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Broadway Cottage

Broadway Cottage

The village of Broadway in the Cotswolds is described as a show village due to the fact that it receives large amounts of tourists every day. The village main street is lined on both sides with wonderful houses and cottages. This particular one caught my eye due to the wisteria growing over the door the colour of the blossoms seem to beautifully enhance the warm Cotswold stonework.

Broadway has plenty of shops to browse and several fine restaurants and cafes, making it ideal for a longer visit situated on the edge of the vale of Evesham it is also well placed as a base to explore the area with many interesting destinations to discover nearby.

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Great Malvern and Priory

malvern priory

Last year I visited great Malvern and made straight to the magnificent priory to have a look around once  inside I was impressed by the roof and the stained glass windows,  but I think it was the massive round columns that grabbed my attention the most. Great Malvern itself is a nice place to visit in the past it attracted a host of famous people from royalty both foreign and domestic to writers and artists and musicians. It is this last profession that is perhaps most associated with the town in the person of Edward Elgar he lived in the area for most of his life, his favourite tea room the Bluebird is still there today.

Malvern priory lampost

CS Lewis and Jr Tolkien walked the Malvern hills together and both found inspiration here for their respective works. The hills were the white mountains of Gondor for Tolkien and it is said that one snowy night on their way back from a pub CS Lewis saw a lampost and remarked to Tolkien that it made a good opening for a novel. I was just walking back to my car through the priory grounds and what did I see?.

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Canal boat

canal boat spring

On a Sunday afternoon walk along a canal towpath, I came across this old boat moored up, I was immediately struck how the boat seemed to be part of the spring landscape. The hawthorn behind the boat is heavy with blossom and the whole scene is alive.

The rusting boat, paint peeling,  the reflections in the water and the trees, all seem to combine to form an almost impressionist painting and making a strange but great picture.

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Window in the Ruins

 

Ruin Window2

Sudeley castle was once the site of a great banqueting hall built by King Richard III of England these atmospheric ruins are next to the present day building.  Richard as the then Duke of Gloucester used this as a base during the battle of Tewksbury later he swapped Sudeley for Richmond castle in Yorkshire. Ironically, when he became king the ownership of Sudeley, which had passed to the crown, became his again.

I was exploring the ruins and had taken a pathway into the beautiful gardens when I passed the old building from the rear. As I walked passed, the grass verges which were overgrown with tall grass and had gone wild I spotted the windows framed with wildflowers and weeds.

I thought this contrasted well with the perfectly manicured interior, which is visible through the window. I particularly like the contrast not just of the interior and exterior but also the way the plants looked against the worn stone of the building.

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Bibury Arlington Row

bibury arlingotn row

This tiny village in the Cotswolds gets huge amounts of visitors due to this lovely row of cottages called Arlington Row. It is a funny place to photograph as the light does not hit the cottages for very long in the day nonetheless there are always scores of people with cameras visiting every day. William Morris called the place the prettiest village in England a statement that no doubt has increased its popularity.

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Hay on Wye

Wandering around lovely Hay on Wye when I came across Richard Booths shop this was the man that made the place world renown and started the Literary festival  at Hay he further increased the towns fame by proclaiming it The Kingdom of hay and crowning himself King !!. This bookshop is the sort of place you could enter and never return from I was torn between my love of photography and my other passion reading. I did browse the shop which is fantastic and also had afternoon tea in the cafe inside, I included this shot because I couldn’t believe my luck when this gentlemen ( no bribed relation i might add ) exited the book  shop and promptly sat down to read his purchase amazing.

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Sleeping Queen Catherine Parr

Ladys Tomb

Catherine Parr Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife and one that survived him by not losing her head is buried at Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire. The Queen is interred in a marble tomb inside a pretty chapel. The discovery of her remains and coffin were the subject of a remarkable story, discovered by some ladies in 1782 who were out for a stroll in the countryside. It is said when the airtight coffin was opened the Queen Looked as if she had just fallen asleep and was not decayed. Later she was re- interred in the site you can visit today at her home Sudeley castle near Winchcombe. I took this shot from the back of the tomb as I wanted it to look as if she was still asleep and hopefully is more atmospheric.

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Guiting Power

On a trip to the Cotswolds I was driving through the most picturesque countryside imaginable when I saw a sign for Guiting Power the name intrigued me so much that i took a detour. When I arrived in the hamlet I was thrilled that I had made the change to my  route as this lovely scene appeared in view the warm mellow Cotswold stone lit by the evening sun beautiful.

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Cotswold Cottage

Cotswold Cottage

I took this photo on my first trip to the Cotswolds I must admit I was totally awestruck at the beautiful countryside and villages. Every village seemed to have endless photo opportunities this shot was taken as i was leaving this village and turned out to be the best one.

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RSPCA Traction Engine

This great looking engine was not only a striking red colour but it was in superb condition I particularly liked the side view which emphasised the circle shapes of the pulley and wheel I’m not sure what role this engine was used for as I could not see anyone to ask.