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  • -Hi. I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe.

  • This time, we're exploring a gorgeous region,

  • where druids dance and waterwheels turn.

  • It's the West of England.

  • Thanks for joining us.

  • ♪♪

  • If you like England and you want to mix its natural,

  • historic, and cultural wonders,

  • you'll love the West.

  • While everything in this episode's

  • within a couple hours of London,

  • out here, it feels a world away from the big city.

  • After hiking through picturesque Cotswold villages,

  • we'll play shuffleboard with an eccentric lord.

  • Earl of Wemyss: That's a nice one.

  • We'll tour a striking cathedral,

  • and attend evensong.

  • After going way back to the Neolithic Age,

  • we'll zoom into the new age.

  • And we'll top it off with some hard apple cider

  • straight from the farmer.

  • Great Britain is made of England, Scotland, and Wales.

  • And we're exploring the West of England.

  • Starting in the Cotswolds,

  • we visit Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden.

  • Then it's south to Wells, Glastonbury,

  • and the prehistoric stone circles

  • of Stonehenge and Avebury.

  • The Cotswold hills are dotted

  • with enchanting villages and bucolic farmland.

  • And it's all laced together by wonderful trails.

  • This is the quintessential English countryside.

  • And it's walking country.

  • The Cotswolds are best appreciated on foot,

  • and that's how we'll tour the area.

  • The region's made to order for tenderfeet.

  • You'll encounter time-passed villages,

  • delightful vistas, and poetic moments.

  • You'll discover hidden stone bridges,

  • cut across fancy front yards,

  • and enjoy close encounters with lots of sheep.

  • The English love their walks,

  • and defend their age-old right to free passage.

  • And they organize to assure

  • that landowners respect this law, too.

  • Any paths found blocked are unceremoniously unblocked.

  • While landlords have plenty of fences,

  • they provide plenty of gates as well.

  • You'll encounter all sorts of gates on these hikes.

  • This one's called a "kissing gate" --

  • it works better with two.

  • Lower Slaughter is a classic example

  • of a Cotswold village, with a babbling brook,

  • charming gardens, and a working water mill.

  • Just above the mill,

  • a delightful cafe overlooks the mill pond.

  • As with many fairy-tale regions in Europe,

  • the present-day beauty of the Cotswolds

  • was the result of an economic disaster.

  • Wool was a huge industry in medieval England.

  • And Cotswold sheep grew the very best.

  • According to a 12th-century saying,

  • "In Europe, the best wool is English.

  • And in England, the best wool is Cotswold."

  • It's a story of boom and bust, and then boom again.

  • Because of its wool, the region prospered.

  • Wealthy wool merchants built fine homes

  • of the honey-colored, local limestone.

  • Thankful to God for the riches their sheep brought,

  • they built over-sized churches nicknamed "wool cathedrals."

  • But with the rise of cotton and the Industrial Revolution,

  • the region's wool industry collapsed.

  • The fine Cotswold towns fell into a depressed time warp,

  • becoming sleeping beauties.

  • Because of that, the region has a rustic charm.

  • And that's the basis of today's new prosperity.

  • Its residents are catering to lots of tourists,

  • and the Cotswolds have become a popular escape for Londoners --

  • people who can afford thatched mansions like these.

  • In England, "Main Street" is called "the high street" --

  • and in Cotswold market towns,

  • high street was built wide,

  • designed to handle thousands of sheep on market days.

  • The handsome market town of Chipping Campden

  • has a high street that's changed little over the centuries.

  • Everything you see was made

  • of the same finely worked Cotswold stone,

  • the only stone allowed today.

  • Roofs still use the traditional stone shingles.

  • To make the weight easier to bear,

  • smaller and lighter slabs are higher up.

  • A 17th-century market hall,

  • with its original stonework from top to bottom intact,

  • marks the town center.

  • Hikers admire the surviving medieval workmanship.

  • You can imagine centuries of wheelings and dealings

  • that took place under these very rafters.

  • Continuing our walk,

  • we come to the quaint village of Stanton.

