An Indian Palace in the Middle of the Cotswolds - Sezincote

When searching for pretty gardens to go and visit, Sezincote had come up many times but due to it’s slightly awkward opening hours (it’s only open Thursdays and bank holiday Mondays, and once a year for the National Open Gardens scheme) I had never managed to make it there. I’d driven past the sign a few times whilst heading to other places like Batsford Arboretum and had been intrigued by the long driveway. And I’d seen pictures online and vaguely knew that it was a ‘palace’ but still I was not in the slightest bit prepared for the spectacle we found.

It was a Sunday in July and it was the most beautiful day, one of those magic days. Clear blue skies, fluffy white clouds and just this feeling of serenity and peace in the air. I always love the drive into the Cotswolds, something about it feels like you’re going on holiday, even if just for the day. We arrived at Sezincote in the early afternoon and followed the signs down a very long, meandering driveway to the field for car-parking. From the moment we pulled up I was excited. It felt that we had driven into some secret, hidden land.

We made our way to the entrance where some very friendly and cheery people were ready to welcome us. Although there were a good number of people there it didn’t feel too crowded.

As we walked down the main path suddenly up ahead in front of us the house came into view and boy was it a sight to behold. Now, I’m not usually one for big, ol’ houses, I usually just go to places like this to ogle over the grounds and gardens but boy did this make me stop a beat to take in the scene before me. Sezincote you see, is an Indian Palace. I mean I knew this, it’s part of the reason I wanted to visit, but until you see it I don’t think you quite grasp this. I really felt like I was in some kind of other world. How was there an Indian Palace in the middle of the Cotswolds?

The house itself is huge but not in the slightest bit intimidating looking. It’s sandy gold colour and turquoise turrets create the most wonderful sense of grander. It’s the perfect coupling of traditional cotswold stone and the flamboyant extravagance of Indian architecture. Then as you come up to the front of the house you are greeted by a most magnificent scene. Pinnacles of hedging expertly trimmed to create these conical lances. They stand like soldiers on immaculately manicured lawns (complete with stripes) and are bordered by a huge arching glass house. And then there are the elephants. Yes, you read that correctly, elephants. Ok, so not actual real live elephants but beautiful statues.

After picking our taking in the house from every angle and of course, saying hello to the elephants, we headed off on a little amble around the grounds. We made our way up to the part of the grounds directly in front of the house, up a small hill where we found a mass of wildflower meadows and stunning views. We sat for a little while under a silver birch, watching all of the tourists ooo and ahhh over the prettiness of the scenes around them.

Then we made our way down to the lower levels. Within the confines of Seizoncote there are quite a few water features to behold. There is a stream and various ponds, pools and wells. All of these create so much character and feature to go and explore. The grounds are by no means small but they give so much to look at that it’s easy to while away a few hours. Dotted around as with so many of these big estates, were little buildings and statues.

After having a good explore we made our way back to the house and decided it was time for a cream tea. How could we not? On our way back to the house we happened upon some grand old cedar trees from which someone had very brilliantly hung some swings. And well, it would have been rude not to wouldn’t it?

We made our way down through the extensive glass house which was filled with citrus fruit trees and money plants galore to the spot where cakes were to be found. We ordered our refreshments and then headed back outside to find a spot on the now very busy lawns to sit down and enjoy them. It was such a lovely moment. We were full of awe and enthusiasm talking about everything we had just seen but more than that, it was how the whole place felt. Magical. Almost like a fairytale, something secret, something that shouldn’t even be there but it was. We ate our sugary treats and watched the folks around us enjoying themselves as much as us and boy we did not want to leave.

I really can’t convey in a single blog post just how spectacular Sezincote is. Go to see it! Go and discover it all for yourself

Back to Broadway

Last year, in the run up the Christmas a friend and I decided to take a trip to the pretty little town of Broadway in the Cotswolds (see post here). For me Christmas shopping is much more enjoyable done wandering around cute little independent shops in a smaller rural town than dealing with the hectic high streets of the city. I like charm and oodles of it, which is exactly what Broadway had given us so we decided to head right on back there again this Christmas. Here are a few snaps from our trip which of course wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the Instagram infamous Broadway Deli to pick up a Portuguese tart!

As the Trees Change - Batsford Arboretum

It had been a while since I’d headed off on a mini adventure. With the end of summer also came the end of weekly trips to explore pretty places. Something about the autumn season had sent me into hibernation mode and there had been a distinct lack of going out to places. But that’s ok. There are seasons for a reason and sometimes it’s good to just let yourself slow down and recoup especially after a long, busy summer.

