The first was wonderful and the second was… meh.

We both slept well for the first time since arriving. I was awakened around 7:30 by the sound of a Eurasian Jackdaw chattering outside my window. (Man am I learning the sound of my English birds! I can pick out an English Robin from 100 metres.)

We took our time getting organized then had breakfast downstairs. With another excellent dinner in the plan, we opted for the lighter continental menu. No regrets. The coffee was delicious. I almost fell over at the sight of homemade crumpets, still warm and offering a huge leg up on the ones I occasionally pick up from Safeway. The marmalade was no slouch either.

We decided to start the day exploring the little town we were staying in. Navigating by foot was the most viable option due to the maze of narrow streets, many with cars parked on the side.

Our first stop was St. Mary’s Church, almost directly behind the hotel. The church was built between 1370 and 1550 with the landmark 53m spire added in 1632. It can be seen from miles away. We can hear the 14 church bells ringing from our hotel room. BTW, most churches have 8 or 12 bells.

The Ancient Society of Painswick Youths has been responsible for the ringing of the church bells since 1686. The society has become famous in the bell ringing community for their “stamina and precision”. In May 1817, they successfully rang a legendary peal of 12,312 Grandsire Caters for 8 hours and 40 minutes. A Grandsire Cater is a constantly shifting numerical pattern, rather than a melody. Yes – I had to look it up. And I might have opted to be out of town the day the bells rang for almost 9 hours – however beautiful they may sound when rung for shorter periods.

We were given a bit of history about the church by a few of the local gentlemen through a very serendipitous meeting. They were helping to set up the day’s harvest festival and clypping ceremony. The clypping ceremony is when the parishioners all join hands and circle the church to embrace it in a giant hug. What a lovely ttadition!

We did manage to see a few of the events going on,such as the small market. And we could definitely smell the delicious food. The grounds were overflowing with groups gathered in and around the gravestones in the cemetery. I especially loved the very casual dog show where almost everyone was granted some sort of ribbon.

The church has 99 yew trees planted in front. Local tradition requires that only 99 yews be present in the churchyard. If there are 100, the Devil will become envious, materialize, and pull it out by the roots. This legend was held in such regard, that when every church was gifted a yew tree for the new millenium, St. Mary’s opted to plant there’s on the north side of the church near the bus stop. It lives on happily to this day.

The church was heavily damaged during the English Civil War. In 1644 a group of parliamentarian soldiers (Roundheads) moved into Painswick and used the church as a fortified stronghold and military barracks. When Royalist troops (Cavaliers) advanced to recapture the village, the Parliamentarians barricaded themselves inside the building resulting in a dramatic assault on the church. There are visible cannonball dents on the clock tower as well as marks from musket balls. The church was significantly damaged in the subsequent fire and it took many years to fully repair.

From the churchyard we made our way up the hill to the Painswick Rococo Garden. Built in the last 1700’s, it is the last rococo garden existing in the UK. The was a movement away from the more geometric and rigid style of formal gardens that had existed until this time. The new style was meant to be whimsical and fun. The garden has been restored and well-maintained in accordance with a detailed 1748 painting by the garden artist Thomas Robins.

It is a beautiful and peaceful place with a maze, a kitchen garden, ponds (including a cold plunge pool) and several fanciful structures. There were visitors with their children and their dogs and so many birds!

Our next adventure required a drive to Bibury to see the famous Arlington Row. It is so famous that it is featured on the inside cover of every British passport. It also appears in the movie Bridget Jones Diary.

Off we went, getting a bit turned about navigating the tiny lane ways heading away from the hotel. A helpful local gave us directions and we were on our way again.

We should have known…. When we arrived at Bibury 35 minutes later there were people everywhere, with full size tour buses parked on the narrow street. We had to travel a fair distance to overflow parking… for the overflow parking. The fee was 10 GBP, or $20 Canadian.

By this time we were quite hungry and decided to snack on the famous Sally Lun Bun that had come with us the back seat of the car. It was light and airy and quite tasty. All in though, not much more than a particularly good hamburger bun. I am glad we tried the famous bun, but would not rush to buy or eat another one.

The Bibury Trout Farm had cornered the market on almost everything in the town. They ran the trout farm where guests could go for lunch in the cafe and could even catch their own fish, for an additional 3 GBP. They ran all 3 of the parking areas. And the one gift shop in town. If you wanted to take a photo of a passing swan in the River Coln, they were kept behind glass doors in the park and you had to pay to enter. You get the picture.

We had a lovely cup of coffee on the terrace of the Swan Hotel, perhaps one of the nicest parts of this stop.

Afterwards we followed the madding crowd along the river, across the bridge and down the trail to Arlington Row. It was pure insanity. The row houses themselves were lovely, but to my mind not that lovely. Not so lovely that people were jockeying for position, desperate to get a photo of any part of the row houses. They seemed completely unaware that people actually lived in those homes as they were too busy trying to demonstrate how short the front doors were, or crowding 10 people in front of one for a group photo. I stepped aside and watched for a moment when there were fewer tourists about, though in retrospect, a ridiculously crowded shot might have been a more accurate depiction.

Here are a few more peaceful shots of the river and the bridge and The Swan Hotel.

I think we were both pretty happy to head back to Painswick for a break before our dinner at The Pig in Barnsley. It would be a 35 minute drive in each direction. The return trip would be in the dark.

The setting and food were quite rustic in style. The restaurant’s primary claim to fame is that all of their food comes from no more than 25 miles away. The menu included a map that showed diners all of the local suppliers.

Dinner was as delicious as we had hoped. Rick had onion soup to start and I had the courgette salad (aka zucchini). My main was a delicious pot roasted chicken and Rick had the pork collar. An additional side dish of tomato salad went largely untouched, though the spontaneously ordered dessert of lime & mint mousse with chocolate sorbet was fantastic… and the only thing I neglected to photograph.

After our meal we stepped out of the building and into total darkness. Our eyes gradually adjusted as we slowly made our way to the car. It took a few moments to figure out the lights, then we were off.

It was almost easier driving the roads back to the hotel at night. There was very little traffic. Rick was able to use the brights most of the way, and we had plenty of warning when there was an oncoming car that required dodging. We saw deer on the side of the rode, and more bouncing across a field. A large white owl swooped across the road right in front of the car. After a bit of investigation, I suspect it was a female barn owl; the description fits quite well. And as it turns out, I am currently listening to an owl hooting just outside our hotel room window. The app has identified it as a Tawny Owl.

We had a good day, made better by a few spontaneous conversations with locals, and other travellers, as we went about our adventures. People were friendly and helpful. Once they discovered we were Canadians there were many positive comments about Mark Carney as Prime Minister. Some interesting political opinions came up, though we opted to keep our thoughts to ourselves.

More adventures to small villages are planned for tomorrow.