  • Travel writers tend to overuse the word "quaint."

  • I save it for here in the Cotswolds.

  • A strict building code keeps towns

  • looking what many locals call "overly quaint."

  • Village churches welcome walkers

  • to pop in and enjoy a thoughtful break.

  • This church probably sits upon an ancient pagan site.

  • How do we know? It's dedicated to Saint Michael.

  • And Michael, the archangel who fought the devil,

  • still guards the door.

  • Inside, you get a sense that this church

  • has comforted this community in good times and bad.

  • Pre-Christian symbols decorate the columns,

  • perhaps left over from those pagan days.

  • And the list of rectors goes way back,

  • without a break, to the year 1269.

  • This church was built with wool money.

  • In fact, they say generations of sheepdog leashes

  • actually wore these grooves.

  • I guess a shepherd took his dog everywhere,

  • even to church.

  • Throughout this region,

  • a few of the vast domains of England's

  • most powerful families have survived.

  • The Cotswolds are dotted with elegant,

  • Downton Abbey-type mansions.

  • Today, with the high cost of maintenance and heavy taxes,

  • some noble families have opened their homes

  • to the public to help pay the bills.

  • Stanway House, home of the Earl of Wemyss,

  • is one such venerable manor house.

  • The Earl, whose family goes back centuries,

  • welcomes visitors two days a week.

  • Walking through his house offers a surprisingly intimate glimpse

  • into the lifestyles of England's nobility.

  • And the gracious and likeably eccentric Earl has agreed

  • to personally show us around his ancestral home,

  • including a peak at some touching family mementos.

  • Earl of Wemyss: Hair, cut off at a death in the family.

  • Rick: That was a tradition?

  • Early of Wemyss: It was, certainly in this house it was a tradition.

  • And it's kept in this drawer, here. And, um, for instance, this is,

  • this says "Papa's hair. My sister gave it me March the 11th, 1771."

  • Rick: This piece of paper is from 1771? Earl of Wemyss: Mm-hmm.

  • And then that's the hair inside. Rick: Oh, my goodness!

  • Earl of Wemyss:...just as fresh as the day it was cut off.

  • Rick: Whoa! Earl of Wemyss: And that's his hair,

  • cut off on the day his wife died of pneumonia.

  • Rick: So this is a huge table. Earl of Wemyss: It is.

  • It's 23 feet long. Rick: And what's the game?

  • Earl of Wemyss: It's called "shuffleboard" or "shovelboard."

  • Rick: Mm-hmm.

  • Earl of Wemyss: It was known in Henry VIII's time.

  • This one was built, we think, in 1625,

  • just the beginning of the reign of Charles I.

  • And you use these 10 pieces

  • and you try and... Rick: Let's try a game!

  • Earl of Wemyss:...shovel the lot to the far end.

  • That's a nice one.

  • Rick: It may be a game for English aristocrats.

  • But this Yankee commoner is gonna give it a try.

  • Earl of Wemyss: Very good. Very good. One point.

  • Very good.

  • Very nice, but two foot short.

  • Rick: Another interesting artifact

  • is what was called a "chamber horse,"

  • a sprung exercise chair from the 1750s.

  • Earl of Wemyss: And you did that. You'd bounce up and down.

  • And your liver gets shaken.

  • Rick: For 100 years, fine ladies would sit on here and...

  • Earl of Wemyss: Yep. Rick:...get their liver done.

  • Earl of Wemyss: And fine gentlemen, too.

  • Rick: Fine gentlemen too, yep.

  • A "chamber horse."

  • I guess that makes sense, doesn't it? Yeah.

  • Earl of Wemyss: It's just like going to the gym nowadays.

  • Rick: Lord Wemyss has rebuilt the old fountain in his backyard,

  • and today -- as one of the highest gravity-fed

  • fountains in the world rockets 300 feet into the sky --

  • it's the talk of the Cotswolds.

  • For commoners, the Lord's sprawling parkland backyard

  • makes for a jolly-good day out.

