WEATHER: Fairly warm. High around 80. Sunny
In the morning, we prepared for today's trip. Carrie, one of our cats, helped us out.
We were looking for another Cotswold town, accessible with our weekly bus pass, that also has good hiking paths. We settled on Charlbury.
We sat upstairs in the double-decker bus and watched the driver negotiate impossibly narrow country roads. In one village there was a broken-down piece of farm machinery blocking the road. The driver had to drive in the opposite direction until he could make a t-turn and turn around. Amazing to watch!
Charlbury is another quaint Cotswold town. Our map instructions told us to start in front of one of the 4 pubs in this town. (The pubs seemed to be the only commerce there).
We quickly were out of town and into the beautiful countryside. The footpath took us around this huge manor that had been used as a hunting lodge.
There were many signs warning us to keep off the property and also to stay on the path to avoid confrontation with this bull.....
The footpath took us through rolling fields.....
After 2.5 miles, our halfway point, this pub magically appeared, with nothing else around it.
It was one of the cosiest and friendliest pubs we have been to. It has a "snug" with benches around a fireplace where customers sit in the winter with their farm dogs. We had some delicious fish & chips, then headed back.
As we left the grounds that are part of the mansion/hunting lodge, we saw this gatehouse with another beautiful mansion behind the gate. We stopped and talked to the old couple living in the gatehouse....one side is kitchen/lounge; other side is bedroom/bathroom. They had worked there for 40 years, he as a gardener and she as a hairdresser for the family.
The former wife of the Duke of Marlborough lives here now. We sneaked a peak through the gate. The Duke still lives at Blenheim Palace.
We took the one-hour bus ride back to Oxford. Not only are the roads narrow (not wide enough for 2 big vehicles approaching each other), but also parking on the road is allowed. So, the driver had to either stop and let approaching cars by us, or the cars reversed so we could get by. As we neared Oxford, in one village, a car had parked in the road. It was too narrow for us to pass. The driver then tried to move his car, but it stalled. Our bus sat there waiting for the guy to move for about 10 minutes. Finally, George and some other bus passengers got out and pushed the car onto the shoulder. Exciting! Everyone applauded.
Back in downtown Oxford, we stopped at a pub that was offering cider tastings. We did a tasting. Very refreshing, kind of tart.
DINNER: Leftover curry.
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