Golden Girls on Tour

Today’s ride commenced at Amberley Common. We could see Princess Anne’s home in the distance before making our way around the cows on the common, …

Day 3 Cotswolds Ride

We started the day with a quick trip to Burford for a coffee and a bit of people-watching. Quite unexpectedly, we ran into my old bank manager from Tamworth, Gary Littlejohn. It’s a small world!

From there we headed to Jeremy Clarkson’s pub, The Farmer’s Dog, before stopping at the Diddly Squat Farm Shop for a quick refreshment. It was great to finally visit two places made famous by Clarkson’s Farm.

Next, we made our way to the beautiful Frampton Court Estate, which would be our home for the next few days. Calling it a house doesn’t really do it justice—it felt more like a palace straight out of a fairy tale. The two-storey manor is full of history, elegance and charm. Deb is convinced she must have lived there in a past life because she instantly felt right at home.

After settling in, we changed into our riding gear and headed out through the back gate to meet our horses for our first ride. Deb was paired with a stylish bay mare by Fürstenball, while Aili definitely scored the horse of the day—a wonderfully quiet, big Irish Draught that gave her confidence a huge boost. Jan and I, meanwhile, ended up with the two more spirited horses!

We rode through the village before venturing across recently harvested cereal fields and into beautiful woodlands, where the sunlight filtered through the trees in patches of dappled light. It was exactly how you’d imagine riding through the English countryside. On the way home, Jan couldn’t resist jumping a few cross-country fences before we returned to the lorry to untack our horses.

Back at the estate, our wonderful host had prepared a stunning afternoon tea. We enjoyed the full English experience with delicate ribbon sandwiches, sponge cake topped with fresh strawberries, and a pot of beautiful tea served in an exquisite Willow-pattern china tea set. It was the perfect way to finish the afternoon.

Later, we relaxed beside the ornamental canal with a glass of wine while our host, Katy, talked us through the plans for tomorrow’s ride. Sitting there in the late afternoon sunshine was incredibly peaceful.

After freshening up, our personal chef, Georgina, prepared an outstanding dinner—a culinary experience truly worthy of the lady of the manor, Deborah, and her guests! We paired it with a surprisingly good bottle of Sainsbury’s wine, which proved to be an excellent choice.

By the end of the day we were ready for bed. It had been quite warm overnight, and with daylight arriving so early, we were all awake by 5:30 am, refreshed and excited for another unforgettable day riding through the beautiful Cotswolds.

Arrived 3.30 am on Qantas flight QF255 from Sydney to London. The flight was super, above average food, good drinks and service. Smoothest flight experience ever!

Quickly through immigration and customs. No one in the lines at this hour in the morning.

Got the shuttle to pick up our hire car and then headed to Hartpury for our first stop. There was a Pre horse show on even though there wasn’t much going on when we there.

Went to visit Sara at Flying Changes riding jackets and was measured up and selected my new custom made tails. Very excited but will have to wait a few weeks as she has a big amount of tails being made for riders competing at the World Championships. I guess they should have priority.

Then we headed off to the beautiful Cheltenham to visit the Holland Cooper store. It was like heaven to me. So many beautiful things to look at try on and I did let the credit card go for a run. A glass of wine in the beer garden and a brunch snack to tide us over until lunch!

Back in our Volvo to head down to sheep’s lane, off Tanners Road to the Lamb Hotel in gorgeous Burford! I had the quit essential fish and chips with mushy pees. The village had the most beautiful shopping strip and we could of spent the day there but we were off on our way toward Bicester

Pit stop on the way at the “Bull” hotel for a pint! Deb and I had a half! It was nice beer.

Back in the car and off to the Bicester Gold and Country Club for the night. Sounds flash but it wasn’t! The wine list was non existent and I had the worst margarita of my life so we hopped back in the car and went into town in search of a nice bottle and a bit of walking to get some of the swelling out of our feet.

Bicester village is a 400 meter long group of high end fashion label stores. It is very upscale stuff. I am not a rich person or particularly poor but there was nothing on my price point to buy in the shops we looked at. It does beggar belief how some of the people there mainly Asians and those of middle eastern appearance where they get the money to be carrying 5 or 6 bags full of stuff. Gucci , Valentino and Jimmy Choo shoes etc!!

Finished the night off in a delightful Italian restaurant with a plate of tagliatelle and some Italian Pino Grigio

Then we went to Sainsbury’s. (Supermarket). To get some wine to take to our accommodations for the next few days. I don’t think they have bottle shops here as we couldn’t find one

Collapsed into bed at 8.30

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s exciting adventure

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