The Mousetrap Explained

Surely you must have been a little bit curious as to why the B&B Inn where we are staying is called the Mousetrap!

Well, as it turns out, the name is attributed to Agatha Christie, who is the author of the play, "The Mousetrap",  which is the longest running play in London.  Apparently Agatha Christie stayed at this inn at some point of time, and there is actually a room called the Agatha Room in the main part of the hotel.

Marty tells me that there was quite a bit of noise coming from that room when he left Amy's room last evening, so I'm not quite sure if Agatha would have approved of that.  Who knows?  Perhaps she, herself, was a wild adventurer.  But in any event, it appears that the name stems from this famous author.

The staff here has been very friendly, and obviously, someone here has a sense of humor, as this sign hangs outside the front of the pub.

Happiness was pointing to the Mousetrap, the straight ahead arrow was pointing to the village.
Made me chuckle first thing this morning as we headed out for a walk around town prior to breakfast.

I'll let the photos express the charm of Bourton-on-the-Water:

And a perfect day, again, for getting some lovely photos!

After breakfast,  we headed out to a village called Blockley, which had been written up in quite a few articles as being a beautiful village worth visiting.

We haven't had much success with such advice, and this attempt didn't offer much more, but we did stop to take a few photos.

From here we headed to Hidcote Gardens, which is part of the National Trust.  There is a manor house on the grounds, but it is undergoing repairs, and only one room was open.

But the gardens and the view were certainly well worth the visit.

 We spent some time walking the trails and enjoying the brilliant sunshine.

From here we headed to Snowshill Manor, another National Trust Site.  As Marty was driving, Amy spotted this tower,  and we decided to make a quick stop and check it out.

It was an easy walk to the tower where the view was just stunning.

There were deer grazing nearby.

and I took a panorama from the foot of the tower.

Quite a spectacular site and well worth stopping to see.

Back in the car we continued our way to Snowshill Manor.  Just for the record, I spent a LOT of time researching this trip, and nowhere do I recall the description of this manor giving me even the slightest hint of what we would end up seeing today.

The house had been purchased 100 years ago, by a man named Charles Wade, strictly for the purpose of using it to display the many items that he had collected over the years.  He, himself, along with his wife, lived in the Priest's quarters, which stand only a few feet from the old manor house itself.

When we scanned our NT cards, the attendant was sure to mention that the contents of the house, by Wade, were quite eccentric and that we should keep in mind that the items were on display according to Wade's wishes when he bequeathed the National Trust the property.  In retrospect, I realize that she was pretty much putting out a disclaimer that stated that anyone visiting the site shouldn't judge the National Trust in  regards to the holdings.

Amy reminded me of a bazaar house that we once had visited in New Jersey, many years ago, where the owner was fascinated with tiles, and the house was filled with just any kind of porcelain tile imaginable.  She jokingly asked me if I thought that this house would be more eccentric than this one.  Well, there was no way that I'd be able to determine that until we saw what was inside.

And, you know what?  This one took the prize.....hands down.

I can't tell you when I've seen a collection of such immense proportions.  The man had purchased the estate 100 years ago for the sole purpose of using the house to hold various collections.

He lived in the priests' quarters, surrounded by quite a bit of "stuff" according to the National Trust set up.   Honestly, I was haunted with the reminders of cleaning "stuff' out of a couple of relative's houses over the years while looking at this extreme quantity of items. We had been told that the National Trust had documented over 21,000 items that belonged to this man, but that only about half of them were on display in the house.  Believe me....there was a LOT of stuff!

Musical instruments:

lots of dolls

very creepy masks

children items (Wade never had any children)

rows upon rows of bicycles

unique baby carriages

full size, very creepy dressed up warriors of some type

unusual instruments

and Noah's ark.

Let me just say that these photos don't put a tiny dent in the holdings of the house. 

The redeeming quality of this house was the serene atmosphere and scenic beauty.  That made it worth making the effort to view it.

