Today I’m visiting Moreton-in-Marsh, yet another pretty Cotswold village with a long and interesting history - it’s home to inns that date back to the mid 1600’s and legend has it that four of them are haunted! Market day is on Tuesday (unfortunately, today is Wednesday!) but I still figure it’s worth going for a mosey…
The Cotswolds are spread out around different counties, and this one’s in north Gloucestershire. Moreton derives from the old English ‘farm on the moor’ and ‘in marsh’ maybe from the word ‘mersh’ (which was a marsh that birds would flock to).
All along the high street there are buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th century, including the White Hart Royal (once a manor house), where Charles II took shelter during the Civil War.
What I’m looking out for, however, is the Curfew Tower with the original clock and bell. Dating back to the 16th century, and boasting a Tudor-arch doorway, this is Moreton’s oldest structure by far and was used for a long time as the local ‘lock up’ for drunks, vagabonds and small-time criminals.
It’s not very high but the clock face is quite distinctive.
And, I’m told, the bell (which was installed in 1633) rang out nightly, until 1860, apparently to remind locals of the risk of fire at night…
Moreton’s not just pretty but it’s also home to many small, independent businesses - bakeries, pubs, clothing boutiques.
My favourite is a fantastic little cheese store where I end up buying a piece of Evenlode.
Iit’s soft, with a sticky orange rind an a strong smell - utterly delicious. My great regret is that I didn’t purchase more.
As I mosey along the main drag, I see cottages - the kind of cottages that wouldn't look out of place on chocolate box tins - and almost all of them are built from stone quarried from the area. It’s honey-coloured (dating back to the Jurassic area) and when the sun falls on it, the hue is simply glorious!
It’s still early in the day, so I decide to take a walk on some of the paths just outside the village - the Fosse Way (stretching back to the Roman period) runs through Moreton, as well as the ‘Monarch’s Way’ (which stretches over 1000 km to West Sussex).
This was the escape route King Charles II took in 1651, after his defeat at the Battle of Worcester.
Today, the route is still marked with a logo - a three-point crown of the Prince of Wales, over a silhouette of an oak tree and a sketch of the ship ‘Surprise’. I walk for a while along a well-trodden path and before I know it I’m in the countryside, surrounded by rolling hills and flora everywhere. It’s so quiet, I can hear a bird chirping.
There’s also the Moreton Eigh Walk Trail (which I only find out about once I’m home that evening) which gives you the chance to visit Batsford Arboretum (56 acres of some of the world’s most beautiful and rare trees!) and Bourton on the Hill (almost three kms outside Moreton, on a steep hill and apparently with great views of the surrounding area).
Well, I definitely have a reason to return now.