Day One of our Cotswolds Road Trip:
- Fire+Flow Cafe in Cirencester for breakfast
- Broadway Tower
- Evesham - Waitrose for groceries
- Banbury - Check into 1 Home Farm Drive - Art Deco farmhouse on the National Trust property, Upton House
Fran and I visited the village of Broadway and the Tower during our 2015 visit to the Cotswolds.
But first, breakfast at Fire+Flow Cafe, outside Cirencester
Since we were close by Broadway when we booked our Home Farm Drive Cottage, we wanted to visit this lovely iconic village and structure again.
The Broadway Tower
The Tower is an iconic landmark on top of the beautiful Cotswolds escarpment. It was the brainchild of the great 18th century landscape designer, “Capability Brown”. His vision was carried out for George William 6th Earl of Coventry with the help of renowned architect James Wyatt and completed in 1798. The location for the Tower was wisely chosen, a dramatic outlook on a pre-medieval trading route and beacon hill.
James Wyatt designed his “Saxon Tower” as an eccentric amalgamation of architectural components ranging from turrets, battlements and gargoyles to balconies.
Beginnings
Broadway Tower stands on Beacon Hill, the second highest point in the Cotswolds. Rising 312 metres above sea level, the hill was a natural place from which to send long-distance signals and was used for this purpose long before the tower was built such as warning of the advent of the Spanish Armada in May 1588.
1 Home Farm Drive Cottage on the grounds of Upton House
In this unique property, you step into the Jazz Age in this snazzy three-bedroom cottage. The 18th-century stable conversion is modest and unsuspecting on the outside, but inside reveals a chic Art Deco interior with curved lines, bold patterns and the most beautiful fireplace in the living room. It sits on the Upton estate and was converted in the 1930s by the owners of the estate, the Bearsteds, for their family Rabbi to live in.
The cottage has its own private garden as well as acres of woodland and formal gardens on the wider estate. As a guest of the cottage, we are invited to explore the main house for free, and discover its fascinating stories and find out why it was so significant during the war.
1 Home Farm Drive was the perfect base for exploring the Cotswolds and Warwickshire. It sits on the northern fringes of the Cotswolds and the historic towns of Warwick and Lemington Spa are both within an easy drive from the cottage.
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