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00:04Ha, ha, ha.
00:38Raise your travel dreams to their upright and locked positions.
00:42Join us now as we discover the ins and outs of travels in Europe.
00:56I'm Rick Steves, inviting you to travel with us as we explore the best of offbeat Europe.
01:01This time, we're checking out England's Cotswold Hills,
01:04a thatch-happy region of quaint villages, great hikes, and musical surprises.
01:12We're on a 3,000-mile tour,
01:14which is taking us from the British Isles through Belgium, Luxembourg, and France,
01:19and south to Spain and Portugal.
01:22This time, we're in the Cotswolds,
01:24just two hours by car or train from London, but a world away.
01:31Our Cotswold home base is in the cobbled village of Stow-on-the-Wald.
01:36We'll explore a 400-year-old youth hostel.
01:40We'll smell the roses in the gardens of Chipping Campton
01:43and take a trip back to Roman times at Sirencester.
01:49We'll experience the sedan chair elegance of Georgian England in Bath.
01:54We'll ponder the ancient mysteries of Druids at Avebury.
01:58And we'll do it all British-style.
02:01Bed and breakfasts, neighborhood pubs, and walking.
02:07Walking is a fine and very English way to explore the Cotswolds.
02:11English law guarantees the right of people to walk across the land.
02:15That's people, not farm animals.
02:17All kinds of clever fences and gates are designed to let only people pass.
02:22Can you imagine why this one's called a kissing gate?
02:29A serious walker could follow the Cotswold Way from Chipping Campton to Bath,
02:34along 97 miles of well-marked paths,
02:37through countless film-gobbling villages.
02:41The towns are close together.
02:44Cute towns with cute names.
02:48Blower Slaughter is a favorite of painters and ducks.
03:12The English love to walk these peaceful footpaths.
03:15And just when your weary body needs it most,
03:18a village seems to appear,
03:20complete with a place serving tea and scones.
03:25Let's try it.
03:27After you.
03:33What a garden. Look at this.
03:37Maybe we can talk him into serving us some tea.
03:39Yes.
03:43You have enough room for the tea.
03:47I think that's the tea pot somewhere, do you think?
03:49Please, yes.
03:50Yes.
03:50Let's go there.
03:51There we go.
03:53Does anybody take sugar?
03:54No.
03:55I don't know.
03:56Oh, that's perfect.
03:56Oh, do you put milk in first?
03:57Yes.
03:58Well, that's the correct way.
03:59Geez.
03:59well now we've really blushed put it in the middle no it's complicated the
04:05cooling right that looks I think it does something to the milk what we call
04:13double cream clotted cream you find in Devon and Cornwall and that's much
04:17richer orangey and taste and quite firm this is double cream oh say this is not
04:22clotted cream this is double cream another variation yes yes not quite so
04:27rich you only die in two years without I am enjoying it immensely double cream right
04:43you don't follow any signpost okay you go out of the village to the T Junction you
04:48turn right yeah you take seconds left yeah up to the main road and turn left
04:53towards still on the world okay then about three miles further on down there
04:57is a turn to the right
05:07the Cotswold villages that dot these hills are that classic image of small-town
05:12England Snows Hill is a good example travel writers tend to overuse the word
05:19quaint in my guidebooks I save quaint for the Cotswolds
05:28oh I thought we were going around here oh I thought we were going through standby
05:33this is too embarrassing we'll go up this road until we see something interesting or not and if we don't
05:40want anything interesting we'll turn around some towns seem to be built by for and of the tourists
05:52if you catch it your hotel will cook it in popular Bibery and even such a popular
05:59little village can offer a peaceful stroll to its visitors as our producer Pat and I discovered
06:09Burton on the water is called Little Venice I don't know if that's because of its canals because
06:15of all its tourists or just to make a little more money
06:32unpromoted towns barely have a postcard
06:41the town of Chipping Campton makes a great Cotswold home base
06:45chipping means market town you'll notice market towns have a wide main drag it's for the market
06:49and they were located within about eight or ten miles of each other that was close enough for
06:54the shepherd to bring a sheep into town for the day and to enjoy some fun the local Morris men
07:00can jump at a chance to perk up any town gather
07:19chipping Campton's main street claims to be the most beautiful in England lined with well pickled 300
07:25year old buildings all made with the honey colored Cotswold stone
07:30it was born out of wool wealth even the name Cotswolds comes from wool
07:36Cotswolds it's an old Saxon phrase meaning hills of sheep's coats for centuries Britain's wool industry
