Category: 2022 Cotswold Way—England

It was a generous gesture for Sarah to let us camp in her field. We were safe and legal for the night. It just wasn’t peaceful. The traffic on the road never really stopped. Bear got up about 2:30 and alerted the crows in the treeline to his presence. They started cawing and swooping over the tents until they woke up the roosters. Once the roosters were going, it was farm-bird free for all. The guineas started. The ducks got going. The emus started their insurance sales pitch. And the damn roosters kept up a regular annoying call which sounded to me like “I want to die.” I wanted to help them. It was barely 4a and the sun was up. 

Ells Kitchen was surprisingly good. We went in the minute the doors opened. This breakfast was the best value for the meal we’ve had on the Cotswolds. I tripled up on caffeine to make up for the traffic and bird cacophony which was still going on when we went inside. When we came out, the birds were finally tired and quiet for the first time in 5 hours. This might explain my dislike of eggs. 

It was a scorched earth between us and Bath, meaning no cafes at all along the path. Not even the hint of one. This will be our most remote day of travel since arriving in England. I felt just like the men of the Iron Age when they took a chance to settle this area. Their number one concern, as ours, was exactly the same—Where will we be able to get a cup of coffee today? The optimistic fear of the unknown. 

The main historical note of the day was passing the site of the Battle of Lansdown. This was a battle from the English Civil War where two friends leading opposing armies met in battle. Unlike previous battlefields we have encountered, the sheep have not taken this one over. This one marks the rise of the cows. 

The wall surrounding the battlefield is the actual wall that was in place at the time. There is evidence of canon impact in it as well as repaired sections which were taken down so the canons could be moved onto the field. I’m not a fan of war. It’s always weak minded people being led to the slaughter so some narcissistic prick can consolidate power, get more money, and/or get laid more. Sometimes it’s necessary to fight back against assholes like Hitler or Putin, but it’d be better if we chose decent people to follow in the first place and avoid all the useless killing. 

Since this is the last day of our hike, it is really just a town day to Bunny. Like all town days, it’s virtually impossible to keep up with her, let alone get her to take a break. We did manage to convince her to eat a snack at a toposcope (compass at viewpoint). We thought there was a bench present and made a lot of noise and complaints when we didn’t see it. Sadly, there was a man from Bath that had hiked up to enjoy a quiet lunch on the bench directly below where we were complaining about the lack of the bench. He got scared enough that he got up and offered us the bench saying he had to move on. We half heartedly apologized as we were sitting down. 

It was less than a mile to the edge of town after the bench break. As soon as we hit the streets, there was a coffee shop, but 75% of our group did not want to stop for a drink. I was not in the majority. When we walked past it, I knew there’d be hell to pay for ignoring the offer from the cafe gods. I was right. 

Bath is a city in a valley surrounded by hills. The limestone hills around the valley filter all rain water and pushes it into underground reservoirs. The weight of the limestone on the reservoirs compresses and heats up the water and pushes the heated water out of open fissures in the valley. The whole process takes about 250 years from rain to hot tub. This is the source of the hot water for the old Roman Baths (and the modern spa). This is a roundabout way of saying, there are lots of hills in the area. 

Just because we entered the city doesn’t mean the hills stopped. I’m sure there is probably a route through the city that we could have taken to avoid climbing again. That route was not the route chosen by the trail designers. Their goal was to take us around town and slowly reveal the historic items to us one at a time without ever revealing the end of the trail which is at the Bath Abbey. 

Our route was through narrow alleys, hidden stairs, and steep climbs which hid the valley from us at all times. We got to experience why public transportation is so appealing to the workers of old Bath. It’s a climb in and out of the city. 

After the final ascent of Everest, we knew we were getting close when we could see the Royal Crescent in the distance. First we had to cross one more golf course (sans sheep) and skirt along the edge of Royal Victoria Park. Being a Sunday and nice day, the park was packed. 

The Royal Crescent is one of the most exclusive residences in Bath. Reportedly a few A-listers have places there now. In the past, Nicolas Coppola (Cage, trying to avoid claims of nepotism) had a place here. John Cleese and Johnny Depp also one lived in Bath, but not sure exactly where. 

Immediately past the Crescent is the Circus. It’s not of the Ringling Brothers variety, but it is a rather exclusive roundabout with a tree filled median and lined with more stately, overpriced residences of which I’ll never be invited to see the insides of (smart, rich, people).

Leaving the circus, we enter the oldest part of the city center. We eventually wind our way through thousands of tourists to the Bath Abbey and Roman Baths. Even the Romans were relative late comers to the city having built the first Public Bathhouse in the 1st century AD. 

Today, Bath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and vibrant city of 100,000 people. Everyone who is anyone since about the 16th century has been to or visited this city. Most importantly, though, Bath is the Southern Terminus of the Cotswold Way. We fought our way through the crowds to the mosaic in front of the Abbey to document the end of our journey. Now how about a beer for the effort since we skipped the last cafe? 

We will spend a couple of days in Bath before heading to Ireland for the Kerry Way (Bunny and me) and the Dingle Way (Bear, Sassy, and their youngest son). 

Like the Tahoe Rim Trail, the Cotswold Way was not what we expected, and like the TRT, we didn’t know what to expect. There was much more hiking in forests than we anticipated. The terrain was also more varied than we had in mind. Although there are no climbs over 800’, there are multiple climbs daily and often times quite steep. 

I suppose we thought we’d be walking on top of the Severn Escarpment passing through several quaint villages every day. We did hit our daily average of 3 charming villages, but those villages were not on the escarpment, but down in the ancient flood plain. The villages and charm of the English countryside did not disappoint. 

