Gloucester

I arrived in Gloucester on Tuesday afternoon a couple of hours later than I had planned. The remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo were blowing up all over England. It was major news. News reporters speculated on travel interruption for Tuesday. They were right about the travel interruptions. All I can say is that it was a touch blustery. However, this did translate to me sitting on the tracks in my train from Manchester for about 20 minutes for some track/weather related issues in Stafford.The result, for me, was that I missed my connecting train in Birmingham but 3 minutes.  

After getting the proper authorities to stamp my ticket, I had a new journey to follow in order to complete my trip to Gloucester. I had to catch a train to Cheltenham and then another to Gloucester. Fortunately I was able to email my B&B and let Keith know that I would be a good bit later than anticipated.   Fortunately, Keith was a very accomodating and welcoming host. We had a cup of tea and a good long chat upon my arrival. This is one of the nicer B&Bs that I have stayed in. Very comfortable (awesome duvet), great hosts, easy to find, and homemade granola and bread (delicious).  

As it was well into the afternoon, and I was late, I hadn't managed to have any lunch. Off to find food. Cafe Renee's was recommended to me, which turned out to be a pub really and not a cafe as I would imagine one. I ordered a mini burger, salad, and a half pint of beer. Everything was great. As I left the cafe, I could hear the bells of the cathedral peeling and thought that I would head over and have a look at Gloucester Cathedral. Turns out I was just on time for 5:30 Evensong. So I attended the service. This time the choir was made of solely of boys and men. The service was very similar to the one I attended at York Minster.  
I was interested in seeing the Cotswolds, and that is why I chose Gloucester as a place to rest my head. I was able to get to see some of the Cotswolds from this location and there was a train station in town too! I had a lovely long chat with Joan, the host on Wednesday morning after breakfast. Both she and Keith had suggested that I may want to take a bus around to different villages and towns to explore the Cotswolds. This is what I ended up doing.  

First order of business for the morning was a run. I ran to Gloucester Park and back and, unfortunately, think I have done some damage to my right foot. I am an some serious pain at rest but especially when I am walking, which is basically always. I don't know if I have done a sprain or a strain. I can't remember turning it while running but the ground here is very uneven so anything is possible. It seems like my old tendenosis is rearing its ugly head. Guess it is back to my physio stretching! This is a bit discouraging and I am not too sure what to do about it. Likely, it is one of these injuries that needs rest...  

Anyway, after my run and shower, I headed out to the bus that took me to Cheltenham. From there, I was able to catch a coach that would take me to a number of different towns. I chose to hop off at Bourton on the Water for my first town visit. The downtown is very quaint. It is obviously set up for tourists. Every other shop is either a cafe, a restaurant, an antique store, or a store selling knick knacks. I stopped for lunch first at one of the cafes. After that, I walked along the water, which was a small river flowing through the town. There were a lot of ducks and people were feeding them.  

My next stop on the bus was Stow on the Wold. This town was traditionally a market town, selling sheep. Fairs have been held here since 1330, by royal charter. The library building is set up in the centre of town. There are roads along all sides of this building and it creates a type of square area as the town centre. Again, the town is set up for tourists - cafes, pubs, antiques stores. I enjoyed some chocolate from a local shop there. St. Edward's church is the main, large church of the town. I walked the grounds and through the cemetary. The church was closed to visitors on that day, as were a number of shops and pubs.  

It had started raining by the time I was done wandering through Stow in the Wold. I hopped back on the bus and headed to Moreton in the Marsh. I chose not to hop off at this point as it was rainy, I was cold, and the town seemed to have more of the same - cafes, pubs, antiques. I totally understand why people want to visit here. It would be like going to St. Jacob's, Niagara on the Lake, or Stratford back home. Since what ever I purchase, I will be carrying on my back, shopping is not really what I want to be doing while I am away.   I really wanted to see one of the iconic thatched roof homes in the Cotswolds but believe it or not, I saw none. The bus ride back to Cheltenham was about an hour and a half and I sat back and enjoyed the English country side as it passed by.  

A short but sweet visit to Gloucester ended with my catchin the train on Thursday morning for a two hour ride to London.