We just returned from another weekend in our favorite part of England, the Cotswolds. This time we rented a cottage in the tiny village of Ebrington. The cottage had a walled  garden that Dash loved, a wood-burning fireplace that Brent loved, and bags of chocolate-box, country character that Katie loved. In the heart of the village, less than a minute’s walk away, was the Ebrington Arms, a traditional 17th century pub with a snug atmosphere and award winning ales. This setup ticked all the boxes.

We were thrilled that Katie’s brother Matt was able to join us from Oxford for a couple of days and an overnight. We had a nice hike with Dashy and returned to some of our favorite villages like Chipping Camden and Broadway.

On this visit, Katie wanted to find the house where the Missakians stayed when they vacationed in England back in 1992. We had a picture of the house, called Hobdays, and we knew it was in a village called Ilmington. One pass through and we spotted it, just like Katie and Matt remembered, across from a meadow with grazing horses. We got out and took some pictures and also cheered on some fatigued participants of a small road race that happened to be underway.

The house was built in 1709 so it’s probably protected from exterior changes. Even so, it was really nice for Katie to go back to a place with fond memories and see it unchanged. This was the house where Katie’s dad made her toast with brandy butter – which was memorable for a 12 year old. Even The Howard Arms, a pub down the road that the Missakians walked to in the evenings for dinner, looked pretty much the same as it did twenty years before. Guess that’s why we love coming to this part of England. Some of the villages have changed, but so many seem untouched by time. Hopefully homes that have stood for over 300 years will continue to do so and in their matching, idyllic setting to boot.