Rob Little's Blog – the musings of an English / British Tour Guide !

……..its The Cotswolds in “OLD” England !

The early freeze continues.

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

…..we are not used to this !

Taken at Minchinhampton Common, Stroud, Gloucestershire – with freezing hands !

Minchinhampton Common is high ground with deep valleys beneath (you can see in one of the photos) and on a clear day the view from the Common of the Stroud Valleys below is simply stunning!

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

I love my SLRs but too much to carry around day to day. This Fujifilm, HS10, 30x zoom has takes quality JPEGs, will capture in RAW (which I often like to use) and brilliant HD video! Why carry around more ?

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

Berries (Long Newnton Lane)

Taken from a location special to HRH view of Tetbury Church in the distance from Long Newnton Lane

Ditto – zoomed

Ditto – full zoom – shame about the smoke !

Malmesbury – Market Cross + Abbey

Malmesbury and Abbey from a field

Long Newnton Church

Long Newnton Church – see the Sundial for a clock ?

Sunset Hill between Malmesbury and Tetbury

Honest I’m not that scarey !

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

…….I don’t know what is!

Tesco CAN be an incredibly docile cat – until he is riled !

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

“Tesco the Cat” – inCREDibly relaxed!

…..at 7:30am on a frosty morning. We are in the middle of our first cold snap and I’ll spend part of the day out taking some photos and the rest introducing myself to new Agents in the USA and getting people excited about coming to the UK next year! Summer 2011 positions Britain at the heart of Europe with the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on 29th April and all the regal pomp and ceremony that we are so renowned for here!

Living as I do in the town where Prince William spent his formative years, I am well placed to show visitors the places where he and his bride-to-be live, were raised, schooled and, indeed, in the case of William, his “local” pub which also happens to be mine!

Add to that:

* The final Harry Potter movie and the prospect of videoing the veritable plethora of locations where these movies have been filmed

* The latest period drama, “Downton Abbey” which screens on PBS in January 2011 – a delightful tale filmed in the south of England

* Not forgetting other favourites like “Brideshead Revisited” and James Herriot’s “All Creatures Great and Small” (both filmed in delightful parts of Yorkshire) and “Lark Rise to Candleford”, much of which was filmed in The Cotswolds – indeed Candleford Manor is actually “Chavenage House” – an Elizabethan Manor House here in Tetbury a few minutes from my home!

…..they are all an excuse to indulge in some unusual quarters of Britain’s rich and varied landscape!

Last but not least, money!

* The value of your dollar, today, against the British pound, is so much better than in recent times so you’re going to find meals out and other things surprisingly reasonable !

Living in the Cotswolds and being a mad keen photographer, you and / or your Customers are guaranteed have a fantastic time – not only in the Cotswolds but also right across the British Isles and into Europe.

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

So even though we’re in deepest November, I decided to take Gladys the dog as company and embark on a Cotswold safari! The Cotswolds looking stunning this morning in the ineffectual late autumn sun and we stopped for a while in Bibury which for some odd reason was surprisingly devoid of Japanese tourists!

The Swan Hotel makes a nice shot as does Arlington Row – a purpose built terrace of Weavers Cottages, rescued by the National Trust after Henry Ford threatened to dismantle it brick by brick and ship it back to Michigan!

So remember, although the days are getting shorter, the Cotswolds are a gorgeous place to visit – year round!

We then went on to do a spot of business in Banbury – hence the shots of Banbury Cross…famous for the rhyme:

“Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross
To see a fine lady, on a white horse
With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes
She will have music wherever she goes”

Its going to get colder this week….brrr !

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England

Gladys the Dog

She is quite photogenic ?

Gladys is the smallest Border Terrier you will see !

Banbury Cross !

The Lady riding a cock horse to Banbury Cross

Bibury – the River Coln

Bibury – Arlington Row

A tiny cottage in Bibury

Bibury – Arlington Row

Bibury – Arlington Row

Bibury – Arlington Row

Bibury – The Swan Hotel

…..Sunday 1.20pm (so I wouldn’t fall asleep !

(Only one more to go…..phew !)

Rob Little
Driver / Guide
Lets Tour England