Good Morning lovely readers!
I hope you are all having a wonderful March, despite this weather giving us whiplash (both in terms of the weather being unable to make up it’s mind, but also I swear these gale-force winds could ACTUALLY give you whiplash). How crazy was the weather this weekend? We saw a mixture of sunshine, wind and, at one point, even hailstones!
So Kris finally had a whole weekend off this week, so we made the most of it by getting straight in the car and going off on our adventures; listening to cheesy music and village-hopping in the Cotswolds. It was wonderful! So lovely to spend a Sunday together, driving and wandering aimlessly through gorgeous golden stoned villages. I even managed to have a few Sammy Strikes Again moments along the way (we know how difficult this is for me…).
After setting off from home super early, we arrived at our first stop of Stow-On The-Wold. We had a hearty full-english breakfast and lots of tea at Huffkins Cafe and Tea Room; great service, good selection of loose-leaf teas, and tasty food made from local produce. It is slightly more expensive than the standard greasy spoon that we all know and love, but its well worth it for a treat, and you will not leave hungry! Once we’d stuffed our faces full of typical english fare, we set off for a wander around the town. Now, I had realised a mistake by the time we left Huffkins… That I had been well and truly conned by the sunshine that finally showed itself yesterday, and I had not dressed for the weather… To be honest, I’m sick of dressing ‘for the weather’, which usually consists of jeans, big fluffy socks, and even fluffier jumpers. Is anyone else longing for coat-less days, florals, and light fabrics? But alas, I was so unbelievably cold, I had to purchase a jumper whilst I was there. I did make sure it was quite spring like though, a lovely pastel pink number for a charity shop at £3.95. It is adorable, so I can’t really complain. And I was so grateful for it by this point considering my nipples could have cut glass…
Our next stop was Bourton-on-the-Water, my absolute favourite Cotswold village! Its just so picturesque, I feel like I’m in a post card! Just as we arrived, the clouds turned a bit dark so we hopped inside a coffee shop called The Hub for a hot chocolate. Lucky that we did, as the heavens instantly opened and pummeled both ground and shoppers alike with hailstones! It didn’t last very long though, so we had a leisurely stroll around the shops and then visited one of the many local pubs, as you do. The one we went to is called The Kingsbridge Inn, and is dog friendly! There was a little dude of a jack russell proudly trotting around getting attention from all the customers, so obviously I had to stop and give him some love. He was adorable, but the huge patch of mud that he left smeared down my jean leg was not… Quick nip into the Ladies got rid of the most of it though!
Our final stop on our brief tour of the Cotswolds, was Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of William Shakespeare. If you’ve never been, I really recommend it. Its a perfect mix of modern and quaint. Plenty to do and see for everyone, such as the Bards’ birthplace, his Mother’s house, and Falstaff’s for the history buffs, the RSC if you like a bit of theatre, and river cruises and open top buses if you fancy a bit of site seeing; all of this set against the banks of the River Avon where cosy picnics may be had with friends and family during spring and summer. We always visited this town ever since I was a child, and my love for it grows year after year, with each new memory that follows.
However, by this time we were absolutely exhausted after our early start, and we’d already crammed so much into our day in a matter of hours! So this was a whistle-stop visit. A quick tour of the St Patricks Day markets, a peruse in a couple of chairty shops and we were ready to grab something sweet before our journey home. We happened upon Bardia’s, I’d seen it before and thought how gorgeous it was, but it was always busy. Kris knew I’d been dying to get a glimpse for months, so in we went…
Oh. My. Goodness.
Its the most beautiful place I have ever seen!!! Its as if A Midsummer Nights’ Dream has been brought to life in a tea room… Branches entwine themselves across the entire ceiling, from them hang an arrange of dainty white blossoms, and naked light bulbs (actual bulbs as well as bulbs filled with coffee beans!) cast a subtle light over the array of delicious goodies that are pro-offered from the bark counter top. The whole scene is extremely decadent and you really do feel as if you’re somewhere special. I have attached some photos below so you can all see for yourselves how glorious it is. Literally a mystical woodland paradise! I get carried away, but I did adore it! I thoroughly recommend a visit, and the prices are really, very reasonable.
Obviously, after all of this excitement we were absolutely shattered so headed home to binge watch a Netflix series and eat pizza ❤ Since I’d had such a good day, I did suffer from the Sunday blues around 6pm… But naturally, I combated this with a Katie Fforde novel (which are all set in the Cotswolds!) and a unicorn doughnut.
Perfect way to end our Sunday Date Day!
Love,
SSA x
"Sammy Strikes Again" 