DAY 0
Tuesday 29 May 2012
The Cotswold Way
We set off this morning for Gloucestershire for the
start of our next long distance walk, the Cotswold Way. This was 100 miles or
160 kilometers from Chipping Campden to Bath. Our initial destination was the village
of Hayles and the camp site at Hayles Fruit Farm where we intend to make our
base to do the first half in stages by using the buses and local transport, as we have
done on previous walks in Britain.
We left Cardiff after breakfast and got to the
campsite just before lunch. We checked on the buses that would take us to the
start but it turned out to be somewhat complicated. There was a bus at 8:40am
in the morning to the village of Broadway but we couldn’t find out anything
about a connection from there to Chipping Campden. We have decided to take the
bus tomorrow to Broadway, check out when we got there how to continue to
the start of the walk. If there was a convenient bus leaving from there, good;
if not we will walk to Chipping Campden and hopefully bus back to Broadway then
continue the walk from there. Broadway is on the route. If all else fails we
will walk to the start from Broadway then all the way back on the trail to
Hayles. Tomorrow we will see.
In the meantime we took a stroll to the main road
where we would catch the bus in the morning and check how long it would take to
get there. It was pleasant strolling along the walled country lane in the beautiful
early summer weather. It took us 20 minutes of easy walking so we will leave after
breakfast at about 8:15am and this will allow plenty of time to get there for the
bus.
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| Ruins of Hayles Abbey |
On the way back to the campsite we stopped at the
church and it was surprisingly open. It was fairly basic but there were some
nice old small stained glassed windows. We thought this was the abbey that was
signposted as an attraction from the main road, but further along the road we
found the original actual Hayles Abbey and the remains of the church after it was
demolished back in Henry VIII’s time. They wanted £4 to view the ruins, we gave
it a miss.
The campsite was quite and we had a good night's sleep in preparation for our walk.
DAY 1
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Chipping Campden to Hayles 25.2km.
The bus arrived on time at the junction with the
main road. The company was Castleways and the driver was very helpful, he had
plenty of time to attend to us as we were his only passengers. The bus ran from
Cheltenham to Willersey but he said he would put us off at the point near
Broadway where we could pick up a connection to the start of the walk. The time
table for the buses to Chipping Campden on the pole at the bus stop showed
there was one at 9:50am, we had almost an hour to wait; this was spent
strolling into the village of Broadway. It was a delightful little place with
the square all decked out in red white and blue bunting for the coming weekend’s
Diamond Jubilee celebrations, there was even a small children’s fun fair. We
visited the tourist information office but it was closed, only opening after we had
gone. We would check again later on the walk back, as the route passed through
Broadway. The place was a bit ‘olde worlde’ with quaint shops selling lots of
country fair.
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| The start in Chipping Campden |
Our bus
caused us a few anxious moments when it was ten minutes late; the company was
Johnsons and the bus ran between Stratford and Moreton-le-Marsh. At Chipping
Campden we had the usual problems finding the actual start but soon discovered a
signpost halfway along the high street and we were on our way. Thereafter that we
had no difficulties with the route as the way marking was first class, a
mixture of signposts and small circular plaques with an arrow and the long
distance path symbol of the acorn. The paths were all good and dry underfoot,
the good spring weather had dried out the land and the paths were cracked with
a network of small fissures over the surfaces.
We began to climb straight away to Dover Hill,
named after Robert Dover who in 1612 instituted the ‘Olimpick Games’
‘Dover’s Olimpick Games became famous, so
much so that a book was written about them in 1636, including descriptions of
the activities and poems by such luminaries as Ben Jonson. A castle was
constructed on the hill and a gun was fired to start the proceedings. There
were some familiar events – running, jumping and dancing – but others that have
no place in the modern Olympics. Backswords, coursing and pike-tumbling have
long been forgotten, but others are at least recognizable, such as sack races –
except unlike sack races at modern fetes, the competitors here had the sacks
tied up to their necks. The games lasted through to 1852, when they were ended
because they didn’t match Victorian notions of respectability. But they were
restarted in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations and the
spirit of the old games lingers on. The castle is still built ever year, and
the event ends with a torchlight procession in to the town. Even some of the
older games have survived, including the alarming-sounding shin-kicking
contest.’
from the Natioal Trails Guide; The Cotswold Way
from the Natioal Trails Guide; The Cotswold Way
When we walked over Dover Hill an American couple
we spoke to asked if the Olympic Games had been held here, I read them the
above quote from the guide book. They were from Colorado and over for
three weeks holiday, they had already been around Scotland. There was a lot of
activity and a mock castle had already been built, so it looks like the
'Olimpick Games' were being held for the Diamond Jubilee. Another feature of
Dover Hill was the magnificent view looking out over the Vale of Evesham.
