There are some places you visit because they’re beautiful...There are some places you visit because they’re historic.
And then there’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop… where you willingly join a queue in 31°C heat because Jeremy Clarkson told the world to buy jam.....well I didn't!
After another warm start in the Cotswolds, Mum and I pointed the motorhome towards one of Britain’s most famous farm shops. I had visited around three years ago, so I knew exactly what to expect…
…or so I thought.
The queue.
The queue had somehow evolved into its own tourist attraction.
The official estimate was 1½ hoursto two hours. With the luxury of being here before I had a peek in the door not much has changed in the shop, and I tell you if this show gets any bigger he really is going to have to build something way bigger! I had a good walk about the back where the goats were first put a few season previously, man so many people, I wasn't even able to get a bottle of cider to take with me.
Worth it? Well… yes. But don’t tell Jeremy.
Before leaving we sat outside for a while, soaking up the atmosphere and watching the constant stream of people arriving. Love him or dislike him, Jeremy Clarkson has turned a simple farm shop into one of the UK’s busiest tourist attractions, all while showing the general public on the UK just what farmers go through to make their food and drinks.
It really is quite something to see and feel.
With little to now shopping at the far shop, we headed for Hawkstone Brewery at Bourton-on-the-Water.
If you’ve followed my travels for any length of time, you’ll know I have a slight weakness for British cider…
…purely for research purposes, obviously.
I picked up several bottles of Hawkstone Hedgerow Cider (one of my favourites), plus a few extra treats to take back to New Zealand. Mike may even get to taste some… assuming I don’t accidentally drink it all first.
From there we wandered through a few more of the beautiful Cotswold villages before stopping at a supermarket to grab dinner supplies.
By the time we rolled back into the campsite it had been another full day of exploring, shopping and collecting entirely too many things that somehow needed to fit inside the motorhome.
The evening was wonderfully relaxed and we had moved ptich sites and it turned out that we were now right next to the steam train line, and got to see the last train of the day heading back to base.
Dinner. A little cider. Some much-needed journalling. A catch-up with Mike back home. And a quiet moment to mentally prepare for heading back to work the following evening.
Not exactly the ending I’d planned for the long weekend… but if work has to return, at least I could toast the end of another brilliant day with a bottle of proper English cider.
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