In the past I've written about the joys of winter walks. Of seeing the landscape transformed by ice or snow, or simply stripped of foliage and looking starker than usual. If you're bundled up well against the elements, it's easy to enjoy this type of scenery.

But I have to take my hat off to the couple I saw walking along the Lower Swell Road near Naunton yesterday morning. The wind was so strong I could feel its gusts trying to force my car off the road. Mud coated the road in places and fallen tree branches were scattered everywhere. It wasn't raining, but it was probably just a matter of time before the skies opened up.

And yet here was an enthusiastic-looking couple (ok, he looked a tad more enthusiastic than she did) trudging along the muddy bank on the side of the road. He was about ten paces in front, consulting his map and pointing to a path off to the right. She looked as if she'd rather be inside with a hot cup of cocoa, but she was humoring him as best she could. I was impressed.

Yesterday was the kind of day that made one think twice about even going out to retrieve something from the car, and yet seeing that couple out enjoying the sights was a good reminder that we should take every opportunity to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us. Regardless of the weather.

Now that we're well into the month of June, the posters for annual summer fairs and village fetes have been appearing with astonishing regularity on lamp posts and grass verges all around Stow. Today these are pleasant affairs, with games for the children, music, market stalls and food. It's surprising, then, to think that 200 years ago this type of fete would likely have included a rather violent and bizarre sport, one that came to Stow in the summer of 1778.

That year, an ad placed in the Gloucester Journal recruited participants for an eleven-a-side match of backsword, a game which involved two men fighting each other with a wooden cudgel, all the while with their left arms tied behind their backs.

The aim of the match was to hit the other person's head above the eye and draw blood. This was called "breaking a head," and the blood had to run down for one inch before a hit was counted.

For this particular match in Stow, held on the 19th of June on a stage in the square, the prize for any man "breaking a head” was ½  guinea*; any man having his head broken would be paid ½ crown**.

Of course in the 18th century, this sport wasn’t out of the ordinary at all. In fact, it was one of the events regularly featured in the Cotswold Olimpicks held in nearby Chipping Campden.

And to think that Conkers isn't even allowed anymore....

* in those days, this was about what it would have cost to buy a ticket for a box seat at Theatre Royal in Covent Garden, or what a doctor would have been paid as a professional fee.

** this would have purchased a whole pig, or would have covered the cost of a tooth extraction...although I suspect that the participant would have been out of pocket due to the doctor's fee (see above)!

If you're reading this you've probably seen our news that Walking Past audio tours are now available to rent inside GO-STOW, the new, privately-run tourist information centre opened by Walt and Sue Hasler in Talbot Court (see photo). Have I mentioned how excited I am about this - about the fact that Walt and Sue have opened up their own tourist office here in Stow?

When the old Visitor Information Centre (VIC) was shut down by the CDC last year, and after the volunteers running the Cotswold Festival wrapped up their work in the Hollis House office, visitors to our town were left without a central place to go for information about our fair part of the Cotswolds. Sure, there are leaflets in many businesses in town, and the folks working in the local shops, hotels and tea rooms are always friendly enough to provide advice or give someone directions. But standing in GO-STOW on a cold Monday morning in mid-February, I'm struck by the constant flow of visitors - even at 10am - and the friendly atmosphere.

Aside from the abundance of local information, it's the friendliness that really gives visitors a positive feeling about our town. Like the young couple who popped in while I was talking to Sue that morning, just to say thanks for the advice she'd given them the day before, and to let her know they'd had a great time. Or the satisfied faces of the group of women who leave the shop laden with enough maps and guides to plan every detail of their stay.

So if you're already in the area or are planning a trip here be sure to pop in, say hi, and check out the new Easter display upstairs as well as the fabulous display of Walking Past audio tours right on the front counter.

