Touring the Cotswolds

I'm not long returned from a brief 4 day holiday staying in Gloucester but driving round the general area exploring. Day 1 - Sunday - was spent travelling. I'd sort of planned to stop off at Wightwick Manor, just outside Wolverhampton. The manor is an Arts and Crafts National Trust property, however the weather was so bad I kept going to Gloucester. Once in Gloucester, I managed to have a quick look round the cathedral just as it was closing. A choir had just started practising and their sound was out of this world.
Monday morning I was up early and surprised myself by navigating my way round the country roads to Hidcote Manor Garden. This garden is designed in Arts and Crafts style. This concept was somewhat lost on me - I just did not get it. It was a beautiful garden, well kept and designed but someone really needed to explain why it is in Arts and Crafts style. Following on from Hidcote I made my way to another NT property nearby called Upton House. This property was full of Hogarth and other artists and was rather like an Art Gallery. I didn't spend long there and later found myself in Stow on the Wold where I had a very nice dinner.
Tuesday I planned to go to Lacock Abbey in the morning, this also has a Photographic museum but the Abbey was closed so I went onto Dyrham Park which is a normal country estate owned by the Trust. The extra time was take up with a visit to Avebury. I must say, if you ever are in the Avebury area, visit it, its fascinating, and an awful lot more than a mysterious stone circle, there are several other sites connected to Avebury that are musts to see.
Wednesday was my last full day in the area and I'd planned to go to 2 properties in Buckinghamshire, but was shocked when I looked at how far they were from Gloucester. So the morning was spent at Hailes Abbey with a very good Audio tour, I then went in search of Snowshill Manor at which point the heavens opened. If your into mad eccentric collectors, or conscious of not having a perfectly tidy home then go to Snowshill. Its full of what to me is junk but to Charles Wade must have been valuable treasure. After Snowshill I found my way to the village of Broadway, had a very nice cream tea, and then later on explored Bourton on the Water, the Venice of the Cotswolds.
The jewel in the crown was visiting Wightwick Manor on my way home on Thursday. It was an unforgettable experience and for me a perfect example of a NT property at its best. The house was owned, redesigned, rebuilt, furnished by the Mander family. William Morris & Co were engaged in providing soft furnishings, tiles, glasswork, wall coverings, William de Morgan provided lustre ware, tiling, Kemp provided stained glass. The ceilings, wall friezes, and garden design could be taken straight out of pre Raphaelite paintings, and indeed everywhere you turned you were within inches of pre Raphaelite art whether it be on a piece of furniture or in a picture frame. If you are at all interested in the Arts and Crafts movement or in the pre Raphaelites this place is a must see. Also, they go to town at Christmas decorating it, and that is something I'm looking forward to.