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MORETON-IN-MARSH , five miles north of Stow and fifteen miles north west of Burford, has more of a buzz than most Cotswold towns, particularly on Tuesdays, when the High Street disappears beneath a huge market. But the thing not to miss in Moreton is the Batsford Arboretum (March to mid-Nov daily 10am-5pm; mid-Nov to Feb Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; £4), a fifteen-minute walk from the High Street. The largest private collection of rare trees in the country, it was planted in the 1880s by Lord Redesdale following his return from a posting in Tokyo. The hilly gardens have a distinctly Japanese flavour, and you can sit here amid magnolias and Chinese pocket-handkerchief trees enjoying wonderful views. Beside the entrance to the arboretum is the Cotswold Falconry Centre (March-Nov daily 10.30am-5pm; £4) which, in addition to a collection of beautiful birds of prey, gives flying displays (at 11.30am, 1.30pm, 3pm & 4.30pm; no 4.30pm flight in Nov) against a backdrop of the sweeping Evenlode Valley. Moreton has better public transport services than most other towns in the region, with daily buses (except Sun) to Stow-on-the-Wold, Chipping Campden, Evesham, Malvern, Stratford and Cheltenham. In addition, Moreton is on the London-Oxford-Worcester train line. Places to eat line the High Street, where blackboards advertise any number of inexpensive pub lunches. Two miles southwest along the A44, just before you reach Bourton-on-the-Hill, are the blue onion domes and miniature minarets of Sezincote (May-July & Sept Thurs & Fri 2.30-5.30pm; garden Jan-Nov Thurs & Fri 2pm-dusk; £5, garden only £3.50), tucked gracefully if incongruously among the Cotswold hills. This extraordinary house, built in the early nineteenth century, was the result of a collaboration between architect Samuel Pepys Cockerell (a distant relative of the diarist), and artist Thomas Daniell, both of whom had spent some time in India and been inspired by Moghul architecture. The end result so impressed the Prince Regent on a visit in 1806 that he ordered the designs for Brighton Pavilion to be changed along these exotic lines. Inside, a curious classical-cum-Chinese style takes precedence; outside, temples, statues and unusual trees and shrubs are scattered about the small but exquisite garden - and in the early months of the year the snowdrops and aconites make a glorious display. The other stately home in this area worth a visit is Chastleton House , three miles southeast of Moreton off the A44 (April-Oct Wed-Sat 1-4pm; £5.20; NT; bookings Tues-Fri 10am-4pm tel 01494/755585); entry is by timed ticket, which it's always wise to pre-book. Built between 1605 and 1612, this ranks among the most splendid Jacobean properties in the country, set amid ornamental gardens that include England's first-ever croquet lawn (the rules of the game were codified here in 1865). Inside, the air of general shabbiness derives in part from the fact that the resident Jones family lost their fortune after the Civil War (they supported the losing side), and could not subsequently afford to fill their home with fancy fittings, and in part because the National Trust, who took on the property in 1991, wisely decided the beguiling "lived-in look" should be retained. However, the house and its treasures - which include the huge barrel-vaulted long gallery, elaborate plasterwork and panelling, tapestries and exquisite glassware, geraniums and, in the beer cellar, the longest ladder (dated 1805) you're ever likely to come across - are safely preserved, minus the rope barriers and surface sheen that can sometimes mar NT properties. |
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