GO-STOW, 12 Talbot Court (between Sheep Street and the market square), Stow on the Wold GL54 1BQ
Tel: 01451 870 150

OK, so I know this isn’t exactly the week to be gallivanting around the countryside on foot, what will all the recent snow and these persistent

But generally, in the absence of snow and ice I absolutely love the idea of going out for a winter walk. The countryside is hauntingly beautiful in winter, with purple-tinged treetops visible across the landscape and dormant hedgerows barely able to conceal the nests of the birds and various other creatures taking refuge there. It's quiet. Slow. Peaceful.

And while you’re out enjoying the views and navigating around the mud, you feel as if you are really earning the hot cup of cocoa you’ll be consuming later.

And along with the cocoa, that tingly feeling you get when your toes finally warm up after coming inside simply can’t be beat, especially when you know you don’t have to venture out again until tomorrow.

Last Thursday was a big day in our household. While most families in Britain were going about their normal weekday routines, we were busy visiting with relatives, cooking and celebrating.
Yes, that’s right. Celebrating. Observing Thanksgiving, that all-American holiday that brings family and friends together and gives us all a chance to reflect on everything we are thankful for in our all-too-hectic lives. There are no gifts to buy, no cards to write. You spend the day surrounded by loved ones. And food. Lots and lots of food.

In America, most businesses are closed for Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week, and children usually have the entire week off school. But here in the UK, we always have to adjust for the fact that it isn’t officially a holiday, so there’s still work to be done and school to attend. My in-laws were able to arrive quite early in the day, which was nice. But having guests the entire day made me a teeny bit stressed because while I really, really wanted to visit with them, I also needed to be in the kitchen concentrating on recipes, making several dishes of food, and trying to figure out how it was all going to fit inside the oven alongside the enormous turkey.

Because it was a nice day, my in-laws decided they wanted to get out and do a bit of exploring. They asked if they could take one of our audio tours around Stow, and we happily obliged. I then got to experience first-hand just how handy these tours really are when you have guests visiting. During the hour and a half that they were away doing the Town Tour -- including their foray into a couple of shops during the tour and their cup of tea in the Youth Hostel Cafe afterwards -- I was able to get all the food ready and into the oven, lay the table, clear the decks in the kitchen, whip the cream, load the coffee maker and open the wine.

When they returned, chatting excitedly about all they’d seen and heard along the way, I was able to get them a drink, head into the living room, and visit with them until it was time to collect the children from school and finally sit down to eat. 

So my words of advice this Christmas are: if you have family or friends visiting during the holidays and you just need something to occupy them for couple of hours, send them over to Walking Past. They'll love our audio tours, and they'll get to explore all the little nooks and crannies of Stow that perhaps even you didn't know about. And the best part?  They'll never guess how relieved you were to have a couple of hours to yourself. We promise we won't tell.

I was pleased to be able to witness some of the Remembrance Day activities that recently took place in Stow-on-the-Wold. The poppy appeal, the parades through the square, soldiers and cadets in uniform and medal-bearing veterans who know only too well the horrors of wars fought in their time, as now.

Watching the parade through the square on Sunday 8th, my attention was drawn to the American Jeep bearing the Stars and Stripes. As always, it gave me a little glow of appreciation to see that flag – my flag – fluttering in the breeze 5,000 miles away from “home.”

It reminded me of the stories of the American troops that were in the Cotswolds during the Second World War. The 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion, which was regularly attached to the 90th Infantry Division in Europe at that time, spent time in Stow-on-the-Wold.

The 90th Division Association, a war veterans organization in America, has compiled a written record of soldiers’ experiences as part of its “World War II Report Project.”

"The relatively smooth Atlantic crossing on the former luxury liner “Acquitania” was only slightly disturbed by the lone appearance of two Luftwaffe planes, which were driven off by the ships Ack-Ack.

The debarkation, cold and rainy, and the subsequent train ride from Gourock, near Glasgow, on the 7th of February, gave us our only glimpse of Scotland. Merry Old England (Probably best remembered by Bournemouth) the 48 hour trips to London, tours through Oxford, Cheltenham and the home of the Father of Hamlet, MacBeth and King Lear, - Shakespeare’s Stratford-on-Avon. We remember too, the warm beer, the smooth scotch, the quaint pubs, their dart games and the lovely English Lassies. Yes, England was all of these, together with the work that spelled, preparation for Combat.