The changing of the leaves into a blaze of colour had come late where I live. Autumn had in fact been very kind to us and there had been plenty more balmy days full of warmth and sunshine with just the few odd days of rain here and there. So when the change did finally come I was eager to go somewhere to see it in all of its glory and where better than an arboretum? 

I’ve been to Batsford Arboretum a good number of times now and tend to prefer it over Westonbirt Arboretum which is always so busy at this time of year. Batsford has a certain charm about it and its location only adds to its appeal. Nestled into the Cotswolds just a stone’s throw from Stow-on-the-Wold and Moreton-in-Marsh it’s in a prime spot.

The Arboretum itself is utterly charming. There is a superb collection of trees placed along meandering pathways and just to top it off there’s a spectacular looking manor house at its centre. The whole place is encompassed in stunning vistas at each of its edges.

Sadly, with the high winds the few days previously many of the leaves had been blown to the ground so the show wasn’t quite as grand as I was hoping but there was still a fantastic array of colour to behold. The weather was quite pleasant and as little snippets of sunshine made it’s way through the canopies we were blessed with that magical golden light that only Autumn brings. 

We wandered slowly through the trees, savouring the sights around us and enjoying the peacefulness of this place. I hadn’t realised just how much I’d been missing getting out and taking photos and I needed this trip. It reinvigorated my spirit with a fresh injection of inspiration and good old fashioned time spent in nature and lungfuls of fresh air.

To the Slaughter(s) - Upper & Lower Slaughter, The Cotswolds

As September rolls around, a sudden sense of urgency starts to set in. The days start to shorten, the lights takes on a golden hue and the mornings have a little bit of a bite to them. All signs that Autumn is on the way. This year, I am going into Autumn kicking and screaming. I have enjoyed the long, light summer nights oh so very much and the thought of having to stay in each night fills me with such a feeling of loss and longing. So, this time of year I suddenly want to make the most of every little glimpse of daylight, good weather and warmth that we have. 

It was a Bank Holiday Monday and actually not the best of weather compared to the gloriousness that we’d been previously blessed with the in weeks before. It was overcast and a little cooler but still dry and there was no excuse to waste it whiling away in doors so I coerced my ever so well tempered house mate into going for a little foray into the Cotswolds.

 
First stop was a to Whittington to visit a garden which was open as part of the National Open Gardens scheme (more about that in another post) but after we’d had our fill of flowers and cake it seemed a little early to be heading home so we decided to head over to The Slaughters. I had spotted photos of the Slaughters on @mrchrisspeed’s feed and something about them really spoke to me. I’d been to visit them once over ten years ago and couldn’t really remember what they were like and after seeing these photos was desperate to see them again.

Driving through the Cotswolds is enough of a treat in itself sometimes. We pulled the car over a couple of times to take snaps and enjoy the view. We even made a little detour through Guiting Power just because it sounded quaint and pretty and indeed it was. 

 
We started with Upper Slaughter, the smaller of the two villages first. We were a little worried about parking. Being a Bank Holiday Monday we were expecting to have to scour and fight for a parking spot as a little googling had revealed that there weren’t any car parks but we must have gotten lucky because it was surprisingly quiet and we found a space no problem. 

With camera in hand (well, actually cameras plural this time because I was testing out a little compact) we had a little wander. The little spot where the water flows through the village is a beautiful scene to behold and felt wonderfully peaceful too. I enjoyed watching some children in wellies splash about. The water was low enough at this time of year (and after a very dry spell) for cars to drive through like a ford so we had to move out of the way to accommodate those passing through.

I’m just going to take a minute here to address the names of these little villages - Slaughter. It doesn’t exactly conjure up images of picturesque pretty places does it? Well it turns out that Slaughter in its time was just another word for Slough that means “on the water” and seeing as how both Upper and Lower Slaughter are indeed on the water this makes a great deal more sense. I was relieved to find that they weren’t named due to some mass slaughtering or the such. Phew! Upper Slaughter is also above Lower Slaughter geographically, so again this seems most sensical. 

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting but Upper Slaughter seemed much smaller and sleepier than I thought it would be. There was a good collection of houses and a church right in the centre but I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed. No matter, onto Lower Slaughter to see what that had in store for us.