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| The Vale of Evesham from Broadway tower |
The next feature as we climbed the next hill was
Broadway Tower, a folly built around 1800 for the Earl of Coventry. There was a
tea room and souvenir shop at the bottom of the tower and you could climb to
the top for the view at £4 each. We didn’t bother and contented ourselves with
the panorama from below which was still excellent and free.
From the hill the route dropped steeply down an
escarpment and followed a dry stone wall all the way down to Broadway where we
had been earlier. Before looking for a bench in the village square for lunch we
paid a visit to the tourist info which was now open. They weren’t much help
with bus time tables from Cheltenham and further south, it was out with their
area. After lunch it began to get overcast and there were some dark clouds.
Eventually there were a few showers and we had to don our waterproof jackets.
It was still very warm and with the jackets on it felt even hotter, I decided
to take off my t-shirt and just wear the jacket and leave it open, that felt
much better.
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| Stanway House |
The route continued in the same way as before
climbing hills and down the other side. The hills weren’t very high, definitely
not Munro standard, but the ascents, though not very long, tended to be steep.
Also, and maybe it’s because we prefer going up, the descents made us aware
just how much we had climbed, they seemed to drop down and down and down. The
couple of villages we passed through Stanton and Stanway were quite beautiful
with lovely houses, lots thatched and with purple wisteria growing from the
walls. We stopped at Stanway for a break and finished off our flask of coffee
with a Bounty bar. We found a stone bench outside Stanway House which the guide
book says is a fine example of Jacobean architecture. It was restored in the 18th
century and the water gardens renovated and open to the public on Sundays,
at what seems to be the standard price for everything here of £4 each. The main
attraction of the gardens was the pond and fountain with a plume of water
shooting 100m into the air.
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| Thomas Cromwell monument |
As we neared Hayles there was a stone monument with a seat built around the base. It was said that Thomas Cromwell, Henry V111's adviser sat there and watched the destruction of Hayles Abbey. Our book remarks that the monument was built long after the event and Hayles was still some distance away shrouded in trees. Soon we were coming down from the escarpment to
Hayles and the campsite. It had been a good, hard day’s walking and we had
covered 25.2km.
DAY 2
Thursday 31 May 2012
Hayles to Seven Springs 26km.
It was feeling quite mild when we left this
morning. The BBC weather forecast said that there would be showers this morning
and be cool but the afternoon it would be sunny and dry. They got it the wrong way
round, it was dry and mild in the morning but cold after lunch then the showers
started. Moira was wise and wore her fleece but I just had my golf shirt
on.
The start was better today beginning straight from
the campsite, we would have to worry later about getting our bus connections
back. The route took us near to the fence with the ruins of the abbey on the
other side, I was able to get some nice photographs of the walls and arches
that were still standing, from there it was a nice path across grassy fields to
the town of Winchcombe. This was another conserved town with old beautiful
buildings all decked in bunting and flags for the jubilee celebrations. There
was an attractive church with a tall square tower and we had great views of it
when looking back as we continued on the trail.
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| Winchcombe church |
We climbed steadily up to Belas Knat, meaning
beacon mound, where there was the remains of a Neolithic burial chamber or
barrow. It was a huge mound in which the skeletons of about 30 of these ancient
people had been found. After that it was a nice gently route on the top of the
hills around Cleve Common and suddenly what resembled a French chateau appeared
among the trees, Postlip Hall. From there the trail made its way though the
fairways of Cleve Hill golf course where we had beautiful views of the
countryside below stretching all the way to Wales with Cheltenham in the foreground.
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| Cotswold Way to Belas Knap |
We were making steady progress and feeling better
with having an early start and managed to keep going without any stops. As the
track made its way over the tops we got closer to Cheltenham and could now make
out the famous National Hunt race course on the outskirts of the city. On a
couple of occasions the route markers didn’t come up to the expect standard and
we weren’t sure about going any further until a young couple we passed earlier
came along and assured us that we were heading the right way
.
