14 June 2009: Painswick to Middleyard

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Walking distance: 9.6 miles.
Walking time: about 6 hours.
Weather: Sunny and hot.

Way points: Haresfield Hill, Haresfield Beacon, Standish Wood, Stonehouse.

The second day of our weekend break was chronologically the first part of the walk - if that makes sense - as we picked up the Cotswold Way from Painswick where we stopped back in April. Public transport on a Sunday was at least available in the direction we wanted to go, but connections were bad and so it took us about two hours from the B&B to Painswick: After a very nice 3 course breakfast we checked out at 10:00 and were on the bus to Stroud at 10:30. In Stroud we had to wait an hour for the next short bus ride to Painswick. To pass the time we walked around the city centre and bought sandwich lunch supplies.

Finally we arrived in Painswick just in time to watch a group of teddy bears jumping from the church tower (unfortunately this took us by surprise so no photos available), then started to walk at 12:30. The Cotswold Way almost immediately lead up hill in the full-on sun, but later took us back into woodland. Around 3:00pm we stopped for a late lunch break with splendid views at Haresfield Beacon. Then the path took us out in the sun again, along two promontories and then down some long woodland paths in the shade. The last bit of today's walk - down from the woods to Ebley and back up to Middleyard - was dragging on a bit, but in the end we got back to where we had started, arriving at the B&B around 6:30pm.

We started driving up the M5, then stopped for a Little Chef's dinner and dropped the roof down for the remaining overland drive. Arrival back home: around 9:00pm.

To sum up: This was a great weekend, with hot weather, challenging walks and a nice overnight stay. We made good progress on the Cotswold Way covering about 16.5 miles in total and had some fantastic views towards the estuary and Severn Bridge.
:-)

Pictures of the eighth stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayVIII - click on the picture to open the album

13 June 2009: Dursley to Middleyard

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Walking distance: 7 miles.
Walking time: about 5 hours.
Weather: Sunny and hot.

Way points: Cam Long Down, Coaley Peak nature reserve and picninc area, Penn Wood.

This was a weekend break, and due to the lack of public transport on a Sunday we had to walk this part of the stretch backwards. On Saturday we left home early and arrived at our B&B around 10:30, got on a bus just before 11:00, and were in Dursley at 12:00. After all this travelling we needed to refuel with a toasted sandwich lunch in the 'Dursley Diner', and started the walk after that. The day was hot and we were grateful for any shady bits in the woodlands. Walking was mainly through fields, nature reserves and woodlands. The path followed the hill lines and when on top we had magnificient views. As always there was a fair bit of up and down, but we managed to keep walking without any major breaks. Only the ice cream van at the Cowley Peak picnic area persuaded us to have a short rest. After what felt like a long day we arrived back at our Valley Views B&B just before 6:00pm.

After refreshing showers in a fantastic bath room we drove to 'The George' in Frocester for a nice pub dinner: Bacon wrapped chicken breast in Stilton sauce with new potatos and lots of fresh vegetables, accompanied by a pint for the non-driver. :-) After that we headed back to the B&B for an early night and had some good sleep.

Pictures of the seventh stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayVII - click on the picture to open the album

10 April 2009: Birdlip to Painswick

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Walking distance: 8.7 miles
Walking time: about 4.5 hours.
Weather: Still a bit wet but not too bad.

Way points: Witcombe Wood, Coopers Hill, Painswick golf course.

After a hearty full breakfast we got the boots and raincoats back on and continued the walk. The rain today was not nearly as bad as the weather forecast had predicted the night before, and some of the rain gear had to come off as soon as we got a bit warmer walking up some hills. Generally the day was easy walking, on a lot of nice woodland pathes. But there were of course some hills too, the steepest being at Coopers Hill where the locals hold an annual cheese rolling race on the Spring bank holiday Monday. Due to the changing weather conditions we didn't stop for a proper picnic today, and arrived at the destination - Painswick church - a good half hour before the 14:50 bus that took us back to Cheltenham.

Pictures of the sixth stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayVI - click on the picture to open the album

9 April 2009: Seven Springs to Birdlip

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Walking distance: 7.6 miles
Walking time: about 4.45 hours including short picnic break.
Weather: Wet but not too cold.

Way points: Hartley Hill, Leckhampton Hill, Crickley Hill country park.

At the Easter weekend we finally managed to pick up the Cotswold Way. Thursday is already a holiday at University so we set out in the morning for the drive to Cheltenham. The car was staying in a secure Park & Ride until our return on Friday. We first took the Park & Ride bus into the city, then went for a power breakfast in a nice cafe and at 11:10 took the bus towards Seven Springs. We started the walk at around 11:30 at the same bus stop where we finished it last year. Unfortunately the weather was not as nice as when we've last been here, but we were equipped with rain coats and determined to do the walk anyway. For the first time we took a slightly bigger rucksack with overnight gear which worked out fine: Paul carried it most of the time as it fitted nicely under his rain poncho.

