What a fantastic day we had when we visited the Cotswolds and two lovely gardens. The weather was warm and sunny and the countryside was looking beautiful as we travelled through Chipping Norton and Moreton- in-Marsh before arriving at Bourton House Garden. This award-winning garden featured topiary, a parterre, luxuriant terraces and wide herbaceous borders filled with stunning combinations of plants, surrounding a magnificent 18th century Cotswold stone manor house. Everything about the garden was tranquil and peaceful with lovely views over the Cotswold landscape. After lunch, we tore ourselves away from this Garden of Eden to journey down Fish Hill to Broadway and through more superb countryside to Snowshill Manor. The home of Charles Wade the poet, artist and craftsman, it is remarkable for its treasures collected by just one eccentric man. The Arts and Crafts designed gardens are a series of outdoor rooms or courts with vistas over the orchards and countryside, with a small model village set into the hillside by a stream. Swifts soared above us as we indulged ourselves in tea, cake, scones and ice creams before we said good bye to paradise and set off for home. A truly wonderful day.
