Day Trip to Cotswolds (Morton in Marsh & Batsford Arboretum 🍁🍂 🪵༄ 🍇

Join me for another visit to the Cotswolds which will be our final day trip of the year (probably).

This time we will travel to Moreton in Marsh situated on the Roman Fosse Way characterized by it's wide high Street built from the typical honey coloured Cotswolds Stone.

While here we can visit the following:

High Street-Historic 17/18 century buildings and local shops known for antiques,cheese, local produce and tea rooms.

The Curfew Tower-historic stone building dating from the 16th century featuring an original clock and bell. It was rung daily until 1860 and served as a lockup for drunks and petty criminals. It remains one of the oldest structures in town.

St Davids Church-13th century church known for beautiful architecture and interesting graves

The Bell Inn-For Lord of the Rings fans this pub is thought to be the inspiration for the Inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree, Middle Earth. The author Tolkien would often meet his brother at this pub and there is a map of Middle Earth where they used to sit with a plaque on the outside of the pub. The layout of the pub is also said to to be similar to how it's decipted in the books and movies with a courtyard entrance and being three storey's tall. Perhaps we can have a pint here and imagine we are hobbits hiding from the Nazgul.

The Moreton Gallery- A diverse collection of contemporary art capturing the essence of the Cotswolds and it's sorrounding landscape.

After having some lunch we will take a walk along the Monarchs Way footpath to Batsford Arboretum a 60 acre site housing a collection of rare and beautiful trees. The autumn foliage is considered stunning this time of year with deep yellow and orange rich reds and crimsons. As well as this there are abundant berries and walking paths offering scenic views of the wider countryside.

The Arboretum costs £10.90 (group save available but needs at least 20 people) to enter and we will aim to spend 2 hours there. The visit will take around 3 hours including time taken to walk too and from Moreton on Marsh. Compared to some walks we have done lately this will be more chilled and slower paced allowing us to enjoy the nature of the area.

We will take a 9.00 am train from Bristol Temple Meads to Cheltenham Spa getting in 9.38 and then the 10.20 Pulmans 801 bus getting to Moreton in Marsh 11.45. Although the bus journey is long you can expect to see lots of the lovely rolling hills, green pastures and charming villages along the way.

A cost for an off peak day return is £12.90 to Cheltenham Spa, the bus may cost a few pounds each way in addition. If you plan to drive over meet us in Moreton in Marsh.

Before heading back to Bristol we do have the option to stop in Cheltenham and check out the literature festival which is the world's oldest of it's kind happening on the weekend. The main hub is Montpelier gardens where there are food vendors and workshops with a range of free and ticketed events.

If you prefer you can just return straight to Bristol.

In any case this final day trip should be a memorable one and I hope you can make it.