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| Postlip Hall |
When we came
down the lane to Dowdeswell there was a cottage at the bottom that was also a
small business doing cream teas and also maps and info for the walk. I asked
there about buses and they kindly gave me a leaflet issued by the Cotswold
Conservation Board about transport and times for buses and trains at places
along the route. At Seven Springs where the route met the main road there was a
bus into Cheltenham every hour, it was only another hour’s walking to get
there.
Until now we
had been on our feet over 5 hours without a stop and it was well past our
normal lunchtime. Fortunately as we reached the road at Dowdeswell there was a
large lawn with picnic tables where we settled down for a break and our meal.
The stretch to Seven Springs was a pleasant stroll through wooded countryside
on lovely forest paths; we had plenty of time before the next bus.
When we got to the bus stop at Seven Springs, which
was a roundabout at busy cross roads, it began to rain. As usual it was a
worrying time when the bus was about 15 minutes late and we were now quite wet,
standing in the pouring rain in our ponchos. When we arrived at the Royal Well
bus station in Cheltenham we were just in time for the Castleways bus to
Hayles. The time table said it left at 4:15pm but a new schedule we picked up
on the bus showed a change and we got going 15 minutes later. It was a long
tortuous route to Hayles, as he went ‘all around the houses’ in the
towns and villages the bus passed through. It took 45 minutes for the short
journey and then we had the walk to the campsite, luckily the rain had gone off
and it was a pleasant evening.
DAY 3 Friday
1 June 2012
Seven Springs to Painswick 26.1km
When we finished at Seven Springs yesterday there
was a huge lay-by and parking area near the roundabout. There were plenty of
cars and lorries parked there and even a mobile snack bar for the good passing
trade. We decided to drive there this morning, it seemed safe enough for parking
the ‘van there for the day. The place we were making for, Painswick, was on the
bus route to Cheltenham and from the city we could get the bus service we used
yesterday to take us back to Seven Springs.
The footpath went slightly uphill to a wooded area
and then grassland to Hartley Hill. It then followed the escarpment edge with
more magnificent panoramic views until reaching Leckhampton Hill. The section
had evidence of old quarrying and there should have been a rock pinnacle,
Devil’s Chimney, behind one of the quarries but we couldn’t see it. It was one
of the disappointments of the walk that the guide book listed points of
interest but they were off-route and there weren’t any access paths or signs directing
us to them.
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| The panorama from Leckhampton Hill |
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| Remains of Neolithic fort battlements |
From Leckhampton Hill it was easy walking over
grassland before another climb to Crickley Hill. On this section the book said there
was the site of a Roman villa but it was somewhere behind the large hedge that
ran along one side of the path and no access path. On Crickley Hill there was a
view point and car park, with a panorama table pinpointing all the hills and
points of interest. It was much clearer today and we could make out many of the
features. The city of Gloucester was now in the foreground, its cathedral with
225 foot tower should have been prominent but it wasn’t clear enough for that
detail. The car park was quite full, mainly with dog walkers, some we had met on our route that ran close by. Along the escarpment and rocky cliff were the remains of
the battlements and main rampart of a Neolithic fort, that the archaeologists dated
at 4000BC.
Leaving Crinkley Hill was one of the few occasions
where the route marking was poor. We spent about 15 minutes wandering about searching, before a dog walker pointed us in the right direction. Nearby there
was supposed to be another burial barrow but again hidden by a hedge. The route
dropped down to a very busy junction at a roundabout where there weren’t any traffic
lights or zebra crossing, and we had to dodge the traffic to get across to the
continuation of the path along the escarpment. This section in the guide book
finished at the village of Birdlip. I expected to come into the village but
when after covering what seemed a long distance without seeing any habitation
we rechecked the map and found that the route actually by-passed Birdlip. At
this point we decided it was lunch time, we found a nice rock to sit and have
our coffee and sandwiches.
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| Cooper's Hill for cheese rolling |
At Coopers Hill the next village after our lunch
break was famous for its cheese rolling event. It takes place on Spring Bank
Holiday Mondays so should be on this week-end but we could see no signs of preparation
or advertising for the event. Whole cheeses are rolled down the hill and the
competitors pursue them, falling, tumbling and rolling as much as the cheeses,
I have seen the fiasco on TV. The route took us to the top of the hill and it
was a very steep climb and the drop on the other side for the competition was
shear, not a hill I would like to go down quickly chasing a cheese. The guide
book said that there was a Maypole on top to mark the starting point but all we
could see was a long wooden pole lying on the ground.
