It always feels like we have returned to our home away from home when we place our feet firmly back onto “Dear Old Blighty” ground. Even more so when we arrived at a repeat housesit in the Cotswolds. Do you remember the lovable character Barty and his sidekick feline family? No? Then here you go, Neighbourhood Walks ā Througham
Some places as in Devon, the Cotswolds and a few others just have that effect on us, that sense of belonging and feeling comfortable with our surroundings. Not too complacent that it doesn’t challenge us to explore more of the areas.
One stay is never enough, so we have found out.
Firstly, let’s go back to our departure from Turkey, a tale that deserves a word or two. As we were heading through immigration, the young woman who we had the misfortune to chose asked us for our visa. No, we do not require a visa as we are New Zealanders. She became more persistent, “You can’t be here without one”. Thinking to myself as you do with officials, “Well we are, here and gone twice to be precise”. It was time for her superior to be called, and he arrived rather quickly and took possession of our passports. Funnily enough, he came back with said passports and said ” All okay”, with a big smile on his face. Of course, I smiled back and bite my tongue!
Sometimes patience is a virtue and one I do not possess when it comes to the uninformed.
The flight was uneventful which is always a good thing when you are thousands of feet up in the sky from terra firma in a pressurised aluminium container. The next part was our transition from said container to the hotel. We were impressed with Gatwick airport and found it easy to navigate. It was also an enjoyable experience. This was especially appreciated as we had arrived at approx 1 am. Paying a bit more for accommodation is worth it to have the convenience of staying on the airport grounds.
Next day we picked up our rental car from Europcar, and off we headed towards the Cotswolds. Europcar, by the way, is the only car rental company we have dealt with over the last few years. We have found the quality of cars, the cost and how easy they are to deal with the reasons for our repeat usage.
This time Barty went off with his family. He was on a big adventure to a small part of Wales, with lots to explore. We, on the other hand, had a lovely warm house with the fire lit and a feline called Possum to keep us company as we adjusted to being back in “Dear Old Blighty”.
Life at No. 22 
It looks gorgeous there Suzanne
There is always a person in uniform thinking they know it all to put a fly in the ointment but i am sure yhe rest of your time here will be an enjoyable one š
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Thanks Judy, yes I am sure we will enjoy every moment of our time here š It was the Turkish officials, she did make us laugh [inside] saying that we needed a visa to be there, hello we are already here!
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It would have made me laugh as well, how silly! š
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The Cotswolds are indeed gorgeous. Weāve had short stays there a number of times, the last one was at one of the Slaughters – I forget which one. It wasnāt the best of circumstances that took us there for my 60th birthday (I was supposed to be in Italy) – so on that occasion I didnāt do justice to the place. Normally though itās a wonderful place. Youāre there at a fantastic time of year.
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Thanks Chris, sorry to hear your time there wasn’t a good one. We are in the UK until the beginning of September, so yes it is the best time to be exploring these parts.
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Glad youāve made it. Enjoy your stay…
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So are we š Thanks Geoff we will.
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I love the picture of the cat in the basket!
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Thanks so do I š She is sweetie!
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The Cotswold’s in the spring..the best time to visit it is so beautiful š
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It is Carol and as the weather warms up, more flowers are popping up their heads. We have a heatwave tomorrow š
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Enjoy it. Suzanne..I love spring flowers in the sunshine..It’s tropical storms here after the intense sun last week š
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Thanks, Carol š Aren’t spring flowers gorgeous and so cheerful. Seems to be a few storms down your way and NZ. Keep dry!
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My favourite flowers are the Spring flowers they always have been… Yes, there are but that’s why it is also lovely and green here that mix of sun and rain š
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Very true, and I think I prefer green over brown and dusty š
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Love the Cotswolds when we were over there, sounds like you enjoy it as well!! We are back home after Rottnest Island last week. Had changed a lot but as enjoyable as ever, said we will go stay again, maybe Winter next time!! Enjoy your sit guys!!
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Yes, I remember your visit to the Cotswolds. We are housesitting in there a couple more times this year. Now in the Marlborough area. Rottnest Island does sound very interesting, and we wished we had gone over. There was some reason we didn’t though I can’t remember the reason!! What are you two up to now?
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Hey Sue
We are just working around the houses at the moment & taking it easy! Almost time to start looking for another job, maybe out Bush again? Will see!! Like the country life, city is a bit to hectic for this little kiwi!!
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Yes, we prefer the countryside or small towns to big cities. Much more enjoyable. Enjoy your time out Peter.