  • While not quite in a noble mansion,

  • we're sleeping plenty comfortably just down the road

  • in the village of Stow-on-the-Wold.

  • Stow mixes medieval charm with a workaday reality.

  • A selection of traditional pubs,

  • cute shops, and inviting cafés ring its busy square.

  • For centuries, the square hosted a huge wool market.

  • The historic Market Cross stood tall,

  • reminding all Christian merchants

  • to trade fairly under the sight of God.

  • And stocks like these were handy

  • when a scoundrel deserved a little public ridicule.

  • People came from as far away as Italy

  • to buy the prized Cotswold wool fleeces.

  • You can imagine, with 20,000 sheep sold on a single day,

  • it was a thriving scene.

  • The sheep would be paraded into the market

  • down narrow "fleece alleys" like this.

  • They were built really narrow 'cause it forced

  • the sheep to go single file,

  • so they could count them as they entered the market.

  • And ever since those medieval market days,

  • pubs have been the place to gather [and]

  • enjoy a meal, and a pint of beer.

  • Tonight, we're checking out a gastropub --

  • that's a pub known for its fine food.

  • While many things that pubs provide, like the cozy ambience

  • and community-living-room vibe haven't changed,

  • other things -- like the quality of the food -- certainly have.

  • This isn't your grandmother's pub grub.

  • Pubs are putting more effort into their offerings.

  • Creative chefs are shaking up England's reputation for food,

  • and you won't find mushy peas anywhere on this menu.

  • We're enjoying guinea fowl

  • and artfully prepared fish with fresh vegetables.

  • A short drive south take us into Somerset

  • and to the wonderfully preserved city of Wells,

  • dominated by its glorious cathedral.

  • Wells has a charming medieval center.

  • The stately Bishop's Palace is circled by a park-like moat

  • and sports an impressive front yard.

  • It's a market city -- and has been for a long time.

  • The peaceful Vicars' Close is perfectly preserved,

  • lined with 14th-century houses.

  • Locals claim this is the oldest,

  • complete medieval street in Europe.

  • Originally built to house the cathedral choir, it still does.

  • This overpass connects it with the cathedral.

  • England's first completely Gothic church dates

  • from about 1200.

  • The west portal shows off

  • what's said to be the greatest collection of medieval statuary

  • anywhere in Europe --

  • about 300 13th-century carvings.

  • This entire ensemble was once painted in vivid color.

  • It must have been a spectacular welcome --

  • a heavenly host proclaiming

  • "welcome to worship."

  • Stepping inside, you're struck by the unique

  • and ingenious "scissors" arch.

  • This hour-glass-shaped double arch was added

  • in about 1340 to bolster the church's sagging tower.

  • Nearly 700 years later

  • it's not only still working, it's beautiful.

  • [ Bell chimes ]

  • The chimes draw your attention

  • to one of the oldest working clocks in the world -- from 1392.

  • The clock does its much-loved joust on the quarter hour.

  • More medieval whimsy is carved into the capitals:

  • This man has a toothache.

  • Another pulls a thorn from his foot.

  • And a farmer clobbers a thief so hard,

  • his hat falls off.

  • [ Choir singing ]

  • And under glorious stained glass,

  • you can enjoy the cathedral's evensong.

  • The evensong is a Church of England choral service

  • traditionally performed each evening

  • and welcoming everyone.

  • Taking a seat in the intimate central part of the church,

  • we enjoy the opportunity to experience

  • the church filled with timeless music.

  • Because we're here in July,

  • the cathedral's choir is on break,

  • and a visiting choir is performing.

  • This one's from near Liverpool.

  • [ Choir singing ]

  • [ Singing continues ]

  • The countryside around Wells is great for growing apples.

  • And you can visit farms that brew the authentic hard cider,

  • known around here as "scrumpy."

  • While cider is becoming more and more refined and popular,

  • the traditional scrumpy still attracts a devoted crowd,

  • especially here in Somerset.

  • And at Land's End Cider Farm,

  • Roger Wilkins is as old-school as it comes.

