Sunday, May 17 – We went to bed Saturday night with absolutely no idea of what we were doing the next day. But it ended up being one of the best days of my life and definitely of the trip so far.
Our lodging Saturday did not include breakfast so the first decision of the day was where to eat. We headed towards our Sunday destination and stopped in the city of Tetbury for a fuel up of both car and human. Gas was £1.59 per liter. That works out to about $8.10 per gallon. $66 later, our half-empty Mazda fuel tank was full.
Tetbury is the second largest city in the Cotswolds. Being Sunday morning, we had made reservations prior to leaving the hotel at one of the restaurants that seem to be open early. It was a cute café, and we both ordered eggs Royale think of eggs Benedict, but with smoked salmon instead of ham as the meat it was delicious!
We stopped at a store for a few picnic supplies and then drove on to North Nibley to start our hike. I’m not saying that North Nibley is a small town, but when the car gave us direction to turn onto The Street, you know if may not be very large.
Pam had picked up a book of hikes around the Cotswald‘s earlier in our trip and we had selected one that started heading towards the Tyndale Monument atop a ridge just outside of town. William Tyndale, we learned, had been a local man who became the first to translate the New Testament into English in 1533. For his troubles and academic achievements, he was burned at the stake.
The tower was open, so we decided to climb to the top. The staircase was extremely narrow and quite dark in some places. It really put Pam‘s claustrophobia to the test. But she was a trooper and made it to the top.
The monument was located at the northern tip of an elevated area known as Nibley Knoll. The high ground was fairly significant and we spent a couple of miles hiking around the top of the knoll taking in stunning views. The far southern edge featured a grove of trees, surrounded by a stonewall with an edge that looked out over the town of Wooten under edge. There were several park benches and we decided this would be a good place for a picnic we read on a plaque that the trees were originally planted in 1815 to commemorate the victory at Waterloo over Napoleon.
We descended the knoll on the south side and started through some woods as we began the return of our loop. We passed a couple of hikers going the opposite direction who informed us that just up ahead, a scout troop was selling tea and cake along the trail. It seemed a little odd, but sure enough a couple hundred yards down the trail we saw a tent and a bunch of people standing in a clearing. We emerged from the trail to be greeted by a group of friendly scouts. We purchased 2 cups of tea and shared a slice of homemade carrot cake. They even had chairs and tables with flowers on them. It was surreal and lovely.
After our refreshments, we got back on the trail and continued through the wood until the trail ended at a paved lane. We passed by several farms and were passed by several people riding on horseback out for a Sunday hack. After a mile or so, our path cut through a couple of meadows and we were suddenly back at our car, completing the 6-mile loop.
We drove on to our Sunday night accomodation at the Devere Tortworth Court. While we had seen photos when we made reservations on Booking.com, we were not prepared for what we encountered. Starting with a gated entry nearly a mile from where navigation said we would end, we drove through an arboretum down a single-lane road. Suddenly, in front of was a massive grand estate which only photos can do justice.
We learned that the estate was constructed by the 2nd Earl of Ducie, and finished in 1853. The estate passed through five generations until the 6th Earl had to sell the estate to a real estate developer in 1991. During WWII, while the 5th Earl was visiting his holdings in Australia, the estate was first used as a top secret training grounds for the Signals Corp of the British Navy, then as a US Army hospital.
Shortly after being purchased, the manor was nearly destroyed by a devastating fire. The property was left derelict for 8 years. In 1999 a reconstruction effort was undertaken to restore it and turn it into a vacation resort.
We spent our evening walking the grounds, admiring the century-old trees. We discovered the pet cemetery of the Ducie’s family animals.