07:44drove her economy always a center of wool production the cloth itself brought the greatest wealth
07:50towns like Chipping Campton grew up as manufacturing centers of cloth when these villages were in their
07:58prime woolen cloth was the nation's leading export from the 15th to the 17th centuries
08:05her rich wool merchants showed off their wealth by building impressive churches homes and markets
08:14but this cottage industry collapsed during Britain's Industrial Revolution when workers and capital alike moved
08:21to mills in the large cities these towns languished and our cute prosperous holiday retreats today because
08:28they were too poor to modernize
08:32Chipping Campton still has its old wealth for a fragrant whiff of England's aristocratic flair for gardens peek into
08:40one of several elegant backyards just off the town square they're open to the public for a donation to the
08:47owners
08:47favorite charity
08:57and the lords and ladies share the same market church and sunny days with the more common folk and tourists
09:08Jane and Frank Kennedy run a bed and breakfast and an antique shop
09:12can I give you any assistance are you looking for anything in particular no just looking around to me
09:18just wasting my time yes oh yeah the usual the usual well there we go yeah oh well about 95
09:24percent
09:28right
09:30oh
09:35yeah
09:36yeah
09:36yeah
09:38yeah
09:40yeah
09:41yeah
09:41yeah
09:48any Englishman can recommend a good puck ask the locals for tips Frank's been coming here for years
09:55so Edward are you ready for some dinner
09:59remember pub is short for public house this is not the equivalent of an American tavern
10:06teetotalers are right at home children are welcome if they're with their parents for a meal
10:11the atmosphere is cozy and conversation is the order of the day
10:39still in the world is another good Cotswold home-based town located in the heart of the region any
10:45Cotswold site is within the easy striking distance of Stowe
10:48eight roads converge on Stowe but none interrupts the peacefulness of its main square
10:56the town has no real sights other than itself and these old stocks
11:01this little town trail walking tour brochure is typical of England's tourist industry always
11:07helpful in making a visit fun and informative just follow the map and learn about Stowe
11:19so this narrow lane was for the sheep on their way to market coming through here one by one they'd
11:24be easy to count
11:28and this cross
11:29it says it goes back to 1107
11:31it was there to remind the merchants to deal honestly with their customers
11:36like most visit-worthy towns in Europe Stowe has a youth hostel
11:40right on the main square this one sleeps four to twelve in a room
11:44has a family room with information on the area
11:47and a member's kitchen for do-it-yourself cooking
11:51or you can buy the cheapest prepared hot meal in town from the hard-working house parents
11:56called wardens in England
12:00hostelling trades privacy and service for a do-it-yourself get-to-know-people experience
12:06in British youth hostels you'll help out with a daily duty like washing dishes after dinner
12:12you'll meet youth hostellers of all ages
12:15in fact youths over 55 get a discount on the membership card
12:24we're heading south now about to leave the Cotswolds
12:27but first let's sample a bit of Roman Britain in Sirencester
12:31it's hard to imagine what Britain must have been like 2,000 years ago
12:35back in the age of Caesar
12:36back when London was Londinium
12:38and Britannia was a busy Roman province
12:44we're on the old Roman road
12:46Fosse Way
12:46here's a tip
12:48any perfectly straight road is likely of Roman origin
12:51a main drag in Roman times
12:53Fosse Way led straight to Britannia's second largest city
12:57Carinium
12:59Carinium is Sirencester today
13:01and home to the Carinium Museum
13:03they say if you scratch Gloucestershire
13:07this part of England you'll find Rome
13:09Carinium was a provincial capital
13:12the local administrative center
13:15the museum's models and its artifacts help visitors to understand a little about Roman provincial life
13:21from the lowly mosaic maker
13:23to the upper class family whose villa he decorated
13:27these provincial cities were the tenuous fringe of Roman civilization
13:33if you if you look at them look how spread out it is all the way around look how far
13:38Britain is away
13:39it's right on the edge of the Roman Empire isn't it
13:42yeah
13:42you see it goes right up as far as York
13:45yeah
13:45and I don't think they ever got into Scotland
13:47they built a wall across there to stop them
13:50stop the pics getting in
13:52remember Hadrian's wall
13:54yeah
13:54so they didn't they never got right at it
14:00on the south edge of the Cotswold Hills sits another vestige of Roman times
