Malmesbury

Malmesbury isn't exactly the first place I would associate with travel adventures, as it's the town where I went to secondary school. However, it is actually considered something of a tourist attraction due to its impressive abbey and the fact that it is thought to be the oldest town in England, with a history dating back over 1000 years.

Today I went for a walk around the town centre with my mum and took some photos. It was nice to have a walk in an area with some different scenery to our village, and I feel like I gained a different perspective on Malmesbury. When I was at school, I never understood why people would want to come there, but now I can see that it's actually quite an interesting place to visit.

I was glad to see that the town council had implemented a one way system in the town centre and put up signs with advice about the Coronavirus outbreak. However, it was disappointing that many people weren't following the advice! My mum and I were the only people wearing masks, and I saw people ignoring social distancing guidelines and meeting in large groups. I just think it's important to remember that the pandemic isn't over yet and that the rules still apply to everyone. The closer we all stick to the rules, the sooner life will be able to return to normal again. And obviously that's what we all want.

On Tuesday, I'm going to be off work between 10:00 and 15:00, so my parents and I will be able to go on a longer outing. We're not 100% sure where we'll be going yet, but I'm looking forward to getting out of the village again and writing about the trip on this blog.

Bibury

This week's outing was to the picturesque village of Bibury in the Cotswolds. We used to go there a lot when I was little to visit the trout farm. I could remember feeding the fish there, but I couldn't remember much about the rest of the village. So for me, the trip we did this week felt like seeing the place properly for the first time.

Bibury is often called the most beautiful village in England, and I would definitely agree with that assessment. With its quaint cottages and its little bridges crossing the river, it really is like a setting from a fairytale.

The most famous sight to see in Bibury is without a doubt Arlington Row, a row of cottages that have been photographed by tourists many times over.

Lots of the other houses and gardens in the village are also very photogenic.

The bridges that cross over the River Coln are very charming and old-fashioned. In the river, there are lots of ducks happily swimming around, hoping that visitors will share their food with them!

Another popular place to see in Bibury is the leaf-covered Swan Hotel.

Finally, we walked over to the other side of the village to see St Mary's Church. Its garden is so pretty.

Normally Bibury would be packed full of tourists at this time of year, but because of the current situation, it was very quiet and tranquil, and social distancing was easy.

I would say this trip out has been my favourite so far since I started visiting places on my list of local outdoor areas. It actually reminded me a lot of my trip to Veules-les-Roses in Normandy in 2018. Even though the two villages are in different countries, they are really similar, with their rivers and their flowery scenery. It was nice to be reminded of my Year Abroad again.

I would definitely like to go back to Bibury in the near future. There are several cafés and tearooms there, which I would love to try out when everything opens up again!

Cirencester Amphitheatre

Following on from my trip to Cirencester Abbey Grounds Park a few weeks ago, my parents and I visited another interesting outdoor area in Cirencester this week: the Roman amphitheatre.

Although I've lived near Cirencester my whole life (excluding my university years), I'd never been to the amphitheatre before. I'm not sure why! I guess it's often the case that we explore a lot more in the areas we travel to on holiday compared to our local areas. But I put it on my list of outdoor places to visit during this lockdown and I'm glad I finally went, as it was a very interesting and educational place to see.

The amphitheatre is owned by English Heritage and is free to visit. And fortunately, it's a good place to visit during this pandemic, because visitor numbers are relatively low and it's a very open space, so social distancing is easy.

The first thing you see when you arrive is the obelisk, which is said to date back to the 18th century. It brought back memories for me of my trip to Buenos Aires in February and seeing the famous obelisk in the city centre. How I would love to be back there now!

The actual Roman amphitheatre building is no longer standing, but the shape of it still remains in the earth. There are several signs around the area with interesting information about the site. During Roman times, Cirencester, then known as Corinium Dobunnorum, was the second biggest city in Roman Britain after London! The amphitheatre is said to have been built in the 2nd century, and would have seated 8000 spectators. It is crazy to think that this relatively small town used to be one of the big centres of the Roman Empire.

The nature around the amphitheatre is also really nice to see.

All in all, I really enjoyed finally visiting this important historical site. It may not be possible to travel far from home at the moment, but places like this give us the opportunity to travel into the past!

Stanton Country Park

I went travelling today! Well, sort of. This trip was the furthest I've travelled from home since the middle of March, and it was to a place I'd never been to before, which I guess is the closest thing you can get to going travelling in these strange times we're living through.

Before the UK lockdown started and we were still able to drive to places for outdoor exercise, I spent a fun afternoon making a long list of local outdoor areas I wanted to visit during this period where "normal" travelling is no longer permitted. However, my parents and I only went to one of the places on the list - Jubilee Lake - before the government limited outdoor exercise to places within walking distance.

But now, after what feels like a long long time, driving to local areas of natural beauty is allowed again, and my list has come back out! Some of the places on it are a little too far to travel to and return from without a comfort break, so we've put them on hold for the moment, and others are closed, or have too many narrow spaces to really be safe. But there are still several suitable places remaining on the list, some of which we've been to in the past and others that we've yet to discover.

A couple of weeks ago, I ticked off a second item on the list when I went for a walk in Cirencester Abbey Grounds Park, a place I'd previously visited, but which I really enjoyed seeing again.

And today my parents and I went to a place on my list than none of us had ever been to before: Stanton Manor Park near Swindon.

It was a lovely place, but unfortunately, it wasn't quite the open space I'd envisaged (some of the paths through the woodland were quite narrow) and there were too many people there. Although the bank holiday was yesterday, it seemed that today the park was serving as "home school" for many children. In addition, my mum and I were the only people who were wearing masks. It's a little frustrating, given that the primary purpose of the masks is to protect others. In general, we managed to maintain the necessary social distance, but it wasn't as easy as I'd hoped. However, it was still a really nice trip out. 

First of all, we walked through the woodland to the lake.

On the other side of the lake, you can find the Stanton House Hotel and the church next to it. We saw lots of sheep sleeping under the trees in front of the house! It's a really picturesque and typically English place; it looks like a scene from a cosy, historical costume drama.

On our way back to the car, we found this charming cottage with a kitchen garden (and some interesting sculptures) down a path. A sign said that there's a teashop inside, which is obviously closed at the moment. It will be really nice to have tea and cake there when everything reopens.

Near the car park, I just had to take some pictures of this activity centre named The Forgotten Kingdom (also currently closed), which has a cool big cat sculpture outside!

We all really enjoyed visiting this beautiful place in the countryside. Living in the West Country can have its downsides, but we're lucky at the moment to have lots of very scenic outdoor areas within our reach. 

I would say I recommend Stanton Country Park as a place to visit, but given the amount of people that were there today, sadly I have to say it's best to leave it for now and wait until the coronavirus situation has improved. Once the teashop is open and social distancing is no longer necessary, it will be a perfect place for a day out in the countryside.