Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11
Shopping in Antiques Heaven
Don't be fooled by the village's sleepy,
country setting: Stow-on-the-Wold has
developed over the last 20 years into
the antiques buyer's highlight of Brit-
ain, boasting at least 60 merchandisers
scattered throughout the village and its
environs.
Set within four showrooms inside an
18th-century building on the town's
main square,
Antony Preston Antiques
Ltd.
(
&
01451/831586;
www.antony
preston.com), specializes in English and
French furniture, including some large
pieces such as bookcases, and decora-
tive objects that include paperweights,
lamps, and paintings on silk.
Baggott Church Street Ltd.,
Church
Street (
&
01451/830370;
www.
baggottantiques.com), is the smaller,
and perhaps more intricately deco-
rated, of two shops founded and
maintained by a local antiques
merchant, Duncan (“Jack”) Baggott,
a frequent denizen at estate sales of
country houses throughout Britain. The
shop contains four showrooms loaded
with furniture and paintings from the
17th to the 19th centuries.
Covering about half a block in the
heart of town,
Huntington's Antiques
Ltd.,
Church Street (
&
01451/830842;
www.huntington-antiques.com), con-
tains one of the largest stocks of qual-
ity antiques in England. Wander at will
through 10 ground-floor rooms, and
then climb to the second floor where a
long gallery and a quartet of additional
showrooms bulge with refectory tables,
unusual cupboards, and all kinds of
finds. Shops tend to open Monday to
Saturday 10am to 5pm, with limited
hours in winter and on Sundays.
falcons. You'll also see over 40 owls, mean-looking vultures, and rare caracara, many
of which are bred at the center.
Batsford Park (just north of Moreton-in-Marsh, off the A429).
&
01386/701043.
www.cotswold-falconry.
co.uk. Admission £7 adults, £6 seniors and students, £3 children 4-14, free for children 3 and under, £17
family ticket. Mid-Feb-mid-Nov daily 10:30am-5:30pm. Flying displays daily at 11:30am, 1:30, and 3pm.
Donnington Trout Farm
FARM This small family farm raises both brown and
rainbow trout in spring-fed tanks and ponds. The shop sells smoked trout, eel, and
salmon from the on-site smokery, as well as their justly celebrated smoked trout pâté.
They also offer fly-fishing on the farm (call for more details).
Upper Swell, Gloucestershire (from Stow-on-the-Wold, take the B4077 1 mile west to Upper Swell).
&
01451/830873.
www.donningtontrout.co.uk. Free admission. Tues-Sat 10am-5:30pm.
Rollright Stones
HISTORIC SITE Some 6 miles east of Stow-on-the-Wold,
these enigmatic Stone Age monuments date back an astounding 4,000 years, though
their purpose remains a mystery. Not as dramatic as Stonehenge, the weathered circle
of 77 megalithic oolitic limestone blocks known as the King's Men is just as intrigu-
ing. The complex also includes the Bronze Age King Stone, and the much older
Whispering Knights, four standing stones thought to be part of a Neolithic tomb.
Souvenirs and a booklet about the site can be purchased at Wyatts Farm Shop, 1 mile
east of the Stones (across the crossroads on the way to Great Rollright), where there
is also a cafe and restrooms.
Little Rollright, Oxfordshire. No phone. www.rollrightstones.co.uk. Admission £1 adults, 50p children
7-16. Daily sunrise to sunset. From Stow-on-the-Wold, take the A436 toward Chipping Norton, then the
road to Little Rollright at the junction with the A44.
