Friday 17 July 2009

Castle Combe, Wiltshire Pt.2

It's the first day of our cottage holiday and we are making Castle Combe our first port of call.The village is in a valley, the top of the hill being the original site of a British Hill Fort which became occupied by the Romans and later the Normans who turned the Fort into a Castle.

By the Middle Ages the village in the valley became an important centre for the wool industry. In recent times the village has played host to many filming activities.
Dr. Dolittle was filmed here in 1966. More recently 'Stardust' with Sienna Miller and 'The Wolfman' with Anthony Hopkins.

The houses are typical Cotswold type (being on the edge of the Cotswolds), constructed in stone with thick walls and roofs made out of natural split stone tiles. The properties are all many of hundreds of years old and are mow listed as ancient monuments.


No space for cars in these ancient villages so we park outside the village and walk down the hill taking some photos on the way




Sit and rest here if necessary
















The 14th century market cross


The Castle Inn on the right where we ate a delicious lunch and later retired to the restrooms fitted out with pretty rosebud loos and basins


The old village pump - The White Hart Pub (the white walled building on the left) has served ale continuously on the premises for the last 5 centuries.


A Living above the road - now an hotel










An interesting door with an interesting garden behind I am sure



The War Memorial












This area was turned into a 'waterfront' for Dr. DoLittle
































The church built in 1291






Note the date over the door - 1573




On our way back to the car now before a few more visits before the day is out. Lots more to come as this is only the first day. (Blogger has been a pain today losing my text twice while editing)

27 comments:

Carolyn said...

I love those pictures of England.It reminds me of our trip there last spring-I would love to spend more time in the Cotswolds.

Carolyn

Vee said...

Oh each one is more lovely than the last. It's always so much fun to explore with you. I loved that gate/door with all the pale pink astilbe in front. And I found Alan again! :D

Blogger has been a bit of a bugger for lots of us lately. I really like the font that you are using...good character and easy to read.

Elizabethd said...

It's years since I stayed there, with my mother. We had afternoon tea at the hotel, and loved the village.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful place. It reminded me a little of Bibury where you have trout farms as well as little houses and water running through.

Thnks for sharing such a beautiful place.

Kate said...

What a beautiful place so picturesque.... I love olde worlde villages!

Deanna said...

Fantastic photos.
Soooo enjoyed the tour.
Beautiful.
Blessings,
~Deanna~

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

That was fun; I felt like I was there again...almost.

Love the plaque over the door in the second photo, with the sheep on it.

A beautiful village.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely award winning photography. Do you know about National Geographic daily dozen. If you don't go to www.NATGEO.com.
Qmm

Teresa said...

Such beautiful pictures. Barbara, I have an award I would like to give you. Please visit my blog to receive it.

Winifred said...

What lovely photos. One of these days we must try to get to the Cotswolds. So many lovely places to see and so little time!

Knitting Mania said...

My goodness you take wonderful photo's Barbara... Wow what a trip, I felt like I went way back in time. And to see it all in person, just can't imagine how wonderful that would be.

Glad you found our friend, "Make Mine Pink", Karen is such a dear. And having a ball in her new location.

Thanks for the tour~~~

Linda said...

Do you know why they call it a market cross? I've always wondered.

Julia said...

Love the tour you've taken us on of your trip - fabulous pictures! Also enjoyed looking at your Constable Country pictures - I'm a bit of a Constable fan:0)

Clarity said...

That looks lovely. I really ought to travel our land more.

I especially like the secret garden door, did you save the address?

Charm and Grace said...

Well, I am back among the blogging and making rounds of my favorites. It is wonderful to see that you are well and still taking such beautiful pictures! My mom just returned from four weeks in your part of the world... Bath, Cotswolds, and then Cambridge. I am trying not to be too jealous of her journeys... but am so happy she has experienced these beautiful places in person. I am loving hearing the stories from her travels. She stayed at Warwick House B&B during her time in the Cotswolds, and said she would have liked more time there (4 nights). I am going to have to remember to share your blog with her. I am looking forward to going back and reading your posts... catching up.

Love and blessings,
Christi

a woman who is said...

I really enjoyed these pictures. I love the look of this part of your country. The homes and buildings are amazing. I wonder what ones life would be like in a small village like this? Especially this day and age. It all is so old and quaint.

Hard on this side of the pond to get a grasp on such age and history.

Blogger is not uploading pictures for me...so my next post from the beach will have to wait. It is kind of comforting to know I am not the only one having issues :/

lindsey said...

These photo's are great, what lovely buildings.Thanks for visiting my blog, the High Street is in Berkhamsted where we live, the canal runs through the town. We didn't swim in the canal but at a friends house who has a pool. We enjoy visiting National trust properties and are just getting into the places around where we now live after moving from Kent last Sept.
Have a great holiday, I will look forward to seeing more photo's!

Pom Pom said...

Oh! I loved the tour! Everything is so old and beautiful! Thank you!

Annie Jeffries said...

What a charming village. Lucky are they who live there. I would LOVE to see what is hidden behind that gate.

Willow said...

What a glorious holiday location, Barbara. So much history! And so beautiful!

I'm wondering what the rules are for people who live in the houses. If the houses are on the national register, are there restrictions in what changes can be made in the structure or interior?

Make mine pink said...

Enjoyed your blog!! We stayed in Chipping Camden a few years ago and were delighted. These were great pictures - you really captured the whole feeling of the Cotswolds!!

Elizabeth said...

The garden door was most enticing.
Robert and I syayed here 31 years ago before I had Bobby!

Alice said...

Beautiful photos that brought back memories of our visit there in 1993. Definitely one of the loveliest villages in England.

kreativehaende said...

what a wonderful landscape! It`s like a time passage into the middle ages...
best regards from Germany,
Waltraud

mauri said...

very nice!!Mauri

Barbara said...

Finally I find the time to catch up all the missed posts from this (busy) summer. You're a very keen writer and so I have a lot to read now :-)!
I like to travel around your beautiful country. It's so comfortable with a guide like you !
Barbara

Anonymous said...

Great photos i used to live 10 mins away . Used to tke my dog