14:04the understandably popular city of Bath began as a mineral spa called Aquasoulis
14:10this former trendsetter of Georgian England invites you to immerse yourself in its elegant and frivolous past
14:16if ever a city enjoyed looking into the mirror Bath's the one
14:20it has more government protected buildings per inhabitant than any town in England
14:31the city is built of a warm-toned limestone it calls bath stone and bath beams in its covergirl complexion
14:40bath is an architectural chorus line a triumph of the Georgian style
14:45its buildings are as wrapped up in competitive elegance as the society they housed
14:51false windows were built in the name of balance
14:54and some classical columns supported only Georgian egos
14:59the rich put feathered hats atop three-foot hairdos
15:02the very rich stretched their doors to accommodate
15:07good-looking towns are not rare
15:09but few combine beauty and hospitality as well as bath
15:15a great way to experience the elegance of Bath is to stay in one of its best bed and breakfasts
15:20my favorite is run by Marion Dodd
15:25hi Mary how are you
15:27good to see you I see your no vacancy signs up
15:29hi there darling
15:32she just redid her 230 year old home
15:38where shall I eat tonight
15:41we have so many places in Bath
15:43you've got to give me some idea of the sort of food that you want
15:46or the price ranges these are some of the places that we have on offer
15:50we've got pubs and restaurants and oh there's that Lebanese now this is the Lebanese restaurant which is just around
15:59the corner and absolutely excellent in the same street we've got a very nice little wine bar which does um
16:06English food and you can sit inside or outside on a nice day which is very very good there are
16:11lots and lots and lots of pubs in Bath which um serve food what about just a good basic English
16:17meal that's not very expensive what about
16:19the crystal it's quiet elegant yet friendly and it couldn't have a more prestigious address on Brock Street right between
16:27Bath's two most elegant 18th century housing developments the Royal Crescent and the circus
16:36a good day in Bath starts with a tour of the historic baths
16:40for 2,000 years this hot mineral water has attracted society's elite
16:45you saw that when you came to the museum
16:49well in fact you're standing here which is Victorian and it was built on top of the Roman remains
16:55after 1880 but if you look down
16:58you're looking down nearly 2,000 years on the past
17:01and you're looking at our Roman bathing establishment
17:05in fact this was built in the first century
17:09and you can look down here and all the grey stone
17:12are our Roman remains
17:26what they decided to do
17:28was in fact to honor the spring with the goddess Minerva and construct here a temple and a courtyard in
17:36her honor
17:36but they also honored the Celtic goddess and created a goddess of the spring called Sulis Minerva
17:48now the water bubbles up continually at over a quarter of a million gallons a day that's over a million
17:55liters
17:57in the 12th century the Benedictine monks came here and they saw this lovely warm water bubbling up and they
18:03decided that they would use it
18:05and they built around the spring a curative bath
18:10the concrete floor level around the edge would have been the floor level of the 12th century bath
18:15the depth of water would have been up to where the orange stain is
18:18and then the rings
18:20well the rings are interesting
18:21they were given by grateful patients
18:24through the centuries
18:25so that you could hang on
18:26and rest your body in the warm water
18:29most of them are 17th century
18:31and they have inscriptions
18:32the mineral spa was still in business in the 17th century
18:35as a traveler of the time described it
18:38look at this Rick in this old book
18:41it's a lady in the 17th century called Celia Fearnes
18:46E-Town and all its accommodations is adapted to a bathing
18:50and the drinking of the waters and to nothing else
18:53look what the ladies had to wear
18:54the ladies goes into the bath with garments made of fine yellow canvas
18:58which is stiff and made with large great sleeves
19:03and the gentlemen have drawers and waistcoats of the same sort of canvas
19:07this is the best
19:08for the bath water will change any other yellow
19:11I'm glad I'm swimming in the 20th century
19:14oh yeah
19:19it was in the next century that bath really came into its own
19:22a little mid-morning coffee or lunch with classical music
19:26in the 18th century pump room
19:28still sets the elegant scene for which bath became famous
19:32we're having a bath bun, cinnamon biscuits and spa water
19:38it was a favored spot for Jane Austen
19:40as she dreamt up romantic adventures over a plate of bath buns
19:47try some, yes
19:49it'll make you five years younger
19:50how is it?
