After the recent multi-hour car trips, we were determined to stay local today. So under some overcast skys and only 20 degrees, we started with a visit to the remains of a Roman Villa at Chedworth (about 25 minutes away). The Villa is a working archaeology site, highlighting some carefully uncovered walls and floors of one of Britain’s grandest Roman Villas from around 200-400 AD.

The mosaics in the dining room were a particular feature, and we had a great guide talking us through the household habits of the Romans in Britain – including their love of bathing (the only downside is that they often caught ringworm due to not draining the hot baths after use – yuk!).

Luckily the kids were also kept busy with Roman dress-ups, and Zach and Annie got really involved here, with ongoing sword fights using Roman swords and shields. They also spent some time making mosaics. Unfortunately the Villa didn’t photograph very well, hence the small number of photos.

Next we went to the medieval town of Burford for an explore and lunch. There’s certainly no shortage of beautiful towns in the Cotswolds, and whilst it’s difficult to rank them, Burford must be up there in the top five. We parked near a beautiful church and paid a visit before ambling up and down the main street. As usual the parents admired all the buildings, including the old pubs which were more numerous than there are cafes in a suburban shopping strip in Melbourne. I asked the proprietor of one handsome pub (The Lamb Inn) how old it was, and she told me it was built around 1420 – all these 600 year old properties!

At the Cotswold Arms, the kids had fish and chips for lunch and Millie and I downed sweet chilli chicken with potatoes in jackets. On the way back to the car the kids took turns at feeding the many ducks, geese and swans on the river.

We finished off the day with a visit to country manor which had just closed for the day, but we had a lovely walk around the grounds and sheep filled paddocks nearby, and promised to return tomorrow.