Tetbury Wanderings, Glos 🇬🇧

Whils

t I was staying at Barnsley House, I took the opportunity to walk around the beautiful village of Barnsley and visit the town of Tetbury and the incredible gardens at Highgrove.

Barnsley is really sweet and definitely worth a wander if you’re staying in the village:

It’s a typical Cotswolds village with lots of sweet cottages and rambling roses.

The local pub is also worth a visit:

Tetbury is worth a trip in it’s own right and is a small rural town with historical interest. There are lots of chic independent shops and it’s a must if you’re on the hunt for some antiques (although best to check opening times before you visit). The shop owners really go out of their way to entice you in:

If you love contemporary art and furniture you must drop into Gallery Br. Everything is original, so don’t expect to pick up any bargains but the guy that owns it is really knowledgeable and is great to chat to.

If I had a great space to furnish and a limitless budget I’d be there in a flash.

Tetbury is truly blessed with some beautiful buildings so it’s no wonder it has become such a creative hub.

Probably the best known feature of the town is the pillared market house dating back to 1655 which is still used to this day. It really is an architectural and historical gem:

It’s worth having a good walk around the back-streets of Tetbury as well to see the medieval houses where the farm hands of the Cotswolds wool trade used to live alongside the beautiful cobbled streets.

I cannot mention Tetbury without mentioning Royalty, as just outside the town is the stunning home of Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall. Highgrove Gardens is open to the public for a short time each year and I was lucky to get a ticket to visit this year (pre-booking is essential here). Sadly, I didn’t know at the time of booking that you can only take photos in the car park and cafe area which I found really disappointing (it’s so amazing I really wanted to share it). However I did take a few sneaky pics before I got told-off:

The gardens are made up of lots of different areas/rooms with a diverse range of cultural influences and planting. It’s extremely intimate and reveals so much about the Prince himself; his interests and care of organic and sustainable gardening and farming. The guides are very knowledgeable and the tour takes around 2 to 2 and a half hours. I highly recommend it and would definitely go again. In yet another year devoid of travel, I found it so inspiring, uplifting and as if I had travelled around the world in one day (probably helped by the nice weather!).

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