Before we arrived in the village of Castle Combe, we happened upon a racetrack (not another race track). This one had been around since the 50’s and has a long history, first as a former wartime training airfield and then as a proper racetrack with the likes of Stering Moss and John Surtees as competitors. The day we watched, it was an open lap day where qualified drivers could bring their cars to run laps.
In Italy Allan and I talked about how many medieval villages there were. Now, we kept running into quaint English villages. None could be quainter (so far) than Castle Combe. When we walked down the forested road to the village, it was so peaceful, a wonderful place for our second picnic.
The village itself was only one main street with a couple of little extensions. But it was all so quaint and pretty. So quaint and period that it was used by Steven Spielberg for his film War Horse. I’m going to go back and watch it!
Allan wanted to see an old cemetery on our trip and there is was, a small and old cemetery with large tombstones. The church itself looked like it came right out of the book Allan was reading, Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, a great book all about the medieval era and the church. This one was built in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 18th century. It had a lot of history and even had it’s original owner (1270AD) in a crypt in the front. Pretty neat stuff. Another relaxing day in the country!