In the scenic Cotswold section of Gloucestershire, near Stow-on-the-Wold, was Maugersbury Manor, the 600 year old crumbling house with it’s one bath tub. However the new Lords and Earls of Maugersbury managed with the Niessen huts and tents. Walk out of the guard post and you were in Stow-on-the-Wold. Walk up the street and you were at the Unicorn, presided over by Mr. Lee.

Two weeks of indirect firing on the Brecon Beacons Range in South Wales supplemented our small arms firing and Battalion problems held with the 6th Armored Division.

In early April, the Battalion as a unit of the 6th TD Group was given three marshalling camps in the vicinity of Dorchester, Dorset County. The 6th TD Group controlled the Marshalling Area “D” and placed the Battalion in Sub-Area “W” - this consisted of Camp D-1 at Puddletown, Camp D-3 at Yellowham and Camp D-6 at Piddlehinton, commanded and staffed by A, B, Hqs-Rcn and C Companies, respectively. Here our duties were to clean, build, camouflage, staff and organize these camps for the purpose of feeding, supplying, entertaining, guarding and adminstratively administering to the 25,000 combat troops that were to pass through on their way to the continent and combat.

A month following “D” Day, and having a “Well Done” for our work at the D’s, the Battalion repaired to the South of England for a two week refresher and sharpening of our gunner’s eyes at Kimmeridge and Lulworth. This stay, on the Studland Range near Corfe Castle, and at D-1 at Lytchett-Minster, sufficed also to check our equipment and the final preparations for combat.

We returned to Camp D-6 on the 6th of August 1944, this time as the processed, in place of our former roles as the processor.

We left Piddlehinton, loaded aboard two LST’s and four LCT’s at Porland Harbor, crossed the channel on the 7th, beautiful weather, and sighted and debarked on the Coast of Normandy."

What to say after that. While paying tribute to all the British forces this Remembrance day, let's also remember the 773rd Tank Destroyer Battalion:

"In all of the far-flung operations of our Armed Forces, the toughest job has been performed by the average, easy-going, hard-fighting young American who carries the weight of battle on his own young shoulders. It is to him that we and all future generations must pay grateful tribute"

                                                                           - Franklin Delano Roosevelt

When I was growing up on a farm nearby there was an area of fields and woodland called Granny’s Bank.  I have no idea why the location was called this but it was a beautiful spot on the next hill over from Stow on the Wold, having passed through Lower Swell; one of those hidden locations in the heart of the Cotswolds often bypassed by visitors and tours.  I remember my grandfather showing me concrete ‘rafts’ and remnants of rusting machinery deep in the woodland.  The concrete was in long square slabs with the machinery bolted firmly to them.  The trees and other fauna were slowly reclaiming the area of the slabs and the rusting machinery gradually fading away.

My grandfather explained that this was part of a battery from the Second World War.  The dilapidated machines were generators for the searchlights used to trace the enemy bombers in the night sky.  There were also a series of metal poles sticking up from the ground at intervals slightly away from the battery area.  These were ‘decoy lights’.  At the time I did not understand what this meant.

Many years later I think I might have found the answer.  Many towns and cities across the country, particularly the important ports, would string up lights in an approximation of their own street lights.  The idea was that a few of the lights would be left on during a bombing raid and all of the nearby town lights would be switched off.  This was in the hope that the enemy bombers would mistake the location and bomb the wrong site.

Granny’s Bank is a few miles away from Stow and on the top of a hill, like Stow.  There are no nearby houses, so any dropped bombs would land on open fields and woodland.   I have been unable to find out if any bombs were dropped or if the decoy was ever actually used.

It was 25 years ago that I last saw the rusting remains.  I have no idea if anything now remains.   I would be interested if anyone knows more about this location and its part in protecting Stow on the Wold during the Second World War.  Post your answers, or contact me on the Walking Past e-mail.

Generally, I don't believe in ghosts. So it surprised me how many reports of ghosts there actually are in Stow-on-the-Wold.

