The
Cotswolds Roadrun
The Tour Party at Broadway
Tower
The Cotswolds Roadrun, the
third in a modern series of occasional events with this title,
took place on 24th - 27th August, based near Burford in
Oxfordshire. Webmaster Phil Homer reports on the Event:
Its unusual, holding a roadrun in
the week, as opposed to the weekend, so we were pleased that 14
members managed to find the time together to enjoy three days in
the Cotswolds.
Click on any ofthese thumbnails to see enlargements:
| We met for
Lunch at the George and Dragon in Long Hanborough, near
Witney and were well satisfied with the size and quality
of their lunches. The first run was less than 1/2 mile to
the Oxford Bus Museum which incorporates the Morris Motors
Museum, next to the railway station in the village. This,
like a number of our attractions was especially opened for
us and a guided tour given. We couldn't help thinking how
great it would be if we had a museum dedicated to our
marque, like the one to Morris.....
From there it was a short
roadrun to the Roman Villa at North Leigh. Access was via
a long walk down an uneven path but we were able to see
the room layouts and some mosaics preserved in a roofed
building. Next, through Witney to Burford, we arrived in
time for a refreshing cuppa in the High St. Less than 5
miles away was our hotel, the Merrymouth Inn, our base for
two nights. We ate in their restaurant with splendid food
and service that evening.
|
Mile and Pat Beavis in
the Bus Museum
|
|
Members paying
attention in the "World of Mechanical Music"
|
Tuesday was a
full day of touring. First we travelled along tiny roads
through the Windrush valley to Northleach. Here we were
given a guided tour of the Mechanical Music Museum. Such
was the enthusiasm of our host and the eagerness of our
party to ask questions that the one-hour tour stretched
easily to an hour and a half, leaving no time to visit the
splendid wool church across the square.
Instead we took coffee
then pressed off on the most interesting part of the
roadrun. . |
| This took us
high over the Cotswolds plateau on an ancient "Saltway"
with fantastic rural views. We came eventually to Stanway,
a really pretty village, where lunch was booked at the
Mount Inn, washed down with the local Donnington AlesThe
next run was much shorter and took us to Stanway
House, where we arrived in time to see the start of their
main attraction - and what a sight it is! This is the
highest fountain in Europe and the highest gravity fed
fountain in the world! The next part of the run took us
over the Cotswolds again, via the tiny village of
Snowshill to Broadway Tower. Another Coffee Stop with an
opportunity to Climb the Tower for the impressive views,
on a very clear day, or to see the deer wandering nearby.
|
The fountain at
Stanway House
In the evening, to
ensure variety, we had dinner in Great Rissington at the
"Lamb" which required us to use the cars for a return
journey in the dark.
left: Lineup of cars at
Stanway House |
|
Teignmouth at Chastleton House |
Wednesday morning was the
day that he tail-end of Hurricane Bill came over, though we managed to
keep mostly dry until lunchtime. Our first visit was to Chastleton
House, especially opened for us. The advantage of this is a guided tour
by a very knowledgeable host, around this the most complete Jacobean
House in the country. The disadvantage was that it took nearly 2 and 1/2
hours. That meant we were late at our next visit, an interesting antique
centre in Chipping Norton. The final visit was for a buffet lunch in the
"Fox" at Broadwell" and the last Donnington stop of the
Tour.
All 8 cars, from as early as 1926,
behaved more or less faultlessly. Everyone said how much they enjoyed it
and the only complaint was that it just wasn't long enough..... |
Maybe there will be
another Cotswolds roadrun in the future, or maybe someone will
organise a roadrun in their area that we can attend?
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