https://cotswolds.info/ Blog posts, diaries and articles from Cotswolds.Info. Tourist information and travel guide to the Cotswolds, England: villages and towns, places of history, gardens, attractions, walks, events and places to stay and eat. en-gb https://cotswolds.info/images/generic/cotswoldsinfo_logo170x85.png https://cotswolds.info/ Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/big-sky-country.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/big-sky-country.shtml Walter Wentz, an American living in the Cotswolds, recalls a summer in Montana and Wyoming, from bison and bears in Yellowstone to bitter winters. Walter Wentz Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/broadway.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/broadway.shtml An American resident's honest take on what to do in Broadway, a Cotswold village of about 2,500 people, from its friendly locals to historic Priors Manse. Walter Wentz Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/hero.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/hero.shtml Walter Wentz pays tribute to Ernie Folkes of Broadway, a quiet D-Day veteran who landed at Sword Beach in 1944 and later sold poppies in the Cotswold village. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-visit.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-visit.shtml Ralph Green recalls his first visit to the Cotswolds aged 14, on a 1952 cycling tour of England with his brother, staying at youth hostels each night. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/tracks-and-roads.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/tracks-and-roads.shtml Trace the ancient tracks and roads across the Cotswolds, from ridgeway paths used after the Ice Age to the eight roads that now radiate from Stow-on-the-Wold. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/bonfire-night.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/bonfire-night.shtml An American living in the Cotswolds explains Bonfire Night with humour, telling the story of Guy Fawkes, the Gunpowder Plot and why Britain celebrates. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/cape-town.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/cape-town.shtml Cathy Retief-Neil describes summer in Cape Town, from a BBC World Service broadcast on Table Mountain to whale sightings and views across False Bay. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/christmas-summer.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/christmas-summer.shtml Read Cathy Retief-Neil's account of a warm South African Christmas, with seven months of sunny days, no central heating and family from the Cotswolds. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/dry-stone-walls.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/dry-stone-walls.shtml Learn about the mortar-free dry stone walls of the Cotswold Hills and how they shape the landscape, told by a former Stow tourist centre assistant. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/cotswolds-misery.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/cotswolds-misery.shtml A blog about the June 2007 floods that hit Broadway and much of England, forcing over 10,000 people from their homes, and the community spirit that followed. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/morris-dancers.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/morris-dancers.shtml Learn about Morris dancing in the Cotswolds, an English folk dance traced to the 13th century, with its bells, handkerchiefs, sticks and fiddle music. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-place-names.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-place-names.shtml Discover the meaning of Cotswold place names, most of them Anglo-Saxon from the 8th century, including endings such as ley and ton and later Norman additions. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-stone-roofs.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-stone-roofs.shtml Find out how Cotswold stone roof slates are made by hand, using two methods dating back to Roman times, and why they still top so many Cotswold houses. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/deserted-villages.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/deserted-villages.shtml Discover the deserted medieval villages of the Cotswolds, around 80 sites where bumps, hollow ways and banks in the fields reveal where villagers once lived. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/dogs-in-the-cotswolds.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/dogs-in-the-cotswolds.shtml An American living in Broadway writes about dogs in the Cotswolds, from fields where they can run free to rabbit chasing with Charlie, his Cocker Spaniel. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/economic-protectionism.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/economic-protectionism.shtml Walter Wentz, a retired economics professor living in the Cotswolds, argues that protectionism is not all bad and that every country practises it. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/los-angeles.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/los-angeles.shtml Walter Wentz explains his move from Los Angeles to Broadway in the Cotswolds, a village at least a thousand years old where his 400-year-old house is new. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/garden-route.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/garden-route.shtml Follow Cathy Retief-Neil beyond Cape Town over Sir Lowry's Pass and the Overberg onto the 600-kilometre Garden Route of forests, lakes and pristine beaches. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/hello-sterlingland.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/hello-sterlingland.shtml Cathy Retief-Neil explains what a pound could buy in South Africa at the time of writing, with the rand exchange rate and prices of petrol and bread. