Station Mill Antiques in Chipping Norton was one of those places for me.

When we arrived in Chipping Norton, Mum and Dad were so excited to bring me here. They had visited before and kept telling me, “Just wait until you see this place.” They weren’t exaggerating.

Station Mill Antiques has become one of the Cotswolds’ best-known antique destinations. Housed inside a former mill, it’s home to more than 80 independent dealers spread across two floors, offering thousands of antiques, vintage pieces, furniture, artwork, architectural salvage, books, linens, pottery, and just about everything in between. It has been welcoming collectors for decades and has become one of those wonderful places where every room seems to reveal another surprise.

The moment I walked through the doors, I knew I was in trouble...

A Different Way of Shopping

One thing you don’t always see in the videos is the constant mental math happening while I’m shopping abroad.

Every piece I picked up wasn’t just about whether I loved it.

It was:

“Can I fit this in a suitcase?”

“How much weight will this take up?”

“Will it survive the flight?”

“Will there still be enough room for everything else I find over the next week?”

Because this was only Day Two of the trip, I had absolutely no idea what treasures still awaited us.

That made every decision much harder.

French Stoneware... My Weakness

If you’ve watched my videos for any length of time, you’ll already know...

I have a serious weakness for stoneware.

And Station Mill had some of the most beautiful French stoneware I’ve ever seen.

Large confit pots.

Salt-glazed jugs.

Wonderful old crocks with incredible wear.

Every shelf seemed to have another piece I wanted to take home.

The only problem?

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Some pieces were once hardworking everyday essentials, while others were created simply to bring beauty into a home. Today, they all share one thing in common: they’ve survived decades of daily life, and in several cases, well over a century, and are ready to begin a new chapter in someone else’s home.

One of the perks of being a paid subscriber is getting an early look at each Vintage Drop before it goes live in my Etsy shop. I love sharing not only the antiques themselves, but also a little of their history, what originally drew me to them, and the stories that make each piece so special.

Below you’ll find an exclusive preview of this week’s collection, where I’ll share each antique in detail, why I brought it home, and a few of the fascinating stories behind these wonderful pieces. I hope you enjoy reading about them as much as I enjoyed finding them. 🤍

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One of the things I love most about England is that sometimes the best days begin without much of a plan.

After arriving the day before and spending the afternoon collecting our rental car, getting groceries from Morrisons, settling into where we were staying, and recovering from the journey, we decided not to rush into anything too ambitious. After a good night’s sleep, Chipping Norton felt like the perfect place to ease into the trip.

The plan was simple: drive over, park, and wander.

Or in our case, Dad kindly dropped us off so we could simply start exploring.

If you’ve never visited Chipping Norton, my best advice is to pick a spot, get out, and start walking. Some of my favorite discoveries happen that way.

We knew before going that most of the charity shops opened between 9 and 10 in the morning, so we arrived just as things were beginning to open for the day. We also knew there were a handful of charity shops worth visiting, and perhaps an antique shop or two if we were lucky enough to stumble across them.

Before long, we were stepping into one shop after another, never quite knowing what we might find.

One of our first stops wasn’t a charity shop at all, but a lovely little garden shop. It was filled with fresh flowers, postcards, plants, scarves, and all sorts of beautiful things. The sort of shop where you find yourself picking things up and imagining who you might buy them for.

Then it was on to the charity shops.

Blue Cross Charity Shop

For my American readers, charity shops are the British equivalent of thrift stores, though I often find them quite different. The charity shops in Chipping Norton included familiar names such as the British Heart Foundation, Oxfam, and Katherine House Hospice.

Blue Cross was where I found my first treasure of the trip.

Mum spotted it first hanging on the wall behind the till.

It was a framed print from the famous Cries of London series by Francis Wheatley. Titled Do You Want Any Matches?, the scene depicts a match seller and a young boy standing outside a grand London doorway, with a faithful dog at their feet.

What drew me to it was the story it tells.

Long before supermarkets and corner shops, London’s streets were filled with vendors selling everyday necessities and announcing their goods with distinctive cries. This print captures one of those moments, a woman offering bundles of matches to passersby as she makes her way through the city.

The original print was first published in London in 1794, and although this is a later reproduction, it still carries that wonderful sense of history. The colours have softened over time, the frame has developed a gentle patina, and the whole piece feels as though it has lived a long life in an English home.

Standing there in a charity shop in Chipping Norton, it felt like such a fitting first purchase of the trip. Not because it was rare or especially valuable, but because it perfectly captured something I love about England, ordinary people, everyday life, and the quiet stories that survive long after the centuries have passed.

It wasn’t the most valuable thing I would buy all week, but it may have been one of the most meaningful.

So we were off to the next shop, but not before I completely distracted myself with a car I’ve always wanted.

One day I will own a vintage Porsche. The only small issue is that I still can’t drive a manual. One day we’ll sort that out.

Katherine House Hospice

This one quickly became my favorite.

There seemed to be vintage treasures tucked into every corner, and I happily spent far longer digging through shelves and chatting with the staff than I probably should have.

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I was sitting in my office this morning editing my first England video and looking around at all the antiques from England and realized I should probably give you a little peek behind the curtain.

At the moment, every flat surface seems to be covered with something that came back in a suitcase, and I’m slowly working my way through it all.

I arrived home from England about two weeks ago now, and after settling back in, getting over the jet lag, and putting the house back to rights, I’ve finally found my rhythm again.

I’ve always been someone who needs home to feel settled before I can properly focus. So before diving into footage and antiques, there was laundry to do, groceries to buy, plants to check on, a pool to make blue again, and all the little things that come with being away for almost two weeks.

Now that life has returned to normal, I’ve been spending my days sorting through everything that came home with me.

There are hours of footage to edit, photographs to organize, notes to sort through, and of course, beautiful antiques waiting to be cleaned, researched, photographed, and listed.

As much as I want to jump straight into sharing everything, I also want to do the trip justice. There were so many lovely moments along the way, and I’d rather take a little extra time and tell the story properly than rush through it all.

I want this series to feel like we’re experiencing the journey together, not just ticking through a list of places and purchases.

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Hello friends,

Thank you for being here.

Over the years, many of you have followed along through estate sales, antique markets, sourcing trips, home projects, and adventures across England. I’ve always wanted a place to share the stories that don’t quite fit into a YouTube video.

That’s what this journal is for.

You’ll find notes from estate sales, collecting stories, England travel journals, behind-the-scenes moments, photos that never make it into videos, and reflections on creating a collected home.

The videos will always remain on YouTube. Think of this as the place where we can slow down a bit and share the stories behind the stories.

Whether you’re here for the antiques, the England adventures, or simply because you enjoy following along, I’m so glad you’re here.

Welcome to The Carolina Bungalow Journal.

If you'd like future journal entries, England notes, estate sale reflections, and behind-the-scenes updates delivered to your inbox, subscribe below.

— Ashleigh xx

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