Cotswold Stone

For thousands of years, the look of our homes, shops and places of worship was determined by the nearby landscape. Houses of timber, brick or stone grew from the proximity to trees, clay or rock. In the English Cotswolds, from Bath up to Chipping Campden, a special limestone still reigns. Its color enchants me. In the shade, it is subtly warm. In the afternoon sun, it is as golden as a jar of honey. We took country roads to and from whimsically-named villages. Along those roads, we passed some of the limestone quarries, half-hidden behind a screen of trees. I spied the yellow rubble on the edge of the road where trucks emerge with their golden cargo. Oh how I wanted to stop and pick up a few small pieces, as a souvenir, and also as my very own Pantone-color-chart-in-a-rock. instead,I will make do with my photos. This one is a detail of the Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway.