22 Sep. - Chipping Campden

 

Image: Chipping Campden - the 1693 Market Hall at right

A stroll through town + a ramble in the wood.

Chipping Campden - old + new all mixed in the high street. Stone coursework some clue as to which is which.
The market Hall, traditionally re-roofed, is the real deal. 1693 + all stone + iron + oak. Raggedy but solid cobble pavement, proud arches, powerful roofing timbers giving shelter still to local traders.

Then a ramble, through chestnut avenue of Sudeley Castle, across pasture + fresh-tilled fields, past No-Man's Patch to enter Spoonley Wood - hiding among its trees + brambles the vestigial remains of a Roman villa. A small (was it all they afforded?) but glorious ornate mosaic floor sheltered by builders' plastic sheeting + an iron roof.

To touch, to see, to walk upon Roman tiles - in the damp + dappled light of an inconsequential woodland!

Notes: In Chipping Campden, be sure to duck through the archway and visit the Ernest Wilson Memorial Garden. And if you like roasted chestnuts - Sudeley's the place to find them scattered in the grass under the avenue.