TRAVEL WORDS

Just Back From… the Cotswolds

When you think of the Cotswolds it is the warm honey-coloured limestone and cute thatched cottages inviting romance and tranquillity that spring to mind and where market towns (formerly centres of the wool trade) have wide squares and streets and are the centres of activity. Brooks and rivers bridged by tiny stone arches meander through the hidden villages in the rolling hills and farmland where country pubs have flagstone floors, beamed ceilings and inglenook fireplaces with log fires.

You may also think of crowds of tourists and visitors from London up for the day, often on large touring coaches, ancient churches and manor houses, picture-book tea-rooms, expensive antique, retro and vintage shops. You’d be right about all of these things, but there is another side to the Cotswolds to be explored.

The Cotswolds district is mainly in the counties of Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire with parts of Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Somerset at the edge. It is an area filled with hundreds of small towns and villages that don’t appear on the calendars and book covers or hog the limelight, but are equally attractive. Discover them by driving along the plethora of narrow, winding roads which often provide the most amazing views over the Wolds and the valleys. There are public footpaths, national trails and bridleways galore. Find yourself in a charming and unspoilt village away from the main tourist spots and walk around listening to the birdsong and admiring the chocolate box cottages and striking parish church. In the late spring sunshine, with so many shades of green it is impossible to count, you may stumble across a woodland carpeted with bluebells.

In the north of the region take a romantic circular drive from Moreton-in-Marsh to Stow-on-the-Wold stopping at Broadway Tower and Country Park for a picnic with a view, Broadway village with its wide main street , Snowshill Manor with its collection by the eccentric Charles Paget Wade, Snowshill Lavender farm in the summer, and Hailes Cistercian Abbey ruins, a most peaceful spot on the Cotswolds Way. Continue through Guiting Power with the ‘Hollow Bottom Inn’ and the picturesque Lower Slaughter with the tiny River Eye running through it.

There are dozens of lovely homes and gardens for you to visit, some owned by the National Trust, others in private ownership. Some are large estates such as Sezincote or Hidcote and attract the coach parties, others are smaller and often quieter. All are worth a visit.

The Cotswolds is a vast region and requires several days to explore it thoroughly. We only touched on a small part in four days; there is a lot more to discover.

Road Trip: USA California – The Big Sur

On a visit to California, a few years ago, we had to travel to San Diego from San Francisco and decided that it might be fun to drive down the coast using the PCH rather than fly between the two cities. So from that decision a little road trip was born.

This is the second section between Carmel-by-the-Sea and San Simeon.

Distance: 100 miles
Time: 2 hours 30 minutes without stopping

The route from Monterey to Morro Bay with its landmark Morro Rock is designated an All-American Road and is amongst the nation’s most scenic. This twisting coast-hugging 123 miles long road along the central coast takes about five hours to complete passing through the Big Sur and San Luis Obispo. It climbs higher than 1000 feet above the sea and beaches are generally hard to reach. The road is extremely narrow in places with hair-raising drop-offs to the Pacific Ocean so alertness is advised. In the wet and mist even more care should be taken and rock-falls or mudslides are not unknown.

We were heading for San Simeon at the southern end of the Big Sur where we had booked a tour at Hearst Castle, home to William Randolph Hearst the man immortalized by Orson Welles in Citizen Kane, and an overnight stop at the Best Western Plus Cavalier Oceanfront Resort. Having been told that whales* pass by along this coastline we peered optimistically through the windscreen in hope of seeing something in the mist and gloom, but not a hope in hell of seeing a whale, though possibly a cypress or two.

En route to Bixby Bridge, a much-photographed single-span arch more than 260 feet high and 700 feet long is the 11 miles unpaved Old Coast Road that ends in Andrew Molera State Park offering the most dramatic view of the bridge from behind. This road is impassable when it is raining, so we had to give it a miss.
Just before Bixby is the Rocky Creek Bridge, another stunning bridge. Naturally when we were there it was raining – hard – again. We took it in turns to brave the wild, wet and windy weather to attempt a couple of photos, but our success rate was not very high. Bixby Bridge is important historically as it introduced automobile travel to the Big Sur.

Crossing Bixby Creek the highway then climbs to Hurricane Point which is a place of high winds and big views before descending to the mouth of the Little Sur River. We can only guess at the ‘big views’ as visibility was becoming increasingly worse and unless you count viewing the road in front of us we could hardly see a thing.

Sand dunes soon appeared out of the mist rolling towards Point Sur Light Station. At 19 miles south of Carmel it sits 361 feet above the surf on a large block of volcanic rock that was the site of several disastrous shipwrecks before the lighthouse was built in 1887-1889. It is the only intact light station along the Californian coast open to the public every Saturday. Each tour takes 2-3 hours and involves a steep 1½ hour hike each way with a 300 feet climb in elevation. Thankfully this wasn’t a Saturday so we didn’t feel obliged to stop.