  • His enthusiasm alone is intoxicating.

  • Rick: Did your father make this same cider?

  • Roger: Me father did, but actually, I learned it off me grandfather.

  • The actual makin' of the cider is exactly the same now

  • as me grandfather done it.

  • Alls we do is crush 'em up, press the apples,

  • then natural juice comes out,

  • And the yeast is in the skin of the apple,

  • so I don't put nothin' at all in it.

  • It's the purest drink you'll get.

  • Rick: We head into the tasting room,

  • which I'm guessing looks about the same as it did

  • when Roger's grandfather ran the place.

  • It's time to sample the pure apple taste of scrumpy,

  • along with its 6.8 alcohol content.

  • Rick: I've heard that when you drink scrumpy,

  • you've got to be careful. Roger: Well, yeah.

  • It can knock you about if you ain't used to it.

  • Gallon a day keep the doctor away!

  • Rick: I've heard some --

  • I've heard some pubs actually don't serve it because...

  • Roger: No. No. They won't, some.

  • If you go in now, they'll serve you a half a pint, eh.

  • Rick: And it's pure so it --

  • it's so pure that, in the morning, no problem?

  • Roger: No problem at all. No headaches.

  • Rick: Yeah? Roger: No hangovers. No nothin'.

  • Rick: That may be true, but after my tasting,

  • I'm making sure my producer does the driving.

  • Throughout England, the countryside is picturesque.

  • And it hides a fascinating history,

  • a history that goes back thousands of years

  • to prehistoric times.

  • Mysterious figures carved into hillsides,

  • curious man-made mountains,

  • ancient bridges,

  • and legends that go back to Camelot and beyond.

  • Glastonbury, a modest market town today,

  • has long had a holy aura.

  • It was a religious sight back in the Bronze Age.

  • That's about 1500 B.C.

  • It's also considered the birthplace

  • of Christianity in England

  • and the burial sight of the legendary King Arthur.

  • Centuries before Christ, this hill,

  • called a "tor," marked Glastonbury.

  • For thousands of years,

  • pilgrims and seekers have climbed it.

  • Today, it's capped by the ruins of a church

  • dedicated to Saint Michael.

  • Remember, because Saint Michael

  • was the Christian antidote to paganism,

  • it's a good bet this church sits upon

  • a pre-Christian holy site.

  • Seen by many as a mother goddess symbol,

  • the Glastonbury tor has long attracted

  • a variety of travelers and seekers.

  • And the tor has a Biblical connection, as well.

  • For centuries, pilgrims have come here

  • to Glastonbury on a quest for the legendary Holy Grail.

  • You see, Joseph of Arimathea,

  • who was an uncle of Christ, was a tin trader.

  • And even back in Biblical times,

  • Britain was well known as a rare place

  • where tin could be mined.

  • Considering that, Joseph could have sat right here

  • with the chalice that Jesus drank from

  • at the Last Supper -- in his satchel.

  • Near the base of the hill is a calm and meditative garden

  • built around a natural spring.

  • According to legend, the Holy Grail lies

  • at the bottom of the Chalice Well.

  • In the past, people came here for physical healing.

  • Today, seekers still come for healing.

  • But it's more for a wellness of the mind and soul.

  • England's first church was built here,

  • at the base of the hill next to the Chalice Well.

  • Eventually, a great abbey

  • was built on the site of that church.

  • Mix the scant ruins of England's first church

  • with the mystique of King Arthur and the Holy Grail,

  • add the hard work of a busy monastery,

  • and, by the 12th century, Glastonbury Abbey

  • was the leading Christian pilgrimage site

  • in all of Britain.

  • It was huge, employing 1,000 people

  • to serve the needs of its pilgrims.

  • At its peak, Glastonbury Abbey

  • was England's most powerful and wealthy.

  • It was part of a network of monasteries that,

  • by the year 1500, challenged the King.

  • They owned about a quarter of all English land.

  • They had more money than the King.

  • To King Henry VIII, abbeys like this were political obstacles.

  • In 1536, he solved that by

  • dissolving England's monasteries.

