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chipping campden |
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CHIPPING CAMPDEN , six miles northwest of Moreton-in-Marsh, gives a
better idea than anywhere else in the Cotswolds as to what a prosperous
wool town might have looked like in the Middle Ages. The houses have
undulating, weather-beaten roofs and many retain their original
mullioned windows, while the fine Perpendicular church dates from the
fifteenth century, the zenith of the town's wool-trading days. Inside,
an ostentatious monument commemorates the family of Sir Baptist Hicks, a
local benefactor who built the nearby almshouses and the market hall in
the High Street. His own home was burnt down during the Civil War, but
you can glimpse the ruins over the wall beside the church.
A fine panoramic view rewards those who make the short but severe hike
up the Cotswold Way northwest to Dover's Hill (follow Hoo Lane north off
the High Street). Since 1610 this natural amphitheatre has been the
stage for an Olympics of rural sports, though the event was suspended
last century when games such as shin-kicking became little more than
licensed thuggery. A more civilized version, the Cotswold Olimpick Games
, has been staged each June since 1951: no shin-kicking, but still the
odd bit of hammer-throwing and tug-of-war pulling.
Such a museum-piece as Chipping Campden must inevitably cope with a bevy
of visitors in summer. Try to stay overnight and explore in the evening
or at dawn, when the streets are empty and the golden hues of the stone
at their richest. Public transport to the area is good, with frequent
bus services to Moreton, Evesham and Stratford. You can't move for guest
houses along the High Street, most of which can be booked through the
tourist office (daily 10am-5.30pm; tel 01386/841206, ). Distinguished by
its blue door, Mrs Benfield's on Lower High Street (tel 01386/840163;
£40-50) has fewer lacy trimmings than most (with correspondingly low
prices), as does the Volunteer Inn on Park Road, a few doors up on the
opposite side of the road (tel 01386/840688; £50-60). The standard of
pubs is good, but the Eight Bells Inn , around the corner from the
church, is particularly cosy, and it serves top food. There's a window
in the floor showing the passage once used by Catholic priests escaping
from the church.
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