June 20, 2016

#OMGB Great Value Travel to London – Day 4



Cotswold, Moreton-in-Marsh, Tilly’s Tea House, Bourton-on-the-Water, Bath, Rajpoot Indian Restaurant, Edgar Townhouse Hotel


Day 4 Summary
  • Breakfast in Bed at Marlborough House
  • Take train to Cotswold to visit Moreton-in-Marsh
  • Walk around Moreton-in-Marsh
  • Lunch at Tilly’s Tea House
  • Take bus to Bourton-on-the-Water
  • Take train to Bath
  • Dinner at Rajpoot Indian Restaurant
  • Rest at Edgar Townhouse Hotel



Breakfast in Bed at Marlborough House

Woke up to the softest knock on the door that morning. The sunlight was already shining through the little gap between the curtains when I realized that it was 8am and someone was knocking gently on my door. Ah, breakfast came to mind…

At Marlborough House, one is served breakfast in bed! What a treat because I have never been served breakfast in bed. And I opened my door to a delicious aroma of an English breakfast set that looked so inviting.


Juicy thick Cumberland sausage, tender bacon, crispy hash brown, scrambled eggs, baked beans, mushroom and grilled tomatoes with toast, yoghurt and juice was definitely a full on breakfast guaranteed to charge one up for the day.

A quick showered, I packed up my luggage and lugged it to the front desk as they would store them for us as we were already checking out that day to head to Bath in the evening.




Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds


Though the weather was grey and wet that morning, it didn’t deter our excitement as we couldn’t wait to explore Moreton-in-Marsh, a principal market town in northern Cotswolds. If you’re looking to explore Cotswolds on your own, it would be a great idea to buy the Cotswolds Discoverer Pass where you can travel all day on bus and train to all the towns in that area.

Adult fare cost £10 for 1-day pass.




We took the Great Railway Train from Oxford Station to Moreton-in-Marsh which was about 30 mins or so comfortably. Upon arrival, we went exploring in the quaint township that has a wide main street and many smaller lanes filled with lots of shops, pubs and inns.


Can’t resist peeking into this florist, Allium simply because the shop was filled with gorgeous blooms in every colors!




We made a quick stop at the Moreton Area Center to get more details of the town and even picked some memorabilia. More information available here.


Moreton Area Centre
High Street
Moreton-in-Marsh
Gloucestershire
Tel: 01608 650 881
Fax: 01608 651542




There were quite a few antique shops too along the main streets.


Redesdale Market Hall

Along the Redesdale Market Hall, there is a weekly Tuesday market with more than 200 stalls so do visit them if you happen to be there on Tuesday.






We headed over to a popular tea room that is simply a must-visit but before that, we passed a super cute Wellington boot shop! Available in vibrant colors and design, I almost couldn’t resist getting one…



There was also a lovely toy shop and a small grocery store filled with fresh vegetables and meat as well as delicatessen products.




Tilly’s Tea Room


Scones are such a British treat. I was never really a fan of scones although there are some nice tea shops in Malaysia that are renowned for their scones and tea. Most of the time I find the single-serving quick bread a tad too dry for my liking. Plus I have never had scones with clotted cream too since it is quite hard to find clotted cream back home.


Then I walked into Tilly’s Tea House and that day changed my mind about scones. Tilly’s Tea House is pretty much favorite hotspot tea house that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch for locals as well as tourists. The charming tea house is simply one of those places that one feels at ease the moment you walked in. It reminded me of someone’s family business where you know that the food is cooked from home cooks handed down from someone’s grandmother’s recipes.

The counter holds plenty of treats snacks and sweets and I was so excited that I literally wanted to try everything. Huge Pasties with various filling, large savory pies, gorgeous looking quiches, freshly baked bread on one side while the other side of the counter was filled with sweet desserts of Lemon Drizzle, large doughnuts, muffins, prettiest cupcakes, cakes and more.


They also sell lots of local made jams, fruit curds, fudge, tea and more. It was so tempting to buy them all…

We settled down and got ourselves a table by the window overlooking the main street. The menu was filled with lots of my favorite food so choosing two-course for lunch was harder that I thought because everything looked so tempting from the display counters earlier.


Had fun filming Alice as she was digging into her luscious warm fruit scones slathered with a generous amount of house made strawberry jam and thick creamy clotted cream… she also shared some with me and boy-oh-boy, the scone was superb!! Moist, fluffy and melt-in-the-mouth with a buttery finish, the scones with the rich clotted cream and not so sweet jam was indeed the Best scones that I have ever had.


I opted for Chicken Pie that comes with chef’s salad and coleslaw at £4.95 and dessert of Sticky Toffee Pudding with Clotted Cream at £3.95 while Alice had Tilly’s Cream Tea at £4.95.

