cotswolds to gloucester

The Cotswolds is a range of hills in west-central England, known for its natural beauty and quaint villages with buildings of honey-colored stone.

Many of the villages in the Cotswolds have charming names like Wotton-under-Edge, Moreton-in-Marsh, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Upper and Lower Slaughter.

So very convenient.

The quiet, picturesque lanes were a pleasant ride.

The climb up this hill was long and gradual,...

...the ride down, fast and exhilarating.

Idyllic, hidden places like this are easy to stumble upon when you're cycling.

The Cotswold town of Winchcombe and its beautiful buildings.







The latest forms of communication have made it to this sleepy little village.

Time for mid-afternoon cream tea.

Tewkesbury is a pretty, small town known for its Abbey and for having been the site of a famous battle during the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Tewkesbury, in 1471. It stands where the River Severn and the River Avon meet. A few days after we passed through the town, it flooded - severely.

Tewkesbury, transformed into an island.

Do you think they roll off their beds at night?

Tewkesbury Abbey, built in the 12th century.

Below are the cloisters of Gloucester Cathedral, which surround a grassy courtyard and were once used by monks for quiet meditation. If they look familiar, it's because they were used in several of the Harry Potter films as part of the backdrop for Hogwart's Castle.

Tomb of a husband and wife from the early 1600s. They were married for 50 years and had 13 children.

Graffiti covered tomb of Abbot William Parker (d. 1539)

"Husband you carved in marble here your wife.. ..Thus you'd ensure her immortality... ..But Christ my hope and trust was all my life... ..So God forbids that I should mortal be."

Translation of the Latin epitaph of Elizabeth, wife of W I Williams and daughter of Miles Smith, Bishop of Gloucester. Died in Childbirth aged 17 in 1622.

Tomb of Abraham Blackleech (d. 1639) and his wife.

Tomb of Robert, Duke of Normandy, eldest son of William the Conqueror.

The cathedral's gigantic pipe organ.

The Minotaur and the Hare, Cheltenham.