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Enjoy the Cotswolds! Iām from Oxfordshire, so not too far from where you are The Cotswolds are just lovely. So picturesque. I look forward to more of your posts & photos on the Cotswolds.
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Thanks Hayley, will do. We are in the area on and off with the whole of August to enjoy the summer. It is going to be a heatwave that month š
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Ooh I do hope so!
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Forgot to say Oxfordshire is definitely lovely and we had the most amazing pub lunch in Oxford. Best memories seem to be associated with food and I wonder why I put weight on š
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Haha. My best memories are always associated with food too. Oxford is a excellent for great pubs.
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We used to live near Chipping Norton, I love the area. Enjoy š
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Thanks Cathy. I love the houses they look like dolls houses š
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Glad you finally got through the Turkish customs to come ‘out of the country??!!!” š Possum looks so comfy! Welcome back to Blighty, hope the weather is kind to you š
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Yes, quite funny trying to get out of the country š We are now onto the second housesit, this one is not far away in Wiltshire. Back in the Cotswolds a few more times. Weather was grand on Saturday, hot tomorrow if the weather forecast is to be believed š Hope you enjoy your day too.
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Quite the change from Turkey! Welcome back in England. Itās always nice to find a home away from home. Iām glad the immigration ordeal was not too crazy; just a small scare. š Iāve got a few immigration nightmares to share, one day.
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Cheers Liesbet. Just a wee bit different from Turkey! Nothing like going from one extreme to another! Yes, I can imagine you would have a few stories to share š
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Now that is one good-looking cat!
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Cute isn’t she and has a lovely nature š
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Great to return to a housesit isn’t it? Feels sort of like going home in a way. The Cotswolds are a beautiful part of the country, have a great time there.
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Thanks, Jonno, it was only for a weekend though we are back there twice over the next five months.
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Something to look forward to then. When the weathers good its a great place to visit.
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Tropical today 22 deg and nearly got a sweat up on our walk š Enjoy Italy!
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Ha, ha you two look extremely dodgy! At least you didn’t get detained for 6 hours like I did. š¦
Where in the Cotswolds are you?
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What do you mean we look dodgy, cheeky š Just one misinformed official! We were near Stroud. Back there again over the next few months. Near Marlborough now.
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Right, apparently Stroud isn’t that great? Marlborough is the home of Churchill and if you haven’t done so already, Blenheim Palace is a beautiful place to go – I haven’t been to either. My partner is feeding me snippets of info as he’s originally from Glastonbury, Somerset (can’t remember if I mentioned that before). š
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We weren’t actually in Stroud, where we were and will be again is in the countryside. Have seen quite a bit already of the Cotswolds and lots more to see. Might have to check out Blenheim Palace. We went out for a long walk yesterday to check out an ancient site. More on that soon š Yes, you have told me that your partner is from the UK. Thanks for the snippets š
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Haha!! Thank goodness I washed the floor and Possum’s bedding before you arrived. Nice to know that we’re leaving the place in a safe pair of hands. You’ll have Barty to contend with next time. He’s been kind to you so far but I expect he’s just biding his time!š¤ Looking forward to seeing you soon. X
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Funny āŗ Looking forward to seeing you all too and especially our sweet natured Barty. Dogs are similar to children and are well behaved away from family š
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Welcome back. I think the heatwave, if it arrives, will be brief.
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Thanks April and we are enjoying being back. Off out soon to enjoy the sunshine. Would you believe, we are meeting up with some friends from NZ š
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That’s nice. I hope you have a great day with them. The sun’s just coming out here.
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Thanks April, it was lovely to catch up with them, just for a short while as they wanted to get to Brighton Beach and we had a walk we wanted to do. Yes, it was a glorious day, 22 degs, damned near tropical for the UK š
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Same here. I saw a lot of very pale flesh when I went out for a walk after lunch.
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LOL š Many a walker with happy faces today!
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Have fun and we hope to maybe catch up, once we get ourselves organised and finally get there! Hope the good weather is there to stay but I’m not counting my chickens just yet and haven’t started the process of packing.
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Thanks, Deb, and yes hopefully we can catch up. Well, I think we just had our English summer, 26 deg here today!! Back to normal next week š I am sure you will still enjoy being over here, no matter what the weather throws at you!
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It’s still autumn here and we got to 28 yesterday! You are right, I’m not travelling for the weather š
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We spent a few years house sitting around Australia and loved it, so Iām pleased to have found your blog and look forward to following your adventures.
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