Now Lower Slaughter was a whole different ball game. As we entered into the village we were greeted with crowds and music and bunting everywhere. There was a party going on and Lower Slaughter was definitely the place to be. This little place was welcoming the tourists with welcome arms and clearly celebrating the long weekend.

Again we got super lucky with parking and managed to get a spot right on the main road through the village. We got out of the car and were immediately caught up in the festivities going on. There were so many more people here and so much happening - music and marquees, stalls and celebrations. We made our way along the water taking in the atmosphere and the crazy pretty scenes as we went. Despite the chillier temperatures people were playing in the water here too. 

We followed the water up and around a corner to reveal a quaint little mill nestled at the end of the village. I was one of many people who had stopped to snap a photo of this spot. Up past the mill we found a little gathering of shops and a pub where we stopped to peruse the goodies and giftware. No tourist spot is complete without mugs and fridge magnets showcasing the local venue.

It was getting quite late in the afternoon by this point and sadly much of the festivities were ending and people were packing everything down but it was still lovely just to wander about and take in the happy feeling all around.

One of the things that I love the most about summer is how people are just so ready to celebrate the littlest of things. We English make cake and hang bunting and there’s just so much simplicity and merriment in that. I say, may these needless but wonderful traditions continue forever more. 

  

A few things to think about if you’re planning a visit to The Slaughters: 

Location: Upper Slaughter & Lower Slaughter, The Cotswolds, Gloucestershire

Parking: Beware of the lack of places to park. We got very lucky and managed to find a spot in both places. If it’s likely to be a busy day (say Saturday in the summer holidays) then it would be worth going very early in the morning or later towards the evening to avoid disappointment.

In the Area: It’s worth making a day of it and visiting some of the other wonderful places in the area too. Bourton-on-the-Water and Stow-on-the-Wold are just minutes down the road and well worth a visit. In fact, it’s suggested on Trip Advisor that you can park at Bourton and walk over to Lower Slaughter so if you are unable to park that could be a good back up plan. They are very close to Batsford Arboretum and Sezincote House too.

A Wander Down Broadway

Broadway is one of those iconic Cotswold towns that you see in pictures time and time again but oddly enough, I’ve only ever been there once. It’s been on my list to go back to for ages but for some reason I always seem to pass it up in favour of somewhere else. But not today, today we went!

There is something about the Cotswolds at Christmas time that is just ludicrously magic. There are not many places that look better in the Winter months but pretty little Cotswold villages definitely fall into that minority. There’s something about those old stone cottages that lends itself to that cozy feeling that we crave at Christmas. 

I’m just going to lay it flat out, Broadway is beautiful. If you love pretty English towns, particularly Cotswold ones then you will not be disappointed with this one. It has everything you’d want from such a place - a lovely high street with features like red pillar boxes and old fashioned street lights, tiny little independent shops sharing wares from local merchants and makers that you won’t find anywhere else, an array of eateries offering scrummy food using local produce and most importantly, oodles and oodles of Cotswold charm. I was in heaven.

Like so many other gorgeous places that I've visited, I made a note to come back again when it’s quieter so that I can explore and snap away in peace without too many people in my way. But for today, I embraced the bustle and happy weekend atmosphere that was in the air. 

 

My friend and I pottled up the street enjoying the Christmas window displays and cooing over the goodies on offer. We went in a few shops that took our fancy and were happy to find really nice gifts to buy, not lots of your standard tacky souvenir tat. Then it was time for a spot of lunch.

We found ourselves a nice looking cafe and where I enjoyed a blimming marvellous bowl of parsnip soup. Just what I’d needed to warm me up as the biting wind had really got under my skin. We sat and chatted and then just listened to the hubbub around us, taking in other people’s conversations and enjoying a quiet Sunday lunchtime. 

 Then we made our way back down past the remainder of the shops, stopping finally at the Broadway Deli. Now this was a treat. If you’re ever in Broadway, please go in. It’s a higglety pigglety building with creaking stairs and low ceiling rooms full of unique, yummy treats. It’s got such character that you really just have to experience it for yourself. I love finding places like that.

 The light was already fading and it wasn’t even 3pm as we made our way back to the car. We headed through this cute little shopping centre with quaint, white-framed windows and even though there were actually a few high street brands in this part like Seasalt and Weirdfish, the shops were still tastefully incorporated into the feel of the town.

And so that was our little trip to Broadway. Seeing at it’s not even forty-five minutes from my home I can see me going back in the warmer weather for sure.