  Day 6 - 8 - Bude to Cotswolds Overnight we’ve stayed at another little beach town called Bude, we’re here for two nights but in between all the beach walks, icecreams, drinks at the bar etc I seem to have not taken many photos!   We’d noticed this entire trip that most hospitality businesses were really struggling to find staff, not just one or two restaurants – almost all had signs up for ‘staff needed’ – perhaps Brexit? The hotel was lovely, upstairs from a Bar/Café but unfortunately due to Covid or the staff shortages they only had their outdoor tables available – and were unable to serve food. As such a nearby restaurant was walking over ‘take away packs’ for lunch & dinner. https://www.thebeachatbude.co.uk/ £400 for 2 nights including a big breakfast & free street parking. By this point we’d been trying to make the absolute most of the free breakfast and slip in a light lunch – then only really purchase one meal a day for dinner! Next day we left the coastline and returned to collect the bike in Exmouth, with the storms now having passed we were travelling separately again and we travelled 4 hours north past London to the Cotswolds. Our base in the Cotswolds was in a town called Wychwood at the Wychwood Inn – and we arrived just in time for Pie Night! I had a Spicy Lamb – Lou a Chicken Sweetcorn and we managed to get a seat outdoors in their beer garden!  https://www.thewychwoodinn.com/ £280 for 2 nights including breakfast & parking Its been really interesting so far to see how your money goes either a long way, or not very far at all depending on the location you’re staying. Also we’ve had a mix of 3 or 4 star hotels and I would generally prefer a good 3 star over a 4; seemingly besides more facilities onsite and a wider reception opening time; there’s very little difference in what you’re actually getting (perhaps a bigger room too?). I’d tend towards spending less on the room – and more at the bar/restaurant downstairs or in town. https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/uk-hotel-chains/article/hotel-star-ratings-explained-a0bgV3M8kfx2 Next morning we were off on the bike to explore the tiny villages in the Cotswolds – but first…needed to clean up the seat!  First up was Burford which was a Tudor era market town, whilst we were there a campervan attempting to park hit another car – and then stopped blocking the road in order to exchange details causing a delightful traffic jam!   Most of these towns are normally busy, but with Covid changing people’s holiday plans they had become packed and finding car parking looked like a disaster! We also saw ducks!  Next up was Arlington Row in Bibury, apparently the most photographed houses in the UK – dating back to the 14th century they were originally wool sheds but are now private houses – which seems a little rough for the residents as they generate a steady stream of tourists constantly taking photos of your house! On the walk back to the bike we saw more ducks!   Next stop was Bourton on the Water – a slightly larger town build on a river which was BUSY! We were lucky to find a small spot to squeeze the bike in and we went for an explore in search of a coffee and an icecream.  In the end we managed to find a seat in a little bakery and buy a coffee and a scone instead, once again having a scone for lunch!   Final stop was Stow on the Wold to see the oldest inn in England (947AD) – which had probably seen some renovations since then!    And then we were done for the day, back to the hotel for another incredible dinner and several pints. And finally…compulsory photo of the motorcycle! Since last year I’ve sold the 2014 Tiger 1050 I initially purchased and replaced it with this 2017 Street Twin, its less useful for touring – but with Covid it seemed like that was off the cards – and its much much more useful for city riding / Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride – and most importantly; I love how it looks!  Plus the additional ‘comfort’ cushion option for the passenger!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |