3 April 2010
To visit and explore all the key historic market towns of the Cotswolds in one day is impossible. Maybe even 2 or 3 days may not be enough. So, the plan was to stop at one or two villages or towns in the Cotswolds on our way to Stratford-upon-Avon. As it was approaching lunch time and still raining, we headed to the town of Cirencester, in the general direction towards Stratford in the north.
Cirencester was the ancient capital of the Cotswolds, dating from Roman times. When the Romans conquered Britain almost 2,000 years ago (43 AD) they built the town of Corinium (now Cirencester), second only to Londinium (now London) in size.
It was still raining when we drove into Cirencester at about 2 PM. We walked and dashed towards the town center, looking for cover from the rain and try to locate an interesting tea room and pub to take our lunch. We found a pub showing the Manchester United vs Chelsea EPL game that was live on TV but the pub was full house. Chelsea was leading 2-0 as we stood at the entrance to peek and try to spot an empty table. No luck. At that moment, Manchester United scored a goal. My son and I would have stood there to watch the rest of the game but the ladies were already walking away.
We caught up with them and managed to find a nearby tea room to have our lunch of hot pies, cakes and hot English tea. No TV, but we heard the news that Chelsea had won.
The rain stopped after our lunch, and we had some time to walk around the town. We bought 2 foldable umbrellas and some additional socks at one of the stores at the Market Place, just in case.
The Market Place is the main street in the centre of Cirencester. The church is at one end and the rest is lined with historic buildings, some from as early as the Tudor era.
After Cirenchester, our next Cotswolds destination was the small village of Bibury, just 6.5 miles (10.5 km) northeast of Cirencester.
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