  • He was particularly harsh on Glastonbury.

  • He not only destroyed its magnificent church,

  • but for emphasis, his men hung the abbot,

  • displayed his head on the abbey gates,

  • and sent his quartered body

  • on four different national tours... at the same time.

  • Without its wealthy abbey, the town fell into a depression.

  • But Glastonbury rebounded.

  • An 18th-century tourism campaign,

  • with thousands claiming that water from the Chalice Well

  • actually healed them, put Glastonbury back on the map.

  • Today, Glastonbury and its mysterious hill

  • are a center for "searchers,"

  • popular with those on their own spiritual quest.

  • Part of the fun of a visit here is just being in a town

  • where goddesses go for their conventions,

  • where every other shop has a New-Age focus

  • and where alternative is the norm.

  • For a more tangible look

  • at the spiritual mystery of this countryside,

  • prehistoric stone circles

  • are scattered all across Britain.

  • These circles, many as old as Egypt's pyramids,

  • were sacred centers of ritual and worship.

  • They functioned as celestial calendars.

  • 5,000 years ago, locals could tell when to plant

  • and when to party according to where the sun rose

  • and where the sun set.

  • It still works that way today.

  • At the Avebury Stone Circle,

  • you're free to wander among 100 stones.

  • Visitors ponder the cohesive ensemble of ditches,

  • mounds, and megaliths --

  • the work of people clearly on a mission

  • from thousands of years ago.

  • The huge circle, while cut in two by a busy road

  • and so big it contains a village,

  • retains its allure and wonder.

  • And nearby stands Silbury Hill,

  • a yet-to-be-explained man-made mountain of chalk.

  • For more than 4,000 years,

  • this largest man-made construction

  • from prehistoric Europe

  • is just another edifice from England's mysterious

  • and ancient religious landscape.

  • And exactly what's it all mean?

  • We'll never know for sure.

  • It's like looking at the ruins of a medieval church

  • and from that alone trying to understand Christianity.

  • Stonehenge is the most famous of Britain's stone circles.

  • A visit starts at the museum,

  • where you'll see artifacts

  • from the Stone Age people who built it.

  • A 360-degree theater demonstrates

  • how the structure is aligned with the heavens,

  • marking both the longest

  • and the shortest days of the year.

  • And outside, a thatched-hut hamlet helps you imagine

  • how its Neolithic builders once lived.

  • Huge stones like this replica were quarried,

  • carved and then moved for many miles,

  • some of them from as far away as Wales,

  • 200 miles to the west.

  • They barged them down rivers;

  • they may have rolled them on logs like this --

  • nobody knows for sure.

  • After this introduction,

  • a bus shuttles you to the site.

  • Visitors are in awe as they ponder

  • the continuously debated purposes

  • and meaning of Stonehenge.

  • The major stones were erected

  • at the end of the Stone Age,

  • just before the advent of metal tools.

  • It's amazing to think that some of these cross stones

  • have been in place for 4,500 years.

  • Whatever its original purpose,

  • Stonehenge still functions as a celestial calendar.

  • Even in modern times,

  • the sun rises on the longest day of the year

  • in just the right spot.

  • And it retains its powerful sense of wonder

  • over those who gather.

  • For over 4,000 years in a row,

  • this ensemble of stones, so artfully assembled,

  • has silently done its duty.

  • [ Crow cawing ]

  • Why here and for what purpose?

  • These questions, along with many more about Stonehenge,

  • remain shrouded in mystery.

  • But there's no mystery at all about the fact

  • that this part of England

  • is a fascinating region to explore.

  • Thanks for joining us. I'm Rick Steves.

  • Until next time, keep on travelin'.

  • -Ah, you've got a big one. -Oh, you...

  • -There you go. [ Laughter ]

  • -You read on there?

  • -Considering that, Joseph could've sat

  • right here with the...

  • Ah!

  • This is the quintessential English countryside.

  • And it's walking country.

-Hi. I'm Rick Steves, back with more of the best of Europe.

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