Now that I have a month in between visitors and have started exploring on my own, I have noticed that I tend to talk to myself about random things while driving or walking through new territory. Today I found myself wondering out loud about the fact that so many of the homes in England seem to have names. Do they come with names or do the present owners get to name them? Does the postman use the house name or the house number? I have decided that I am a big fan of house names. It seems to interject personality and give you a hint about the kind of place it is, who might live there or what goes on there. For example, today while driving to Marmesbury I passed a house that was named, Cocks Roost Farm House. I guess that could be interpreted different ways but, given the rural location, I am picturing roosters and probably hens - perhaps they sell fresh eggs? Should I be worried that I spend time thinking about things like this? What would you name your home? Many house names appear to contain the family name but I think including Fuetterer in the house name would lose something in translation depending on who was reading the sign. Enough!

I did eventually come across a couple of places worth mentioning today. Mike had meetings at a hotel in the Cotswold Water Park, located about 20 minutes north of here. It is actually an area know for its many lakes, some of which seem to be for specific purposes like sailing, swimming or ski jumping. Footpaths, cycling trails and horse paths lace the area so I dropped him at his meeting and set off to see how to access the trails. It wasn't as easy as I envisioned. The walking trails didn't seem to be well marked from the designated parking areas that I found but I did eventually stop in a VERY small town called Ashton Keynes. This place was a quaint collection of homes made of Cotswold Stone. I was able to find a pub to buy a bottle water and the proprietor pointed me in the direction of the Thames Path that led to the Church Walk. It was a nice shady path to an old church but the whole route only took me about 15 minutes. So I circled back to wander the streets of town and then jumped in my car and headed on down the road to a town called Marmesbury. Bingo!

In Marmesbury I wandered the high street and found a pretty necklace in a shop called Greene & Grey. While shopping I continued to hear shouting from the local pub so I can only imagine that England was doing well in their third World Cup match. They need a win to move on and keep the fans happy! As I was leaving town, I happened upon a path next to the river Avon (there are several river Avon's in England I have learned). I trekked on down it and could see that there was something interesting along the other side and I was determined to find access. As it turns out, I came to a road that let across the river and into the back of the Abbey to the Abbey Gardens of Marmesbury. The Abbey Gardens are, in fact, an English Heritage site so I was happy that we had become members of the English Heritage organization because this place was a jewel! Beautiful formal gardens with intricate bedded plants and all sorts of flowers led to a lawn that had a big lawn chess game set up surrounded by still more beautiful flowers, shrubs and vines climbing the walls. Every where you turned was yet another unique garden in a different shape. Eventually, the formal gardens led you down a fairly steep embankment to the rivers edge. Along the way they had stepping stones and an old wooden bridge to get you back and forth while exploring along the river. I was in heaven now. At 25 degrees celsius, it was a warm day so the shady path was delightful. I wish I had a book along. This was a perfect spot to sit on the bench and read the day away.

Tonight we are off to dinner with several of Mike's colleagues. I am looking forward to meeting some of the people here in Swindon that Mike sees every day. More later...