Basking in the warmth of an unusually sunny and delightful English summer, there is nothing nicer, particularly if you are a hot horse, than being able to queue up for a cooling ice cream cone at the Winstones ice cream van parked up on Minchinhampton Common, near Stroud, in England’s beautiful rolling Cotswolds.
Minchinhampton Common is a 600 acre area of common land owned by the National Trust and thus accessible to everyone. Whilst today it is an area of recreational pleasure with a huge diversity of natural plants, the Common is also an area of great archaeological importance with prehistoric burial mounds and defensive earthworks dating back to the times of the Roman occupation of Britain. The nearby village of Minchinhampton is particularly pretty and rich in history of the local area. It’s church, founded by 1086, lies at the heart of the village.
Winstones ice cream company manufactures arguably the very best and most tasty ice cream available in the area which should be enjoyed whenever possible!! (No sponsorship is involved in this message – just delight!!).
Are the Horses there with their owners ?
Or is this one of the areas of England where they can roam free?
The horses (probably only some 10 plus a donkey) and some 50 cattle are allowed to roam and graze totally free (restrained only by cattle grids on the surrounding roads) for around 8 months of the year.
Theoretically only animal owners with ancient “Commoners Rights” linked to ownership of old properties in the immediate vicinity of the Common are permitted to release their animals to graze free in this way.
The present purpose of the animals roaming in this way is supposed to be keeping down the growth of grasses and shrubs on the Common. In reality, they are fussy eaters and it is necessary to bring in mechanical cutters to keep the Common clear.
I wonder if they have “grass” or “alfalfa” flavors?
There is a wonderful surreal quality to this picture. Nevertheless, it is also amusing. Thank you so much for sharing this.
The information about the Commoners Rights is also very interesting.
Great pic + history + horses + ice cream = Happy Trails !