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/bourton-on-the-water.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/bourton-on-the-water.shtml A local resident traces the history of Bourton-on-the-Water, from Stone Age settlement and Iron Age currency bars to the Saxon origins of the village's name. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/cotswold-cottage.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/cotswold-cottage.shtml An American writer describes life in a 400-year-old Cotswold cottage in Broadway, comparing its thick stone walls and quirks with a Southern California house. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/spot-on-globe.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/spot-on-globe.shtml Meet Cathy Retief-Neil, a Scottish-born journalist in the Cape Winelands whose daughter moved to Banbury, as she introduces her links with the Cotswolds. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/never-go-back.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/never-go-back.shtml Walter Wentz, an American living in the Cotswolds, reflects on a return visit to Southern California and why it confirmed the old saying never go back. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/health-service.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/health-service.shtml An American in the Cotswolds compares chaotic US medical care with Britain's health service, written in 2009 as Barack Obama pushed for reform. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/morgan-cars.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/morgan-cars.shtml An American in Broadway writes about owning a Morgan, the wooden-framed British sports car built in Malvern Link, and the Morgan Sports Car Club rallies. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/banbury-cross.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/banbury-cross.shtml Cathy Retief-Neil recalls three weeks with her children in Banbury, a stay in Broadway and trips to Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/ridge-and-furrows.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/ridge-and-furrows.shtml Find out why rows of humps cover fields in the Cotswolds and Vale of Evesham: the remains of ridge and furrow, a ploughing method dating to Saxon times. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/rollright-stones.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/rollright-stones.shtml Discover the Rollright Stones, a stone circle near Little Rollright and Long Compton, seven miles from Stow-on-the-Wold beside the ancient Jurassic Way. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/gypsy-horse-fair.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/gypsy-horse-fair.shtml Discover the history of the Gypsy Horse Fair at Stow-on-the-Wold, held twice a year, where hundreds of horses are paraded and sold in a single day. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/stow-on-the-wold.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/stow-on-the-wold.shtml Discover the history of Stow-on-the-Wold, an ancient Cotswold wool town on a hilltop beside the Fosse Way, and the story behind its old market square. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/south-africa.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/south-africa.shtml Discover the wild side of South Africa, the Rainbow Nation, as Cathy Retief-Neil travels from the Cape coast through the Karoo to game parks in the north. Cathy Retief-Neil Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/battle-of-stow.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/battle-of-stow.shtml The history of the Battle of Stow-on-the-Wold on 21 March 1646 in the English Civil War, and why rival armies so often passed through this Cotswold town. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-lion-sheep.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/cotswold-lion-sheep.shtml Learn about the Cotswold Lion, the sheep behind the region's wool wealth, from Roman estates near Cirencester to the villages and market towns it left. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/blogs/the-beginning.shtml https://cotswolds.info/blogs/the-beginning.shtml Learn how the Cotswolds began, a 70-mile line of limestone hills from near Stratford-upon-Avon to Bath, formed from sediments laid down millions of years ago. Ralph Green Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/the-fights.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/the-fights.shtml Walter Wentz offers a humorous American take on England's long history of fighting on other people's soil, from the Battle of Hastings in 1066 onwards. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/tantalus.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/tantalus.shtml An American in the Cotswolds celebrates British eccentricity, from Screaming Lord Sutch's policies to the Tantalus, a locked decanter stand bought in London. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/credit-crunch.shtml https://cotswolds.info/american-blog/credit-crunch.shtml A former marketing professor in the Cotswolds offers business advice for the credit crunch, urging owners to talk to customers and make more sales calls. Walter Wentz Mon, 24 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/articles/walk_along_the_thames.shtml https://cotswolds.info/articles/walk_along_the_thames.shtml A 2002 newspaper article recalls walking the River Thames from the Cotswolds, noting otters returning near Lechlade and wildlife along the riverbank. Wed, 16 Dec 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/stellenbosch-wine-route.shtml https://cotswolds.info/cathydiaries/stellenbosch-wine-route.shtml Cathy Retief-Neil shares a Cape Winelands Christmas in summer, with Table Mountain dawns, 30ºC days and her outdoorsy children visiting from Banbury. Cathy Retief-Neil Tue, 27 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT