Tag

Broadway houses and shop

 

The last day, and the sun is shining. Much as I loved Shropshire I decide to head for one of my favourite places: the Cotswolds. 

I enter via Broadway at 10AM, after riding via Worcester and Kidderminster. The Cotswolds are always beautiful, but on a day of glorious sun like this one it is really something. I visit all of my usual places (Broadway, Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton, Blockley, Bourton-on-the-water, Burford to name a few) and add a couple of new ones like Mickleton. The entire place is as packed as you can expect on a sunny August Sunday before a bank holiday. The first stop in Bourton-On-The-Water is aborted as the local pubs (with Beer garden) are all packed and the queue to order the food are atrocious. I end up eating in Broadway, one of my favourite Cotswolds spots anyway.  

The Cotswolds are, truly, a world apart. The stunning architectural uniformity over such a big region (something very rare, and which you will not find, in such proportions, in Alsace or Bavaria or in the Black Forest; rather, you can compare to the Chianti Valley), the extremely well kept villages, the fun roads and the sheer beauty of the rolling hills make for an extraordinary experience. Some people may consider the region too tide an dtoo perfect, but I love tidy and perfect so I do not complain. In summer, you get the added bonus of a number of Oldtimer cars and motorbikes.

The exceptional beauty of this region is also why I inflict on myself hours of motorway – both ways – several times a year to visit it from home. 

This time the Cotswolds are, so to speak, on the way, but it is not without motorway pain. Riding home at the end of the day I avoid the motorway as far as I can, past Abingdon, but If I want to get home at a decent hour I must press on. M40 and M25 it is then, and around 80 minutes of boredom later I approach the garage again. 

As I put the bike into the garage, now in the dark, I reflect on how beautiful, notwithstanding the capricious weather, this motorway trip was. No issues with the bike apart from the annoying episode with the sensor, no accidents or scares, and the discovery of a beautiful part of England, which I hope to visit again soon. 

Miscellaneous Points 

  • I stayed in a cottage in the Staveley that is nearest to Windermere (there are other Staveleys around). Perfectly decent accommodation, lots of space, price more than OK for the season. Search on the Internet “Sykes Cottages” for such possibilities. They are very competitive for a 7 nights stay (generally Saturday to Saturday). I prefer them to companies like AirBNB for seven nights stays. AirBNB (or its competition) is very probably more competitive for three or four nights stays. For one or two nights stays I’d say a hotel or B&B is probably the best solution, unless you are the camping hero. 
  • There is abundance of petrol stations in the Lake Districts. Great difference with, say, rural France. Still, I think it is wisest to refuel at the beginning or end of day for a largely hassle-free riding. Of course, you will need for your filler cap to be willing to collaborate. 
  • The place is far more motorbike-friendly than the Peak District. I never felt harassed by punitive speed limits or treacherous cameras outside of villages. There are also many more fast roads both in the Lake District proper and – most notably – in the Pennines. In the future, I think the Lake District will get the preference over the Peak District. Also, as a motorcyclist I believe in voting with your front wheel and leaving your money where bikers are considered an asset rather than a nuisance. 
  • The roads are – as already stated – generally faster than in the Peak District. It’s like a Black Forest without the overcrowding. Even in August, I found congestion perfectly reasonable. 
  • Police is very difficult to see, and when you see them they are rushing somewhere else. Not one mobile camera or police car at the margin of the road spotted. 
  • As in the Peak District there is an abundance of one lane roads with passing places. I switched my BMW/Garmin Satnav to “curvy roads” when I felt like it, you get beautiful vistas but not much riding enjoyment. Switching the “curvy road” function off allows you to skip those roads apart from the very occasional connection between two two lane roads. 
  • It rains a lot in the Lake District. It you think rain would ruin your motorbike holiday I suggest France or South Germany instead (where July and August rarely disappoint, though you might not like the heat). 

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