Wild camping is frowned upon in England. Frowned upon to the point that it is “illegal”. The English have found a way to make what should be an affordable pastime to ALL citizens into making it a rich man’s activity. We are lucky that we have the means to modify our hiking type to be compatible with the English rules (most of the time). Truth of the matter, the English do not have a culture of long distance hiking like we do in the USA. They just don’t have the huge forests and expanse that we have. What they do have is a well developed infrastructure for walking and a citizenry built around politeness and empathy. 

The few cases of snobbery we encountered were not from long time residents of the Cotswolds. In fact, to the last person we encountered, we were made to feel welcome. Even if a hostess may have had a bad day, she was not unwelcoming. The only instances were probably with the nouveau rich which in this area, more than likely, was their 3rd or 4th home. 

Bunny and I both love England and would live here if it was in our means. I would miss the huge forests, though (and probably the preservatives in the American diet that have modified our taste bud expectations). The appeal of simple village life has a huge pull. England has over 20,000 villages, often just a couple of miles from a neighboring village. There is a huge emphasis in walking, outdoor living, and beer drinking at the end of the day of walking. Plus, dogs are welcome everywhere. 

EFG

We all agreed that last night was our best night of sleep when camping this year. The ground was flat and soft. We were protected from any rain should it happen to fall. The view outside of the tents was like being inside an English heritage garden. And best of all, we were legal. When/if we wild camp, we all tend to sleep light anticipating getting run off. 

Malcolm came out as we were packing up and left us a guest book to sign. Wendy and he ran a B&B here for several years once their children grew up. They decided it was too much work and stopped after 2015. It would appear, they have gone into gardening full time because the grounds and gardens are stunningly beautiful. We felt honored to be their first guests since 2015. 

After seeing how fast we were getting ready, Malcolm went back inside and got ready. He walked us through the village all the way to our turn. We had heard that the area around Hawkesbury Upton was monitored pretty closely for wild campers. Wendy and Malcolm saved us a lot of potential headache by inviting to stay in their yard last night. They seemed like the type of people we would like to get to know better. 

Altogether, today was the most villages we have gone through in a single day. Hawkesbury, Horton, Little Sodbury, Old Sodbury, Tormartan, Dyrham, Pennsylvania, and The Folly. Of the eight villages, only 3 had anything resembling restaurants or places to stay. This is what may be considered the remote portion of the Cotswolds. If we got into trouble, someone would surely have helped us if we asked, but this is an area you’d better be prepared to take care of yourself. 

We went by a wide variety of terrain and ecosystems. We passed through old growth forest, hay fields, pastureland, swamps, deep ditches (ravines), and scenic overlooks. We passed multiple churches which have have active congregations for over 800 years. We saw multiple English Heritage sights (former manor houses converted to museums). We saw Bristol and passed within 5 miles of it. We could see Wales most of the day. We saw wind turbines, suspension bridges, and the power of vacuum cleaners. 

Our breakfast was a little light. We knew the first chance for a place to eat was almost 7 miles and 4 villages in at Old Sodbury. We had a food-driven goal which ensures maximum speed outlay. The only thing that slowed us down was when we ran into the couple from Oregon we had met yesterday at the heretic tower. We discovered they are trying a different approach to the Cotswold Way. They have gotten lodging in Bristol and are using public transportation to day hike the trail. 

We had more busy road crossings today than we’ve had on any other hike in GB or Europe. It was even tricky crossing the highway to get to the Dog Inn in Old Sodbury where we had lunch. After lunch, we stopped in the petrol station to pick up some snacks for breakfast tomorrow, just in case. It was here that we were warned to not stray off the trail heading out of town. 

Behold the power of the vacuum cleaner. Dyson owns what can only be described as a “shitload” of land in this area. He is sucking up property (pun intended) around here at an amazing rate. We found a notice in Dyrham of all the land his farming company was in the process of acquiring. 

We spent a couple of miles crossing an estate he has bought and is fixing up. He’s putting in new fencing to keep the riffraff (meaning us) out of his eyesight. He lets you get close enough to catch glimpses of the good life he has made for himself. I’d like to look more into his family background to find out if he’s self made or had a huge leg-up from old money. 

His security is tight across his lands. When you enter, you are given notice that you are being watched, listened to, and recorded. Several members of the group indicated they thought he was “number 1” in their books. I chose the more altruistic approach and expressed my displeasure with my mother-in-law’s vacuum beater bar not functioning properly and the hand blade at the Edgemoor Inn corroding and suggested these two items need to be looked into. I also indicated my willingness to take up residence on his estate. Over the years, I have acquired a certain set of skills that might be useful to him.

Tormarton seemed to not want the trail to pass in town. Even though it might have been more direct to use the main street for the trail, they routed the trail around the edge of town. This was evidence to us in itself but they added a little twist. The trail was routed over old stone stiles requiring you to step up a couple of feet to get over. They chose to add another bar above the stone thus invoking a minimum inseam requirement to use the trail. Bunny and Sassy just barely made the cut. We would have missed them, but it’s only another day to the end.

The trail after Tamarton was actually what we would consider the most boring section of trail we have encountered. It could best be described as a hike through the fields of Central Illinois. It was flat and boring in full sun. The only thing exciting along this stretch was when we came upon a reroute “due to a serious police incident.” This intrigued us. We narrowed it down to two possible scenarios: 1) With all the busy road crossings today, we surmised a hiker got hit by a car and the blood splatter might be disturbing to other hikers; or 2) a local farmer had found a wild camper and taken matters into his own hands. It is possible for farmers in England to get Shotgun Permits rather easily. 

We are using the app “FarOut” (formerly “Guthook”) for our trail experience on the Cotswolds. We used it exclusively on the AT, the PCT, and the Tahoe Rim Trail. It was fantastic on those trails. We even have the CDT version which we plan to use. The version for the Cotswold Way is not up to the same standard. It’s missing lots of town information about businesses hikers need along the trail. When it does provide information it’s incomplete—locations aren’t shown, phone numbers are wrong, services offered are incorrect, etc.

