Scenes Of Cirencester

I was quite surprised that only two of my blipfriends and Facebook friends knew where yesterday’s blip came from. For the rest of you - I am in the beautiful Roman town of Cirencester in the southern part of the Cotswolds.

I have never been into the town before although I did stay in this campsite last year while I was visiting friends in the area. It’s conveniently situated just outside the town and it’s only a 10 minute walk into town through the beautiful Bathurst Estate. The park - Cirencester Park - is the back garden (all 15,000 acres of it) belonging to the Earl of Bathurst. He very kindly allows access to the park between 8-5 every day.

Before spending the afternoon in town, I spent a couple of hours walking the opposite way along a very long path and also through the woods. For those who saw the recent Royal Wedding and the carriage ride afterwards along ‘The Long Walk’ in Windsor Great Park, you will be able to picture the kind of path I walked along. I certainly didn’t do the entire length!

Once back in town, I had lunch and then explored a bit more of what I saw yesterday and even did an hour-long walking tour of the town with a small group and a guide. There’s tons of history here - some Roman and some more recent, especially with the dominance of the wool trade, the dissolution of the Abbey during the Reformation, banking history and architectural history. All fascinating.

The church here is the Parish church of St John the Baptist and it sits in the spot where the Abbey once stood, but is considerably smaller than the Abbey would have been. The two pictures with flowers were taken along the quaint street called Cicely Hill. There are many narrow winding streets and alleyways - lots to explore. The large market street has recently been partially pedestrianised which makes it very pleasant. The interesting sculpture is there, close to the church. It’s called ‘Pink Lady Dancing With The Big Brown Dog’. For some reason!

I’m loving it here - both the town and the campsite. A beautiful place to come not too far from home.