The Bridges of Bourton

I mentioned in yesterday's post that we were going away overnight to visit 'The Venice of the Cotswolds'. Bourton on the Water is only 30 miles from where we live, but there is so much to see and do. In fact, we've only been back home for just over an hour, and we have already planned to go back in three weeks time for a few more days in order to fit in everything that we missed out this time.

If you haven't been to Bourton, then you really should go. The buildings are made of the most georgeous Cotswold Stone and it really is the most pituresque town.

The reason it gets the name 'The Venice of the Cotswolds' is due to the beautiful river that runs through the middle of the town. The only way to get from one side of the river to the other, is via a gorgeous series of stone bridges. I absolutely love the river in Bourton. We stumbled upon Bourton by accident last year and spent an hour or so there and we couldn't believe how beautiful the place was, and this sort of place needs at least  a day's devotion to even cover the surface of the town. The water is so clear, and the quantity of different species of wild waterfowl is amazing. You can also see the trout swimming in the water, and apparently the Christmas tree is placed in the middle of the river each year.

This picture shows a) Amy posing b) how clear the water is c) how beautiful the houses are and d)how you get from one side of the town to the other...

If you look closely you can just about make out the trout...

Just a tip, for if you do go to Bourton. Go for a walk by the riverside at 9am. It gives you ample amount of time to walk along the river (and even time to dip your toes in or just feed the ducks if your prefer), also it's not too long before all the shops open, but because the shops don't open until 10am, you will be some of the only people out and about. The atmosphere was so tranquil and relaxing.

Here are a collection of photos of the river and those bridges..

We saw some horses crossing the river this morning, it was quite a sight. We just about managed to capture some photos...



I decided to paddle my feet in the water this morning, and we soon attracted a group of ducks. What an idealic location this spot is..

The number of ducks was getting bigger and bigger, so we gave in and bought some duck food. Here is Amy lobbing the food at the ducks(and pigeons, and starlings, and blue tits and crows)

There are so many birds around, not only in Birldand (one of Bourton's main attractions) but on the river. So many, that for the first time in ages I saw one of these signs. BEWARE OF THE DUCKS!

The BEWARE OF THE DUCKS sign is the red triangle in the background, the sign in the foreground is for the Model Village, another one of Bourton's attractions. We visited the Model Village, which was quite expensive for the short amount of time it takes to view it, but nonetheless it was very pretty and very cleverly done too.

Look at the minature bridge..

The Church was the centerpiece of the exhibit..

I thought, it wouldn't be suitable for us to make a blog post without a hint of grow your own or do it yourself. Here is the minmal contribution (but still a contribution). The minature village was equipped with a small vegetable plot at the back of somebody's house..

There was an observation... bridge. (You guessed it) Therefore, you could view the whole minature village from a more aerial perspective...

The picture of the river and bridge in the minature village shows how accurate it really was. But for further comparison here is a picture of the town's war memorial..

Minature version....

Even all of the really small details encapsulated in the model village.

The next tourist attraction was definately up our street. It was called 'The Living Green' it was a lovely show garden with a shop which was 100% self supporting with it's water, energy etc. It had lots of nice bits and bobs in there, and when we get paid in a few weeks and revisit we will definately pop back in. It even had a grass roof! Amazing!

It even sold some nice beeswax candles..

If we hadn't just made our own, I definately would have bought some.

Bourton can definately rival anywhere for cream teas... Delicious!!

We had such an enjoyable time, and like I have said we are going again in three weeks time to fit in the other attractions and nearby attractions such as Cotswold Wildlife Park, The Bourton Motor Museum and a chilli and herb farm we had never heard of. The campsite itself was really nice, and the camping and walking write up will appear on the blog tomorrow morning.

I've just notcied how long this post is, so if you've read it all I can only appologise.

Have a great day and thanks for reading,

Martin