Our target for tonight is listed in the village of Cold Ashton. It’s listed as Folly End Farm and indicates (through verbage) that it is further up the trail by a quarter mile. It’s location is not indicated on any map. We’ve been bitten by this a few times already. Bear had a hunch (correctly, it turns out) that the camping place we were looking for was in a location off the trail. He dropped his back and sniffed out the location for us. 

Folly Farm has a cafe, Ells Kitchen (logo complete with flames and a pitchfork) and allows hikers to camp for free in a field adjacent to the cafe. They offer water and use of a toilet. I don’t think they even ask for the hikers to eat in the cafe to help defer costs. When Bear tracked the owner down, she gave him the rundown on where things are located. When we showed up, she brought out a huge pot of hot tea, milk, and sweetener. We asked if we could use her tables to cook and eat at. Sarah said we were welcome to use anything we needed. 

A great pleasure for us is that she is opening up the cafe on Sundays this year from 8a to 2p. We get to sleep in tomorrow and have a hot breakfast on our last day. That freed us up to eat some of the snacks we bought for tomorrow morning as dessert tonight. Chicken Tikka Masala with carb killers for dessert. 🎶 How do handle a hungry hiker, the carb killer 🎶

EFG

I really wish I had taken a nap yesterday. I’m usually the only one that doesn’t nap when we have the chance. My best naps are when the snooze button is pressed. If anyone said “zero” today, I’m there. Breakfast was at 8. I made it down at 8:01 still in my pajamas. 

Ray and Naomi were incredible hosts. They truly enjoy having guests in their house. Ray had shown Ron around yesterday and spent this morning showing me the sauna, the conservatory, the backyard, and the kitchen. He’s got lots of ideas for projects this winter. I’d love to come back and see everything in a couple of years. 

While Ray was showing me around, Bear entered crisis mode. He suspects his credit card isn’t working. He borrowed my phone to call the company, but they kept hanging up on him. They must really be pissed at him to hang up. How long has it been since he paid his bill? Has he been buying illegal or illicit services with the card? He has an enquiring mind and wants to know.

To try to find out the extent of their situation, Bear and Sassy headed to the Lidl to buy something. He just wanted to know if his card was working or not. His card wouldn’t go through. He used Sassy’s card and it still works, so they’re not completely without means. 

While they were trying to figure out their credit card situation, Bunny and I headed back to the trail via the golf course south of town. I didn’t actually know there was a golf course there. Since I didn’t know there was a course, I surely didn’t know there was a clubhouse. I wanted to get something, but Bunny refused to let me buy anything. I know, if we pass up a cafe, it WILL bite us in the ass.

It didn’t take long for the credit bandits to catch up. It was a steep climb up and Bunny doesn’t do steep climbs well first thing. She doesn’t do them much better at any other time, but first thing is really slow. It was only another mile and a half to the cafe in North Nibley that the couple from Kent told us about. We were all in now that we skipped the golf course cafe. 

The Cafe operates on a modified Roman schedule and was closed this weekend. It’s only open Thursday through Sunday. We, mistakingly, thought Friday was inside that open window. They will not be open again until the 16th. As much as I’d love a cafe and pastry, I’m not willing to wait. I sure wish I had gotten something at the golf course, Bunny. 

On empty stomachs, mind you, we had another steep climb out of Nibley. It looks like we have to make the climb fed with nothing but our unquenched thirst for history. At the top of the climb is a heretic tower built in the honor of William Tynesdale. He did the equivalent thing of finding an infinite and clean alternative to fossil fuel. The person that does that and breaks the oil companies’ financial hold on the population will surely be burned at the stake. 

Burned at the stake is what happened to poor William when he defied the financial barons at the time and translated the Bible to English so anyone could understand the writings. The church was furious. People started questioning the passages that had been told them: “give all your money to the church and live in squalor and be glad for the privilege of life”, “any priest can sleep with any woman to save her soul, but if she speaks of this, she’ll be burned at a witch” and other similar classics that the clergy used to control the population. Not only did they burn him, they condemned him to hell as a heretic. At least with Galileo, he was forgiven several hundred years after his death. William is still toasting away. 

Before we headed up the tower to reach the heights of Heaven pool William never will, we started talking to an older couple from Oregon. They have a goal of traveling 2000 miles a year under their own power. They started out biking around Europe in the early 2000s but age has made them switch to walking. They plan on heading to Italy in August to spend a month in the Dolomites. 

Hiking down from the tower, we passed a commemorative walled garden. It was originally built to in honor of the victory at Waterloo in 1815. Over time, the trees became diseased so they were cut and burned as part of Queen Victoria’s 60th Jubilee and then replanted. They’re not quite worth burning for Elizabeth’s 70th Jubilee, but since someone has stolen the plaque, it’s time for the garden to be repurposed, again.

This is when and where tragedy befell a member of our party. Bear was viscously attacked by tree. It took him down to the ground. Bunny and Sassy were convinced he was dead. They both got out their poop trowels and started digging a shallow grave (the rocks make a deep grave too much work). I suggested ice cream might revive him. We heard a feeble “I’m feeling better now.” He was wobbly and very nearly bleeding, but he agreed to soldier on for ice cream. 

We stopped at the first eating place in Wotton under Edge. Three of us ordered milk shakes in an attempt to ward off Bear’s concussion. Sadly, no one at the cafe knew how to make a milk milk shake. What we got more resembled nestle quick chocolate milk. We ate our meals as fast as possible because Bear continued to fade. The outline of a bump started to appear on his forehead. Sassy was convinced it was terminal and got out her poop scoop again. Since we were in a proper garden behind the cafe, she felt she could dig him a proper deep grave which he deserved (and apparently would be too weak to dig himself out of). 

