Europe Adventure: Day Ten, Part Four- Castle Combe, Bibury, and driving

 After leaving Lacock we drove to Castle Combe. 

We drove to the nearby car park first and took a while trying to figure out where we went from there. We finally figured out that we were supposed to walk down some stairs onto a road and then walk up the road from there. But we got down to the road and it was small and curvy and a car shot by going fast and we became afraid for our lives. 

So we went back to the car and decided to drive down closer to try to figure out what the town was like. 

We drove right through the town and noticed there were cars parked up the hill before we got to it. So we went back and parked roadside just up the street from the town instead.

 There was a trail through the woods so we took that instead of the road and it came out right by the center of the town. 

This town is beautiful. Charm at its finest. 

I was excited to visit Castle Combe as I had read a lot about it and how pretty it is. 

Also, it was my mother in law's favorite village. 

And there were some films made here as well. 

They filmed the 1967 Dr. Dolittle that I watched as a kid here. It was also the location for Stardust and War Horse, two films that I love. 

They also have filmed some episodes of television shows here. 

The town is centered on the 14th century market cross (in the picture above) with an old water pump beside it. 

Looking down the road from near the Market Cross...

 

We first went over to St. Andrew's Church. It is a 12th century church in the heart of town. 

 

I love looking at old cemeteries. 

 

The church was small but very pretty inside. 

 It housed a 15th century faceless clock that is one of the oldest working clocks in England. 

There was also a Norman monument to the Knight Sir Walter de Dunstanville, the Baron of Castle Combe. He died in 1270.

His legs are crossed to indicate that he fought in the Crusades and he has his feet on a lion and a sword in his hands which lets us know that he died in battle. 

After exploring the church, we began to walk down the main road.

 

It was so pretty and so peaceful.

 

After passing the bridge we stopped by the old weavers' cottages to get the iconic view of Castle Combe.  

This door. So awesome.

 

Then we walked back up the hill. 

It was unfortunately too late to really do much else here but we really enjoyed just walking through the village and seeing the church. 

 

We walked back up the woodland trail and made our way back to the car. 

 

We drove north toward our town going through so many adorable little villages along the way. 

 

It was starting to get dark and stormy and we really wanted to get home before it was completely dark so we only pulled over by Bibury to get a picture. 

 

And we kept driving...

 

It did get dark before we got home and started raining like crazy. It turned out to be about 15-20 minutes of pretty scary driving but we made it back safely and were so glad to be back home in our little cottage. We made some nachos and started watching the 1995 Pride and Prejudice.