Kanga And Wombats Adventures

Castle Combe. We were there by 9.00am and jagged a parking spot 100m from the village.

Pretty pretty for sure!

So many nooks and crannies, beautiful cottages, and a babbling brook in the middle!

But, is it the prettiest village in England? It would probably go close. A victim of its own prettiness though, and I pity the poor people who actually live there having to put up with the hundreds of visitors that churn through each day. We chatted to one local who was driving out of his house and had stopped to close the gate and put  parking cones in front of it. He initiated a conversation with us about our holiday then told us all about his latest trip away. He said he didn’t mind tourists poking about, except the Americans! He also said you couldn’t not love living in a place as beautiful as Castle Combe, and he certainly had a good point! And he lived in the biggest house (read manor) in the village accessed by the bridge in the photo above. Indeed, what’s not to love!

It felt like we were on a movie set, and we well could have been. Castle Combe has been the setting of numerous movies, TV series, advertisements and documentaries, such as Dr Doolittle, Warhorse,  Stardust, Poirot, Downton Abbey, Harry Potter etc.

You can see why…with a sprinkling of dirt over the double yellow lines, you could instantly be transported back in time.

With a last look around and a peek inside the church, it was time to move on.

Mike and Kate were picking us up for a days outing.

Today we went south. The ‘pub de jour’ was The Barge Inn at Seend Cleeve, right beside the Kennet and Avon Canal.

We looked enviously out the window as we ate, watching the barges go by. It seemed weeks, not two days, since we had been doing that ourselves!

And the four of us certainly hadn’t done in the talking department! They wanted to know all about Millie’s latest achievements and milestones, of course, and it was obvious how much they loved having her stay at Christmas and how much they miss the family.

A short drive away is Avebury, probably most famous for its Stone Circle. But Mike and Kate knew we’d been there on our last visit and wanted to show us its other gem, Avebury Manor.

Now taken over by the National Trust, it featured in a BBC show called ‘The Manor Reborn’ that showed how it was restored.

It’s a Grade 1 listed C16th manor house, with each room authentically decorated to recreate the time when different families lived there, starting from Tudor times up to the 1930’s.

The difference between Avebury Manor and other stately homes is that you can dress up, touch anything, sit on anything and even get into bed!

So we did!

We also learnt stuff!

Did you know that the phrase ‘sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite’ originated from Tudor times and has nothing to do with bed bugs? It actually refers to the Tudor version of our innerspring mattresses, where ropes were tied across the bed frame to support the straw mattress on top. The ropes needed to be ‘tight’ and the rope knots, called ‘bugs’ needed to be avoided!

By the time we’d finished our manor tour, it was getting late. Our tour guides for the day had done an amazing job of feeding and entertaining us, but would only accept a cup of tea and chocky biscuit back at our digs in return.

We said a sad farewell to them by the light of the car headlights, hoping next time we get together, it will be in Australia, and we can reciprocate their generosity, kindness and find dress up opportunities for them of our own!