99 Yew Trees

In need of a post office, I dropped down into little town of Painswick (info)in the Cotswolds, which I had never heard of or ever visited before.

Luckily there was a parking space by the church. And in the churchyard there were these amazing Yew Trees. Some where blended together to make arches, some stood, as fat, beautifully trimmed lolly pops.

I found out that there were 99 planted hundreds of years ago, and that there are legends attached, including one that the Devil strikes any extra ones, and that it is impossible to count the same number every time.

The houses were breathtaking. Lovely thin panes in the windows. Stone of the softest colour, and the extraordinary, and very un-English grave stones of the rich wool and cloth merchants of the day.

Another unusual thing about this place was that two people came up and said hello and chatted, as they could tell I was a visitor. Even the post office were friendly and spotted that I was "not from round here'! I thought I had stepped into a surreal film at one point. You just don't get that sort of thing very often now.