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| Typical woodland path |
From the top of Cooper’s Hill there was more
climbing as the route made its way through Brockworth Wood before dropping down
to the road at Cranham Corner. I had worked out from there it should be over
6km to Painswick where we planned to catch a bus back, but the road signpost
said 2.5 miles or 4 km. Once on the route and off-road again a Cotswold Way
sign confirmed this distance, it was now only 2 miles. This was pleasing as we
would easily catch the earlier bus and save an hour. The route took us through
a golf course most of the way to Painswick. It did look like a golf course with
fairways, greens and flags indicating the holes, but there wasn’t a soul
playing, so there was no danger of stray golf balls flying about.
We made it into Painswick in plenty of time for the
bus and we sat on a bench beside the stop to finish off the coffee and have a
Bounty bar. A couple who were locals told us the bus ran from Stroud to
Cheltenham and at Stroud we could catch a bus to Wotton-under-Edge, the next
place I planned to walk to, so the bus network was still fitting in well. The
bus came on time and we got our connection to Seven Springs within 15 minutes
of reaching Cheltenham. The ‘van was OK when we reached the lay-by and it
wasn’t long before we were back at Hayles and the campsite. We
did some planning for tomorrow’s section before getting to bed. I calculated
the distance to Wotton-under-Edge and found it was in excess of 35km, too far.
A closer option was the town of Dursley and we could get a bus there from
Stroud. It is 24km between Painswick and Dursley, a more realistic distance.
DAY 4 Saturday 2 June 2012
Dursley to Painswick 24.2km.
Being a Saturday and the holiday week-end, we
weren’t sure how reliable the buses would be, so we decided to drive to
Painswick and do today’s route in reverse. This meant that we would take the
bus/buses to Dursley and walk back happily knowing that the ‘van would be
waiting for us at the end. At the end of our walk yesterday we noticed there
was a parking place, for walkers doing the Way, next to the trail, in a quiet
secluded spot under the trees, so that was where we left the camper after a 26
mile drive via Cheltenham to Painswick.
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| Painswick post office |
We left Hayles at 7:30am and at this time of the
morning the traffic wasn’t heavy so we got through Cheltenham easily. At
Painswick we had an hour before the bus so we had a cup of tea and listened to
the radio before making our way to the bus stop in the village. On the way we
passed the old village post office which prides itself being the oldest in the
country and it was built at first as a private house in 1478. In1997 it was
chosen to be pictured on a commemorative set of stamps for the centenary of the
National Association of Sub-Postmasters. The church had a tall steeple and a
very colourful clock, the graveyard which encompassed the church boasted the
finest carved table tombs in Britain and on the lawns grew nicely pruned yew
trees, reportedly 99 in number.
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| Crawley hill long barrow |
The bus arrived on time and waiting were two
women from Norway, also doing the walk, unfortunately one of them had injured
her foot and they were heading for the hospital in Stroud for treatment. At
Stroud we had to wait an hour for our connection to Dursley and we spent it
strolling around the shopping centre. Eventually we reached Dursley and it was
a late start, made even later by the search for the start of the route. When we
did find it we almost headed in the wrong direction, south instead of north,
but were kept right by a friendly pub owner who pointed us to the north. It
wasn’t a very nice day weather wise, there was a lot of mist about and it felt
cold and damp, we eventually put on our rain jackets which also kept us warm.
The haze and mist only began to clear late in the afternoon, preventing us from
appreciating the fine views from the hill tops and viewpoints along today’s
route. There were the usual tough climbs to the tops and ridges, unlike high
mountains that gradually wind and zigzag their way to the summits these paths
just go straight up. Although generally only short stretches to the tops, they
do tend to be tough. Once out of Dursley we climbed to Cam Long Down where
there was a flat walk over heath land before dropping down, only to climb up
again to a panoramic viewpoint on Crawley Hill, and another example of a
Neolithic burial mound or barrow. We stopped there for lunch then it was long
enjoyable path following the contours of the hill through beautiful woodland.
Coming the other way we first of all met the two Norwegian women. The injured
one had her leg strapped up at the hospital and they had bussed to King’s
Stanley where they had started their walk. Next heading towards us were the
young couple that helped us with our route finding two days ago. They had begun
today at Painswick and were heading for Dursley, they had started at 9:00am and
it was now 2:00pm. That would mean we had still 5 hours to our finish, I was
hoping they were very slow walkers.
