The buildings of Stow on the Wold retain their centuries-old charm intact
Stow on the Wold , with its tall honeycomb facades, looks like the set of a period movie. Could be it; Its buildings have changed little since the 16th century, when they were built with the characteristic limestone of the area, the costwolds , that green area near London that is the English countryside in its purest form. So much so that the oldest inn in the country is still standing at the entrance to the town; today is The Porch House , and continues to serve the traveler in the form of a comfortable hotel with a pub included.
Its on the side Greedy's Fish & Chips , which offers exactly what it promises: generous portions of what is probably the best fish & chips in the area. Order it to go and continue up the street -Stow on the Wold is 800 meters above the sea-, while you marvel at the details of this ideal villa: the gardens as exhibitions, the signs that advertise shops, which are the most beautiful you've seen in your life.
And there are many shops, above all, many more than you would imagine knowing that only 2,000 people live in these century-old streets, where the only noise is that of birds chirping. So much so that Stow on the Wolds attracts collectors and lovers of beauty from all over the world thanks to exquisite antique dealers like Baggott Church Street Ltd either Tara Antique Center , which has three floors of objects of all kinds that you will love to browse.
They also highlight art galleries such as Fosse either Clarendon Fine Art, independent decoration firms such as MASH either Gray Gardens and endearing second-hand bookstores, such as Evergreen Books . Or just bookstores, like The Borzoi Bookshop , in whose old armchair you will find a little dog curled up - dogs, in the Cotswolds, are always welcome. Everything is like this in Stow on the Wold: cozy, warm, welcoming. To make you want to stay and live and dedicate yourself only to drinking tea and growing roses in the garden.
Stow on the Wold is full of 'chures', alleys where cattle passed
And speaking of tea: there are few places where you can honor the English tradition with more tradition than here. choose to do it Lucy's Tearoom , with a most pleasant interior and a patio straight out of a fairy tale. Here you can try the Cream Tea , which is what they call Afternoon Tea in the Cotswolds, and which is characterized by being served with scones accompanied by jam and clotted cream , a kind of fresh cream with 60% fat - cooking, to understand us, has 18% -. At Lucy's it is also offered with cake and sandwiches, all homemade and made with products from the area.
Have we whetted your appetite? So take a look around The Costwold Cheese Company , an artisanal cheese factory where you can find delicacies from the area such as Oxford Blue , a blue produced in the nearby town of Burford, or the Cerney Cheese , a widely awarded goat from North Cerney.
We continue the gourmet visit in hamptons hampers, where you will find other delicatessen kilometer zero: ciders, chutneys, sausages, biscuits, tea... And in The Costwold Chocolate Company , you'll find a wide variety of chocolate treats made in Stow on the Wold itself. But the best way to try the delicacies of the area is to stop by the town square on second Thursday of every month from nine in the morning to one in the afternoon -and the fourth too, if you travel from April to September-, where the farmers market . There you will find everything from fruit from local orchards to wines from wineries in the Cotswolds, as well as the thousand-flavored artisan fudge from The Old Chapel and the cakes, brownies and scones from Dair and Square and North's Bakery.
Aren't you hungry? Ok: go to Cotswolds Baguettes for a sandwich of mixtures as unimaginable as they are tasty, and sit in the nearby cemetery to enjoy it. It sounds rugged, but the experience is, rather, heavenly, especially when you find the curious little wooden door of the church of Saint Edward, flanked by two large yew trees and more typical of a scene from the Lord of the Rings that of the real world.
Lucy's Tea Room, the perfect place to try the 'Cream Tea'
But there is more to do. Take, for example, a walk through the many alleys of the town, the chures, created to carry from one place to another the sheep that gave wealth to the town. Up to 20,000 a day came to be bought and sold in the main square during market days! There you will also see the remains of a pillory , used in medieval times to carry out public humiliations; in them the inmates were immobilized by the feet, to whom they used to throw rotten food.
These and other stories about the origins and evolution of Stow on the Wold are what you can hear on the walks that are organized every Sunday from April to September at 10:30 in the morning. The programs the Stow & District Civic Society, They cost five pounds and must be booked at the Visitor's Centre. There they will also inform you about the many walks that can be done leaving the main square, which will take you through the green English countryside to the charming nearby towns.
HOW TO GET
Stow on the Wold is about two hours and 20 from central London . If you arrive by car, you can leave it in the car park located at the entrance of the town, which costs one pound per hour. After 15:00 it is free.
It is also possible to go by public transport, combining the train Great Western Railway (GWR) and the bus -if you leave from the center of London, you would have to take the GWR towards Kingham and, at the same station, take the 802 bus towards Bourton on the Water-. Travel time is even shorter this way, as It doesn't last two hours.
Tolkien would love the curious entrance to Saint Edward