Bear would be under Wotten under Edge had not Sassy first had to go to the toilet. This man’s desire for life (and ice cream) is the strongest we have ever seen (except for, perhaps, my brother-in-law, George, or Bunny’s dad). Not a block after the cafe, we managed to find THREE places selling ice cream. Bear will live to hike another day. 

Walking along creeks is one of our favorite types of hiking. We haven’t gotten many waterways to hike along in the Cotswolds. Leaving town we had a most pleasant walk along an old creek diverted for some forgotten mill. It was cool and pleasant and demanded repayment in some form. Ah, yes, a nice steep climb should do the trick.

We still had no idea where we’re going to camp. The camp in Hawkesbury appears to be closed from all information we could find. Naomi had warned us that the area around there is monitored pretty closely for wild campers. We were in a bit of a bind. There was also the question of water. 

Not one, but two stream walks today. The trail follows a little stream right into Lower Kilcott. According to our map, this is the last chance we’ll have for water for the next 7 miles. We finally came upon an easily accessible point to the stream in front of a house. I started to get water when Sassy said there was someone watching us from the house. I called up to ask if it was alright for us to get some water. 

There was a man sitting on the porch. When I yelled up, he got up and walked out. He had music playing and couldn’t hear what I asked. Bear asked if we might get water. “Do you have a tap?” “Does our house look so old we don’t have water here? Of course we have a tap.” The banter was on.

His wife came out when she saw us all talking. They told us they had lived in Canada for 3 years above Alberta and had travelled all over the states. They knew where we all were from because they had taken 4 months to drive a 12,000 mile loop around the US. They went to places we still haven’t been to. 

Wendy talked to us while Malcolm took our bottles inside and filled them. He brought them out on a serving platter for us. Now that is service! As we said our thank you’s, Malcolm asked where we were staying tonight. Bear said we weren’t sure because the camp was closed, yada yada yada. Malcolm turned to his wife and said “What do you think?” and nodded his head. Wendy said “of course.”

Malcolm and Wendy beckoned us through their gate into what could easily be an English Heritage garden. They have lived on this farm for 50 years. Wendy took Sassy and Bunny and began showing them around her gardens. Imagine a multi-room house where each house is a garden. Their yard is a 10 room house and it is in full bloom right now. There were several seating areas in different “rooms” on multiple levels. Wendy said when they bought the place, it was a derelict. They had gone to Canada for work to earn enough to buy the place. At the time, banks wouldn’t give mortgages for derelicts. 

Malcolm was a shop teacher. Between them, they have done all the work of restoration and modernization of the grounds. They told us there was nothing here other than the buildings falling down. They did all the tree plantings and landscaping in addition to saving the buildings. They let us chose a spot to camp under a huge weeping willow tree with a bench. It was a lovely spot with lots of protection. There was even a stream running by the hedge we could hear. Additionally, they left a side door to the house open for us to use a loo and get water. This is the prettiest spot we’ve had to camp in.

EFG

Two zeros in a single hundred mile trail? Old age and new hips. We were all tired after yesterday’s push. The extra effort yesterday put us on track to hit Bath on Saturday which would limit our lodging options. When I was forced awake by Bunny this morning, I said I could sleep all day. That’s all it took. Her hip is aching after the last couple of days. An extra day of rest is a good investment to keep her pain from becoming chronic again.

Plus, it may seem like we’re moving slow on the trail, but we’re actually moving continuously. We’re not getting to stay in a place for more than a few hours before we head out again. We’re “seeing” the English countryside, but we’re not “getting to know” the people and places. 

Add in the fact that this weekend will still have some more Jubilee festivities, and Bath will be incredibly expensive to try to find lodging. Getting into Bath on Sunday makes financial sense. We’ll take today to work out what’s next on our agenda while being able to relax and explore Dursley a bit more than a quick walk through. 

First up, a morning of relaxation and sleep. Bunny and I were both moving stiffly last night on the way to the B&B. My feet felt incredibly swollen. Bunny was extremely, scarily quiet. That usually means she’s in pain or pissed at me for something. I always assume it’s my fault (which it usually is) but I’ve been an Angel all day. Her hip MUST be the source of the silence. 

How tired was everyone last night? No one wanted to go out to eat. I thought we were going to order pizza and eat in. While Bear was in his shower, I headed to the grocery store to get some Coke Zero thinking they’d order pizza. On the way out, Bunny told me to see if they had anything to eat. The Lidl closes at 9 and it was already past 8:30. I ended up buying a few frozen items thinking we could use them as side dishes if we got pizza, or make a meal if we didn’t. Bear passed me on my way back on his way to get a frozen pizza. 

Ray and Naomi bought an old, 15 bed nursing home about 6 years ago. They have been converting it into a B&B and opened it up 5 years ago. Everything is new and modern inside. What was a 15 bed unit that had only 2 bathrooms is now an 8 ensuite B&B with a public kitchen and lounge. There’s also a private living quarters for Ray and Naomi as well as a physical therapy room (they both are licensed therapists) and a sauna which guests can use. Ray also has plans for adding a hot tub and changing room. 

Ray cannot sit still. He claims that if he does, he falls asleep. He chooses to keep moving. He’s working on redoing the front entry area, adding solar cells and a wind turbine, converting a van for mobile living, and scores of other projects all while running a B&B. If I had the affliction of falling asleep or keeping busy, I’d have chosen to sit. That’s why a world in which Easy is in control would be a much simpler place. 

There wasn’t rain in the forecast for today. My heart danced with joy when it started raining while we were having breakfast. It rained almost all morning. Just a slight drizzle, but enough to show that the rain gods love me and want to make my inside investment pay off. When Bunny re-awoke around noon, we decided to go check out the town. 