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| Stroudwater Canal |
We dropped down from the contour path to the town
of King’s Stanley and then crossed the Stroudwater Canal to another tough climb
to Standish Wood. There was an alternative route avoiding King’s Stanley that
we could have taken that would have gone along the canal banks and around
Selsley Common, but it was 3km longer and with the late start we felt it would
drag out the day too much. Once at Standish Wood it was more level contour paths
until a short climb took us to Haresfield Beacon. This was a trig point and the
mist was beginning to clear rewarding us with outstanding views of the horseshoe of hills
that we had come round. From this point the sign post said: ‘2.5 miles to Painswick ‘ but
it seemed a lot, lot, more, making up for yesterday’s short ending coming into
Painswick from the other direction. It was after 6:30pm when we reached the ’van,
so our time getting finish wasn’t much different from what the young couple, we
met near King’s Stanley, had taken.
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| Moira at trig point on Haresfield Beacon |
Before
leaving I made a cup of tea and drank it as we drove back. One plus about
finishing late was that the roads were quiet and it was no problem going
through Cheltenham. It was after 7:30pm when we reached the site at Hayles.
Sunday 3 June 2012
Rest Day
We decided to have a break today as we weren’t sure
about buses, a lot of the routes didn’t run on a Sunday. Also the rain that
started last night continued all day with only a few breaks. It was definitely a rest day
We are planning to move tomorrow and Moira managed
to get booked into a Camping and Caravan farm site at Wick, just north of Bath, but only from Tuesday. We
had spotted another farm site at the village of Cambridge, near Dursley, when going
there by the bus on Saturday. Moira tried to phone to book in for tomorrow
night, but there wasn’t any reply. We will try again in the morning.
DAY 5 Monday
4 June 2012
Dursley to Wotton-under-Edge 11.8km (circular 19.6km)
Today being a Bank Holiday the buses weren’t very
frequent or reliable, even if they were running at all. The plan was to drive
to Dursley, park the ‘van there and walk to Wotton-under-Edge and then walk
back again to Dursley. There was a choice of an alternative to the' recognised'
Cotswold Way which ‘saved’ 4km. We decided that going out it would be the
proper long route and coming back we would take the short cut. Before leaving
Moira tried to contact the farm site near Dursley but still no reply, so we planned to
call into the farm site on the way to Dursley. We headed to the M5 motorway
from Hayles and it was a quick trip today missing Cheltenham and the highway
wasn’t busy on this holiday. On the A38 just before coming to Cambridge I
spotted the farm site and we turned in. The farmer wasn’t there but a neighbour
phoned him and it was alright to come later after our walk and camp. The price
was only £10 for the night and was only 3.5 miles now to Dursley, so now we
wouldn’t have a long drive after our walk.
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| The Rriver Severn and the bridges to wales |
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| Tyndale Tower |
In Dursley I parked at the swimming pool that was
recommended by the guide book but as we were leaving I noticed a sign saying
there was a limit of 3 hours for parking. I thought we would be alright as
there wouldn’t be any traffic wardens working today. As we made our way to the
start of the trail from Dursley we came to another car park, this was a ‘long
stay’ allowing 23 hours. I moved the ‘van there and felt a bit more relaxed
that we weren’t running a risk of a heavy fine or the wheels clamped. As usual
there was the steep climb to begin with, taking us to the top of the Cotswolds
again. On the top was a golf course and this was where the route split; there was
a loop that went around the perimeter of the golf course or the short cut to
the village of North Nibley. As planned we took the loop and we weren’t
disappointed by taking the extra 4km. The track made its way along the edge of
the escarpment and we had magnificent views in all directions as we circled
round the golf course. After the rain yesterday it was as if the atmosphere had
been washed, it was now crystal clear and we could see for miles. In one
direction the River Severn flowed across the panorama and in the distance we
could see the two bridges that connected England with Wales, crossing it. The
route eventually came round and met the path that came directly over from the
golf club house. There was a steep drop down again and some brave mountain
cyclists were attempting to pedal to the top, they seemed to be managing when
they passed us. At the bottom there was a track the farmer had cut through his
field of corn leading to a bridge over a stream at the start of the village of
North Nibley. At a house near the bridge there was a refrigerator with a sign,
‘cool water for Cotswold Way walkers’. It was bottled water and they wanted 50p
per bottle in the honesty box, we didn’t bother, we had our own tap water in a
bottle. Once through the village there was another very steep climb, to a large
tower monument at the top. They had cut stairs into the slope but it didn’t
make it any easier, it was a very tough climb. The monument, Tyndale tower, was
built in 1866 to commemorate William Tyndale born in North Nibley in 1484 who
took advantage of the new printing processes to produce the first complete
translation of the Bible in English. We stopped at the tower and on the plinth
around the base sat and had our lunch.
