Great Britain: The Cotswolds Way
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Here are my notes from the trip:
 
One hundred miles is a long way. Maybe not as much in a train or car, but on foot it’s a long way. And gently rolling hills aren’t quite so gentle after about mile 10 of the walk. Or if they roll straight up in the first 10 minutes of the day’s walk, and seem to continue past every bend in the trail until it seems the walk will be uphill all day and it’s time to find a place to call a cab. One hundred miles is hard on feet that aren’t used to walking, and those feet will be sore for at least two days after the walk is over.
 
Here are a few other insights about walking the Cotswolds way: Sheep and cows far outnumber people. English food is surprisingly good, but the traditional English breakfast is generally not (poached eggs in vinegar one morning, but the bacon is good).  It became a treat to see real Heinz ketchup and not tomato sauce.   Every village has a beautiful church and a pleasant pub, but pubs are closing fast (England is losing 5 pubs a day!) while the churches are still beautiful. If there is a hill ahead, chances are good the trail goes up the steepest face. Finally, a dog that lives in the Cotswolds is the luckiest and happiest being on earth.
 
Our journey started on a dreary, rainy day in London, where we met our guides and the group and piled into a van (it seems we can’t have a true vacation without spending at least some time in a van)for the drive to the start of the walk. Twelve people in all, with the usual tilt towards lawyers and doctors and, as we found out, a need to walk much faster than we cared to. Our first stop was Hidcote gardens, an introduction to England’s national trust system of preserved spaces and buildings somewhat similar to the National Park system in the U.S., and the England fanaticism with gardening and tea. After a brief tour we decided to walk to the starting point of the Cotwolds Way – Chipping Camden – about 5 miles.
 
This was our introduction to the one constant of the trail – mud. Slippery, sticky, deep mud we would encounter at least occasionally every day on the trail. Where the mud hadn’t been improved by cows or sheep the English had thoughtfully brought in horses, since all the animals apparently had a secondary job of deepening and maintaining the muddy spots of the trail.
 
Luckily the innkeepers along the way understand the trail, and don’t act too surprised as a line of walkers congregate at the front door to remove mud-covered boots. Dinner in Chipping Camden set the tone for the trip – excellent food, liberal conversation.
 
Here’s a breakdown of the walk:
1.      start at Chipping Camden, then 6 miles to Broadway: the one place we had cream tea, and a disappointing one at that. But we made our best purchase – gaiters to protect our legs from thistles and mud. Along the way we passed Dovers Hill, site of the Cotswold Olimpicks, an event held every year for four hundred years, famous for keeping the ancient sport of Shin Kicking alive. (Monty Python skits don’t seem so far-fetched after a walk in the Cotswolds.) For more info: http://www.olimpickgames.co.uk. We also stopped at Broadway Tower, which was either built as a folly by rich people or a retreat for artists. We’re not sure, but the view was good and there was a herd of red deer in the field next to it.

2.      12 miles to Winchcombe through off and on rain. Amazingly, that’s the last rain we saw the entire trip.

3.      Visit to Sudely Castle, then 8 miles to Cleeve Hill and our daily interminable uphill before lunch. At the top of the hill we stopped at Belas Knap, a  long barrow. A long barrow is a tomb built 4 thousand years ago, and they’re scattered all over England and Ireland.

4.      In the first 20 minutes of our  16 mile walk from Cleeve Hill to Birdlip we must have climbed 10,000 feet, though that might be an exaggeration. Along the way passed an old quarry on Leckhampton hill, site of an iron age hill fort and Devil’s Chimney, a remnant of the quarry. It seemed we spent all day walking around Cheltenham.

5.      Only 7 miles to Painswick, but passed the Cheese Rolling Hill, a ridiculously steep hill where a contest is held every year to be the first person down the hill after a wheel of cheese. And then straight into an ambulance, since the contest results in many broken bones. The winner last year knocked himself out just as he crossed the finish line, so he apparently received his prize – a wheel of cheese – after release from the hospital. But the local we met at the top of the hill was more concerned that we understood that real cheese wasn’t rolled down the hill, “it’s a wheel of wood made to look like cheese.” We also passed a golf course and golfers who hit some of the worst shots I’ve seen since I stopped playing.  In Painswick, we had a glass of wine, some excellent cheeses and olives and the BEST chocolate cake.

6.      14 miles to Nympsfield for tea at Selsley church and a guided tour of one of the prettiest little churches we saw.  I, along with 7 others, rode in the back of a panel van from the trail head to the hotel.  Patti sat up front with the driver on a seat where a chicken had probably laid her eggs that morning.

7.      11 miles to Wooten-Under-Edge, with the hardest ups and downs of the trip. We stayed at Tortworth Court Hotel, originally a 14th century manor house recently renovated and quite posh for a bunch of folks just finished walking through sheep farms.

8.      14 miles to Tormorten for a stay at a Best Western, then the last day was 17 miles to Bath. With no official ending point, we chose the Bath Abbey, but the last few miles through the outskirts of town, on paved roads, was a challenge. We were ready to be done, and walking on pavement was much harder on the feet than we expected. But we all finished, slept well again at night, and rested for a morning tour of Bath. (We tried to find information about the Roman iron roads, but came up empty)


After visiting the Abbey and the Roman baths in Bath, Patti and I took the train to London for the second part of our trip. We took a quick tour of the city as we walked (more walking!) to the hotel, then went to evensong at St. Paul’s cathedral. The  reverend started his service with “Wow, look at me – at the altar of Saint Paul’s!” and ended it after a reference to a Tom Hanks line in Saving Private Ryan – “don’t waste your life.”
 
 
Tell Dick and Carol we said hello.
 
Dave Uhlig, Patti Williams