Travel

Tetbury, Cotswolds, England

Next we are heading to the second largest town in the Cotswolds, Tetbury. see my new website https://townsofeurope.com/ For text, maps, links, videos and more. It's situated in an area of outstanding natural beauty, surrounded by landscapes of gently rolling hills, primarily used for farmlands, including flocks of sheep and grain production. We'll be looking at a few blocks right in the center of town. Tetbury is located in the southern Cotswolds, about 30 kilometers from Bath. Our van parks in the nearby lot and we step out excited to explore yet another Cotswold village. Right away, next to the car park, we see the historic cobble lane called Chipping Steps, lined with picturesque stone cottages. These steps are an old entrance to the town, and that row of stone cottages running down the side were probably home to wool weavers. During the Middle Ages,Tetbury was near a major East-West trail for trade, and so it became an important market for Cotswolds wool and yarn. The historic Market House is at the crossroads at the center of town. It was built in 1655 and it's the most famous building in Tetbury, listed as a historic protected property. We'll see more of this marketplace in a little bit. But first, we're going for a walk down the main shopping street of town, called Long Street. This is where most of the retail action takes place. It's very easy to explore. Just walk all the way down one side and then cross over and walk back up the other side. Although it's called Long Street, it's just 300 meters from one end to the other. The town is known as an architectural treasure, with many of the wool merchant's houses remaining the same as they were in the 16th and 17th centuries during the height of the town's prosperity from the wool trade, built from that famous Cotswold stone. Most of Tetbury is a protected conservation area. The center of Tetbury is especially renowned for its antique shops and independent boutiques. This High Street has been named one of the UK's top ten favorite streets for shopping by Homes and Antiques Magazine. You'll find a number of specialist food markets selling cheese, breads and meats, along with clothing shops, banks, charity shops, estate agents, lifestyle, clothing. And there's even a store here that's owned by Prince Charles. It's called Highgrove, featuring organic food and branded homeware. The gardens of the Prince's Highgrove estate are just two miles south of town and open to the public with guided tours. The town has many fine stone buildings in various styles, reflecting the architecture and fashions of the last 400 years. The town has pubs and hotels, including the Royal Oak Inn, with six bedrooms in an 18th century building that's been fully renovated. Completing our walking round trip, returning to the top of Long Street brings us back to the Market House. This is one of the best surviving pillared market houses in England, and it has had many uses in the past, sales of wool especially, but also administration of the town, storage of the hand fire pump, and it was even used as a lockup until a police station was built. For centuries, this building has been the hub of town and markets are still held here regularly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. And that completes our short visit to Tetbury. We've been visiting the Cotswolds on a day trip with a company called Mad Max, continuing along on our Mad Max tour of several Cotswold villages from our home base in the city of Bath. Our guide takes care of all the driving on these narrow country roads. That's all for now. But we have other movies about villages in the Cotswolds, including a film about Castle Combe, Malmesbury, Bibury, Stow-on-the-Wold, Slaughter, Bourton-on-the-Water, Lacock and Cheltenham. Look for them in our collection. We frequently upload new movies, so please subscribe to our channel and click that little alarm bell so you'll be notified. And if you enjoyed the movie, how about thumbs up and we always welcome comments down below. Or if you have questions about the destination, make note and we will answer them. Thanks for watching. http://tourvideos.com/