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| Beacon ready for lighting and copse of trees planted for Waterloo |
From the tower the walk was over open grassland and
we had more splendid views of the Severn and the bridges in the distance. Soon
it was into woodlands where it was sheltered from a cold wind that had picked
up, even though it was a nice day otherwise. We came out of the trees and at an
open point with more magnificent views where they were building a bonfire for the
series of beacons all over the country that will be lit tonight to celebrate
the jubilee. There was also a fenced off area with trees that were planted in
1815 to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo, but have twice been renewed. There
was also a plaque that said some had been used for the beacon that was lit for
Queen Victoria’s jubilee.
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| Clock in Wotton-under-Edge tro commemorate Victoria's jubilee |
It was another drop down now to the little town of
Wotton-under-Edge. We had a walk through the town and found a couple of parking
areas that will do for leaving the ‘van tomorrow for the next stage of the
walk. We tried to find out about buses from here but they all seemed to go
north and nothing to the south that we want. We decided that we might continue
to do out and back walks until the finish, it might take longer but we have
lots of time. It took about 3 hours to reach Wotton but with the short cut at
the golf course it was only 90 minutes to get back. We stopped again at the
Tyndale Tower and finished off the flask of coffee with a Bounty bar.
Once back at the ‘van I move round to Sainsbury's supermarket,
which surprisingly was open today and Moira did some shopping before we headed
for the farm site at Cambridge. We were at the small site by 4:00pm where there was also
electricity included for the fee of £10.
DAY 6
Tuesday 5 June 2012
Wotton-under-Edge to Hawkesbury. 11.8km (20km circular)
The weather forecast for today wasn’t good, rain
was predicted again but when we got up it was still looking quite good and dry.
The buses still weren’t dependable either, it was an extra holiday today for
the Queen’s jubilee; we decide on another short section and then walking back
by road, which was shorter, giving us another circular route
.
.
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| St Mary's church, Wotton-under-Edge |
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| The Cotswold Way from Wotton |
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| Lower Kilcott |
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| The Somerset Monument |
We turned and headed up to the Somerset Monument again, continuing along the minor road towards Wotton. As we began our return the rain that was forecast started, it was light at first but got heavier. We had our ponchos on which kept our top half dry but our shoes and socks soon became sodden. We came off the road shortly after the monument and took a bridleway that the map showed ran parallel with the road. It was surfaced at the start but when it reached the farm called Splatt’s Barn we were going through long grass on an overgrown track. The route now didn’t resemble the one on the map which reconnected with the road; ours meandered through woodland and dropped steeply downhill. Once we cleared the trees there were houses and a pub, it turned out to be the village of Hillesley which was luckily on our route, we had wandered on to another path which took us further along the road. We now stuck to the road all the way back to Wotton; after Hillesley it was up and down to the villages of Alderley, and Wortley before reaching Wotton. At Alderley there was a marquee in a field, obviously left over from a jubilee street party and as the rain was now pouring we took shelter there to have our lunch. The rain had eased off as we made our way through Wotton to the ‘van and this dried off our ponchos but unfortunately not our shoes.
From Wotton, after filling with diesel at the local garage, expensive, we made our way to the farm campsite, which Moira had booked for the next four nights, at the village of Wick. It was about halfway between Hawkesbury and Bath where the walk finishes, now with the help of buses we should have no problem in completing it in the next few days. The campsite was alright and I filled up with water before settling down for the night. There was electricity and soon the water was heated for a shower. We felt much better washed and into dry clothes.
DAY 7
Wednesday 6 June 2012
Hawkesbury to near Cold Ashton 22km (plus extra 4km to Horton)
The woman at the site gave us a schedule for the
buses from Wick and there was one leaving at 8:09am for Chipping Sodbury and
Old Sodbury. We found yesterday that buses ran from Chipping Sodbury to
Hawkesbury, and the plan was to connect with one of these. We got ready early
and left at 7:30am to walk the ½ mile into Wick for the bus. While waiting, we
decided rather than search for the bus to Hawkesbury at Chipping Sodbury we
would carry on to the next village, Old Sodbury, where the route passes through,
and from there walk to Hawkesbury. We would then get the bus from there back,
we had the time table from there, and then pick up the route south from Old Sodbury.