On the way out, we saw Bear and Sassy returning from the Lidl (grocery store chain) with some provisions for lunch. We all agreed to meet at “The Old Spot Inn” for a pint in about an hour. We went to the downtown to look around. The gods decided to express their love a bit more, so we ducked into the Hummingbird Cafe for a quick bite and, possibly, a dessert. 

We didn’t spend anytime exploring before it was time for our pint meeting. Dang our busy lives. We all walked into the pub together and I was in Heaven. It was a low ceiling, cozy pub WITH A FIRE IN THE FIRE BOX. There were regulars inside around the fire that instantly recognized us as foreign and liked our accents. We spent the next 2 hours sharing stories of our travels, giving our perspectives on the American situation (the whole world is watching the mass shootings in the US and shaking their heads why nothing is being done about it), discussing American and British politics (we can disagree without getting shot, or even threatened), and most importantly, British TV shows. 

The couple we spent the afternoon talking with are heading to the US in September to visit Yellowstone for 3 weeks before heading to their friends in St Louis. The woman who we were taking to when we first arrived said she didn’t know American well, she’d only been to Arizona and Memphis. Finally, we could actually explain where we lived to someone. 

After the pints, we made a dash to the druggist before Bear and Sassy headed back to the B&B for a pre-supper nap. Bunny and I finally got to explore the town for a bit. Dursley is on the edge of the Cotswolds even though the trail passes directly through it. Most of the industry in the area has left about a decade ago. It’s pretty much a “bedroom community” now with Bristol being close enough (half hour by train) for people to commute for work. It’s a mixture of old and new with a population of about 7,000. 

Bunny and I have long ago decided we want to live in a town with a size between 8 to 25,000, especially if it has a vibrant local business district (restaurants, entertainment, outdoor activities, Indian food, and movie theatre). In the US, this usually pushes us more towards ski resort towns which tend to be quite pricey. Dursley checks off all those boxes and the real estate market is still quite reasonable. Dursley is a town on the rise. 

Speaking of Indian food, there are 3 Indian restaurants all within a block of each other. Bunny and I made reservations for the 4 of us for 6:30. When we were talking to the owner, we mentioned we had eaten at a similar restaurant in Winchester. It turns out the owner of that restaurant and this one knew each other from when they were both in Dubai. The food was excellent at both places. 

After supper, we hashed out our next moves after the Cotswold Way. We’re going to spend a few days together in Bath before we all fly together to Dublin next week. Bunny and I will spend a day in Dublin at the Guinness Brewery while Bear and Sassy pick their son up from the airport and head to the Dingle Way. Bunny and I are going to hike the Kerry Way, then head to Cork. We’ll all meet up again in about a month in Porto on the Portuguese Camino. We feel we’ve given all we can to Bear and Sassy. It’s time for them to leave the nest and explore Ireland and Scotland on their own.

EFG 

I was attacked in the middle of the night. I was getting up to perform my usual sentry duties. I started to put my sandals on but felt something soft with my left big toe. Someone, no doubt a Russian operative trying to expand the conflict, had placed an English assassin slug in my shoe. Lucky for me, I’m 7/8 German by heritage so I withstood the slime. Whoever it was also went after Sassy. We’ve got to watch ourselves. 

The loop backs continued today. First off was the Oliver Cromwell memorial stone. This stone commemorates siege of Gloucester. Other than that, I’ll leave it up to an history teacher I know to fill in the blanks. All I know about Cromwell was that he was a military leader who rose from a wealthy family. He was against the crown in the English civil war in the mid 17th century which eventually lead to King Charles getting beheaded. 

Next up was the Haresfield Beacon which is located on a triangular outcropping similar to Crickley Hill which we visited yesterday. Now I am doomed to think of every steep sided outcropping as a potential hill-fort site. 

Just one more feature on the loop back. It was the Hartsfield Topograph. The English are big at placing compasses at high observation spots. Usually, the compass points out features on the horizon. This one was a three dimensional layout of the area. 

Three highlights in the first 2 1/2 miles. This was a lot for us. On most days we would have encountered a cafe by now. We couldn’t expect any assistance there until 7 miles in today. Bear and Sassy started their chanting for coffee. Bunny and I were about 50 yards ahead when I saw a flag ahead. I turned around and yelled “we’re saved!”

After the intercession from Heaven (and Nigel), we had much more energy. The caffeine and sugar from the muffins was just what we needed. We entered into another section of woods. The couple we met yesterday and mentioned they never expected to hike in so much woods in the Cotswolds. Today was another day of tree shade for us. There’s nothing better than hiking through an old forest (in my opinion). We were full in the groove and almost missed the money tree. 

With full wallets from the tree, we were really ready for some food. The plan (there’s always a plan) was to head into Dudbridge for some lunch and a stop at the grocery store. A woman came running past us on the trail. She told us to come into Stonehouse for more options. Stonehouse isn’t on the trail, but is only about a half mile off. It’s also outside of the Cotswolds. We figured it was worth a look. 

The return from lunch gave us the opportunity to walk along one of the canals. Bear and Sassy had met another couple at our first coffee break who have been living in a long boat on the canals for the last 5 years. They had just made up their minds to sign up for another 5 years. We got to see a few boats, but traffic was being interrupted by work crews dredging the canal. 

This is where the slippery slope starts. We had walked way more than a mile off trail. When the canal and the trail intersected, there was an official alternate to the trail. The alternate is a little over a mile shorter than the main route (and we skip a decent climb). Peer pressure led to my downfall. My purity is gone. We took the alternate. 

