Saturday 11 October- We decided that if the weather was nice today we would finally go to Bradford Upon Avon, a Cotswold village that we have often passed on our trips to Portsmouth/Fareham and which I have wanted to visit for a long time. Well it was a lovely morning and after a leisurely breakfast we walked down to Temple Meads to buy our tickets. The tickets were a bit more than I was expecting but they turned out to be well worth it. We arrived around 11:30 and made our way from the train station to the information office. We then began our adventure through the town. Bradford upon Avon straddles the Avon river and so the waterway frequently makes an appearance as you explore the town. It is also rich in historical buildings including a Saxon church, a Norman church (the most complete one in England) two medieval bridges and a tithe barn as well as weavers cottages and wool mills from the 18th and 19th century and various other old and interesting bits. We really enjoyed our time in Bradford upon Avon (not to be confused with just plain Bradford). The weather was wonderful, sunny and warm but not too hot. The town was full of wonder full smells: flowers, baking, fish n' chips, wood/peat fires, cut grass. We saw all the major historic sites and ventured up and down some of the winding sides streets. We had lunch at the Bridge tea house, complete with classical music and waitresses in full Victorian servants costumes. After lunch we wandered along the river and visited a few shops near the tithe barn. We stayed in Bradford upon Avon until the 5:20 train took us back to Bristol. It was a very full but rewarding day. Definitely one of my favourite adventures in England.
No comments:
Post a Comment