Last day in the Cotswolds - more shopping and sightseeing

On our last full day we went to St Margarets Retail Park in Swindon first, where my friend went to Dunelm for some nice bedding, and I strolled through the Poundstrecher and Pets at Home and - last but not least ^^ -Hobby Craft.

They claim to be "the only place to find all your craft materials, art supplies, and craft workshops under one roof." So yeah ... that's where I've spend my very last pounds ;)

The rest of the afternoon we did some sightseeing. We drove from Swindon through Cirencester (one of the most substantial cities of Roman-era Britain) and Malmesbury (England's oldest borough, close to the Cotswolds atop an old Iron Age hill fort ).
At Biddingstone we made our first stop.

Fine houses flank the north side of The Green at Biddingstone.

Biddestone was the filming location for the
TV film Agatha Raisin and the Quiche
of Death (2014). Maybe I should read/watch
it. Sounds like fun :)

We had lunch in the secret garden at the back of the
White Horse.

After lunch we headed  to Castle Combe.

"The houses in Castle Combe are made of stone – and there
is a lovely charm about the way they have been built.
The village houses have thick walls, and the roofs
are made of stone tiles."

"Castle Combe was the location for the
Steven Spielberg movie “War Horse”. Most
recently it was used in a series of Downton Abbey."

"The beautiful Parish Church of St Andrew
is a  is over six hundred years old." 

At the centre of the village is a 14th-century market cross.
This is where the market is held. Photo credit. 

"Next to the cross is one of Castle Combe's two village pumps.
Small stone steps near the cross were for horse riders to mount
and dismount. From the centre of the village there are three
roads radiating out. One goes up the hill to the car park;
a second road goes towards the river – and the
third goes to the Manor House Hotel."

"There is no castle in Castle Combe, however
this picturesque village, with its Cotswold-type
cottages, is known to be the prettiest village
in England."

We pursued our way and passed - the funny sounding - Tiddleywick, as well as Avebury, one of the best known prehistoric sites in Britain, which contains the largest megalithic stone circle in the world. And before we went back I finally say one of the famous White Horses!

"The Uffington White Horse is a highly stylised prehistoric hill
figure, 110 m long, formed from deep trenches filled with
crushed white chalk. It is by far the oldest of the white horse
figures in Britain and is of an entirely different design from
the others inspired by it." Photo credits.

View from one of the car parks at the Ridgeway.

I think it's obvious that I had a wonderful time in this beautiful part of England! And of course it was a bonus that the wheather has been great, the compagny lovely, and that I got to visit 'Hogwarts' again.
Everything was also very inspirational for the building of my Hogsmeade cottage, especially since I've brought home so many miniatures :)