Cirencester

Last weekend we finally made the trip to Cirencester, a small town set in the English Cotswolds. It was apparently once second only to London in importance to Roman Britain. Admittedly we had been told many times that it was a place that we should visit, full of charm and beauty, and surprisingly only about twenty five minutes from our home in Swindon. Knowing that it was so close and therefore within reach of almost any day to go and see is perhaps the very reason why it took us so long to visit. However just a few short minutes walking it's streets almost convinced me that I could live in a much smaller city happily, and even the kids briefly considered switching schools again to take up abode there.

It is called the Capital of the Cotswolds however most people will describe it as a Roman built city down the road. It is full of Roman architecture and wonderful amounts of history. Right in the middle of town centre is a beautiful church that stands above the other buildings and always gives you a marker as a directional guide.

Located just on the edge of the shopping core of the town is a large park with what appears to be miles of paved tree lined walking paths. I find with these types of trails I am guilty of always wanting to make it to the next crest and then the next just in case the most amazing discovery is just past it. Sometimes you find treasures you would have missed if you had turned back sooner and sometimes you find more path stretching on in front of you. Although we found one or two hidden gems mostly what we found was the latter and sadly my children lost interest in the quest long before I might have. Perhaps I will have to return on my own one day so I can explore the trail until it's conclusion and find all that the park has to offer.

When visiting the tourist information page for Cirencester it boasts of an amazing shopping district with all the major department stores, which as a Canadian are still not familiar, along with a range of funky unique shops that one should stop in at. Truthfully I would say honestly this is not the city I would visit to do my shopping at, not with London, Bath, Bristol so close and offering so much larger selection. However we did find winding streets oozing with charm, and one or two stores that were quite easy to fall in love with. Notably, my son found a cosy toy shop filled with enough lego to satisfy even his desire, my daughter gazed dreamily in the window of the chocolate store, appropriately named Lick the Spoon, and I found one filled with ocean inspired house wares that gave me the wish to move into. 

Despite the fact that common sense caught up with us all and we realized in reality we wouldn't really want to live there I will say that I am sorry that it took us so long to enjoy what Cirencester has to give. It being such a convenient distance does mean we will likely haunt it's streets and parks again and by so doing find more that is noteworthy. Even if there is nothing left to uncover the things we already found are enough  for me to enjoy more than one visit there and to tell others to do the same.