Crafty Cottage .... the story so far: "Not quite the Archers George,

Yes, - I know I only did my last blog fairly recently, - but this morning (Saturday) was so lovely and sunny in Chipping Campden I just had to go down into town and ...... well I just can't help myself!

As soon as you have set foot on its High Street, Chipping Campden can often make you feel as though you have been strangely transported into an episode of Midsummer Murders, (the older variety with the lovely John Nettles of course !) lots of muddy wellies pounding up and down the pavements hitting terraferma after landing in town from one of the many footpaths in the hills. Tweed jackets mixing with Matalan jumpers - a great place, with a wonderful community feel, as well as being the destination of many tourists visiting the Cotswolds from all over the world.

And this morning was no different of course!

The first person I came across was Luigi (his name has been changed to protect his identity!) at La Tradition French Patisserie on the High Street, - inside - their counter looked so inviting piled high with freshly made croissants, delicious pastries and yeasty smelling bread .... yum yum.... although he did look slightly intimidating stood in the doorway waving a tea towel in the air like a flag, - if this was Midsummer Murders he was definitely shifty enough to be one of the suspects !! ... only joking of course :-) .... I jumped the queue to take a photo for the blog! - at which point he gave me one of the delicious pastries for the free advertising, .... .. !! only joking again of course !! :-)

Chipping Campden was just starting to wake up, - it was so great to see the sun shining, and as it hit the Cotswold Stone - the whole place seemed to glow with pride!

The Old Market Hall

It was wonderful to see shadows again after the long winter !

The area around the Old Market Hall was just perfect! - a couple of people wandering around enjoying the sunshine, - mooching around the small independent shops. I noticed a few cyclists passing through town - one resting on the War Memorial ..... (Midsummer Murders: the unsuspecting victim maybe !!!)

Inside the Old Market Hall

The unsuspecting victim
(for the greater good!!)

Both neighbouring shops Frankie Doodle and The Bay Tree were displaying their goodies on the pavement, if I was a visitor to the town this morning - I would seriously be re-considering whether to ever leave !

Frankie Doodle The Bay Tree Florist

Did I mention that the sun was shining?! .... there was a real good feel factor to the Town.

... meanwhile, on the opposite side of the High Street the Daffodils at Drinkwaters were shouting out to me to buy a bunch! I loved the way the bunches of cut daffs were stacked in wicker baskets each side of the door - and of course I had to oblige, and now have a beautiful splash of yellow to brighten up the table at Crafty Cottage :-)

Is Spring really here .... ? it actually doesn't seem that long ago that I was taking photos of the Christmas Wreaths at the Bay Tree, and Drinkwaters !

-----

.... and all of a sudden it's Thursday, and with my lovely B&B guests gone after breakfast this morning, the next thing on the agenda was lunch at The Dormy House Hotel with my good friend Denise.

Once Denise arrived, our day started with a delicious coffee at Campden Coffee Company, -I just love the new décor, and the coffee was delicious ! it was a hard decision not to add cake to our list of things to do, but it had to be done on this occasion to make sure we would enjoy our visit to the Dormy.

Campden Coffee Company

We did however manage a quick mooch around The Gallery at The Guild, which is based within the Old Silk Mill behind Crafty Cottage, and it was very interesting to see the lovely local crafts and talent exhibited.

View from Silk Mill staircase overlooking
Crafty Cottage

The new shoe shop on the High Street beckoned us .. Molemi Shoes. Today however, we were running short of time so a quick peek through the window had to suffice - but definitely worth another visit one day! With a personal weakness for a decent boot, - I could have gone beserk inside that shop if time allowed !!

... At last, we were on our way to The Dormy, I was really looking forward to seeing it for the first time since a recent refurbishment. The Barn Owl restaurant had been a favourite of mine in the past, and a table booked in The Potting Shed had our name on it !

The Dormy House

The Dormy House stands proudly on the hill between Chipping Campden and Broadway, - with excellent views in all directions, and I loved it ! Denise and I were a little early, - which was fine, - as we were invited to sit in the lounge with our good friend Pinot Grigio for a while.

We moved across to our table in the Potting Shed soon enough, where we had a delicious meal. - thank you to all the friendly staff :-) It would be lovely to hear that future guests at Crafty Cottage would choose either lunch, dinner or even Afternoon Tea at The Dormy during their visit to the Cotswolds.

-----

...... and before I knew it, - Friday again! Campden Market once more selling all those yummy local edible scrummy things in the Town Hall , - and of course Judith's lovely soap :-)
Shakespeares sisters soap

It's becoming a bit of a habit, possibly an addiction on a Friday morning now! - and once again Judith and I felt the uncontrollable urge to have a coffee and a chat about things! This week we decided on the Campden Pantry, - piled high with chocolate brownies, home made sausage rolls and lots of deliciously wicked temptations ! After a very friendly welcome it wasn't long before we were chatting away to one another clinging onto our respective coffee cups!