Catching my breath before the home stretch!

We’re definitely nearing the end of this incredible Cotswolds adventure. And, as we’re all a little worn out from the last couple of days and Mark/Jess are returning from their honeymoon today and will gather Henry, it makes perfect sense to lay low a bit and recharge for the last couple of busy upcoming days!

In Oakleigh House, John and Marianne have a small frame of several maps from different timeframes that all show the local area from at least a century or more ago to the present day. It’s fascinating seeing Ebrington, Charingworth, and the Grange so prominent across the time represented in these maps.

When Mark and Jess arrive, Henry’s so very thrilled to see “mummy and daddy” again. It’s very sweet to see them all reconnect. But as they’re both tired, too, and we know that we’ll all be together again on each of the next two days, it’s a quick visit and they’re all off.

Which, of course, means the three of us are now ready to go hit a pub that’s been on a couple of my previous visits – The Bell at Alderminster!

Having been here in 2015 (and previous), it was nice to see the lovely bar area, but also notice some of the changes that the new owners had made. One thing that was (as always) a consistent and welcome start was a beautiful pint of local ale.

The main course and dessert were on point, as expected. Tomorrow’s the big day for the Birthday Boy, so we head back to Oakleigh House for the evening! I get an introduction to the old English TV series “Dad’s Army“, which ran from 1968-1977 and is freaking hilarious … I may have to find episodes online and keep going.