore soulless" to "rather nice, but it does have the whiff of wonga". Sat-Nav continues to prove it's worth in allowing me to lead us through all these places rather than having to stick to the main roads for fear of getting lost. There are an awful lot of people in the UK, but there still remains an awful lot of engaging small towns, villages, hamlets and countryside to enjoy.
Another good day I'd say. Sharon's come up trumps with the accommodation again too and we settle in for the night. Dagnammit this bed is comfy too, and warm. I'm not going to want to go home now am I. Pffffft.
Advertise here - contact ren@bikesandtravels.com
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?
From The Quaint To The Bucolic
Honey coloured stone buildings all around, words like "quaint" and "charming" abound. Ren endures another day of likeable towns and comfy beds. He'll have to find something to gripe about.
Hereford And Home
A brief note on the last couple of days of this short trip and Ren is reflecting on just how much countryside there is out there.
Reader's Comments
Upt'North ¹ said :-
There is an element of society that believe things can be too damn nice. I ask why?
Would I live in the Cotswolds, even if I could afford it, no, I wouldn't. Too many damn day trippers from Brum and the surrounding sprawling conurbations for my liking. Although I'm sure there's that perfect location somewhere away from the honey pots, it's just finding it and winning the lottery which prevents my search commencing.
But too pretty, smart, quaint, no I don't think so; it's just that those attributes bring Brummie man and his misbehaving tribe every weekend to throw their chip papers on your lawn after relieving themselves over your rhododendrons.
We have Geordie man up here, much the same except they never wear any clothing above the waist.
We used to go to the honey pots for day rides from Staffordshire, although I never desecrated a rhododendron.
Upt.
22/10/2024 10:04:28 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , lovely looking comfortable lodgings and surroundings , my advice , enjoy it for what it is , no need to second guess why !
Did you get the recipe for the lemon cake ? with winter approaching I always get the urge to bake more....
Nigel
22/10/2024 15:40:49 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'm afraid I didn't get the lemon cake recipe nab301, it wouldn't mean anything to me anyhow - ingredients is a long word but it has little meaning to me. I can mix baked beans with some brown sauce and toast - does that count as baking?
Upt's said - "There is an element of society that believe things can be too damn nice. I ask why?" Why? WHY? Golly man can you not see things can be too damn nice? Look at me, I'm too damn nice I know I am so I have to put on this persona of nastiness otherwise it makes everyone else feel inferior. That's what I've been telling myself all these years anyhow.
Back to reality - it's a question of taste Upt', that's all innit. For me when a place is picture perfect it can feel contrived, unreal, unnatural. Look at the perfectly mown lawn with every blade half an inch, borders so straight engineers set their edges by them and so on. Then look at real nature, that bit of wasteland untouched for eons. The brambles tangle with the nettles and trees, random flowers fight for space with gnarly weeds. Nature sure is messy.
23/10/2024 08:06:45 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
"Nature sure is messy"....
Silly boy Pike.
Upt.
23/10/2024 09:55:46 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
That - boyo - is a farm field. Managed, controlled, manipulated, and tended by man made machinery. Pfffffft.
23/10/2024 10:55:41 UTC
ian said :-
i live east of oxford, the cotswolds is the obvious bike ride but....especialyy if you seek out smaller roads, there's a lot of big cars, bulbous jeep like, that you find coming at you in the middle oif the road as you round a bend. Also it is getting busier so, if I can, I make the effort to get across the little known haw bridge and from there, south glos. head into herefordshire which, yes is bleak but the roads aren't too bad. It hots up if you head south from there into the area loosely known as the forest of dean, empty sort of towns, a bit ;like there might have been a war and this id the aftermath. So where else, Wales I guess.Photo of me, kneeling, and my gang.
30/10/2024 09:39:38 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice looking ST13.
30/10/2024 09:54:57 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Just keep paying for my pension Ren.
30/10/2024 10:55:14 UTC
Name
Comment
Add a RELEVANT link (not required)
Upload an image (not required) -
Uploading...
Home
Travel StoriesThe Middle West Of England