Hanbury Hall

 Friday 7th November 2025

The Chipping Norton park up proved to be a good choice, very quiet and handy for the town if you need it, which I didn't, lol.

I just went for a wander around, which isn't all that easy. The town is built on quite a steep hillside and is disected by the busy A44 trunk road.

This makes getting around less than ideal. It's still a busy and popular town though.

After breakfast I set off for Hanbury Hall National Trust site in Warwickshire. 

I've actually been here before, in 2023 we spent an afternoon here on the way to RIAT at RAF Fairford.

It's a pleasant place to spend some time and has lovely walks across the estate which is what we did today.

It's also close to Ginney Ring Craft Centre where they allow motorhomes to overnight on the carpark.

So that's where I am tonight, on my own, no other motorhomes joined me.

The craft centre is an interesting place, lots of diverse crafts taking place. Sadly the owners are retiring and some of the facilities are closing at the end of the year such as the cafe, restaurant and the lovely gardens.

The sign is a bit ambiguous, but I think some of the craft units are hoping to remain open.

I'm not sure how that'll work but hopefully they'll be able to work something out for them.

Ginney Ring Craft Centre

It's quite close to the M5 junction 5 so I'll hop on there tomorrow morning and be home in no time, as opposed to this afternoon when Google maps showed the horrific congestion on the motorway.

So that's the plan, I've enjoyed my trip, the weather has been fantastic for the first week of November, mostly dry and what rain there has been had come overnight so not interrupted sight seeing or anything.

The most notable thing though is the temperature, it's been exceptionally mild all week and I've not needed to use the heating at all.

More villages and a popular pub

Thursday 6th November 2025

It must have been a quiet night in Cirencester, I didn't wake up until gone 9, unusual for me.

So it was a late start after breakfast and another walk around the park.

Cirencester town

Todays destination was Burford, another pretty market town with, to be honest, much the same sort of shops as the other pretty villages we've visited.

Still it was a nice place to walk around and sit to watch the world go by.

There's free parking by the river which is a welcome novelty.

The village has a main street which is set on a hill, the top of which features some lovely cottages.

Not far away, along the A40 towards Oxford is Jeremy Clarksons Farmers Dog pub. So how could I resist a pint of Hawkstone IPA ?

It's an extremely popular venue, but very well organised with parking across the road and lots of friendly staff directing people.

So I enjoyed my pint of Hawkstone and a bag of Diddly Squat crisps sitting on the outdoor decking area with fantastic views from an elevated position overlooking the Oxfordshire countryside.

Quite an experience, but I don't think I'd like to come at the weekend when it'll likely be even busier.

Parking is on a field opposite the Farmers Dog - this could
get very muddy on a wet day

Farmers Dog parking at the pub is reserved for disabled drivers
and probably for Jezza when he's here ?

Tonight's park up is another free carpark in Chipping Norton, a few miles to the north.

After a wander around the town I decided it's a nice enough town, but much more of a working town and less of a tourist destination.

Stow on the Wold and Boughton on the Water

 Wednesday 5th November 2025

Stow turned out to be a great parkup, very quiet overnight and although it rained quite heavily overnight it had stopped by morning.

So we set off on foot to explore stow on the Wold.

It's a typical Cotswold market town with lots of artisan shops and of course the lovely honey coloured stone buildings.

Also here is a church of some international fame.

It's Saint Edwards church and it's fame stems from its unique north doors which are reputed to be the inspiration for J R R Tolkien and the doors of Durin featured in Lord of the Rings.

They are very unusual and give a very atmospheric feel to the church and you can see why they would have such an effect on him.

Saint Edwards church and inspiration for J R R Tolkien
and the Doors of Durin featured in Lord of the Rings.

Next on the visit list was Boughton on the Water, another very pretty town with the river Windrush running parallel to the main street with attractive stone foot bridges spanning the shallow babbling river.

The local British Legion offer parking right next to the village for a donation to their poppy appeal, so that's a great option for visiting the village.

There are lots of bars, restaurants, tea shops and gift shops , all of which appear to be doing well from the many tourists that visit the area.

The river Windrush running through Boughton on the Water

I had hoped to visit Bilbury next, but it appears Thames Water are digging up the main street with road closures and diversions, so that one will have to wait for another day.

So next it was onto Cirencester, a Roman town a few miles to the south.

They conveniently provide free parking in the grounds of what was Saint Mary's Abbey before Henry Vlll decided to destroy it.

It's a good parking area, right next to the town but very quiet and with a large park covering what was the Abbey.

So we walked around both the town and the park grounds before turning in for a quiet night with only a bangs and explosions from distant firework displays.