19:58well, it's aptly named bath water
20:00bath one
20:04okay, well thanks so much
20:11it's my pleasure
20:12okay, bye bye
20:13we're finishing the morning with a walk through three centuries of fashion at the costume museum
20:19there's an entire room for each decade
20:22letting us follow the evolution of clothing styles right up to Twiggy, Charles and Princess Di
20:29the guided tour is full of fun facts and fascinating trivia
20:33when it was new, around about the middle of the 18th century
20:36it would have been a fabulously expensive dress
20:39it was probably worn to court
20:42and like all court clothes
20:44this dress is basically all about showing off
20:48now this dress is very much the museum's pride and joy
20:52because it's actually the oldest complete woman's outfit surviving in Britain
20:56it's from the 1660s
20:58and even when it was new
21:00it would have been a very special dress
21:02mainly because of the fabric it's made from
21:04and that's something called silver tissue
21:06which is silk and silver woven together
21:11but most of these clothes are Victorian
21:14and little girls are really dressed like miniature versions of their mothers
21:23good afternoon everybody
21:24if you're coming on the walking tour
21:26will you gather round please
21:27and without more ado
21:28I think we'll just divide up into two parties
21:30because my colleague here, Don
21:32will take one party and I'll take the other
21:34so if we can split the crowd
21:35free walking tours leave from the square daily in the summer
21:41and there these rich people who are coming to Bath
21:44they would have congregated in there
21:45and of course they would have bathed
21:47now the thing about it is
21:49they would have been unclothed
21:51naked or nearly naked
21:52men and women
21:53ladies and gentlemen we should call them
21:55the upper crust of English society
21:59these volunteers are as much a part of Bath as its architecture
22:05and Queen's Square is the work of John Wood the Elder
22:08even before Wood the Elder came back to Bath
22:11he had a grand vision
22:13and that was to build a second city of Rome
22:16where this city now stands
22:17so basically what you see in Palladian architecture
22:21is a fine frontage
22:22ornamental stonework
22:24great columns
22:25and then usually a triangular piece
22:27with some form of ornamentation to it
22:41here is circus
22:43the work of John Wood the Elder
22:461754
22:47and after only three months work
22:49John Wood the Elder died
22:51and Wood the Younger completed this lovely circus
22:54a circular set of lodging houses
22:56according to father's design
22:58some 15 years later on
23:24so as we look at this lovely set of houses in front of us
23:28one complete set of buildings
23:29Royal Crescent by John Wood the Younger
23:32as we look at this
23:33this is a lovely set piece
23:34look at it right ahead of us
23:44this is a lovely set of buildings
23:45this is a lovely set of buildings
23:45this is a lovely set of buildings
23:47this is a lovely set of buildings
23:49this is a lovely set of buildings
23:54this is a lovely set of buildings
23:54this is a lovely set of buildings
23:54this is a lovely set of buildings
23:56this is a lovely set of buildings
23:56this is a lovely set of buildings
23:57this is a lovely set of buildings
23:57this is a lovely set of buildings
23:57this is a lovely set of buildings
23:58this is a lovely set of buildings
23:58this is a lovely set of buildings
23:59this is a lovely set of buildings
24:03this is a lovely set of buildings
24:07Bath goes back to Roman times,
24:09but our next destination has a mysterious past twice that old.
24:16Avebury is as old as the pharaohs.
24:18It's not as famous as its nearby cousin Stonehenge,
24:21but many experts call it the most important early Bronze Age monument in Europe.
24:26And you can walk all around at Avebury,
24:28while at Stonehenge, barbed wire keeps visitors at a distance.
24:33Avebury is about 200 years older than the main phase of building at Stonehenge.
24:38It's not easy to see the total plan, partly because it was so large.
24:43In fact, it's the largest Neolithic ceremonial circle in Europe, 450 yards across.
24:51Some of these stones weigh more than 40 tons.
24:58A mile-long, 50-foot-wide avenue of upright stones called megaliths once led to the circle.
25:04The positions of the missing stones are now marked by concrete blocks.
25:11Archaeologists still aren't sure what it all meant.
25:14It may have been a huge celestial calendar.
25:18So if we were Druids back then, we'd use this to tell us just when to plant, harvest, and party.
25:30Whatever it was used for, it remains a monument to the skill and organization of the peoples who built it.
25:38Only a society with wealth, stability, and political centralization could have organized such an undertaking.
25:45And the town of Avebury grew up in the midst of the ancient circle.
25:49Its medieval inhabitants, evidently in an attempt to bury their pagan past, buried parts of the stone circle.
25:57But today Avebury is comfortable in its stone circle as it warmly welcomes its many visitors.
26:04Time always seems to speed by in England.
26:07It's already time to turn in our rental car and head for France.
26:13Next time we'll be in Normandy and Brittany.
26:16We'll home base in a tiny seaside village from which 16th century sailors set forth to discover new worlds.
26:24We'll see where the World War II allies stormed ashore at the D-Day beaches.
26:30We'll visit Rouen, where Joan of Arc met her fate.
26:33We'll sample crepes and survive the speedy tides of Mont-Saint-Michel.
26:40Join us next time in Normandy and Brittany.
26:43Until then, I'm Rick Steves, wishing you happy travels.
26:49Home videos of destinations in this series are available for $24.95.
26:55To order the 80-minute, three-program tape on North Wales, Edinburgh, and the Cotswaller...
27:04Home video of the Kaneoids.
27:04Where are you from?
27:17I'll see where I have a big source and a fan of view.
27:17You are the denote here, and you can see who we are.
27:17Oh yeah, I can.
27:22I can see where you are now.
27:22We're hustling from everywhere in the�aren chair of county firefly.
27:23There is just a great place in the house.
27:24Walk your way to go with my safer place.
27:24Shrine, Shay on my own project and go to thecommerce bench where we are on it on,
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