Sunday, August 31, 2008

Beautiful Bibury

Having spent a whole week at home, either on my PC, sewing machine or keeping my three girls in check(!), I really felt the need to get out into the world for a few hours yesterday. Hubby and I decided to take a ride out to Bibury, which is a charming old Cotswold village surrounded by picturesque countryside. Bibury was once described by William Morris as "the most beautiful village in England".

The Swan Hotel stands beside the River Coln which runs through the middle of the village.
Its smoothly flowing water provides the perfect home to trout, as well as swans and ducks.

But it's Arlington Row that most visitors come to see. Built in 1380 from Cotswold stone, the row was converted into tiny weavers cottages in the C17th and is now owned by the National Trust.

Even the tiled roofs are made from slithers of the local stone. I loved the mounds of moss growing within the nooks and crannies.


It was a delight to see sheep still grazing in the fields around the cottages, as it was wool which provided employment to the people of the village in the past.

We were so lucky with the weather; it turned out to be pleasantly warm and the sunshine highlighted the mellow old stones in a feel-good glow.


Hope you all had a lovely weekend,
Niki x

28 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:06 pm

    What a lovely outing Niki, Bibury looks a delightful place to visit, you must have returned feeling very refreshed. Super photo of the trout, such clear water. JackieMx

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  2. Anonymous5:35 pm

    Hi Niki, I have been to Bibury so many times and it is gorgeous. We bring trout home and put them on our bbq...lovely. I also love browsing around the antique shop, Julie.

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  3. Your blog is absolutely full of eye candy!! I'm sure I'll be returning again and again for inspiration!!


    Kelly

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  4. Such a sweet village! I'll put that on my must see list!Thanks for the photos!
    The weekend was warm and sunny here in Bremen and tomorrow I'm off to my vacation in Italy :)
    Have fab start into the month of September Niki!
    Best wishes sends
    Carol xox

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  5. Oh what beautiful pictures Niki. I used to go for meals at a wonderful pub called the Catherine Wheel at Bibury years ago. My university boyfriend lived a few villages away and we stayed there in the holidays. Not been for years, what a treat to see it again. Thank you.
    Stephx

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  6. Such beautiful photos! Cotswold villages are truly lovely. I'd love to visit the area again, some day. Thank you! Sal;-)

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  7. Anonymous9:01 pm

    Its gorgeous !! Oh I would love to see it one day! Have a good weekend
    Diane

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  8. Your photos are beautiful, Niki! I concur with William Morris! What a fairytale place it looks to be!

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  9. Hi Niki~
    Your photos take me back to the
    '70s when i was in the UK for 3 years in school. I just must get back and spend a few weeks traveling in the gorgeous countryside. The photos remind me that it's not as wet and cloudy as people imagine.
    There is quite a bit of sunshine!
    This is a lovely town and you must have had a wonderful outing.
    The cotswolds issuch a beautiful area.
    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Tina

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  10. Oh I so love that buttery Cotswold stone! Beautiful pictures! Very fine trout! t.x

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  11. William Morris was right, wasn't he? Beautiful photographs!

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  12. Wow Niki, this is so beautiful and what a perfect day. Next time I get to visit I am coming to visit here! xo, suzy

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  13. Bibury is beautiful. It looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale. It is a bit far from Texas, so I don't think I'll get to visit in person any time soon! Thank you so much for sharing. I adore the old architecture!
    Blessings,
    Lorilee

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  14. Oh. my. word. Those are gorgeous pics of Bibury. It DOES look like a fairy tale setting. Thanks for posting these. One of these days. . .

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  15. Anonymous6:53 am

    Hi Niki!
    I'm going to visit Bibury VERY soon! What a surprise to find this post, this morning! I'm looking forward to seeing those beauties in person!!
    Thanks a lot for sharing!

    Have a beautiful week,

    Monica xo.

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  16. Bibury looks very beautiful and you had such a good day for a visit too! I shall write it down on my list of places that I will one day visit (or dream about visiting!) Enjoy the last few days of the holidays
    Kimx

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  17. Bibury looks like a picture postcard of the England most of us (across the pond) imagine. Thanks for the tour.

    Darla

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  18. Hi Niki
    thanks for the lovely reminder of how beautiful Bibury is, definately a place to take our Australian family for the day that are arriving this Thursday.

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  19. What beautiful photos, I'm drooling, I think I have cottage envy!

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  20. Anonymous3:36 pm

    Beautiful England ! I've never heard of Bilbury Niki ! so many places on this island that we don't know about ! Looked like a smashing day out , lots of memory pictures , your camara is very clear ,I still use a 35mil ! Niki .. the row of terraced houses are interseting, "chocolate box " the sandy ,grainy feel to the honey stone ,the small tiles covered with moss, sash windows and 5ft doors !!and bubbly colours in the gardens , Oh to be in England ....we are very lucky...
    Barbara
    ( Ps , I love Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Isle of wight and all the other Isles ! (wink) B x

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  22. what a lovely place Niki and great photo's.

    Sorry I have been away so long - I have neglected blog but promise to keep up with you better.

    best wishes Ginny xxx

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  23. Anonymous2:32 am

    Niki,
    My sister is an avid reader of your blog and had to share with me as I am not a blogger yet. I think we need to trade places for a holiday, lol. Have you seen the movie, "The Holiday" with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet? Your in BEAUTIFUL England and I am in California, near San Francisco. Every day during my lunch break I drive 5min to the water and I have lunch looking out at the Golden Gate Bridge, sounds lovely right??!!! Anyway, your pictures are lovely and I will most definately stay tuned to your blog. :)
    Melody (my sis's blog is chachaneen)

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  24. Hi Melody - thanks for your comment - sounds like a pretty good trade to me! ;-))
    Niki

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  25. I adore William Morris designs. Will enjoy browsing through your blog.

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  26. Thank you for sharing this lovely place with us. It is absolutely gorgeous! I love your photos of it and almostfelt like I was there. I cannot believe such a magical looking place exists. How lucky you were to have a visit there. I am so happy I stumbled upon your blog. It's a real treat.
    Tammy

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  27. Anonymous8:12 pm

    It's like a storybook...my David Winter cottages come to life! Thanks for sharing this picturesque place. :)

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Thank you for finding the time to visit me...
Niki xx