Tintern Abbey, Wales
Arlington Row, Bibury, in the Cotswolds
We had spent three nights in London and then moved to our second hotel. The hotel was very nice and it turned out to be ideal for the day trips we would take from it, but whenever we mentioned where we were staying, the person we were talking to would apologize for the town. Actually, there’s nothing wrong with Swindon but it I get that it isn’t exactly a prime tourist destination. Still, it’s conveniently located.
Our first day trip from there started with a visit to the ruins of Tintern Abbey, just across the Wye River into Wales. The abbey was founded in 1131. Most of the existing structure was built in the late 13th century and the abbey was abandoned in 1536 upon the Dissolution of the Monasteries under the orders of King Henry VIII (not our favorite Henry). It’s in a lovely site and well worth the visit, especially if you’ve been in cities for four days beforehand. It was a wonderfully beautiful, cool, English day with bright sunshine competing with cloudy shade off and on. The color of the light in the ruins was ever-changing and lovely.
From Tintern we drove north through the Forest of Dean, over to Gloucester, down to Cirencester, and then east to the little village of Bibury, in the Cotswold hills. The Cotswolds are known for the honey-coloured stone buildings and Bibury is a particularly popular example of a Cotswold village. I was a bit worried about finding parking spaces for our two cars but we were blessed to find two, next to each other, right in the center of town.
We enjoyed walking in the late afternoon along Arlington Row and up Awkward Hill (I’d really love to live somewhere named Awkward Hill). We walked a short way on a public footpath to the edge of town and then back by a different route. We all enjoyed being outdoors and in the country instead of in London or even Oxford. We all agreed that we’d go back and spend more time in the Cotswolds, if we had the chance.