During the day it kept raining on and off which did not spoil the walk or the views, but we did not take as many pictures this weekend. We arrived at the hotel fairly dry and only a bit muddy around 4:15pm. The hotel itself was a real treat, modern room and bathroom with power massage shower, and for dinner we just had to go down to the bar. A giant portion of fish and chips and a pint felt well earned to both of us!

Pictures of the fifth stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayV - click on the picture to open the album

7 June 2008: Cleeve Hill to Seven Springs

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Walking distance: 10 miles
Walking time: about 6.45 hours including getting lost and a short pub break.
Weather: Sunny and warm.

Way points: Cleeve Common, Bill Smyllies nature reserve, Dowdeswell reservoir with Reservoir Inn.

Again we drove to the possible end point of our walk and parked the car at the Hungry Horse in Seven Springs. (We had a back-up plan for an earlier stop and a bus option - rather complex - to get back to Seven Springs should we not make the whole stretch)
We took the bus No. 51 at 10:40 to Cheltenham, where we had a nice late breakfast in a cafe while waiting for the next bus. This was the 606 that we had used before and we took the 12:00 to Cleeve Hill. The friendly bus driver dropped us of at the golf course drive way, so we just had to walk up to the car park in the disused quarry and continue with the Cotswold Way from there.
First we walked along the ridge of Cleeve Common with some fabulous views over Cheltenham, then through a bit of woodland and into Bill Smyllies nature reserve. A little bit later we lost the path for the first time on our Cotswold Way walk which lead to a two mile detour and a grumpy tour leader (me).
After a long downhill and even longer uphill bit (at least it felt longer!) that were both NOT part of the Cotswold Way we finally found it again and from then on it was well sign-posted again - or at least easy to follow on the map.
After we passed Dowdeswell reservoir (this could not be seen until we crossed the road later and walked up on the other side) we decided to stop for pints of coke and lemonade at the Reservoir Inn. This was the back-up option and we could have possibly stopped a bus from here to take us back into Cheltenham. But after the refreshing drinks we decided to push on. It was another long climb up a hill with a really steep bit right at the top, and we were relieved that the sun was on its way down behind opposite hills. Also whoever put a bench up at the top of the climb deserves a round of applause!
From the bench it was mainly down hill and we were back at the Hungry Horse around 19:00. To justify our use of the car park, and because we were "knackered" we stayed for dinner before driving back home.
This was a long walk, but it felt good to take it near our limits. Now we know we can do 10 miles, even with a start after mid day - let's see how we progress further in 2009! :-)

More details of the fourth stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayIV - click on the picture to open the album

24 May 2008: Winchcombe to Cleeve Hill

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Walking distance: 5.6 miles
Walking time: about 3.25 hours including picnic break.
Weather: Sunny and warm, very windy on the hill tops of Cleeve Common.

Way point: Historic (restored) long barrow Belas Knap.

This was one of our shorter walks. We decided to do it on a Saturday afternoon, when we'd have a chance of using public transport. It was a good hour's drive from home to the destination of the walk, a walkers' car park in a disused quarry near the Cleeve Hill golf club. We left the car behind and walked into Cleeve Hill to the nearest "listed" bus stop (there were closer ones as we found out on the way).

Then we got on the 606 bus at 12:15, and arrived at Winchcombe around 12:30. From there we picked up the Cotswold Way where we finished three weeks earlier. Even though it was not a long walk mileage-wise it was quite challenging with lots of up and down bits. We arrived back at the Cleeve Hill golf course car park around 4:00pm and felt like we had done a proper walking day.

More details of the third stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayIII - click on the picture to open the album

4 May 2008: Broadway to Winchcombe

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Walking distance: 12 miles
Walking time: about 6.75 hours including breaks.
Weather: Overcast, some drizzle and other types of rain, still fairly warm.

After a good night's sleep and an "Award winning" breakfast we set off for a full day of walking. The weather had changed a bit over night, but in the end we were grateful for the bits of rain that kept us cool on this walk. Way points were: Stanton, Stanway House, Wood Stanway, and Hailes Abbey,

We left the B&B at about 10:00 and had to almost immediately climb up the first hill of the day. The walk was still well sign-posted and it was also fun following the route in the guide book while walking. We had our own picnic lunch for the day, only finding the right spot for it proved a bit difficult: It was either raining, or there were other walkers using the few benches available, or there was nothing to sit down and be a bit sheltered. In the end we found a nice big tree just after we left Wood Stanway and we could fuel up for the next hill to climb over.

We reached our destination - Winchcombe - around 16:45, just in time to still be served a nice cream tea. After that it wasn't long until our pre-ordered taxi arrived to take us back to Broadway (no public transport on a Sunday!). From there it was an hour's drive back home and thanks to it being the Bank Holiday weekend we had still the Monday off to recover from this great walking adventure, the start to our Cotswold Way walk!

More details of the second stage of the walk are in this photo album:

CotswoldWayII - click on the picture to open the album