A Day in the Cotswolds with Famous Films but no Sandwiches.

Village life is busy in Castle Combe. The bridge is lined with tourists. The note on the door of the B&B welcomed us and said the lady would be in the church doing flowers for the funeral tomorrow - come and find her and she would settle us in.

The narrow streets are lined with parked cars. Every house is a period piece. The whole town is quaint, old, stone and extremely well cared for. There are many walks to be had, wooded foresty walks, road walks and meadow walks.

We take one of the wooded glade walks and meander happily. It takes us up to a road and we end up in a chocolate shop. The lady is lovely.  She has family in Australia (ten pound Poms) and they did very well, now owners of boats and houses in well-to-do places. We buy chocolates and stroll past pastures, noticing a cow that is in desperate need of milking, and are stung by stinging nettles for our curiosity.

The town of Castle Combe is interconnected by many other small villages. Tiddlywinks (with six houses)  Chipping Sodbury, Slaughterhouse and Malmesbury where the Abbey garden is tended by people who like to 'be very close to nature' while they prune the roses (they planted 2000 in honour of the new millenium).

Dr Doolittle was filmed in Castle Combe, but we set out for Lacock where Pride and Prejudice was filmed, where Cranford was made and where parts of Harry Potter were shot. Indeed some streets were immediately recognisable and if you squint your eyes a little, you can just see the four Cranford ladies walk up the street. If you look to the left, Mr Darcy walks down High Street.

We drove through every little village and along every narrow lane. We were in need of lunch - just a sandwich. No matter where we went, and how far we drove - not a sandwich was in sight. Well after lunch and way past afternoon tea time, nary a sandwich place could be found. A pub or two, a pint or three, but a simple sandwich - no. We returned well acquainted with villages, but tired and hungry.
It is nearly tea time and the pub it will have to be.