“I must have flowers, always, and always.”
– Claude Monet

The flowers were abundant on our European Experience trips this summer, especially in the beautiful Cotswolds of England. There was a lot of rain in England in the spring, and summer came late… but with it came bountiful and brilliant flowers. We always enjoy our visits to the formal gardens, but I especially love the smaller, more spontaneous bursts of color like the pots of flowers or hollyhocks next to cottage doors and the creative, colorful hanging baskets.

Hollyhocks in Chipping Campden

A colorful hanging basket at the Lygon Arms in Chipping Campden

Stone planter filled with flowers at the Fleece Inn

I’m also thrilled by the unexpected flowers in rural areas: the burst of blooms on a field of crops or a field of wildflowers that comes into view as you turn a corner on a narrow lane. The rapeseed, poppies, and flax fields were especially dazzling this July, and cow parsley overflowed into every country road.

Rapeseed and cow parsley on Fish Hill

Fields of poppies in the hills near Chipping Campden

A field of blue flax flowers

Bright yellow rapeseed under a blue sky

Wildflowers and poppies in the fields above Chipping Campden

Our groups especially enjoyed the extensive fields of lavender near Snowshill… over 53 acres and 70 different varieties.

In the lavender fields near Snowshill

A sea of lavender…

We’re already looking forward to more experiences among the colorful flowers and fields of the Cotswolds… perhaps we’ll see you there in July 2014!

On our Cotswolds Experience week, we also visit famous gardens at Hidcote Manor, Kiftsgate Court, Sudeley Castle, and Blenheim Palace. See our 2012 blog post about the beautiful garden at Kiftsgate.

Kathy and Charley Wood lead European Experiences, week-long “slow tours” in some of the most beautiful areas of Europe, including The Luberon Experience in Provence, France. National Geographic Traveler magazine named The Luberon Experience one of their top 50 tours in the world in 2012. Kathy and Charley host Experience weeks in the Luberon, the Chianti region of Tuscany, Puglia, Alsace, the Dordogne, and the Cotswolds. They also offer two longer tours: The European Christmas Experience (12 days) and The Cornwall Experience in southwest England (10 days). Kathy and Charley have been traveling in Europe for almost 30 years and love sharing their special places in Europe with other travelers. They've hosted 120 Experience groups since they launched in 2006. They have a second home in their beloved village of Bonnieux in the Luberon. Read more about Kathy and Charley here. Slow Travel Tours is an affiliation of small-group tour operators who offer personalized trips in Italy, France and other European countries.