Bear had managed to find us a B&B in Dursley while we were eating lunch in Stonehouse. Not that we needed any, but this gave a sense of urgency to keep moving after lunch. We just had bed and showers two nights ago, but this B&B is special. Not only will it get rid of our acquired urine/poop smells which identify us as long distance hikers, they will do laundry for us. Bunny gave it her all, today. This ended up being her longest day of hiking on the new hip. 

The danger with entertaining items on a slippery slope is that you keep getting pushed further and further. I agreed to the bypass, heavily motivated by laundry and personally justified that we’ve put in the miles to cover it. I got slammed with another one. I’ll admit, I was tired. My knees were hurting. I was thirsty and hungry. My stomach was a little upset. The heat was getting to me. I was a little delirious from everything. My companions sensed my weakened state and pounced. 

There was one hill between us and Dursley. A hill in the middle of an ancient flood plain. It was almost 600’ tall. We have climbed up and down from 200’ to 800’ all day. There wasn’t anything significant on this hill. No forts. No barrows. No monuments to narcissistic pricks from days gone by. This was trail over a hill for no reason other than to test the purity of the hiker. My purity had already gotten shot 5 miles earlier. 

In my weakened state, they all ganged up on me. Bear threw the first punch. He said he noticed an alternate route which was the same distance but avoided the climb. Bunny jumped on my back and said she was in. She placed me in a choke hold. Sassy grabbed hold of my arm and started twisting. They only stopped when I whimpered a “mommy” just before passing out. There’s no doubt about any of us having any purity left. I tried to stay strong, but, in the end, it’s the company you keep.

EFG

National Star College warmed all of our hearts. If Bear could be compared to the Grinch, his heart grew 10 times its normal size today. Before he left, he made a significant monetary contribution to them.  We were both overwhelmed with what they are doing. He got even more info while he was talking to one of the managers. 

It started at breakfast. We saw an upset student in the lobby and three staff members worked on cheering her up. There was a student starting to work at the front counter. He only smiled at us, but it was his first day. Then we saw a student get off the bus just beaming with joy to see one of his favorite staff members. Seeing all this in action combined with all we had read last night was just overwhelming to watch. 

National Star is a college. They have between 150 and 200 students at this campus. After the students finish secondary school, they attend here for three years. National Star works on giving the students dignity, teaches them how to ask for what they need, and builds family and friend groups that the students can rely on. All this why teaching them skills they need to earn a living for themselves. Often, groups of students will continue to live together after college because they have become family. 

There is just so much more information and stories to tell about this organization. They do this all through private contributions for building and maintaining the facilities and communities contribute for their students costs. All this is done without burdening the families. Because it’s private and not government, they are able to maintain an almost 4:1 staff to student ratio. They have four locations in England. Look them up on line and contribute if you can. Tell them “Bear sent you.”

We started off walking 3 miles to cover 0.7 miles. We were wondering if there is something special about getting the trail up to 100 miles. The distance by road between Chipping Campden and Bath is just a bit over 70 miles. There’s a lot of areas we circle back on ourselves hiking this trail. Truth of the matter, each one of those loop-backs takes you to something significant to see. Today was no exception. 

It wasn’t even a mile and a half until we hit our first cafe. This was in our first loop-back which took us to Crickley Hill. Crickley Hill was an Iron Age Hill Fort dating back to 900 BC. The cafe was much more recent and sold ice cream and shakes. We were still full from breakfast so we just wanted something to fill in the gaps in our stomachs. 

Back to the fort. The cafe had an excellent presentation explaining what we were going to see. The hill-forts were really more like fortified settlements. In the middle of the fort was the town. Crickley Hill was a isosceles triangular shaped hill with steep drops on the two long sides. The base was relatively short which the people built a fortified wall with limited access. This is the fourth such fort we’ve seen on this trip. 

About a half mile after the fort, we came to another Pub, but not even I could justify another stop so quickly. Sassy had been talking about lunch yesterday, and none of us could recall what we had eaten. That had been nearly 10 meal/snack stops ago. We just consider the Air Balloon Pub the one that got away. 

Once we crossed the A417, we got to look back and see Crickley Hill from a distance. It’s the best fortified hill-fort we’ve seen. After our glance back, we entered what has to be the largest forest we have encountered on all of our trips to Great Britain. I’ll be honest, we have forests in the US that aren’t even imaginable to people here. Even the little bitty Shawnee Forest in Southern Illinois, the smallest national forest in the US at 370,000 acres is beyond their comprehension here. 

We walked nearly 7 miles in forest in one stretch. England is an old and very developed nation. It’s roughly the same size as Illinois which has a population of 15 million. England’s population is over 80 million. To keep that many people close together, it takes a lot of coordination and management. Their public spaces are limited, but well maintained. 

In the middle of our forest walk today, we came to and climbed over Coopers Hill. Maybe you recognize the name. I doubt if anyone does, but you’ll know it once I tell you what it’s famous for. Almost everyone has probably seen the event that takes place here. Cheddar cheese is rolled down the hill and people chase them. It’s a huge annual event, and we just missed it by 2 days. We’ve seen it on TV which cannot capture how steep the hill is and how stupid the people are that participate. 

Approaching Coopers Hill, we met a couple about our age that were from Kent. We ended up sharing stories and talking to them for nearly an hour. We’ve done a lot of the same trails in the UK and they had a few suggestions for additional ones for us. We were able to share a little info with them for the Yorkshire Dales Hi Way and the West Highland Way neither of which they’ve done. 

After a break on top of Coopers Hill, we decided we needed to make some miles. We were hoping to get in 12 miles today and possibly stay at the Edgemoor Inn. There’s rain predicted for tonight. We can handle it if we have to, we just choose not to if we can. 

The rain started as we were passing through Painswick. We ducked into a pub hoping we might be able to get a room there, but they were completely booked for the night. From the look of things, they were also probably too pricey for my taste. Rather than deal with the rain, we decided to have a pint and see what happens.

