Summer vacation is still new for us and yet the boredom seems to already be rearing it's ugly head. So instead of fight with my kids I am going to cast my mind back a few weeks and tell you about a charming little village called Lower Slaughter. I know, the name is not so charming. But I assure you, the town really is. See:
The name comes not from the killing of farm animals but from the Old English name for a wet land 'slough' or 'slothre' (Old English for muddy place), according to the town's tourist info web site. Although Ken read somewhere it was derived from the French name of the original inhabitants. So either way, it isn't a dangerous place. In fact, all we saw here were ducks.
We drove to Upper Slaughter, also charming, parked our car and walked the footpath through pastures to Lower Slaughter.
I don't know if anyone is there during the day, but once the mill (aka tourist gift shop closed) there was no one in sight. The houses are quaint and well kept up, but I don't think anyone lives there. It was too quiet- not just a lack of people outside, but no noise coming from any of the homes.
We walked along the river (stream?) Eye and down to the church yard. As we headed back toward the footpath I noticed this:
In case you can't read the sign it says "Fudge, Handmade, £ 2". So Ken and I scrounged up £2 because how great is that?
The little bottle is for your honor system payment. Either I am the only one who came by that day or the only one who bothered to pay. There were only a few packages in the bowl, so I hope this isn't the full income of the confectioner.
We ate our fudge on the walk back to the car, as the sun was setting. It was a perfect day.
The name comes not from the killing of farm animals but from the Old English name for a wet land 'slough' or 'slothre' (Old English for muddy place), according to the town's tourist info web site. Although Ken read somewhere it was derived from the French name of the original inhabitants. So either way, it isn't a dangerous place. In fact, all we saw here were ducks.
We drove to Upper Slaughter, also charming, parked our car and walked the footpath through pastures to Lower Slaughter.
I don't know if anyone is there during the day, but once the mill (aka tourist gift shop closed) there was no one in sight. The houses are quaint and well kept up, but I don't think anyone lives there. It was too quiet- not just a lack of people outside, but no noise coming from any of the homes.
We walked along the river (stream?) Eye and down to the church yard. As we headed back toward the footpath I noticed this:
In case you can't read the sign it says "Fudge, Handmade, £ 2". So Ken and I scrounged up £2 because how great is that?
The little bottle is for your honor system payment. Either I am the only one who came by that day or the only one who bothered to pay. There were only a few packages in the bowl, so I hope this isn't the full income of the confectioner.
We ate our fudge on the walk back to the car, as the sun was setting. It was a perfect day.
Comments
We are also experiencing just-got-back-from-a-trip summer vacation backlash and I very much feel your pain. Your pictures took me away to a very happy place for a few moments. *sigh*