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

View Dursley to Middleyard in Google maps

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