We hadn’t planned much for today, given we were going to be a bit jet-lagged. The first order of business was to go shopping, as at that stage the kitchen only housed milk, bread, butter and jam. So after finding a Tesco in Stow on the Wold we bought enough food and bits for the whole week. We then packed some snacks and drove about ten minutes along narrow single lane roads to the tiny Slaughter villages (Upper and Lower), which are considered some of the prettiest in the Cotswolds. The names incidentally derive from the old English word Slothre meaning muddy place – there was no “slaughter” here - Upper Slaughter is actually known as a Sainted Village, in that it didn’t lose anyone to World War I. We all (Oscar included) walked the easy one mile between the two villages. They really are exceptionally pretty, with the shallow Eye river running between them. Due to the bank holiday, everyone was out and about for a bit of local fair at Lower Slaughter, complete with face painting for Annie, jumping castle for Oscar, and coconut tossing for Zach. We all had an ice-cream here as we walked around the church before taking a lazy walk back to Upper Slaughter and the car.

After heading home for lunch we spent the afternoon at Boughton on the Water, which is another claimant for the cutest Cotswolds village. This village is larger, with rows of shops along both sides of the river. The Poms really love their picnics, with everyone out and about and picnicing next to the water. After mingling with the crowds and just enjoying the ambiance for a couple of hours, we chose one of the many pubs on offer for an early dinner. I had a beef and ale pie with lots of mash and veg, and Millie had Macoroni cheese.