By the end of the pint, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. Not only that, my feet no longer hurt. If we could have stayed for another, I’m sure all my aches and pains would be cured. I couldn’t get any takers, so we were forced to walk the final mile and a half to Edgemoor (uphill).

As soon as we got there, we asked about rooms. There weren’t any. Hadn’t been any for years. The family that runs it now lives in all the rooms. This was a bit disappointing, but we have tents so it’s not the end of the world. At least we’ll get a good meal so we don’t have to cook.

Towards the end of the meal, an older gentleman came over and asked if we were hiking the Cotswold Way. He then told us he was the warden for the section we were about to hike. We wanted to ask about wild camping opportunities, but decided, best not to ask when the enquirer asked us where we were staying tonight. He suggested hiking back down to Painswick, but hiking that hill down and up again held no appeal to any of us. 

We waited for him and his party to leave before we headed out. The waitress asked me what we were going to do and I said Randwick is only about 3 miles just so she would stop asking questions. We had already decided to wild camp if we couldn’t get a room at Edgemoor. 

There’s a fair amount of forest in the 2 miles right past the Edgemoor. Sadly, the first half mile has almost no remotely level spots anywhere near the trail. We wanted to get in thicker forest that had less undergrowth and more protection from the rain. We eventually found a spot just before dark at 9:30. 

Since we’re “illegally” camping, we tried to hurry up and set up tents before the rain started. But, we had to do so trying to make as little noise as possible because we can hear voices coming up the valley. There are houses not too far away. As soon as we got in our tents, a light rain started. Maybe since it’s raining, the warden for this section won’t come scouring the trail for us. 

EFG

Our waiter at supper last night was very upbeat. He also told us that Americans are much more positive and upbeat than the English. He obviously a wrong impression of me. He went on to say that the English are still not recovering psychologically or economically from Covid yet. So many businesses shut down over the last 2 years and there hasn’t been a recovery here, yet. He’s hopeful by the end of summer things improve. 

Americans don’t realize how well we have recovered from the pandemic. The multiple rounds of economic aid did stimulate our economy. Sure, they probably added to inflation as well, but isn’t a little loss of buying power much better than complete loss of income. Both parties in the US are too close minded to listen to the other. Throwing insults is the new norm and compromise is seen as weakness. I have little hope left for the US. 2024 scares me. 

The couple we stayed with last night seem like they’re getting close to getting out of the B&B business. He likes to interact with his guests and he has done the majority of the work on remodeling the farm house and landscaping. He’s not quite ready to get out. He’s emotionally tied to the place. His wife seems ready. At the very least, she showed zero interest in having strangers in her house. Maybe it was just smelly Americans. Maybe she was having a bad day, but I definitely got an icy feel from her, the 2 minutes we actually saw her. 

Maybe she’s sad that her kids are grown and they are entertaining strangers in their million pound house. I saw their family photos hanging in the dining room where we had breakfast. She seemed to have smiles then. We didn’t see any of that from her. 

Seeing the happy young family brought back thoughts of my own childhood. I had great parents, but I was a nerd. I was the youngest in my class and most prone to being picked on and bullied. It’s humiliating enough to get the shit kicked out of you as a kid, but I carried the extra thought of what it did to my parents. I still can’t get into genealogy for the simple fact that I know my ancestors worked their asses off to get where they were. What’s the end result of their struggles? Me. All that struggle and hardship for nothing. 

This is a train of thought I don’t like going down. I’ve always felt like an outsider. When I get the cold shoulder like we did from our hostess, it just reinforces my insecurities. The only time I’ve kind of felt like I belong has been while we’re hiking. Even then, I find myself getting too relaxed and then try to throttle my personality back a bit so I’m not so annoying to the people around me. It rarely works. 

Today’s walk was all about getting around Cheltenham. I had plenty of time to do the math in my head. We are spending roughly 12% of the Cotswold Way just avoiding Cheltenham. It wasn’t complicated math. The Cotswold is just shy of 100 miles. We will have walked 12.3 miles from our first sighting of the city to our last. I didn’t even have to use my toes for this one. 

The first four miles today was just miles. Every down was paid for with a greater up. We kept passing the same set of high voltage power lines all day. We’d loop back on the trail to make sure we got every possible view of Cheltenham. I quit taking pictures. Does 10 degree difference in angle make that much of a difference in a picture?

The first highlight today was also the first disappointment. We came upon an Indian Restaurant directly on the trail. I love Indian food above all else. The flavors and intensity are unparalleled. The disappointment was that it was closed. To add insult to injury, we had a 600’ climb away from the restaurant. 

We had a new goal. There’s a diner, appropriately named “The Cotswold Diner” just a few miles ahead. We’re not even sure if it’s open today. We know nothing about it. It’s just our first shot at sitting down and having a drink. Worst case scenario, if it’s closed, there’s another pub less than a quarter mile further. 

No plan B was needed. They were open and it was a pretty cool setup. The diner is actually in a 30 year old bus. There’s maybe a half dozen tables inside. We were the only customers since it was past the lunch rush. We ordered hamburgers—the first we’ve had on the entire trip. The only catch was, we had to be done by 2:15 because they are required to have the bus gone by 2:30. It was 1:45. I can wolf down a 12 oz burger in under 15 minutes and still have 10 minutes to spare. 

We got to talking with the owner. He’s been doing this 6 days a week for the last 8 years. He has a license for the spot on the side of the highway, but he can’t leave the bus there overnight. He drives the bus a mile and a half away to park it overnight then drives to his house about 10 miles away. He has 2 women who work for him so he doesn’t have to be there all the time. He cooks when he is there. He was off site at 2:29. 

