Out of the Office: Exploring the Cotswolds

One morning we met my cousins and their brood to ride bikes over to a fabulous little playground. It was a fun morning and I wish we could have joined them all for lunch at the pub, but Finn was nearing tired meltdown so we headed home for his nap.

After naptime we went around to several of the little towns in the Cotswolds. We started in Bourton-on-the-water. Finn and Juniper played in the river. The rest of us explored some of the shops, including pottery and sweets. This town is picturesque and as such, draws a good crowd of tourists. I'm told the best time to visit to avoid the crowds is the evening.

Note that this bridge was constructed the year the US became a country.

Not pictured here, but we next went to Lower Slaughter where we walked to the mill/ gift shop/ tea room. We had some fabulous ice cream. They had a flavor called "Brown Bread," that was really made with brown bread. It was delicious!
We went through the beautiful town of Bibury. This town has a fabulous-looking trout farm for fishing. We didn't go there, but it looked like fun for kids.

I loved the last town we hit for the day, Burford. The buildings were fabulously historical.

Our cottages were situated next to a residence that housed a few farm animals. The kind owner invited our kids over to see their new puppies. Finn was immediately drawn to the chickens, which were a small but handsome Belgian breed.

Finn wanted more than anything to pet the rooster he'd been hearing and imitating since our arrival. The rooster got all defensive, flew up and pecked him. I think it hurt Finn's feelings more than anything.

The sweet new puppies were a hit as well.

I didn't get many good photos of the town of Chipping Norton, but I really liked this place. They had a fabulous outdoor market, including a bakery stand that sold some of the most delicious sandwich bread, called Tiger Bread. Wow. Almost as impressive as these boots I saw for sale.