And although Amy was teasing me about it mercilessly, she did admit that she hadn't laughed so hard on this trip as she did today.

We declined on visiting the basement because I had told Amy that I already knew I'd be having nightmares after seeing all of this "Stuff".  Then Marty commented that we'd probably be missing the collection of Cool Whip containers, and that really set Amy whooping.

For those of you who might question that comment, Marty and I helped clean out the basement of my great aunt's house when she passed, and she had mountains of empty Cool Whip containers stashed in her basement.  I have since learned that this was actually a common occurrence of her generation, so I really can't categorize that as eccentric.  But the comparison certainly made us laugh.

Still guffawing at our experience, we headed to Lower Slaughter, where, once again, I had read on numerous sights that there was a lovely walk from Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter that was about a mile long.  The suggestion was to park in Lower Slaughter, walk to Upper Slaughter, stop in the local pub for a pint, then make the return trip to Lower Slaughter.  The views were supposed to be amazing.

I must be spoiled, because the views were certainly nothing to brag about, and there was no pub in Upper Slaughter.  This really should not have come as too much of a surprise to me, but I felt bad for Amy having to make this hike with no reward.

But we did see some lovely cottages in the village of Lower Slaughter.

and, once again, we found ourselves in the path of a very active pheasant!

 We decided to head back to the Mousetrap where I left Amy and Marty to enjoy a pint in the Mousetrap Pub.  (I'm not a beer drinker.)

Unfortunately, the Mousetrap was booked for dinner, so we had to settle on something much inferior, and, actually, I can say that it was barely tolerable.  But don't think that we are disheartened.  We certainly did have quite a bit of fun and entertainment today, and let's face it.... a day out in the Cotswolds certainly beats a day at the office, no matter how bad the food might be!

Tomorrow we ditch the car and make our way to London.  Now, that's sure to prove to be quite an adventure!  Here's hoping it all goes smoothly!  I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Gallivanting through the Cotswolds

This morning, we bid fond farewell to Maria at the Villa Claudia in Bath.

I found her to be rather entertaining in that she was obviously Italian, but had a British-Italian accent which brought a smile to my face.  She and her husband made the breakfast croissants at night, and let me just say that the smell of fresh baking croissants wafting into the room is quite a pleasant experience!

Our adventures for the day began with a visit to the National Trust, Lacock, which includes an Abbey, the grounds that it stands upon, and the small village of Lacock.

We decided to begin our tour by heading directly to the Abbey.

As you can see from the photos, the weather was perfect, boasting bright blue skies, and the trees were just beginning to bud. 

Apparently parts of this historic abbey were used in the filming of Harry Potter as well as a few other feature films.  Amy, being a huge Harry Potter fan herself, was actually a bit excited that we had stumbled upon this place. 

 I, on the other hand, am not a Harry Potter fan, but that didn't lessen my enthusiasm regarding exploring its fascinating history.

This Abbey was founded by Ela of Salisbury, who is also credited with building the grand Salisbury Cathedral.  She founded Lacock Abbey in memory of her late husband, William Longesepee, and she became the first abbess of this Abbey, spending her final days within these walls.

In 1540, William Sharington bought the Abbey at the time that King Henry VIII had proclaimed the Dissolution of such religious structures.  

Sharington converted the upstairs of the Abbey into a family home.  The church, however, was destroyed and the stones were used to build the bakery, brewhouse and stables on the grounds. 

It remains the earliest country house brewery to survive in England.

The cloister, itself, is one of the most complete survivals of a medieval nunnery in England as well.
In one of the small lower rooms, there is a copy of the Brito Book, having been scribed in the mid-1300s.  It stands under glass to preserve it.

In 1800, Lacock was inherited by William Henry Fox Talbot, who proceeded to have the rooms updated according to the Victorian Era.

