Bike Route: Todenham to Cirencester 33mi 1900ft of climb
Lunch: The Rose Tree in Bourton-on-the-Water, a cheese board with melted camembert, bread, and accoutrements. Perfect.
Accommodation: Quiet and Spacious Suite in City Centre (Airbnb); hosts Sarah and Andy.
Dinner: La Bobina Cirencester, Spanish tapas
As we left, Alison was cutting out a christening gown for her grand-daughter, but stepped outside to chat for a few minutes, and Bruce took a break from work and stopped by to say good-bye. Alison asked where we were headed, and suggested back roads to avoid Moreton and its market-day traffic. Usually, we like to go through a town on market day, but Alison explained that Moreton's is overrun by tourist buses and not a real, working, local market. We took her advice, and were glad we did. The back roads were tiny and green, winding through hamlets of limestone cottages and farms.
It was misting/raining lightly, so I got to try out my new rain jacket; it worked!
About noon, we arrived in Bourton-on-the-Water, a busy but pretty tourist town. Being hungry, as always, we found a cafe with outside seating right on the water near a picturesque bridge, and the hostess guided us to a table in the shade at the end of the garden where we could park our bikes and sit near them. As we were eating, a family sat next to us, and the adult son ordered for his parents in French-accented English. They were from Nantes, on the Loire, just west of Angers, where we ended our trip down the Loire with Konur and Meghan last summer. The son spends quite a bit of time in England for work and pleasure, and he was treating his parents to their first trip. They loved the Cotswolds and were very happy to have their son as a guide and driver--driving on the left side of the road was more than they wanted to tackle.
Back on the bikes, we had a pleasant afternoon rolling up and down the hills to Cirencester, where we checked in with Sarah. What a treat. She met us in the garden and helped us store the bikes safely, then led us up to a spacious, spotless oasis with all snacks and beverages and lovely little touches of art and comfort. We are pretty self-sufficient, and we generally are quite happy for just a moderately comfortable and quiet room. Every once in a while, we get blown away by a host's generosity and feel especially well cared for and/or connected. This was one of those times.
Sarah told us about the hedgehog that has taken up residence in their back garden, and suggested that if we sat on the terrace after 22:30, we might see him come to eat the cat food she leaves out for him. I would love to see a hedgehog in the garden. We have seen several on the road, unfortunately victims of accidents with cars, but only one alive on the side of the road in Spain. Our early bedtime doesn't really match up with the nocturnal habits of those cute little creatures.
After hot showers in a beautiful bathroom, we took one of Sarah's recommendations and went to a little Spanish restaurant for tapas. The food was awesome, the atmosphere brought back sweet memories of our time in Catalonia two years ago.
Relaxed and happy, we returned to our airy room and crawled into bed. I woke up about 11:30 and peeked out our window. Not seeing the hedgehog, I went back bed for a few (many) hours.
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| A typical farm in the Cotswolds. |
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| Cirencester. |