Between Nepenthe – an indoor-outdoor restaurant perched 800 feet above the sea and famous for its views, though not today, and Deetjens – you will find the Henry Miller Memorial Library, a place out of time like much of Big Sur, where you can relax among the redwoods and get a free coffee. Unfortunately it is closed in February so we continued to Deetjens where we had planned on having a late breakfast of Eggs Benedict with loads of fresh coffee. Breakfast, in my opinion, is the only meal that Americans do well; oh and cocktails, but you can’t really live on cocktails alone although by the time you get to the end of this trip you may well feel that we do!

Deetjens is about 28 miles south of Carmel and a charming, offbeat place offering lodging in unique cottages strewn among the redwoods and oaks that clothe the land-side of the road. If you have the time I recommend staying in this area. There are more conventional places to stay plus several campgrounds and cabins and several State Parks with trails, fishing, waterfalls and even hot springs to explore. Having taken our fill of fresh golden eggs, spinach and ham, freshly squeezed orange juice and several free refills of good black coffee we headed off into the storms once again. Eight miles on is Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park with a short trail along the seaside bluff to see McWay Falls pour 100 feet into a picturesque cove. Ahead lay the southern stretch of the Big Sur.

Here the road clings to the precipitous coastline and there are few settlements along the next 40 miles. If you have better weather than we had then stop off at Sand Dollar Beach or Jade Beach (south of Lucia and north of Gorda) then just past Ragged Point you come to hills and pastureland and in the distance you can see the Piedras Blancas Lighthouse on a point supposedly named in 1542 by the Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo for its white rocks (stained with bird droppings).

We stopped at the Elephant Seal rookery before reaching San Simeon and saw several large bulls with their proboscises with hundreds of cows and calves. The males are very large and noisy and the way they charge around looking for a fight it is a wonder that any of the calves survive being squashed.

Not far from here is the parking area for the five miles bus ride up to the very unique Hearst Castle begun in 1919 by newspaperman William Randolph Hearst.

The hilltop castle set on 250, 000 acres is one of the most extravagant houses in the world. Guests included Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant and Charles Lindbergh. This outrageous home is known locally as ‘Enchanted Hill’We had booked onto the Grand Rooms Tour at 15:00 at a cost of USD 25.00 each. Unfortunately by the time we reached the car park the rain had really set in and although we enjoyed looking around this fascinating country house, we were disappointed not to experience the breath-taking views or the beautiful grounds – another reason to come back in a different more clement season. After the tour and back at the car park we went in to watch the National Geographic film ‘Hearst Castle – Building the Dream.’

That evening we stayed close by in San Simeon which only appears to have hotels and little else, but the Best Western was fine. A pity it was still raining though as they have fire pits on the beach (the beauty of this hotel/motel is that is right on the beach). Still we had a wood-burner in the large room with patio doors out to a pool and hot-tubs and they also thoughtfully provide binoculars in the room and huge telescopes on the beach to view passing whales etc.

*California Grey Whales can be seen along the Big Sur coastline between December and April. December to early February they are migrating south; beginning February you can see them migrating back to Alaska with new-born babies by their sides and this is the best time to see them as they are moving slowly, because of the babies, and nearer to the shore to prevent attacks from Great White Sharks.

We were there at the right time of year for this spectacle, but visibility was against us.

We found an Italian restaurant close by and had a decent, if not great, pizza and a couple of great, if not decent, margaritas before calling it a night. Did I mention that Americans make good cocktails?

Just Back From… crossing the border

Visiting another country on a day out is probably not what most people in the UK do very often, unless, like us, they live on the border. Living in Ludlow on the Welsh Marches we often find ourselves dipping in and out of Shropshire, Herefordshire and Powys; often several times on the same drive. Continue reading Just Back From… crossing the border

Road Trip: USA California – San Fran to Carmel

This is the first section between San Francisco and the lovely town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Distance: 133 miles via Halfmoon Bay, Santa Cruz
Time: 3 hours without stopping

The PCH (Pacific Highway) is one of those iconic drives that should be done in a pink Cadillac convertible with the top down making the most of the azure blue skies and brilliant Californian sunshine with plenty of Beach Boys and Mamas and Papas CDs on board. In reality this was February and an open top car was not an option. We ended up with a Chevvy, but a poor imitation of the Chrysler PT Cruiser with black tinted windows; the skies were gun-metal grey. Not the ideal start, but hey it felt good to be on the road.

We began our journey in San Francisco and immediately headed southwest on to the Cabrillo Highway at Pacifica to follow it south to Monterey and Carmel – our first stop. This is not a long section, but it can take a long time, as there are plenty of scenic viewpoints to stop off at on your way down the coast and in the summer there are several roadside food stalls to entice you.