Though my Chicken Pie was delicious with its buttery short pastry and cream chicken filling, I was secretly wishing for the scones. Luckily my Sticky Toffee Pudding was so delish too that I was really satisfied. The warm and beautifully moist pudding was sweet, sinful and dark that every spoonful of this dessert had me swooning at its lusciousness.

Must visit for gorgeous scones and sticky toffee puddings as well as lots of other savory and sweet treats!

Tilly’s Tea House
18 & 19 High St,
Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 0AF,
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1608 650000

Business Hours:
Sunday – 10am to 5pm
Monday to Saturday – 9am to 5pm




After our lunch, we walked along the main street to head towards the bus stop to catch the bus to Bourton-on-the-Water. Before that, we also caught sight of The Cotswolds Cheese Company and decided to go in for a quick peek.


Oh my goodness, I fell in love immediately with what the store has to offer. Lots and lots of cheese from locals as well as some imported ones are on display for purchase. The store also carries wines, crackers, pasta, pickled and marinated vegetables and olives, sauces, jams, oils, vinegars, cold cuts and even a small selections of beautiful pottery. If only I had wasn’t travelling elsewhere as I would have love to buy some of the delicious cheeses.





Bourton-on-the-Water

Directly opposite the cheese shop we waited for Bus Number 22 to travel to Bourton-on-the-Water. The bus ride took about 20 minutes and before we know it, we were transferred to a sight that I can only relate to my early years of spending hours on Enid Blyton’s books. A sight of English beauty, Bourton-on-the-Water was just as how Enid would describe in her tales.




The village sight is priceless. Despite the grey weather, sights of stone buildings and shops are neatly built around the River Windrush that runs through the village. Though most of the trees were bare, I can only imagine how magnificent the village would look during spring blooms. The picturesque scene coupled with Nature’s sounds of water and birds chirping was such a soothing and inspiring experience.





As we all strolled through the village by the river banks across low arched stone bridges, we also did quick peeks at some of the shops. There is this really cool looking Cotswolds Motoring Museum that one should visit when you have the time. Then there was a Flea Market at the Building of the Victoria Hall where one can browsed through the many trinkets and pretty English dinner ware as well as old books and more.







I actually spent a considerable amount of time just admiring some of the local birds on the river simply because these birds were so colorful and beautiful to look at. The gentle chill wind was also really nice as I enjoy cold weather a lot. Despite the chill weather, there was actually shops selling ice cream too.





More tearooms and restaurants for the full English dining experience…




Adorable knick knacks that I also wish to buy… LOL…




I certainly wished that I could have spent more time in Bourton-on-the-Water but at last we needed to head back to Oxford to catch our next train to Bath. Nevertheless, the experience at Moreton-in-Marsh and Bourton-in-the-Water was simply special and priceless. If ever I were to come to London again, I would definitely want to visit both places again.

There are other places to visit besides these two so plan your trip ahead and you might want to include the birth place of Shakespeare, Strasford-upon-Avon or Stow-on-the-Wold if time is available as they are also on the bus route on the Cotswold Discovery Pass.



We headed back to Oxford, grabbed our luggage and took the train to Bath. Upon arrival, we checked into Edgar Townhouse in Bath and dropped off our luggage before we headed out to dinner. Since it was quite late in the evening, most of the shops were closed early.




Rajpoot Indian Restaurant


We found Rajpoot Indian Restaurant along our stroll and decided to dine there. Reading from the many reviews and notices, Rajpoot is an award-winning Indian restaurant that has been serving many since 1980. The restaurant is actually located in the basement and is elegantly decorated with a grandeur of an Indian theme. The restaurant is cleverly sectioned, offering privacy to its diners. We decided to go all out since it was Alice and my last night for the trip as we were leaving one day earlier.


Rajpoot serves Tandoori, Mughal and Bengali dishes and the menu offers plenty of choices for everyone. There were plenty of celebrities as well as many solid reviews as stated in their website.


From the fine array of curries with Tandoori chicken and prawns and soft warm Naan bread and fluffy Biryani rice, our feast of the evening was indeed delicious and very memorable.

Rajpoot Indian Restaurant
4 Argyle Street
Bath BA2 4BA
United Kingdom
Tel: + 1225 466833

Website: www.rajpoot.com

Business Hours:
Lunch 12pm - 2.30pm
Evenings 6pm - 11pm




The Edgar Townhouse

We headed back to Edgar Townhouse that evening and slept like a log. The whole day was indeed an eye-opening experience for me as I have literally seen a side of London that I have only managed to read in books growing up.


