My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

Idyllic England

There are parts of the UK that are truly beautiful, and it is one of these timeless areas that is known as Idyllic England – The Cotswolds.

During the 12th Century the Cotswolds were at the heart of Englands economy. With rolling hills scattered with sheep, an abundance of crops, and a variety of mills, the area has not changed much over the past 900 years. It almost appears odd to see cars or modern conveniences in such an untouched landscape.

The Cotswolds was declared an area of outstanding beauty by the UK government but it is not a small area to explore. The Cotswolds stretches out over 80 square miles (2,070 km), containing five counties, including Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. There are so many places to discover from quaint villages to impressive castles.

So below I’m going to share just one…

Sudeley Castle

Katherine Parr, the sixth of Henry VIII’s wives and one who survived him, lived and died at Sudeley Castle. However, Katherine Parr is not the only connection this castle has to royalty. This castle has played host to a variety of Royals for over a 1000 years.

It has been a very long time since I had the pleasure of visiting Sudeley Castle, but I remember there being some great displays. Portraits of royal residents and visitors hang on the walls. There are books written by Katherine Parr, I think, and on our visit there was a beautiful Faberge egg but I believe it was borrowed for an exhibit, as it was around Easter when we visited. There was also a cigar case by Faberge and a watch by Cartier. These were part of an exhibit on Edward VII. From what I remember a couple of years ago those items were stolen but I have no memory whether they were ever recovered.

The grounds however are beautiful and within the grounds are some interesting ruins from an early part of the castle which has some ancient graffiti carved in it.

Thank you for reading.