THE COTSWOLDS - England 2012 and the Best of Wales - page 445

view in the Cotswolds. You can also bring a picnic here and eat lunch in the surround-
ing grounds.
Middle Hill, A44 (1 mile SE of Broadway). & 01386/852390. www.broadwaytower.co.uk. Admission
£4.50 adults, £2.50 children 4-14, £12 family ticket. Daily 10:30am-5pm.
Snowshill Lavender FARM Visit this fragrant lavender farm in high summer,
when an ocean of lilacs, purples, and blues seems to stretch to the horizon. You can
stroll into the middle of the fields, breathing in the aromas, buy the product in the
shop, or munch lavender scones, cakes, and shortbread in the Lavender Tea Room.
Lavender planting started here in 2000, and today there are some 21 hectares (53
acres) of lavender under cultivation.
Hill Barn Farm, Snowshill. & 01386/854821. www.snowshill-lavender.co.uk. Admission to shop free;
admission to lavender fields during flowering £2.50 adults, £1.50 children 15 and under. Apr-May and
Sept-Oct Wed-Sun 10am-5pm, June-Aug daily 10am-5pm.
Snowshill Manor OFFBEAT SITE This pleasant Cotswold manor house owes its
appeal to the bizarre collection of curios that lies within its honey-stone walls. Parts
of the house date from around 1500, but most of what you see today was built in the
17th century. In 1919, the then-dilapidated house was purchased by Charles Paget
Wade, a craftsman and eccentric who collected over 22,000 unusual handicrafts up
to his death in 1951. You'll find a little bit of everything here: Flemish tapestries, toys,
lacquer cabinets, narwhal tusks, mousetraps, and cuckoo clocks—a glorious mess,
like a giant attic of the 20th century. The highlight is the collection of 26 suits of
Samurai armor in the Green Room.
Snowshill, 3 miles south of Broadway. & 01386/852410. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-snowshillmanor.
Admission £8.50 adults, £4.30 children 5-15, free for children 4 and under, £22 family ticket. Apr-June and
Sept-Oct Wed-Sun noon-5pm; July-Aug Mon and Wed-Sun 11:30am-4:30pm. Admission by timed ticket.
Last admission 4pm. Closed Nov-Mar.
Where to Eat & Stay
The best place in Broadway for a cup of tea is Tisanes Tea Rooms, 21 The Green
( & 01386/853296; www.tisanes-tearooms.co.uk), offering perfectly blended teas
with a variety of sandwiches and salads (daily 10am-5pm).
VERY EXPENSIVE
Buckland Manor Hotel Broadway's posh country-manor option just about
lives up to expectation, with elegant gardens, an imposing slate-roofed 13th-century
manor house, and luxurious rooms enhanced with antiques and mullioned windows.
Some of the large bedrooms have four-poster beds and fireplaces. The hushed wood-
paneled public spaces are pure old-fashioned aristocratic England, littered with rugs,
antiques, and comfy armchairs.
Buckland, Gloucestershire WR12 7LY. www.bucklandmanor.co.uk. & 01386/852626. Fax [phone].
13 units. £235-£290 double. Rates include early-morning tea and English breakfast. AE, MC, V. Free
parking. Take the B4632 about 2 miles south of Broadway. No children 11 and under. Amenities: Res-
taurant; bar; room service; tennis court. In room: TV, hair dryer, Internet (free).
Dormy House Hotel Dormy House is pricey but exceptional, featuring
rooms that blend the core of this 17th-century farmhouse with lavish, contemporary
furnishings. The owners have also brought glamor to an old adjoining timbered barn,
converted into two executive suites and eight deluxe doubles, a real step up in com-
fort from the standard doubles. The Dining Room

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and Barn Owl Brasserie