My room at Edgar Townhouse was beautiful and very comfortable. I vaguely remembered a quick shower, then a rest on my utterly comfortable bed before I dozed off in bliss…

The Edgar Townhouse
64 Great Pulteney St,
Bath BA2 4DN,
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1225 420619





*Stay tune for my final day, Day 5 – Edgar Townhouse, City of Bath, Roman Bath and lunch at The Royal Hotel



For more information and to plan your Great Value Travel to London, check out Visit Britain at www.visitbritain.com/malaysia or CIT Malaysia at www.cit.travel/europe/united-kingdom


This trip was made possible by Visit Britain. All stories and comments in my posts are purely derived from my own experiences through the trip.

Great Value Travel to London Stories

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  2. I like this little village of Bourton-on-the-Water, looks so serene~~

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  5. YIP KUM FOOK (MCA Gombak) was a very big mistake to expel monks from SAMNAK SAMBODHI BUDDHIST TEMPLE in 2001, Buddhists still in remember that time, he and his thugs(gangsters) and 2 polices came to destroy(arrest) the Sangha in the Temple, and the devotees were very sad to hear it had applied

    How long, Buddhists cannot forget what happened in the SAMNAK SAMBODHI BUDDHIST TEMPLE but YIP KUM FOOK how to live in the world, he damaged the Sangha or separated Sangha, which is a very big sin in Buddhist teachings. This Kamma, the earth will suck or swallow you (YIP KUM FOOK) like His Venerable Devatta on Buddha time

    “you are a Buddhist and you are a lawyer, also a graduate, why don’t you know what is wrong or right, like us as ordinary people, we don’t have any graduates or degrees but we know about the good and the bad”

    Kenny yap, Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong

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  6. My son becoming a lawyer usually takes seven years. Lawyer candidates need four years of university study to earn a bachelor’s degree and an additional three years of law school. Six to 12 months of on the job training while overshadowing a well-established lawyer is usually part of the process as well

    But YIP KUM FOOK is very clever and smart can earn law degree in faster than Lee Kuan Yew and Lee graduated First Class in both parts of the Tripos with an exceptional Starred-First for Part II Law in 1949 with Kwa. As the top student of his cohort, he was awarded the Fitzwilliam's Whitlock Prize; Lee was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1950

    YIP KUM FOOK don't have to study the law hard but get the law quickly, maybe this YIP KUM FOOK is a child of GOD or a lucky person

    Ah Hock….Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong

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  8. Seorang ahli politik MCA DATUK YIP KUM FOOK(叶金福) menghina Sultan Selangor kerana mengambil gelaran Datuk untuk menipu dan berbohong kepada orang Cina Malaysia dan dia seorang ahli perniagaan dan lain-lain, dia sentiasa sombong dan menipu wanita-wanita untuk kepentingan dirinya.

    DATUK YIP KUM FOOK(叶金福) juga seorang peguam di Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong….dia ada kedai peguam di Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong.. terbuka untuk menipu orang ramai, kini ramai yang mengenali(tahu) dan mengesyakinya kerana di kawasan Kepong selalu ada masalah pada sebelum ini seperti tokong Hindu letak api di Taman Daya, Kepong tendang Sami-sami Buddha keluar dari KUIL BUDDHA SAMNAK SAMBODHI (三宝寺) dan lain-lain.

    Kita semua harap Sultan Selangor mengambil kembali semua gelaran Datuk kerana jika YIP KUM FOOK(叶金福) diteruskan gelaran Datuk, negara kita akan runtuh dan musnah...seterusnya Taman Desa Jaya kita, Kepong akan dapat bahagia dan harmoni.

    Sekarang anak dia(叶君瀚 YIP JIUN HANN) jadi pengerusi MCA Gombak, sama juga sebab ayah ajar anaknya jalan sama, dan kedua-duanya pun tak malu dan masa sekarang orang boleh hantar mesej tahu dengan cepat, anda tak boleh lari dari orang gosip

    perkongsian oleh AHLI JAWATANKUASA SAMNAK SAMBODHI (三宝寺), Taman Desa Jaya, terdahulu

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  9. Datuk YIP KUM FOOK will lose MCA and he will give back the Dato title to the Sultan of Selangor, if he does not return the title, he will suffer because the title makes him have a lot of money and power in Malaysia, when he is in the MCA party, he is very proud and act to other people of the Chinese community in Kepong

    We are Chinese in Malaysia but we also have the power to speak for rights, we will protect our community to live in harmony and happiness for our children in the future and we can choose any politics in the country... last time MCA forced us to gather parties but now we are free in politics

    The last time was at the Buddhist Temple or the SAMNAK SAMBODHI BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION in Taman Desa Jaya, Kepong...and we had to copy our IC to give Datuk YIP KUM FOOK because he and his group said, want to helped us in various matters, finally we found out that he collects our IC. to play politics

    We also need to write to inform our Malaysian PM to know our problem with Datuk YIP KUM FOOK, he made us and our Buddha / Buddhist monks problem.

    Shared by Ah Boon and friends

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