Hello, it’s Ann here. Terry and I are back from our recent trip to the Welsh Marches part of rustic Britain, and it’s fair to say we had a quintessential refresher experience of the English countryside in the spring, with lambs gamboling in the fields, swathes of bluebells emerging in the woods, and delicate yellow primroses scattered in the hedgerows.

Wait - did I say “English” countryside? Confusing though it is, the term “Welsh Marches” actually refers to the meandering border between England and Wales, and we were definitely situated England-side in the tiny village of Richard’s Castle where our friends Avril and Ian live.

But I’m jumping ahead. First things first:

Our Recent Trip

Arrival Day

After an easy flight where I had a whole row of seats to myself on this fairly empty Delta plane, we found Heathrow Airport to be as crowded and overwhelming as we'd remembered, with long lines for non-UK visitors at the immigration and customs points. You’re well-advised to go with the flow and don’t stress about it, just know that you’re in for a bit of a wait to get through to the other side. On the plus side, the airport staff are polite and helpful and when I was rummaging around in my backpack trying to find my passport, the Heathrow staff member said “Take your time, my lovely, there’s no need to rush”. No hint of sarcasm, either!

We followed the clearly marked signs and from outside the terminal we caught the free shuttle bus to the Europcar rental office. I was pleased to see that this time there were no lines to join. We were disappointed, however, to be told that the small-sized (budget-priced) car was not available, (we were traveling to an area with narrow roads so it was car size that was a major factor) but that we could easily upgrade to the next size up for the 35 pounds a day extra (total 350 pounds). We pushed back, and they offered us 15 pounds a day friends and family rate, but we kept pushing. They clearly didn’t know who they were dealing with, lol, as Terry is loath to give up a well-researched bargain and certainly had no inclination to break with budget so early on in the trip! After a bit more haggling, the Europcar clerk talked to his manager and they agreed to rent us the larger car for the same price as the original one we had booked, probably chalking us up as the proverbial difficult customer. The car itself was a new model of the hybrid Hyundai and very nice too. It took us a few minutes to figure out the controls of this keyless car that had no obvious gear stick and to ascertain how to use the unfamiliar navigation system, but after not too long, we pulled out of the parking lot and onto the suburban roads of Hounslow.

Our first destination was Great Missenden, a picturesque village in the Chilterns, where my cousin and family live, and who had invited us for breakfast. The GPS in the car was easy to follow, but it wasn’t quite au fait with the roadworks being done to construct the HS2 (rail link between London and BIrmingham), so we also had Google Maps running on our phone for the latest detours or one-way systems. Even though we hadn’t driven in the UK for more than 10 years, the roads were easy to navigate thanks to clear road signs and the ubiquitous roundabouts. (That said, we did have to go around some of the roundabouts more than once, to make sure we knew which exit to take!)

After a sumptuous breakfast with Fi, Dan, Josh and Teddy, we continued on our way to Richard’s Castle, and chose the route that took us directly through the lovely Cotswolds. (We could have chosen the motorway route - M40, M42 and M5 - which would have been slightly quicker, at 2 ½ to 3 hours) but we wanted to pursue a more leisurely pace on our first day, especially after enduring a redeye flight. The cars are driven faster than we are used to on the relatively small two lane roads, as they keep to their 60 mph speed limit, 40 mph for us at the most. When there were more than five cars behind us, probably wondering who these tortoises were, we pulled over to let them by. We didn’t mind at all when we were stuck behind the occasional tractor or livestock truck that was going about their countryside daily business. I had forgotten about the magnificent hedges in that part of the world (some of them hundreds of years old) bordering the large fields of crops and pasture. Overhead we were delighted to see a plethora of beautiful red kites - once endangered but now having made a comeback. Not only that, a couple of times we espied a handsome pheasant making its way along a grassy verge.

As we approached the highly popular region of the Cotswolds, we made a couple of stops to explore on foot. Stow-on-the-Wold has numerous tea shops, quaint pubs and gift stops, and has clearly embraced the tourism industry to the max.

While certainly worth a visit, as are the many other villages in this area, I can’t help but wonder how much over the odds you pay for food and accommodation because of the Instagram effect, and the stories of which celebrities have bought homes in the area. On that point, we decided to visit Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm, as we have been enjoying the third season of Clarkson’s Farm (Amazon Prime series). We found the farm easily, and were naively wondering if we’d see Jeremy or Kaleb at work in the farmyard, but as we pulled into the parking lot, we were told that this was the ‘overflow’ parking lot, and that there was a 45 minute wait to get into the farm site. Never mind, we did a U-turn and continued on our way.

It was getting close to lunchtime and we made a stop in the sleepy village of Bledington, for lunch in The Kings Head Inn, a delightful 16th century pub replete with flagstone floors and deep set fireside nook - a sight to see for us ex-pat Brits who hadn’t been home for so long. The food was excellent - and the clientele good for some people-watching (and eavesdropping if I’m honest).

After lunch we wandered around the village green to stretch our legs before continuing on the last leg of the journey. As we got closer to Richard’s Castle, we noticed the landscape becoming distinctly more hilly - maybe with even a hint of a Welsh mountain way off in the distance. Google Maps did us proud, and we felt excited as we turned up the curved driveway of Redhill, Avril and Ian’s timber-framed former farmhouse.

Next Up;

You Built This? (Broomers Barn, Redhill and the an evening stroll to the village)