We debarked from the Queen Elizabeth II in Southampton, and were driven to our 17th-century country hotel The Feathers, in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, located in the heart of the Cotswolds, some 90 minutes from London.

The Feathers, furnished with traditional English antiques, chintzes, fresh flowers, and log fires, was a warmly inviting place. The dining room is celebrated for its traditional regional cuisine. Begin a meal here with smoked wild boar, glistening with fi ne olive oil atop a pair of quail eggs, or locally caught smoked salmon, chargrilled and served with sweet peppers. Black pudding is served with crispy bacon and a green herb mustard that imparts a satisfying spiciness to the dish. An unusual confit of du ckling consists of deboned meat served with assorted beans, topped with a sprightly green salad.

Next day, after a hearty traditional English breakfast, we investigated the surrounding territory. The Feathers lies just seven miles from Oxford and about 30 from Stratford-on-Avon, so it is a fine location for exploring the Cotswolds, an area full of re warding picture-postcard villages and country lanes, its most famous structure Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill.

12/23/92