45under45: Day 8 Through Costwolds to Stratford-Upon-Avon (Day 8)

Costwolds drive

After much researching, we chose to follow some of the suggested stops along the way from Bath to Stratford-Upon-Avon. Our first stop was at the town of Cirencester. We used the Garmin to get us to the Roman Amphitheater. Since we had purchased English Heritage passes (at Stonehenge), we chose to stop here and put our passes to use again. However, the place didn't have a ticket booth but had a sign stating, "Open Any Reasonable Daylight Hours".

We walked up a path to a high flat hilltop. Nicholas announced, "3, 2, 1! I'm going!" And without a moment for me to stop him, he ran about three steps and then fell face forward, end over end, literally feet up and head down somersaulting and sliding until he finally managed to come to a stop. His hat was gone and his glasses were missing in the shoulder high weeds, but he was ok. Stunned and embarrassed he clamored about searching for his lost items while we all laughed as we hollered, "Are you alright?! Do you need any help?! What did you do that for?!" He was covered in burs and complained about feeling splinters in his palm...we later found out that was the effect of stinging nettles. After viewing the amphitheater, we went back to the car to patch him up and sooth the itch with Neosporin. The poor kid from flat old Florida just got schooled. "Look before ye leap, lad!"

Summer chose the much more dignified, run down the proper grassy gentle slope.

Stinging Nettle.

Dock plant leaf is supposed to ease the itch.

Back on the road to Bilbury, a perfect little storybook town! The River Coln had a large white mamma swan and about eight grey puffy signets in tow. A nice family gave us two pieces of bread so the kids could feed the ducks. They were in heaven and could have stayed there forever!!!

While they were feeding the swans my mom and I chatted up some locals who were coming to the aid of an Asian couple who had also had a run in with some stinging nettles. He showed us the offending weed and the antidote leaf of the dock plant that is used to ease the pain.

Faint spider web.

Summer in the red shorts, feeding the swans.

The baby swans, called signets (I think), were quite fluffy but also almost the same size as the mamma.

We learned from a man that the babies keep their grey/brown feathers for almost their entire first year. He estimated these fellers to have been born in the early Spring.

The mamma was so protective! She always let her babies take the bread and almost never took a bite for herself. It was really touching!

And then...(Insert Phantom of the Opera theme music here.) Along came another swan! That mamma didn't hesitate a moment! She was flyinging, walking in water, and honking like crazy, chasing that other swan off!

The intruder was getting an earful!!!

A not staged recreation of Cindy and me feeding swans.

I remember this so vividly!!! It was April (my birthday) and my folks bought a birthday cake for me. I swear I think it was one of the displays! It was solid sugar and the cake was like a brick. We fed it to the swans and the swans were mean...mean...MEAN! They bit!

So, we fed the swans and I had my fingers crossed, hoping they wouldn't bite my kids.

I had to eventually drag the kids away. We went to the trout farm across the street for lunch and bought a whole loaf of bread for additional swan feeding after lunch.

The kids walked all the way down to the water's edge and hand fed the swans, even letting them take the bread off of their shoes.

This was our first Cotswold stop and it was already mid day. Time to go on. We drove through Burford, missed the road to Northleach and the Slaughters, and went on to Stow-on-the-Wold and then to Chipping Campden to see more quaint towns with thatched roofs.

I used the Garmin to get us to our hotel called The White Swan in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Well, there's another White Swan hotel in another town called Stratford (according to Miss Garmin). It turned out that was not our hotel and we only made an eight mile mistake. Oh well, more Costwolds isn't a bad thing at all.

Our proper White Swan was amazing! Summer made friends with some local guy's dog.