Offbeat Cotswolds

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Offbeat Cotswolds Guided walking tours of villages and towns in the Cotswolds by a qualified Blue Badge guide for the
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This rather drab memorial links with today's American election.  Bear with me: Can you see star and stripes? This floor ...
05/11/2024

This rather drab memorial links with today's American election. Bear with me: Can you see star and stripes? This floor slab from 1697 in Wyckhamford church remembers Penelope Washington. One of her relations was George Washington, first President of the United States. He followed the family tradition of having a star and stripes on his signet ring, and the design inspired today’s US national flag.

It's one of many American connections in the Cotswolds.

DM to book a top tour for more.










Spot the tower! This is the view from my garden on the edge of the Cotswolds. As the trees lose their leaves, our local ...
28/10/2024

Spot the tower! This is the view from my garden on the edge of the Cotswolds. As the trees lose their leaves, our local church re-appears.

DM to book a top Cotswolds tour.













Smile or a snarl? This lion is on the grave of William Lovell, who died on 13 June, 1455. He is buried in St Kenelm's Ch...
14/10/2024

Smile or a snarl? This lion is on the grave of William Lovell, who died on 13 June, 1455. He is buried in St Kenelm's Church that he built as part of his estate in Minster Lovell. The ruins make for an atmospheric visit - then pop into the church and decide the lion's expression yourself.

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This chap has helped many a church-goer stay upright(ish) during a long sermon. Misericords are hinged seats that allow ...
07/10/2024

This chap has helped many a church-goer stay upright(ish) during a long sermon. Misericords are hinged seats that allow choristers to rest a little. This one lurks in Swinbrook Church.

DM to book a top tour.













The first thing us tour guides are taught it "Look up". Always a good idea in Oxford's 250-year-old covered market - you...
30/09/2024

The first thing us tour guides are taught it "Look up". Always a good idea in Oxford's 250-year-old covered market - you might catch a sight of Alice, famously created by an Oxford don.

DM to book a top tour.













23/09/2024

Good mourning. This 'weeper' eternally cries over the loss of a loved one in the magnfiicent Cirencester St John the Baptist Church.

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Castle Combe is named after its 12th-century castle sitting in a valley (that's the  combe).  Just so pretty.  DM to boo...
16/09/2024

Castle Combe is named after its 12th-century castle sitting in a valley (that's the combe). Just so pretty.
DM to book a top tour.













Not a lampfish, but a fish lamp. It's in the Pitt Rivers, truly the weirdest museum in the world. I recommend it to clie...
10/09/2024

Not a lampfish, but a fish lamp. It's in the Pitt Rivers, truly the weirdest museum in the world. I recommend it to clients and encourage them to wander and see what they chance across. Never fails to please. Oh... and the fish became a lamp because it was super oily.
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It might look like a castle, but this is just the toll house for Clopton bridge in Stratford upon Avon. The sign warns t...
02/09/2024

It might look like a castle, but this is just the toll house for Clopton bridge in Stratford upon Avon. The sign warns that anyone blowing the bridge up will be transported (probably to Australia) for 7 years... and coaches must pay a shilling (5pm today) to cross.

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This stained glass stagecoach surprised me! It's in Bibury church and commemorates Rowland Cooper (1846-1910), who lived...
26/08/2024

This stained glass stagecoach surprised me! It's in Bibury church and commemorates Rowland Cooper (1846-1910), who lived in this enchanting village for 20 years and whose daughter married the local vicar.

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Two hares chase each other for eternity (well, as long as the thatch lasts) on a roof in Ebrington. Such creations proba...
19/08/2024

Two hares chase each other for eternity (well, as long as the thatch lasts) on a roof in Ebrington. Such creations probably once identified the thatcher, but nowadays the householder can choose what will decorate their roof ridge.

DM to book a top tour.














"Proud British lion crushes uppity French cockerel," is the message of this stonework at Blenheim Palace, built to celeb...
13/08/2024

"Proud British lion crushes uppity French cockerel," is the message of this stonework at Blenheim Palace, built to celebrate the Battle of Blenheim (actually Blindheim, but us Brits couldn't pronounce that). On this day in 1704, John Churchill's forces helped stop the rise of Louis XIV. Hurrah!


DM to book a top tour. Or enjoy Blenheim's neighbour via my new tour of Woodstock












Sheep and a church: kinda sums up the Cotswolds in Medieval times, when the church pretty much ran the lucrative wool in...
05/08/2024

Sheep and a church: kinda sums up the Cotswolds in Medieval times, when the church pretty much ran the lucrative wool industry. This is beautiful Duntisbourne Church, built from the 13th century.

DM to book a top tour.










I hope he didn't tip the barber who cut this brutal fringe, now immortalised in a carving in Woodstock Church. DM to boo...
22/07/2024

I hope he didn't tip the barber who cut this brutal fringe, now immortalised in a carving in Woodstock Church.

DM to book a top tour.













Just love the paintings of saints in Hailes Church, which have miraculously (maybe!) survived when so many others were d...
15/07/2024

Just love the paintings of saints in Hailes Church, which have miraculously (maybe!) survived when so many others were destroyed.

DM to book a top tour.













Once the headgear of the University Police force, the bowler hat is now part of the uniform of Oxford Proctors' Officers...
08/07/2024

Once the headgear of the University Police force, the bowler hat is now part of the uniform of Oxford Proctors' Officers.

DM to book a top Oxford or Cotswolds tour.













01/07/2024
Check out those curls! This is Sir Robert Atkyns, historian and MP, whose effigy with its abundant hairstyle has decorat...
17/06/2024

Check out those curls! This is Sir Robert Atkyns, historian and MP, whose effigy with its abundant hairstyle has decorated Sapperton Church since 1711.

DM to book a top tour.















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