A trip down Memory Lane (or at least a Cotswold country lane)

Let’s do this again, shall we?

In 2015, Kathy, LeAnn, and I had a lovely afternoon walking from Charingworth Manor to the nearby village of Ebrington. Since I had some time again, I wanted to revisit this charming little village.

The weather was perfect. I had a great night’s sleep and a fantastic Full English at Charingworth. There was absolutely nothing stopping me!

So, over the little stone wall behind Charingworth and down the lane I go!

With a distance of only about a mile, the narrow lane and a little bit of up-and-down meant taking things nice and slow and enjoying the morning walk. The fields are either in full-growth or recently harvested, but the wildflowers along the country lane give company as I make my way into Ebrington. 

It’s easy to see why walking is such a pastime here.  Between the well-maintained lanes, the public footpaths, and the reasonable walking distances, it’s a very appealing way to spend a nice day.  

With some disappointment, I notice the “Egg Box 360” (fresh eggs-for-sale container) is no longer a feature on the Washbrook House.   

There are some new developments that had been started back in 2015, but completed since.  New houses were an interesting contrast to some of the older buildings I knew were coming up shortly.  It turns out, too, that there were some old Roman artifacts that had been found during the clearing and development of the roads and homes.  This caused some delays in the actual construction, but it’s clear that they managed to find their way through these challenges. 

Making that final turn at the top into Ebrington opens onto a view of well-manicured gardens on either side along a tidy little lane.  A number of these homes are private residences, but there are some that have been designated as holiday or rental homes for short term use.

There was one, in particular, that was undergoing some extensive construction work – but it was also clear that they were doing everything possible to maintain a consistent “village curb appeal”.  I wished that I could have gone inside to see how they were doing the interior updates !

Walking along, looking at the houses and remembering the last time I was here reinforced my love for the Cotswolds and these little villages. As I’ve noted before, most of these villages are marked by two things: an ancient church and an awesome village pub!

Ebrington is certainly no different with St. Eadburgha’s and The Ebrington Arms to check those particular boxes.  Since I’m a little early for lunch, I decide that a visit to the church and some exploration of other areas I hadn’t seen yet was the first order of the day.

St. Eadburgha’s

St. Eadburgha’s is beautiful old 13th Century church that I wrote a lot about during our last visit.  Read more about it there or online if you’re interested – as the history is really fascinating.

This time, walking up towards the small lane that leads to the main church gate, I noticed something on the roofline of one of the thatched roof houses.  Stopping and looking … are those … rabbits?  Zooming in with the camera shows yes, indeed!  Those are thatch hares! 

It turns out that thatchers have added decorative items to rooflines like small animals and other fanciful decorative bits that really add some whimsy to these already story-book homes.

Walking through the main gate into the St. Eadburgha cemetery, I see the Crusader Knight’s tomb cover holding watch over the rest of the grounds.  That’s still so interesting that something so old is so easily accessible to me. 

As with other historic places I’ve been, just thinking about the centuries that have passed while this remained relatively unchanged is somewhat hard to wrap my head around.

Entering into the church itself was as meaningful as last visit.  Again, the palpable feel of history is noticeable.  Sitting by myself … just looking around and thinking about the uncounted numbers of worshippers and other visitors who have been in the exact pew where I was sitting really put things into perspective.

As always, the views and photos inside St. Eadburgha are hard to top.  Make sure to look through my photos from today — they don’t do it justice, but hopefully they convey some of the peace and history inside this lovely little church.

One thing I saw this time that I missed the last visit was a stone door bar inside the church at the main door.  Slid back into the wall, a long stone bar with a steel ring could be extended to serve as a (very solid) lock to keep the door from being opened.

Since this is on the inside of the door, I have to wonder if there is some history behind the need for such a security mechanism to keep external “visitors” at bay or not.  Regardless, it’s these sorts of little things that probably have lots of history and/or purpose that may be exactly what they seem … or may be something completely different from what our modern interpretations may try to make them out to be.

Either way, it’s fun to try to figure out the “why?” behind these features.

I’m also always fascinated that, no matter how warm it might be outside, the insulation of the Cotswold stones keep the interior surprisingly comfortable.  With the closed doors and windows, it is a little bit stuffy, but I don’t think it was ever considered to make stained glass windows “openable”.  🙂

I leave a donation and sign the visitor’s book – I’m quite partial to this little church and I’m glad that I got to pay it another visit.

Last visit, I did not get the chance to go behind the church into the expansive cemetery area.  The tombstones here ranged from the VERY old (this one appears to be from 1567!) and some that are more modern former residents of the village.  The day was perfect, with a comfortable temperature and slight breeze, so finding a nice bench was a welcomed surprise. 

While I had been looking through the cemetery, there was a small white butterfly that had been fluttering about. 

When I sat down on the bench, that butterfly came over and was in front of me for a little while … I told Kathy and her dad and siblings that it felt like Geri’s presence letting me know that she was “okay” and that I should “be happy”. 

Paul said later that “sounded like Geri”.  

The Ebrington Arms

Between the walk from Charingworth and poking around St. Eadburgha’s, I was more than ready for lunch!  The Ebrington Arms is the village pub that has won awards for years as being one of the nicest pubs in the Cotswolds.  Our visit in 2015 was great – being able to sit near the fireplace inside the pub was a nice experience.  This time around, with the warmer temperatures and sunny days, I was really looking forward to sitting outside in the beer garden.

Stepping into the pub, and seeing the bar – I make note of which ale I want and head to the outdoor seating.  The garden area is really nice, and I select a table.  After ordering my pint and lunch, I get a chance to look through some of my photos I’ve taken – and realize that I’ll be in for a LOT of photo selection and editing by the end of this trip – ha!

That first lovely pub pint is always an experience… and this is no different.  While I wish I had company, being able to enjoy the experience in relative peace and solitude is a nice experience, too.  Bottom line – I’ll make the best of my situations throughout this trip, and each will be unique and exactly what I want at the time.  Positive thoughts – I have them!

After enjoying my lunch and pint, it’s time to say my farewells to Ebrington and head back to Charingworth Manor.  Leaving the village, there’s a very distinct stone trough that looked very purpose-built.  Reading the plaque, it was originally built as a horse-watering trough fed from a natural spring.  Who knows the history and whether this was an expansion of an old Roman spring-fed water collection fountain or not … at any rate, given the Roman influence around this area of Britain, it’s entirely possible!

Walking back, I find and take a detour down that public footpath I saw on my way into Ebrington.  Going through the “kissing gate”, I step into a lovely open field with a clearly used footpath. 

Walking down that path, I quickly get away from the country lane and am back into the English countryside.  I could’ve walked for miles along this path, eventually catching up with the Cotswolds Way, but I needed to turn around and get back to Charingworth.

I was going to be meeting up with John, Marianne, Mark, and Henry tonight for dinner over at Oakleigh House.  I was very much looking forward to seeing them all again and meeting Mark’s son Henry for the first time!  I had brought Henry a toy Space Shuttle, which ended up being the *perfect* ice breaker.  We ended up being “best mates” very quickly and had many adventures together.

 It’s time to head back for a good night’s sleep, as tomorrow’s the “big day” for Mark and Jess and we have LOTS to do!