Evesham and Chipping Norton

When we went away for a few days recently there were only a few places that we definitely wanted to explore but when we looked at the map we realised there were so many towns nearby that it was daft not to take the opportunity to visit them while we were so far down south. Evesham was one of the places we spotted on the map. A hop and a skip from where we were, unfortunately it was raining heavily by the time we got there and it isn’t the sort of place where you can go into a department store to dry off. The photo below is of The Almonry, a 14th century building, and I managed to snap it in a lull in the downpour.
aquaint

Evesham is in Worcestershire, apple growing country and I realised that we would be there at the perfect time for the blossom but unfortunately it wasn’t possible to stop the car whenever we saw the trees in bloom. They looked very pretty, even through the rain.

Driving out of Evesham towards Chipping Norton is quite a climb for a car and you can look down at the Vale of Evesham which I imagine is a good view on a clear day.

I had heard people raving about the beauties of the Cotswold hills and you travel through them to get to Chipping Norton but I have to say that they didn’t seem much to write home about. Mind you I was brought up in the west of Scotland and I don’t think you can beat those hills for beauty anywhere in Britain – well that’s my opinion anyway!

One lovely thing though was the colour of the Cotswold stone, it’s a really lovely warm golden honey colour. There are villages with all of the houses built of Cotswold stone and they must look very pretty when the sun is shining on them, if it ever does.

These two photos are of the main street in Chipping Norton you can read about the town here. It’s quite a bustling place with a few bookshops, second hand and new and it’s very historic and worthwhile having a look at if you’re in that area.

aStreet 1

There are just a few buildings of Cotswold stone here.

aStreet 2

We managed to visit quite a few English counties that we hadn’t been to before. I now have a mental list which I’m ticking off as we go. This was Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, the next visit will be Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire.

8 thoughts on “Evesham and Chipping Norton

  1. I know Evesham from Agatha Raisin books! Your right the golden stones are very attractive and I would love to see them in the sunlight. And I was glad to get an explanation of the name Chipping Norton. Thanks for all the info!

    • Peggy Ann,
      I’ve yet to read an Agatha Raisin book as I want to start from the beginning. I’ll have to request it from the library. I didn’t realise that they’re set in Evesham.

  2. That stone is gorgeous – I’d love to have a house that color. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen apple blossoms! Plenty of orange blossoms here in Phoenix at this time of year and they are lovely and smell heavenly. Do apple blossoms have a delicious odor?

    • Anbolyn,
      I can’t say that apple blossom smells of much, maybe they would if the air around them was hot enough. I’ll take a photo of my apple tree when it’s in bloom. We’re a few weeks behind England growth-wise up here in the frozen north! I’d love to be able to smell orange blossom for real, the nearest I get to it is ‘mock orange’ which is a shrub called Philadelphus.

  3. Chipping Norton is obviously the ‘set’ the likes of Jeremy Clarkson and David Cameron – I am glad you did not see them. I dread to think of the photos taken!

    I love the first photo, even though it is raining I think it gives a certain air to such a magnificent building.

    I love the Cotswolds and the stone, I remember going once as a child but I cannot remember the place we stayed, other than the fact it was so picturesque and village like. Perhaps that is where my love of village stories comes from? Who knows?

    • Jo,
      I think that whole area must seem idyllic compared with the heavily built up areas of Birmingham which isn’t all that far away. Jack mentioned it was Cameron’s stamping ground, I think I had blocked the info out, I’m doing my best to block out Clarkson entirely!
      As well as the villages there seem to be a lot of towns around there which are a perfect size, not big enough to be engulfed by chain stores, so they still have different independent shops.

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