While researching for our Ghastly Stow tour, I often asked myself if the stories were not just “made up” by enterprising entrepreneurs. But the sheer volume of unexplained events has to make one wonder if there is some truth behind them.

I am not going to tell you the stories here; you are more than welcome to take our Ghastly Stow audio tour and decide for yourself. Judging by the number of people who have downloaded this tour in the last few days there is certainly some interest in this topic!

What I have done is listen to the chapters (again) and ranked the top five “haunted” places in town. So if you are short of time you can always use “call to listen” for just the most ghosty bits!

1.  The Eagle & Child/The Royalist  - I’ve combined these only because it is difficult to separate the ghosts into their respective houses. I doubt they are bothered by such physical constraints so why should I be? Spook Count: Five (although one could count as an apparition)  Witches: None (due to protective symbols!)

2. The Old Stocks Hotel (once known as the Red Lion) Spook Count: Two (plus one graveyard in rear).

3. White Hart, Spook Count: One (called George)

4. Chapel Street, (off Well Lane), Spook Count: One. One of the houses on Chapel Street had a poltergeist reported in 1960’s

5. St Edward's Churchyard, Spook Count: One. There is one disgruntled resident in a wedding dress. If you see her you might want to stock up on food and hide in a bunker; she usually appears before calamitous events!  

While our Ghastly Stow tour is quite comprehensive, we weren't able to include all the stories told to us by locals. Here are two of the best that didn't make it into the tour:

Stow Lodge – More than one guest has asked to change rooms in order to sleep alone! Rumour has it that one (not insane) guest was actually running around his room trying to chase some spirit away. It is believed to be that of a schoolgirl who was locked in the room when the lodge was used as a private school during the war.

Past Times – Again rumour has it that some mornings the staff have found children’s toys scattered from the shelves onto the floor and that very young children have been seen waving to (apparently) thin air in the same general area. Some locals believe that a young child once died in this building and this is who plays with the toys and waves to young children, unseen by their parents or the shop staff. Walking Past has been unable to verify this story but we wanted to share it with you anyway here.

They say truth is stranger than fiction; that is certainly the case for the next couple of blogs from me which will have a Halloween theme.

While doing research for our Walking Past tours I came across a bundle of recipes which were very odd and quite interesting! Certainly more interesting than Granny’s fruit cake.

The recipes were not dated, nor were they location-specific. I’ve assumed they are from witches but not being an expert in such things I’ll leave it to you to decide. (According to local folklore, two witches used to live in nearby Ganbourough opposite the Coach and Horses up until the late 1960’s).

The bundle of documents had no dates but the references to some ingredients would suggest the the 17th or 18th century. I would guess these are from Gloucestershire.

Medicene for a Mad Dogg bite ~

Take six ounces of Raw garlick (Four ounces bruised very well)

Venice Treacle*

Mithridate* of each two ounces

Scraped tin four ounces

Boyle’em in five quarts of the fol until a pinch is waisted being close stopped

Strain the liquor of(f)

Give eight spoon fulls of it to a man three/four spoonfulls to a dogg cold, three spoonfulls to a sheep and wash in it.

 NB. To bleed before you take the medecine

Here’s some Wikipedia definitions…..

* Theriaca andromachi or Venice Treacle contained 64 ingredients. In addition to viper flesh and opium, it included cinnamon, agarics and gum arabic. The ingredients were pulverised and reduced to an electuary with honey.The following ingredients for the theriac were taken from d'Amsterdammer Apotheek 1683 and translated from the old Latin names into the names now used where possible. Not all ingredients are known, and identifications and assignments below are tentative. Roots: Iris, Balsamorrhiza deltoidea, Potentilla reptans (creeping cinquefoil), Rheum rhabarbarum (garden rhubarb), Zingiber officinarum, Angustifolia odorata, Gentiana, Meum athamanticum (spignel), Valeriana, Corydalis cava (hollowroot), glycyrrhiza Stems and barks: Cinnamomum zeylanicum (cinnamon), Cinnamomum aromaticum (cassia) Leaves: Teucrium scordium (water germander), Franxinus excelsior, Clinopodium calamintha (lesser calamint), Marrubium vulgare (white or common horehoun)

