The Cotswolds call our name

 With Albert behind the wheel, we left the city of Bath behind us and headed into the area of the UK known as the Cotswolds.It is a district in the Gloucestershire and is almost 800 sq. Miles. They are famous for their rolling green hills, stone walls and charming quaint towns. 

The view on our way to the Chedworth Roman Villa. The bright yellow. Rape seed plants ( canola plants) are magnificient!

 The Roman Villa is located down a windy one lane road. It was surprisingly busy but not the hordes of tourists we’ve faced before. We could wonder around and with the help of the volunteer docent, we learned a lot about the Romans in the area.  This is a large house with well preserved mosaic flors in every room. A few of the main rooms are uncovered and with the help of a very costly building covering them we are able to see the beauty.  Many of the other rooms have been uncovered, photographed,mapped and then covered with a protective barrier and a thin layer of topsoil and grass to protect them from the harsh elements here in the Cotswold. The warming and cooling cycle of the seasons would cause the tiles to pop up and become displaced. 

This is an underground heating vent to provide heated floors

Through out the building we could catch glimpses of the magnificient flooring. This is looking down at the entrance to the dinning room. Of course like all Roman villas, they had their own baths!

This room would have had a floor and the heated water was here

The wood area that heated the water

The floor of the changing room. This house also had a dry sauna in it. Very unusual. The  docent told us that this was a very wealthy family, perhaps not really Roman but a local leader. The tribes is this area did not fight the Romans when they arrived.. They often agreed to being dominated by Rome but never actually were from Rome. They would have retained their local power and status, adopted the Roman lifestyle and continued to live as usual. Hence the display of wealth by having two bath houses! And with the size of this villa it was very possible that there were more than one generation living here.

This was a temple to the water Godesses. It has a natural spring that flows into the fountain

The dry bath

Under that grass lies mosaic floors

Pheasant

Items uncovered in the 1800’s exploration

The far end of the villa. 

A second kitchen

The unisex toilet

It is spring! Blue bells!

Our next stop was in Burton-on-the-water to visit the Cotswold Motor Museum.

They nick names this town the Venice of England. Lots of bridges over the river

 

 

 Albert with Albert

Now that was a great car to have in the 60s!

There was quite a collection of Austin’s, Jaguars,Morris’s,and various bikes both motorized and not. Plus road signs, and toys! The Car enthusiasts amongst us were delighted.

This little car was a tv star in the 90’s and had adventures all over town. His name was Brum.

Another view of the river

MG parade. 

We left and headed towards our home for the next couple of days.. the coach house at Pebworth Manor.

Our next “home”

Its located on 65 acres of a Manor home. This is a view of the side yard. The gardens are beautiful

And as we were coming towards Pebworth, the tire started to go flat….so while we wait here for the next day to get the repair service here..we decide life could be much worse than this. If we have to be stuck somewhere, kinda glad its here!

Good night All!