After a week in our lovely cottage in Chipping Campden in the Cotswolds we're relaxed & settled into a new pace of enjoying the many pleasures this area has to offer. We really loved London but this area is like another world & completely different lifestyle. The Cotswolds have probably the most untouched villages in all England so it's a bit like stepping back in time to live here for a little while. The area is lush & green with high hedges or wild flowers growing right beside the narrow lanes - some only wide enough for one car. The houses are all made from golden colored Cotswolds stone & have either shingle or thatched roofs & new houses are built in the old style to match the towns. I have developed a bit of a "thing" for the dry stone walls that are everywhere here & you see all sorts & conditions of them - from ancient crumbling moss & weed covered ones to brand new perfect ones. I much prefer the old ones but as Geoff says - I'm into ruins!! We've alternated visits to some fabulous gardens with walks through a few villages & pub lunches or tea room snacks. Visited Batsford Arboreutum, Snowshill Manor, Hidecote & Stourhead Gardens & have spent some time wandering the villages of Snowshill, Broadway, Bourton on The Water & Lower Slaughter. The names are so evocative & the towns so pretty that it's almost unreal here - maybe we've slipped into a chocolate box painting!