Heading Away From London to Castle Combe
My last few travel posts have talked about London. Today, I want to head out of that area and talk about other areas in England. Let me introduce you to Castle Combe, the Midlands and further beyond just London.
During my trip I stayed in England, although I wanted to see many other areas there just was not enough time. Maybe the next trip I will make it to Wales and other places.
Driving in England!!!
As I mentioned in my previous post about London, I decided to hire a car and drive through the countryside. First off, let me say that it was so easy to adjust to driving on the right side of a car and on the left side of the road. I actually prefer it to American driving. The only thing I wasn’t keen about is how narrow many of the roads in England are.
You cannot be a timid driver in England or you could easy be run off the road or cause an accident. Luckily for me, I live in Seattle and sadly, there are many aggressive drivers here. Meaning, I have had lots of practice with them. I picked my car up at Gatwick airport since part of my holiday also took me to Germany and it was just easier to hire the car from there since I was flying out of that location. The gps at the time, was terrible and I wouldn’t recommend it unless you absolutely can not read a map (but as of 2017 onward, gps with updated maps and Google Maps are the go to and a life saver).
As it is here in the states too, it looked for the closest route to everything instead of the main highway so I opted for a map of England and navigated my way much easier not to mention saved myself lots of time and kept my mileage to a minimum. Gas in England is purchased by the liter instead of gallon, it cost about $12 US dollars per gallon (at the time of this post and is higher in 2020) so you really want to keep track of your miles if you are on a tight budget.
Be sure to know the local speed limit where ever you are and know what the lines on the roads mean as well as the signs. The metro areas and the motorways have speed cameras and they do work. If you get a ticket, even as a tourist while driving, you can be 100% sure that your ticket will find you once you arrive back to home and the fines are hefty and a mess to deal with from afar. So just follow the local rules while driving and avoid the traffic infractions.
I usually never plan my journey.. Say what?
Aside from booking my plane ticket, hiring a car and the first night or two at a hotel, I usually don’t make a ton of plans so I can change my mind if I just don’t feel like the schedule. If you have the luxury to do that as well, try it out and see where you end up, it might surprise you. For this trip, the plan initially was to head north to Kibworth Beachamp in Leicester, Leicestershire, but ended up heading west toward Bath instead. Before I left the states, someone shared a photo of the town of Castle Combe in Whiltshire, England on Facebook. It was a photo from the past, a village you only see in movies (and this village has been seen, see below), but was very much taken in present day. I am into photography so I wanted to stop and shoot pictures of the village for my own collection. It was quickly added that to my list of must see places.
I am so glad I added this village. Castle Combe is a place you shouldn’t miss, but you can easily miss the turn off into town as I did. If you end up seeing the sign to park here and a big parking lot, you missed the turn by one road, but you can take the road by the parking lot down and it will meet up with the one that goes into the village. They actually prefer you park up top and walk down into the village. The village has very little public parking available and by little I mean less than 5 parking spaces and locals are not kind about you parking just anywhere you feel like parking. Be prepared for a steep walk down and back up from the village. If you aren’t able to be that mobile, have someone drop you off then park the car up top in the lot.
A quaint village with history
Castle Combe sits off the B4039 just off the M4 about an hour and a half west of London near Chippenham. It is better known for the feature films that were filmed there. Stardust and Warhorse were both filmed in the Village. Next time you watch one of them, you will be able to say you know where the village is and that it really exists. There are a few restaurants to dine in, a couple of inns and even a large manor home to stay in here if you want to get away and just be. We had dinner at the Castle Inn and have eaten at the local pub. Both serve good food, it all depends on what you are in the mood for. There’s also a tea room in the village, but contact them ahead of arrival to book and there is also a Michelin star restaurant in the village at one of the large estates.
What I really liked was the architecture of all the buildings. I am in awe of the old buildings all around England. America is such young nation in comparison to the UK. We don’t have as many wonderful buildings with rich styles that you can easily find all across the country. There are so many old churches and it seems that just about everyone of them is photo worthy. Saint Andrews Church in Castle Combe was one that I just had to photograph. It has a cemetery attached to the church grounds with old graves and then a magnificent church. I could have easily stayed here for a few days and never run out of places to take photos (I have returned and stayed for a week at a local B&B since, I was right that I would never run out of places to take photos).
Let me help you out with a tip about being in the village as well. Do not open the door and let yourselves into any of the buildings in the village unless they are marked with clear signage that they are a business. The row houses in the village are peoples homes and every so often tourists just walk right into their homes without thinking about where they are entering. We had a lovely conversation over dinner with the locals and they said they could not say that enough. So please, if there is not a sign making it clear that it is a business, it’s a home and unless invited by the people who live in the home, you are not welcome to go in.
Once you leave the village the possibilities are wide open
Venturing around this area within a short drive you can reach Bath, a little further drive or if planned before heading away from London, in route… you can stop and visit Stonehenge. The roads leading to and from take you onward to Castle Combe then onto Bath, then even further on you can connect to the motorway and head south and west to Tintagel on the coast. These are some places I enjoyed and would recommend and while you’re at it, jump of the beaten path and check out sites along the way. There are signs everywhere pointing out things to see and do. A few of those for me were Launceston and Port Isaac. Don’t forget to try the local eats as well. Get a cream tea and try some clotted cream with your scone while in Cornwall, to be authentic they say you have to get it made locally in Cornwall and it tastes great with a scone and some jam. If your more of a meat and potatoes fan, get a pastie. That’s a handheld savory pie that comes in all types of flavor combinations. You don’t have to stick to only fish and chips while in the UK, although… you can’t go wrong with that either.
So if you find yourself out in this area, make a point to stop in and see what I am talking about. It seems that each little town and village has it’s own feel and special inspiration that will draw you in. Quite often you won’t see the best or most interesting sights from the motorway, so do take the side roads and explore.
