Welcome to The Cotswolds!

I love the English Cotswolds and think everyone should visit this beautiful place at least once in their lifetime. Having lived all over the world and traveled as much as possible, I still think that this little part of England is one of the world's greatest treasures. This site is dedicated to helping spread the word and encourage sustainable travel to the Cotswolds.

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Friday 29 January 2016

Isn't it Swell?

As you probably guessed, this post is about Swell.  Well, to be  more precise, Upper Swell and Lower Swell.  And Stow-on-the-Wold.  Because its a very nice little walk from the centre of Stow through both of these villages, and is beautiful even on a cold, rainy, leaden-sky day....as evidenced below.

The River Dikler is pictured, where I spotted a brook trout (I tried to photograph it, but there was too much glare off the water) just by the old stone bridge.

We (my dog, and my eldest daughter- a 9-year old adventurer who comes on all these walks) also found a geocache on this walk, of which any true geocacher can spot the hiding place amongst these photos.  I won't give any further clues, apart from the fact that it was Swell, and we did Well.  If you can name it in a comment left on this blog, I shall buy you a pint of best bitter the next time you are in The Cotswolds.

The most widely accepted theory behind the name "Swell" is that it relates to a spring that rises in the grounds of the Abbotswood Estate to the north of the village and is an abbreviated version of "Our Lady's Well". The well can still be seen today.  It is pictured below, as a small stone ornamental arch over a natural well.













Sunset Over Cheltenham

If you live in or near Cheltenham, you've doubtless seen this view a hundred times.  And if you haven't, you've really been missing something!  I'm no photographer, but I do try to get some decent photos for those who don't live here but are curious.  I was up on Cleeve a little while ago with my dog, going for a night walk (its so clear up there, and there was a full moon, so its quite spectacular and very easy to walk around), and thought I'd try to capture the view.  Sadly, my little phone/camera can never really take in the scale nor the brilliance of the colours, but here they are anyways.  Hope you like them!