In the corner of the structure stands a turret with a round room that held important documents, one of which was a copy of the Magna Carta that had been issued in 1225 by King Henry II. It had been sent to William Longespee, the husband of the founder of the Abbey, and had been kept in safekeeping in this tower every since.  

One can tell by the entrance of the room with its thick, sturdy door, that it was designed for protection of valuables.

There were many features to the former abbey that showed that it had truly been a loving home to Talbot.  

I found the tablecloth to be amusing.

I was hoping to find a replica in the gift shop, because Marty never seem to know where the silverware is placed, but, unfortunately, I had no luck in finding one.

In the back of the house stands a grand room with an adorned vaulted ceiling as well as interesting statuary placed along the walls.

The figurines were actually formed from clay, making them extremely unique, and there apparently was a story behind every single on in the room, but I'll spare you those details.

The room also held a huge fireplace.

Talbot was certainly an interesting man, having a passion for chemistry as well as math.

His daughters were extremely talented artists, and Talbot, himself, had the desire to create beauty. As a result, he is actually credited for discovery the first negative in film developing.

People credit Daguerre for that accomplishment, but what really happened is that Talbot never applied for the patent, and so, he never received the credit.

There was a small museum set up to Talbot's passion for photography, in a building on the grounds.

Having sufficiently satisfied our interest in the Abbey, we walked around the grounds for a bit.

You have to admit, this certainly was a unique National Trust site to visit!

From here, we headed to Dyrham Park, which is actually has an ancient deer park on the premises, complete with surviving deer!  We did manage to spy some on our way out of the grounds as were were leaving.

This manor home boasts one of the best surviving Baroque interiors in England.  The National Trust purchased it over 50 years in order to preserve the history and beauty of this building and surrounding grounds. 

Rather than go into a lot of detail, I'll just post a few photos for you to enjoy.

Marty couldn't resist that selfie!

By now, it was nearly four o'clock, so we decided to hop on the bus for the long ride up the road to the parking lot rather than walk.

As luck would have it, the deer were right near the roadway, but, unfortunately, this is the best photo that I could capture:

We were obviously the "odd man out" on the bus, with Amy winning the award for the youngest person.

Come to think of it, she just might have been the youngest person anywhere near the manor house!  Luckily, she doesn't seem to mind hanging with the more "mature" crowd!

We headed out on the road to a National Trust Village called Bibury.  It had been written up in a few magazines as being a "must see", and it was on our way to our next B&B, so why not stop?

Getting there was a bit tricky, with lots of round about directions from the GPS, and, at one point, Marty took the wrong exit from a roundabout.  We immediately noticed the error, and as Amy was suggesting that he just turn around at the upcoming roundabout, classical music began to stream into the car.  We were all a bit startled by that. The timing was impeccable.

Then, within short time, while traveling down a very narrow country lane, the theme from Downton Abbey began playing.  Now, I ask, what are the chances of that? Here we were, driving through an area where many of the scenes of Downton were filmed, and the theme song begins playing!

I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried!

We finally managed to find the village, and although Amy and Marty seemed a bit disappointed, I could see the charm that was mentioned in the articles that I had read.

And where else are you going to find a pheasant so willing to plump his feathers as if showing off?

By this time, the sun was setting, so we headed out to Bourton-on-the-Water where we checked into the MouseTrap B&B Inn.  Amy immediately noticed that the description and photos that are online did NOT resemble the rooms we were given. 

Amy is in the main building, above the bar, and I hear it is noisy.  We are on ground level, away from the bar, and the internet is horrid.  It has taken me nearly 3 hours to complete this blog.  So, if you don't see one tomorrow night, you'll know that I just couldn't take the frustration anymore.

All in all, we had a grand day with lovely weather.  Marty did the driving while Amy did the directing, and I sat in the back seat, trying NOT to be a back seat driver.

I do believe I lapsed twice in the course of a day.  I'd say that's probably better than what most would manage, don't you think?

Yes....it certainly was an eventful and fun day.  Hopefully you will hear from me tomorrow!