*Mithridatium, also known as as mithridate, is a semi-mythical remedy with as many as 65 ingredients, used as an antidote for poisoning, and said to be created by Mithradates VI Eupator of Pontus. It was among one of the most complex, highly sought-after drugs during the Middle Age and Renaissance, particularly in Italy and France, where they were in continual use for centuries. An updated recipe called theriac (Theriacum Andromachi) was known well into the 19th century.The manufacture of antidotes called mithridate or theriac (English "treacle") continued into the nineteenth century. Ephraim Chambers, in his 1728 Cyclopaedia, says "Mithridate is one of the capital Medicines in the Apothecaries Shops, being composed of a vast Number of Drugs, as Opium, Myrrh, Agaric, Saffron, Ginger, Cinnamon, Spikenard, Frankincense, Castor, Pepper, Gentian, &c". It is accounted a Cordial, Opiate, Sudorific, and Alexipharmic" Petrus Andreas Matthiolus considered it more effectual against poisons than venice treacle, and easier to make. Late versions of the antidote incorporated dried blood or the dried flesh of lizards or vipers] or Malabathrum.

Since launching Walking Past Stow some four weeks ago I have had the pleasure to meet many current and former residents of Stow-on-the-Wold who have shared with me their interesting stories and pictures of the town.  We at Walking Past aim to put the pictures in a gallery for the benefit of all at some point in the near future (watch this space!).

This week I had the pleasure in meeting an ancestor of and a researcher for the Clifford Association. The family is decend from  Richard de Clifford of Frampton on Severn who was granted lands 1086 by William the Conqueror. The Clifford family were first seen in Stow around 12th century when the Abbot of Evesham asked Walter of Clifford son of Richard to demolish his buildings that bordered the westside of the Fosse Way because of the risk of trade being drawn away from the then thriving marketplace, this is covered in our Lower Swell Tour. After this date there was no documented evidence of Cliffords in Stow until in 1598 when Cliffords (stone masons) from Prestbury near Cheltenham followed the Chamberlaynes (Lord of the Manor) to Maugersbury Manor. As stone masons it is possible that their handy work could still be seen in Stow today. The family prospered and grew. However one story about this family was most interesting and ties together St Edwards Church, the Civil war and Pirates and as far as I know has not been documented in any of the local guidebooks and historical records.

In 1677 Pierce Smith who was a Captain (in the navy?) was captured by pirates and imprisoned in Algiers. A ransom of approximately £110 was collected and entrusted to John Clifford of Frampton on Severn to secure his release. Unfortunately Captain Smith died in captivity before the ransom could be paid. Captain Smith left two sons and one daughter totally unprovided for and so the majority of the ransom was donated to them in 1782. However the remaining £20 was paid to the church wardens and overseers of Stow for the refurbishment and repair of St Edwards church.

This is where the well documented history of St Edwards Church Stow-on-the-Wold begins. (town tour audio points 5&6 ) St Edwards having been left to decay for sometime prior to the civil war was then used to imprison the 1,600 royalist troops captured after the Battle of Stow in 1646, by the time the donation was made by the Clifford’s on behalf of Pierce Smith in 1682 the church was in a very ruinous state. The history states that the Bishop of Gloucester made the donation of £500 received from the fine imposed on a young noble man who committed acts of hooliganism on Great Barrington church now we know of some additional funds were provided by the Smith family via John Clifford trustee having been intended as a ransom for pirates! The Bishop of Gloucester acted as distributor of the funds as required by law on a charitable fund such as this.

So there you have it a link between St Edwards Church Stow on the Wold, pirates and one of the great Norman families of England.

If you have any interesting stories of photo graphs of Stow please get in touch. Perhaps you know more details about some of the chapters in our tours?

Details contained in this blog entry were gratefully received from Pat Bennett from the Clifford Association, any errors of factual omissions we mine alone!