The section between Pacifica and Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County is prone to periodic landslides and road closures and one stretch is known as the Devil’s Slide*. This particular stretch of road reminded me of Chapman’s Peak Drive in the Cape Peninsula, South Africa, as it hugs a similar steep promontory with equally stunning vistas. We stopped at Half Moon Bay to admire the surfers and the beautiful beach until the rain sent us scudding back to the car.

*(This stretch of the Cabrillo Highway has since been replaced by a road tunnel).

Don’t forget to stop at the family run Duartes Tavern in Pescadero which is a little further south and only 2 miles off the state road; it is still run by the 4th generation of Duartes and home to the worlds most divine Olallieberry Pie, world-famous Cream of Artichoke Soup, and Crab Cioppino. We, on the other hand have had a full breakfast there and no complaints. In this small town you can also find interesting craft shops, artichoke bread and a goat dairy. If you have the time a stroll along the Pescadero State Beach back at the junction with Highway One may bring you into contact with harbour seals among the sand dunes.

Passing through several State Beaches and State Parks the road becomes the Coast Road as you enter into Santa Cruz County. If you want to stretch your legs visit the Natural Bridges State Park or if you’re after more thrills perhaps pop into the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk where you can find the world-famous Giant Dipper, the classic wooden roller-coaster which opened in 1942.

At this point the highway swings away from the coast and heads inland for a while before re-joining the coast at Moss Landing State Beach, another popular surf beach which is good for bird-watching too. Turn right at Jetty Rd and follow the road as it curves between the Elkhorn Slough estuary and the sand dunes.

Continuing south you pass between fields of artichokes, a Monterey County favourite and where Marilyn Monroe gained fame as the Artichoke Queen, before they change to mountainous sand dunes and the Monterey State Beach which is apparently the number one spot for kite-flying.

Californians will tell you that you “must” go on the 17 Mile Drive at Monterey a scenic toll road through the Del Monte Forest that leads to The Lone Cypress, Seal and Bird Rocks, Fanshell Beach, Point Joe and the colliding currents of The Restless Sea. It all sounds very romantic. Along the way you pass through emerald-green fairways of famous golf courses such as ‘The Links’ at Spanish Bay, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach. You may see black cormorants, brown pelicans, California sea otters, harbour seals and sea-lions in their natural habitat and colourful native wildflowers among the preserved dunescape, or like us, you may not. I’m still not convinced it was worth the toll to drive around what is essentially a series of golf courses, but the coffee was good at the Pebble Beach resort.

We entered at Highway 68 Gate and exited at Carmel Gate to explore the much photographed fairy-tale cottages, twee teashops and boutique shops of the legendary artists’ colony Carmel-by-the-Sea. We didn’t spot Clint though (the Mayor in 1986-88).

I recommend a visit to one of the great old Spanish Missions, San Carlos Borroméo del Río Carmelo, second of the California missions founded by Padre Junípero Serra in 1770. Known as the Carmel Mission a visit to the grounds is like travelling back in time with the gardens equally as beautiful as the 18th century baroque church and three museums. It presents the complete quadrangle courtyard typical of mission architecture which is Moorish in design and the façade holds a star-shaped window directly above the main entrance. The gardens include culinary and medicinal herbs, citrus and olive trees, roses, Mexican sage and Bougainvillea. It is an obvious attraction for artists several of which had set up their easels in the yard.

I love the Spanish names found all over California reflecting its Spanish heritage and to be honest I have become slightly obsessed with the 21 Spanish missions along the historic trail located near Highway 101 which roughly traces the Royal Road “El Camino Real” from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north.

The Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey is iconic and if you get there early in the morning it will be people free. Allow a couple of hours to visit the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium and apparently there are twenty golf courses in Monterey County so if you like swinging a club this must be paradise to you.

Either Monterey or Carmel is a good spot to stop for the night. We stayed in a bland, but cheap motel just outside Carmel and headed across the road for dinner at a grill house. We both had potato and fennel soup followed by a good steak burger (OH) and Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish) for me. Not bad, though I must confess to being rather unimpressed by Californian food as it is often too bland and/or salty for me. No complaints about the margaritas though 🙂

Just Back From… Cornwall

March 2013 will probably go down as one of the coldest on record. The usual cheery daffodils that dance in the spring sunshine around Mother’s Day were noticeable by their absence. My pots full of spring bulbs planted carefully in layers last September were full of frozen earth, the winter pansies and violas shrivelled and sad. A few tentative tips had pushed their way to the surface, but it didn’t look like anything would happen any time soon. Continue reading Just Back From… Cornwall