A Visit to Cheltenham

I suppose Cheltenham is one of the "must see" places when visiting the Cotswolds - at least the locals will tell you that. So yesterday we hopped on the bus to Cheltenham, an hours drive west of Stow.

Built in the 1700-1800's, it became famous as a spa town and is now considered sort of the cultural center of the Cotswolds. Almost 300 years old, it has lots of history and is known for its spas, architecture, horse racing, parks, shopping and festivals. 

Municipal Building, built 1823

long gardens, statue of Dr. Edward Wilson

no queuing, Ronnie!

exploring the city on foot

loving the hats!!

We picked up a couple of walking maps from the tourist bureau and decided on the self guided Montpellier Walk. Most of our day was spent trying to navigate the map and figure out what we were seeing while trying not to get run over. We ate a late lunch in a sandwich shop and completed our walk, then headed back to the bus pick up. We were about 45 minutes early, so we had time for a British "pick me up" in a coffee shop nearby.

Cheltenham known for its shopping

 
I thought "cream tea" simply meant hot tea with milk which is the way many Brits enjoy their tea. Come to find out, if you order "cream tea" it automatically comes with a scone, jam and clotted cream. So I had my first cream tea since coming here a week ago. It was worth the wait. :)

cream tea - oh yeah!

 

If you really enjoy history, Cheltenham is a good city to visit. It is interesting and I'm glad to have seen it, but for me a large city can't compare with the charm of the smaller villages of the Cotswolds.

somehow this just doesn't look like a Zizzis

cathedral turned bar/restaurant

Although the large cathedrals still stand in all their glory, many churches here are dying if not already dead. I remember when visiting Europe many years back how a number of the large cathedrals were either closed or being used for another purpose. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has warned that "Christianity is a generation away from extinction" in Britain." I'm afraid he may be right if the photos above are any indication.

Yesterday we walked past an old cathedral and noticed the word Revolution on the outside. I learned that it's a church-turned-bar/restaurant/party venue that even boasts of "once again becoming a place of worship." They go even further in describing its secretive back bar booths as being "ideal for a few confessions." Another former church in the same block is now a restaurant. So very sad.