The English Eye » bibury

A BEAUTIFUL BLACK SWAN AT BIBURY

david — Fri, 01 May 2009 18:25:00 +0000

The River Coln attracts much wildlife to Bibury, including the rare black swan in this mini-vid. However, the birds must reckon that tourist offerings make easy pickings, and this creature is no exception.

I’ve always taken great care to recall my late Mum’s warning, “Never feed the swans David – they’re bad tempered, and a flapping wing could break your arm.” I don’t really know how true the danger is, but I didn’t fancy chancing my arm on a bet with this large bird, angry or not!

Research for this piece also raised doubt on another belief of mine, that all swans belong to the Queen. I’m told that in reality, ownership applies only to, “unmarked mute swans on open water”, and even that right is only extended to parts of the Thames and its tributaries.

Right then – roast swan for dinner anyone? Maybe not!

THE WEAVERS’ COTTAGES OF ARLINGTON ROW

david — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:30:00 +0000

This video gives you a quick peep at an architectural piece de resistance, the brain-meltingly picturesque Arlington Row, in Bibury, not far from the handsome town of Cirencester. The Cotswold stone cottages once housed weavers who supplied cloth for ‘fulling’ – cleaning wool to remove oil and dirt – at Arlington Mill, also in Bibury.

Arlington Mill has housed an interesting museum, including a William Morris room. Right now though, it seems to be closed, with a ‘For Sale’ sign on the door. Anyone fancy taking it on?

WAS WILLIAM MORRIS RIGHT TO CALL BIBURY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGE IN ENGLAND?

david — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:55:00 +0000

Well, according to the craftsman-artist William Morris (above) it is – or was, when he was around in the last half of the 19th century. At that time, of course, the village of Bibury was deep in rural England, and the road through it would have been just a muddy trail.

Today, Bibury is best known for the ridiculously handsome Arlington Row, a line of weavers’ cottages that overlook the River Coln, a tributary that feeds into the River Thames at Lechlade, a small town a few miles away.

The River Colne is fast-flowing and quite shallow, so you can lean over and see wild trout swimming along. There’s also a big trout farm at one end of the village that breeds some 10 million fish every year, though whether trout in the stream are escapees, I don’t know. Wildlife in this area includes ducks, coots, moorhens and swans, so it’s a fascinating place if you’re interested in animals. When I was there, a rare black swan also put in an appearance, which added some pizazz to the visit.

My friend Lizzie turned up from her home in the Georgian town of Cheltenham for a walk along the riverbank, and we sat in the sunshine at The Swan Hotel afterwards, for a tasty (but not too hugely gross-out) tea of hot crumpets and scones, accompanied by melting butter and home-made raspberry jam.

If you’re into fine country retreats, then another hotel is worth knowing about. The 18-bedroom Bibury Court Hotel is a dignified pile that dates from Tudor times, with landscaping in the grounds that includes a small waterfall and sweeping lawns.