The bus arrived on time and when we got to Old
Sodbury expected the driver to stop in the village centre, which was the end of
his route after all. Instead he carried on right through the village and didn’t
stop until he reached the main road to Stroud. This gave us about a kilometre
to walk back to the village centre. This time there was no problem finding the
way markers for the Cotswold Way and we still managed to have an early start,
getting on our way at 9:00am.
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| St John the Baptist church, Old Sodbury |
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| The 'bird folly', Horton |
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| Cotswold panorama |
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| Dyrham Park and manor house |
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| Moira with Alec doing his 'lejog' |
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| Through the gate before the cows caught me. |
DAY 8
Thursday 7 June 2012
near Cold Ashton to Bath 17.5km
It had rained during the night but it was off when
we wakened in the morning. The weather forecast on the TV wasn’t at all
promising, heavy rain was on the way accompanied by gale force winds. This was
to last over the week-end so we made sure we got away this morning before it
deteriorated further. Today we both put on our ‘foul-weather’ gear, rain
jackets and waterproof trousers; I also put on my boots. It was a wise move as
the paths were very muddy and the grass soaking wet, I was surprised that they
felt so comfortable as I hadn’t worn them for over a year. The conditions
weren’t so bad when we began, a continuous drizzle but later the wind picked up
and the rain got heavier and a heavier.
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| The gate to the manor house, Cold Ashton |
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| Battle of Landsdown Hill route marker |
After the village it was along high hedged lanes
and grassy fields before the first climb of the day, to the top of Landsdown
Hill, the site of a Civil War battle in 1643. An information board on the top
gave details of the defence of the city of Bath by the Parliamentarians under
Sir William Waller against the Royalist army led by Sir Ralph Hopton. There was
also a walking route of the battle site that was way marked with a red flag
with a white cross on a blue pole adorned with two broadswords at its base.
Along this battle route which coincided with our walk there was a monument with
a coat of arms and a griffin on top, it commemorated Sir Bevil Grenville who
died in the conflict.
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| Grenville monument |
The route continued to follow the escarpment and we
had views of Bristol in the distance before a good gravel path took us round
the golf course. There weren’t any golfers about in the weather conditions
which had got steadily worse, heavy rain and strong gusts of wind; but there
was a keen runner out training, his bare legs covered in mud. After the golf
course we came to Bath race course, and the trail passed the beginning of the
straight with the starting stalls and the grandstands opposite the finishing
post in the distance. As we came to the rim of the escarpment again the view
opened out over Bath and followed the edge for some distance before beginning its descent to the city. The route took us down the hillside to a football field
which we crossed to the streets. As we have often found, the signs and way
marks for the route are difficult to find when you get to large towns and cities,
it was no difference here. As we were at the end of the route we just asked
people for directions to the city centre and a nice walk through a wooded park
soon had us at the bus station.
The rain was now pouring down and as we had
explored Bath last September we decided
to catch the first bus back to Wick. We had an hour to wait and spent it having
our lunch seated on a bench at the terminus. It was a 20 minute ride back to
Wick and a short walk to the site.
It had been a very enjoyable walk with some outstanding scenery. If it hadn't been for the extended Spring Bank Holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee the buses would have been more favourable, but we managed very well anyway. The campsites where we stayed weren't luxury but we don't need much as we have all the required facilities in nthe campervan. We spent an extra day at the site in Wick before heading back to Cardiff to see how Margaret was 'progressing'. It was fortunate that we finished yesterday as the rain was torrential and we had to move the 'van in case the gales blew down the tree we were parked under.
It had been a very enjoyable walk with some outstanding scenery. If it hadn't been for the extended Spring Bank Holiday for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee the buses would have been more favourable, but we managed very well anyway. The campsites where we stayed weren't luxury but we don't need much as we have all the required facilities in nthe campervan. We spent an extra day at the site in Wick before heading back to Cardiff to see how Margaret was 'progressing'. It was fortunate that we finished yesterday as the rain was torrential and we had to move the 'van in case the gales blew down the tree we were parked under.
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