Sudeley Castle

Moving to the Cotswolds has been wonderful, not just for my husband and I, but also for our friends and families, who are getting cheap weekends away out of the mix.

Over the summer, I have essentially been running a bed and breakfast for wandering Northern Irish people. The best part (asides from the fact they usually buy me food), is that we get to be tourists for a little while. 

My brother and sister-in-law-to-be recently spent a weekend with us, and given that she is a real Tudor history buff, it seemed only fitting that we take this set of wanderers to Sudeley Castle.

This little treasure attracted some seriously big names in it's hay-day, including Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn and Elizabeth I. The doomed Lady Jane Grey lived here for some time, too.

And it's in Winchcombe, right on our doorstep! 

I'm sure you can tell from my excellent photography skills (a close up of flowers?! Inspired!) that the gardens are just to die for. There is an aviary and all sorts of little herb gardens and strange little nooks and crannies to explore. So many pheasants!

There is a little church in the grounds, too, where Catherine Parr is buried (as in, the 'survived' in divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived).
I have such a thing for churches, which is an admiration not shared by my husband, who gets so very bored when I'm checking out the woodwork.

Bonus picture; if marrying my brother doesn't work out for her, Reverend Emma definitely has other options.

One of my favourite spots is the knot garden, which may not be called that. It's so lush and neat and colourful. It gives me serious garden envy.
I want a water feature, goddammit.

Another lovely little corner is in the ruined part of the castle, the Queen's audience rooms.
There's a Queen Elizabeth I shrub, complete with crown, orb and sceptre.

Inside the castle, there is a great little cafe, the private residence rooms of the current family (who seem very posh and lovely, and who seem to have a lot of love for and involvement in running the castle) and a museum devoted to the history of the castle and surrounding area.

Very expressive displays. There's also a great story about a pet badger.

What interested me the most is the huge collection of fashion and textiles, owing in huge part to a Victorian lady, Emma Dent, whose family purchased and renovated the castle after it had fallen into neglect and disrepair - it's her descendants who still live there today!

As well as the wealth of displays revolving around the Tudors (to be expected), there are some fabulous Victorian pieces.

And a creepy baby.

(I just think that room is stunning, so sweet!)

 Emma Dent had style, that is for sure. And bloody spectacular views.

Look at the pretty underwear! I would have loved to have been a lady in Victorian times, but I am not a skinny person, and some of these clothes would probably require me to break a rib or two to get in there.

Fashion, eh?

Elizabeth Hurley got married here, by the by. So. There's some trivia. 

I would definitely recommend Sudeley Castle for a day trip if you are in the area. Especially in the sun, when you can really enjoy the gardens. I can't imagine that it's overly pleasant in the rain, but maybe it is.

Prove me wrong.

Oxford.

The adventure continues!

Last weekend, with my visiting parents in tow, we took a little road trip to Oxford. 

I had very high expectations for Oxford, so it is sort of a shame that the city was too overrun with coach trips of tourists to get a good look around. Definitely worth a re-visit when the school holidays are over.

How dare children get time off school? I have things to do and pictures to take and they are in my way.

We had breakfast in a little place called George Street Social, which was very nice and had Lego on the walls. I don't know why, but it did.

The buildings were absolutely stunning, particularly anything belonging to the university. So grand and beautiful, and set in winding old streets full of hidden surprises. Apparently, Hitler had planned to make Oxford his capital, if he won the war, so it was never bombed.

Other trivia, some of Harry Potter was filmed here.
That exhausts my trivia about Oxford.

The green spaces were my favourite, although we stumbled across very few, compared to Bath!

I had my parents with me, so vintage hunting was minimal, but I did find some beautiful bits to add to the Etsy store!

Here's a little peak (it's already listed, find it here), a really unusual raffia gilet in amazing neutral summer colours.

Remember to check my Etsy store for new items, I'm always hunting!

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