Just walking about.
Published on HivePostify by @dickturpin · Mon Sep 22 2025
Taking Charlie for a walk, I decided to 'go exploring'. Instead of heading down into Bourton, I turned right and after a short walk, I came across one of those Public Footpath signs for Windrush, Charlie, and me walked down the footpath, and it opened out onto a beautiful stream, the sort of view an artist would love to paint.
These were your classic chocolate box images, I can see it now: Caramels of the Cotswolds.
I never saw any fish in these streams, which was funny as there were a few signs saying NO FISHING. Maybe people fished for ducks? There were plenty of those.
We passed a field of sheep, which Charlie was totally confused by.
The path actually led us back into Bourton, so the idea of seeing somewhere different kind of backfired on me. 😆
We did come across a ford, however. If you ask me, you'd be OK driving through it in a 4X4, but I wouldn't fancy it in a bog standard car.
Charlie and I headed back to the cottage. We'd planned to go to Stow-on-the-Wold and Broadway, given that the two places had been a washout last time we tried to visit.
So I'm really sorry, I don't have any pictures for the following two places. The ones I took turned out horrid. 🙁 Stow-on-the-Wold It's a gorgeous medieval-looking market town, but be warned, parking is minimal. There is parking in the market square; however, you need to get there early. We managed to secure a spot, and the market traders were just setting up, so we decided to look for somewhere to get breakfast.
We found a fantastic little place called [The Hive](https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/RestaurantReview-g186290-d12210511-Reviews-TheHive-StowontheWoldCotswoldsEngland.html) (That name gets about, don't it?) The Hive breakfast was amazing.
[Image Source](https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/2f/c0/6a/91/caption.jpg?w=1000&h=-1&s=1)
Sourdough toast, poached eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, fresh parsley and homemade baked beans. I wasn't that keen on the baked beans if truth be told. They tasted like they'd been made with the juice of tinned plum tomatoes. A bonus in my book is any place that lets your dog sit with you while you eat and doesn't require you to retreat to a garden or some out-of-the-way corner. The wife was really impressed with the toilets! 😂
"They've got real bouquets of flowers in there! And posh handwash." She said.
There weren't that many shops tbh, although we did find a pet shop and bought Charlie some Lamb treats. The market stalls were really good, though. One was selling goat products, milk, cheese and meat. I passed on goat sausages, though.
As you can imagine, there are a LOT of Americans and I presume Japanese. A classic American lady spoke to us while we were at one of the market stalls:
"What breed of dog is that?" She said. I always love this question because when I tell people, they're generally none the wiser. I always phrase my response this way: "OK, are you ready for this? He's a Coton de Tuléar" Now, usually I have to back that up with "They're related to the Bichon." but no! "Oh, I know the breed well." said our new American friend. "My brother breeds them." I was shocked. In the eight years we've had Charlie, that's the first person who knew the breed. I really wish I'd bothered to ask her name now.
As you can imagine, house prices in a lot of these villages are eye-watering to say the least. The wife particularly liked the kitchen in this one.
Me: "Wait there a minute and I'll just pop in and see if they take Klarna?"
Broadway This, so far, is our [favourite village](https://www.broadway-cotswolds.co.uk/) in the Cotswolds. There are lots of classic shops along the length of the high street.
[Image Source](https://www.staycotswold.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Broadway-Village-1.jpg)
We went into a shoe shop as the wife liked the look of some boots they had. Between you and me, I was a bit surprised as they looked like riding boots? They were black with a broad brown band around the top, but as most men will tell you, never make a comment when your partner is trying something on. 🤣
Wife: "I have problems with boots, I have fat calves." Assistant: "Everyone has one foot bigger than the other." Wife: "No, I have fat calves." Assistant: "I'm sure you don't."
The wife starts to pull the zip up.
Assistant: "Oh?" Wife: "I told you I have fat calves."
Bwahahaha
We'll do this and then set off
We didn't have time to do the Maze, maybe if we come back, we can have a look. Instead, we chose to look around Birdland.
Now, I don't like zoos; I don't like any venue that houses captive animals. I can just about stomach safari parks and maybe a zoo that's famous for its conservation work. I have to say, Birdland could have been worse.
We were a bit too close for comfort with the penguins. A couple came that close to the very low wall that, with a slight stretch, and if you're dumb enough, you could have touched them.
Over by the cafeteria, they have a couple of parrots flying free. One dive bombed the wife and scared the living daylights out of her. I didn't laugh, honest.
And that's it. After the birds, we drove to The Farmer's Dog and then home, but hopefully you've already read about that.
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