Tales from the South West - Castle Combe and Bristol Sights

Sunday, August 12 - Castle Combe, Bristol Cathedral, Brandon Hill, Clifton Village, Clifton Suspension Bridge

With the weather not encouraging much outdoor activities, we had a chill morning instead and then went to Castle Combe in the Cotswolds for Sunday lunch. Gotta treat my dad to a proper roast whilst he's here.
The Salutation Inn was the place of choice, a country pub I had found on Google Maps just North of Castle Combe. With rain on and off and at times quite heavy we were glad we sat in the car. The sat nav sent us along some narrow country lanes which was actually quite enjoyable. More than a boring broad A road.
Arrived just in time at 12:30, got some drinks and were sat at our table. Very nice staff and a very welcoming atmosphere in the pub, although it was still very quiet.

Good find. That's a keeper.

Food came fairly quickly and whilst not being exceptionally good, it was a very decent Sunday roast. The Maize fed chicken my dad had, had a a lovely flavour, and Rich's and my beef was one of the best we ever had. Pink as it should be and very tender. Only downside was the small Yorkshire pud which was supposedly not home made. Boo to that.
Still, Rich and me decided that this was a great pub to come out here for food and then a walk or cycle afterwards. It's a keeper.

After a very nice lunch, we drove the five minutes into Castle Combe proper and parked on a rather big and free (!!!) car park at the top of the road into the village. It was fairly empty and soon we knew why. People chose to park alongside the road. There was limited space and it seemed a bit of a hassle when you had to turn around and look again. Why so few choose the free (!!!) car park at the top is something I don't get. There must be a lot of people who have knee or hips issues so they can't walk even 10 minutes.

Even though Rich and me had been here before, we marvelled at the amazing Cotswold houses just as much as my dad did. It is simply stunning and beautiful. Not just the houses, but the well kept gardens and driveways, too.

Paid a visit to the church and there learned from a few posters about the history of Castle Combe, that the word "Combe" comes from an old Saxon word meaning "valley". Ha. I didn't know that. Was just wondering why so many places in the area have it in their names.
There had been settlements here at least from 2300BC on all through Roman and Saxon times until today. Very interesting.

Strolled down to the bridge and the river and then lazily walked back to the car park. Again we decided to come back again and combine a visit to the local pub with a walk or cycle ride.

Back in Bristol it was now a bit too late to head to the SS Great Britain. Rich headed off to visit a friend near Reading and I took my dad for the tourist tour through Bristol.

Walked all the way from the town centre past Bristol Cathedral which was sadly closed to Brandon Hill. The rain had stopped a while ago and heading up the hill we had a good sweat on. So much so, that we didn't climb Cabot Tower and instead headed towards Clifton Village. That was enough climbing already.
Shops were closed, but we were really here for the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Walked over it and back enjoying the brilliant views of the city and the Avon Gorge.

One last climb up onto the cliff to get another view. Again there was information on display about the local fauna and flora. Apparently, Leigh Woods across the gorge hosts some trees that only grow there and nowhere else on the planet. Wow! How amazing is that? And there are some plants that grow on the cliffs that are similarly rare. One of them the Bristol Onion. Who knew?! Gosh, we learned so much today!

Still, started to head back eventually. At least it was downhill from here and soon we were at the docklands picking our boats and house boats we liked and enjoying the view over Hotwells across the river.
Quick break with a shandy outside a conveniently situated pub and then simply walked back to the centre to catch a bus just as the next shower hit.

Amazing how time had flown. It was already 8pm, so we had walked easily for three and a half hours or more. Good to make the best out of a day most probably spend at home chilling. More to come though. No rest for the restless.