Cotswold Lavender

There’s a 75% chance that this does not appeal your demographic.

Not far from Broadway are the world-famous lavender fields, where they grow and process lavender. Lavender is a plant — a flower, I think, though not a very big one. And the fields of lavender are pretty to drive by and look at. What is kind of silly is charging you to visit. Not silly that the owners charge — they have every right to profit off their creation — but silly that there is demand enough to make a business out of it.

This is what it looks like up close.

My wife is a photographer, and she wanted to take some pretty pictures of the lavender, which she did. Some that she took of my daughter with a narrow depth of field were stunning. I’d post an example here, but last time I posted a picture of my daughter, she made me take it down. She’s 13, and sensitive about what I post about her on social media.

She also had no desire to be marched into the lavender fields to be shot with a camera. She is not the target demographic of this attraction, I reckon. Neither was my 10 year-old son. Nor me. I waited patiently outside the fields; no reason to pay from something I wouldn’t appreciate.

So if my family is anything to go by, only about 1 in 4 of you will like the lavender fields.

Since I feel like I am underselling the lavender fields, let me add some positive to this. It wasn't too expensive: £3.50 for adults and £2.50 for children under 15 (children under 5 are free — yay!). That may seem like a lot to go look at a bunch of lavender growing, but growing lavender is at least as exciting as grass, and it won’t waste your whole day like Warwick Castle.

A second positive is that there is also a gift shop where you can buy all things lavender. Ever wanted to eat lavender? They have jams infused with lavender, bread with lavender, lavender candy. You can buy pictures of lavender, lavender calendars, and, of course, potpourri, which I think is the only legitimate use for lavender.

Broadway Tower

If you're staying in Broadway, an interesting side trip.

Ever since I first visited Broadway 2 years ago, I have wanted to hike up to the top of the hill to Broadway Tower. But no-one in my family ever wanted to join me. This time around, I decided to go, alone if necessary. Which it was.

Sunday was an off day for us. In the morning I took my son to the excellent playground they have here in town, but in the afternoon, everyone else wanted to rest, so I took the opportunity to hike up the hill.

The 1000-foot climb begins with a warning to dogs:

Despite that, there were quite a number of hikers who had brought their dogs along, and not all of them were on a leash.

The hill was quite steep, but my military training from two decades ago kicked in, and I persevered. To stop and rest would have been the end, so I just put one foot in front of the other all the way up the hill. I am proud of the fact that I, a 45 year-old fat guy, overtook absolutely everyone I saw hiking up the hill.

Halfway up. Because I refused to stop on my way up, this picture was actually taken when I was halfway down going the other way.

By the time I got to the top, I was hot and sweating, but the cool Cotswolds breeze was such a pleasant reward. And the view from the top of the tower, which, it being a clear day, you could see clear into Wales 50 miles away.

Some of the history of the tower is on display. The tower was used as an observation post to spot and track enemy airplanes during World War II.  During the Cold War, it became a nuclear observation post to assist in case of nuclear war. I took a tour of the bunker they had there, which was very interesting, and also kind of chilling. It reminded me how serious the Cold War had been. It was reckoned that Soviet missiles could strike England within 4 minutes of launch being detected, so the bunker was equipped with telecommunications equipment to get the word out, and the staff of the bunker had a 4-minute drill to fire off the sirens and batten down the hatches, and then measure impact, radiation, and fallout. The bunker was in operation until 1991. Despite there being some 1500 bunkers in operation during the Cold War (you were never more the 10 miles from one), the one at Broadway Tower is one of the few that have been preserved for tourists.

There were 20,000 sirens throughout Britain during the Cold War to give people a 4-minute warning of nuclear attack. What could you do in 4 minutes? Well, for one, every 12 inches of brick you could put between yourself and the outside would reduce your radiation exposure by 50%.

The hike would have been miserable with my family, so I cannot recommend it as a family-friendly activity. Your kids would complain all the way up, and it would take about 5 times as long. On the other hand, it is an opportunity for you to get away from your kids. :-)

Broadway Tower

On our way out of Broadway on Friday, we finally made it up to Broadway Tower. I had wanted to walk up to it every day since we arrived, but everyone always had better ideas (or it was about to rain).

Broadway Tower is a folly, meaning it was never a real defensive tower. However, the views from the top are remarkable. They say on a clear day, you can see into Wales. I don’t know if it was considered a “clear day” when I was there, and I wouldn’t recognize the Welsh border in the distance, anyway, but here is the view from the top of the hill:

If you’re in Broadway, I recommend you walk to the tower. I didn’t, but I wish I had. Do it for the walk and the view, though, not so much for the tower at the top. The view and the tower look nice, but the tower being a folly, you can better spend your time at real historical sites. If you don’t think you can persuade your kids to hike up a mountain, you can drive by it on your way to Snowshill Manor.