WHAT A SCORCHER!

It was so hot in the Cotswolds this particular summer that it wasn't just swallows that arrived here from Africa!
I caught his pair of ostrich enjoying the sunshine at Over Farm.

JEEPERS CREEPERS!

Looking like a pub the Addams Family would frequent, this is Creepers in Cheltenham.
It's creaking old floorboards on the inside being just as creepy as how it looked on the outside!

MUTANT INSECT

It got me wondering if yesterdays concrete honeycomb could have been the place where this mutant insect evolved from??!!
The above photo was snapped in the grounds of the Nature In Art Museum in Wallsworth.

THE CONCRETE HONEYCOMB

While on the subject of bees - this concrete honeycomb design feature is part of Gloucester bus station.

HONEY FOR SALE



All those bee hives in the Cotswolds means lots of honey of course, and here were two country homes I caught in the passing who had some for sale.
The top image was in Whiteway, and the picture underneath it is in Frampton On Severn.

HOBBY HIVES

It doesn't need to be on a professional level like yesterdays apiary feature, for someone to indulge in beekeeping.
Here we have two examples of local folk who keep bees as a hobby or amateur activity.
The top one was pictured in Longney and the other photo is from Sandhurst.

MAISEMORE BEE FARM

This is the Bee Farm in Maisemore, which as you can see, is a pretty large scale business.

GOATS EGGS?

I wonder whose bright idea it was to carve a giant penguin to advertise goats eggs?
This piece of local folk art and foodstuffs was on display in Gretton.

LITTLE SHOP IN LITTLEDEAN

I really like the minimalist look of this place - the sparse product display along with the basic black & white facade.
Not only that, but the little shop was, appropriately, based in Littledean.

BALES OF HAY

This agricultural scene was captured near Murrell's End.

DOWN THROUGH CRANHAM WOOD

It's a great sensation freewheeling downhill on a bike, as long as you don't get too carried away with the build up of speed, because you never know what may be lurking around the corner.
That's when these convexed mirrors are useful as they allow you to view any hidden dangers there may be ahead.
This particular one above was in Cranham.

PANCAKE LANE

I was feeling a bit peckish during one of my trips and so thought I'd stop off at this place - Pancake Lane near The Leigh - but unfortunately, the only pancakes that were on the go around this area were of the cowpat variety!

GOING PLACES

"Hmmm...now where shall I go next?!"

Incidentally, the bike is a Puch Elegance - 1970's vintage, and the signpost is at Elkstone.

PEACOCK GREEN

This impressive topiary peacock was in a place that's suitably named - Twigworth.

PEACOCK WHITE

2 white peacocks near Prinknash Abbey popping down to a waterhole for a drink.

PEACOCK BLUE

So there I was having a pleasant stroll around Frampton On Severn, when I bumped into this peacock who was doing the same!

ANTIQUE SHOP - CAMBRIDGE

This is the "Antiques & Things" shop in Cambridge.
Not sure if the stuff on display here outside the premises was considered antiques or things, but I see a plough, a mangle...and some contraptions I haven't a clue what they are!

TUDOR HOMES

The Cotswolds are often described as having "Chocolate Box" scenery, meaning picturesque thatched cottages, quaint villages and so on - well I thought I'd break away from those chocoholics hogging all the visual delights and present my own sweet compliment, carried out in a colourful Fruit Gums Box style!
So these 3 Tudor homes above were to be found in the following locations...

Orange - Elmore.
Blackcurrant - Chaceley Hole.
Lime - Highnam.

... and putting the chew into Tudor!

THE MALT & HOPS - GLOUCESTER

4 views of the Malt & Hops pub in Gloucester.
One from above, one from inside the patio area, one going towards the main building and the last one the front of the pub itself.

IT'SH A SHIGN!

This placename called "Drinkers End" is near to Corse Lawn and got me wondering how many folk have read the sign whilst under the influence!?!
There is also another place 5 miles north of here called "Druggers End" - but I didn't indulge!

HARTPURY MILL

An idyllic looking scene set in the countryside near Highleadon, with the main attraction being Hartpury Mill peeping through from between the willows.

BARBER KIOSK

Even people who live in remote hamlets and farmsteads need to have their hair cut, so what better way than to have a barber shop turn up on your own doorstep.
This portable barber kiosk was captured at Whitminster.

ROOFTOP MENAGERIE

Seems a rather odd location to have an exotic menagerie but this urban backdrop featuring parrots, monkeys and gnomes on the rooftop was situated in the centre of Cheltenham.

THE BELL INN - FRAMPTON

This is The Bell Inn in Frampton On Severn putting on a sumptuous flower display for its customers.

TREE CHEERS

A couple of heftily pollarded trees I spotted around the Sandhurst Hill area that reminded me of 2 cheerleaders waving their pom poms in the air!

OLD COTTAGE IN CAUDLE GREEN

A very nice old stone cottage in Caudle Green.

THREE CALVES IN A MEADOW

I couldn't have asked for a better pose when these three calves in a field of buttercups positioned themselves for the camera.
Sud Meadow the location.

GREYHOUND INN - POPES HILL

This is the Greyhound Inn at Popes Hill - but that aint no race dog they have running around the garden!

HAY CART NEAR CHURCHAM

Even an ordinary hay cart is made to look extremely grand under such a glorious summer sky.
This was located near Churcham.

ULLENWOOD CRICKET CLUB

It looks rather hilly for a game of cricket here but this is the home of Ullenwood Cricket Club, which is indeed set high up on an area of Crickley Hill.

VIEWING NEWNHAM AND ARLINGHAM

The top image is Newnham as seen from Arlingham, with the Severn at low tide.
I took that photo before I had ever visited Newnham - so then a couple of weeks later I cycled over to Newnham, went down around the front of the church area and got a shot looking back over across to Arlingham - the view in the 2nd picture.
Perhaps it's not as eye-catching as the top image but it rounded off my mission to snap both places from opposite sides.