Steve managed to squeeze in a trip to London before I head back the US.

We spent a few days in London, but also went out to the Cotswolds in east/central England. I was happy to be able to see this part of the country because I had heard from many people that it is beautiful.

We joined a tour group in London and took a train to Charlbury. From there the group got on a tour bus and began to explore the region.

'Cots' are sheep enclosures and 'wolds' are rolling hills, so you can guess what we saw a lot of. The region has the lowest population density in England and it is pretty isolated actually. Historically, the residents were sheep farmers and wool merchants.

Here are some of the first views we had of the Cotswolds. I took lots of pictures from the bus as we drove by...they turned out pretty well, considering.

Maneuvering a big tour bus is not easy on these narrow roads! We came REALLY close to the corner of this building as we turned left at an intersection. The red car in center of the picture had to back up for us. Yipes!

How is this road appropriate for two-way traffic?!?!

Steve appears to be giddy with excitement! :)
Nerd alert.

After driving through Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold, our first stop was Chipping Campden. We walked into Chipping Campden by way of a National Trail.

The sheep looked funny-they had recently been sheared. (or is it 'shorn'? I'm not up on farm jargon.)

Thatched-roof cottagesThis building is probably about 600 years old.
Most of the buildings are built using this tan stone which comes from quarries in the region.

St. James Church (1400s)

After Chipping Campden, we drove around, passing through Snowshill and Broadway.

Our next destination was The Slaughters--Upper and Lower. The word Slaughter comes from a word meaning marshy land.

An old school house.
I wonder if there are any job openings...

Brother and sister walking along the trail
Awww, how precious.

OK, I couldn't help myself...

I'd love to be able to blame the British lack of fashion sense for this atrocity,
but this woman in our group was American. Did she bother to LOOK in the mirror?!?
It gave us a good laugh. Again and again.