Time for a break from the weddings and portraits, for a post that’s a bit more personal, and a lot closer to home. In fact, it about our home, right in the middle of the Cotswolds. Although our house is nothing special, generally untidy and filled with half finished projects, lacking a TV for the last 6 years (who has the time to watch tv?) and more cameras and undeveloped film than we have food in the fridge. We also have shared occupancy with pair of oversized feline fluff balls called Ollie and Willow, who’s top skill is covering our nice smart wedding clothes in cat hair.
But it’s not our house, the bricks and stuff that’s in it that makes it home. It’s where we live. We’re in the UK. Not in the middle, kind of down a bit. Opposite side to London, but at least an hour away from a beach. We’re kinda near Wales, and kinda near Birmingham, and kinda near Bristol. We’re in a good spot near a big river, with forests on one side and rolling green hills of countryside on the other.
The Cotswolds is green. From large open fields to narrow and secluded country lanes, there’s nearly 800 square miles of beautiful countryside. But you don’t have to live out in the sticks to appreciate how characterful and interesting the landscape is here. It’s subtle. It doesn’t shout out like the grandeur and wildness of the Welsh mountains or the Scottish highlands. There aren’t extremes in this part of the world, just subtle windy roads scattered with honey coloured villages, and the occasional hill on the horizon. And tractors.
And as someone who has lived here between the ages of 15 and 25, I say with absolute certainty, that there’s next to nothing going on here in comparison to a buzzing cultural hub like London, or my personal favourite Birmingham. So what does go on around here? For us at least, it’s adventures and exploring. Lot’s of fresh air and mud on your boots. Plus there are good pubs. But mostly, it’s about the walking, honest.
Having an area of outstanding natural beauty, just ten minutes drive from your doorstep in every direction kinda encourages you to see it, explore it, and of course photograph it. It’s one of the many reasons I first picked up a camera, and I’m still exploring and still photographing new places, just a few miles down the road.
Speaking of which, it’s also worth a mention that the Cotswolds has a huge number of diverse and wonderful wedding venues, which of course makes running our photography business really awesome. People come from all over the country to get married in the Cotswolds, whether that be a colourful outdoor festival weddings, or quaint village church ceremony or something in between. Plus you can’t drive 15 mins without finding a fancy country manor or beautiful restored barn.
But no mater how grand the experience, we are always ones to go off the the path, find the little interesting places, fields of gold or forests of trees. We like nothing more than to get lost, be surprised and revel in the details. That’s us. That’s home. That’s why we are here.
