Through fields, around cows and sheep, over rivers and along country roads we went, stopping to visit the Mitford family home in Asthall. We could not enter but got a great view from across the Windrush River.
On to Swinbrook, where we stopped for lunch and a pint at the Swan Inn which is owned by the only surviving sister, Debo, the Duchess of Devonshire. It is a shrine to the Mitfords and very popular. Went on further to the little 13th century church where 4 Mitford sisters are buried.
The church is also quite famous for the Fettiplace monuments, funerary statues of 6 generations of Fettiplaces, a very prominent family in this area from 14-18th centuries. As you can see from the photo below, the statues are stacked against the wall near the altar in a most unusual pose!
Going back was in part along an old Roman road. Almost everything in the Cotswolds has some sense of antiquity to it.
Location:Asthall & Swinford, Oxfordshire
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