All we had left was our climb to the final view of Cheltenham. Yeah. This one was surprisingly interesting. We climbed to the top of a ridge that was home to another Iron Age hill-fort. The face of the ridge was a quarry in the 18th and 19th centuries and provided all of the stone for Cheltenham which was a planned spa city. In the early 20th century, the city bought all the land and made it public space. Today it’s a beautiful, heavily used, walking park above the city.

We met several dogs and their humans on the trail up here. We spent a fair amount of time talking to two older women out with their dogs. They were fascinated that we hiked and camped. They kept asking us questions which allowed me to keep petting their dogs…life is good when dogs are around. 

No decisions had been made about where we were going to stay tonight. Bunny had seen National Star College has camping, but when we looked further into it, they only had glamping—we couldn’t use our own tents. At the very least, they have a cafe, so we’ll at least stop and check it out. 

When we turned onto the road, Sassy saw that the cafe closes at 4. It was already a few minutes past. We could still check out the glamping options. When I went in and asked, I was told I had to make reservations online and that all the managers were gone today. I said thanks but it looks like we’ll miss out since we’re here now. Bear came in and gave me a wink. I kept my mouth shut and he took over. 

It’s obvious to see his magic translates into European. We’re staying here tonight. Each couple has their own pod which has a refrigerator, beds, outlets, and lights. There’s picnic tables, showers, flushing toilets, and even a microwave. He couldn’t get them to reopen the cafe (given another 10 minutes, he would have gotten us raw materials to make our own meal), but we weren’t all that hungry because of our Cotswold Diner experience. We had the lunch we were planning on eating which went unused. 

National Star College is a heartwarming place. This is a college for severely handicapped kids. It’s a state of the art facility and they are adding on. They gave us brochures telling what they do here when we checked in. There’s an expansion to the campus to allow for more onsite indecent student living. At present, they are adding 16 apartments that give the resident full independence. These apartments include ceiling lifts for movement throughout. It’s a lovely place ran by gentle, patient, kind-hearted people. 

Not only does National Star College make me feel lucky for the life and abilities I have, it gives me hope to see the kindness that people are capable of performing for those in need. This is exactly what I needed to see today. As always, the trail provides. 

EFG

Something happened last night that could never happen in America, at least not without getting the police called on you or a gun pulled on you. We left the restaurant without paying. “She who must be obeyed” came out to the campsite about 9:30 just to make sure there hadn’t been a mistake. I offered to go pay and she said “don’t be daft. We’re going to bed. We’ll take care of it in the morning.” Back home, the cops would have watched us run the card then ask if the restaurant wanted to press charges. 

It rained most of the night. That was fine until the lightening started around midnight. To her credit, Bunny didn’t scream and cover her eyes and ears like she usually does, but she did flinch about a foot off of the pad with each flash of lightening. It makes it kind of difficult to sleep with that much commotion 2” from you. 

Our tent fly and ground cloth were completely soaked when we rolled them up. The tent itself was still pretty dry. I’m glad we have reservations to sleep inside at a B&B tonight. Maybe we can dry everything out. Here we are, 3 days into the Cotswold Way and we’re only 15 miles in. If we continue at this pace, this is going to be a 3 week trail. 

The day was a bit brisk. We all had to wear our rain coats out of camp because of the rain and wind. To make the point that nature has the upper hand, we crossed a couple of wheat fields in the first two miles. Had this been the South Downs Way still, we wouldn’t even have noticed anything different. Up here, they actually soil. With the rain, the soil becomes mud. Mud on hikers feet equals foot weights. Every pound on your feet equals six pounds on your back. We were all carrying 80 pound packs until we got to Winchcombe. 

It was only three miles in, but Bunny and I were ready for a break and a hot drink. I’m at that age where I hate to pass up a cafe or a bathroom. I’m going to regret skipping either within 10 minutes of doing so. Bear and Sassy didn’t want anything, but they agreed to stop with us. After our coffees, Bunny and I hit the toilets. Bear didn’t. It wasn’t 10 minutes later, but it wasn’t 30 either and Bear had to go prove that he was potentially Catholic. 

One of the highlights today was an archaeological site known as Belas Knap. It a barrow that was used as a burial vault for several centuries over 5000 years ago. It’s over 180 feet long and as much as 18 feet tall. There are multiple entrances into the barrow, but they’ve been blocked off. Some of the base stone work is exposed demonstrating a high level of craftsmanship which I wasn’t expecting to see from that far ago. It shouldn’t surprise me, though. These are the same people that engineered and built Stonehenge. 

Just before the final climb to Belas Knap, I made a premature right turn down a road. Bear caught me before I went too far. Now, two miles later, I stopped and asked if anyone remembered my near mistake. If they would like to see the area again, it was just 1/4 of a mile down the road. We had walked over 2 miles to come a 1/4 mile. I don’t know if the AT route planners were involved with the Cotswold Way, or Vice versa. 

We were only 4 miles from our B&B. We passed by a huge estate and entered Cleve Hill. The former estate is a 15th century manor house now known as Postlip Community. It is a cohousing community that shares 14 acres. I’m supposing it is a sort of commune. There are eight families living there. 

Cleve Hill was probably once a part of the old manor. Now it is a scientific, nature research area. This was one of the largest tracts of forested land we have crossed. On top of the ridge has to be one of the most interesting golf courses I have ever come across. The course comes with an unusual ground crew which lives “on site.” Hundreds of grounds crew are constantly maintaining the fairways and regularly fertilizing through organic methods. They are so integrated to the course that they are regarded as course obstacles.

The crew consists of rabbits and sheep. I don’t know what to call the large number of rabbits I saw, but I’m going with gang. I saw well over 30 rabbits cross the trail in front of me and drop into what looks like used to be a quarry. The sheep were busy maintaining the fairways and tees. Their job description doesn’t include green maintenance. The greens all have electric fences around them, but several go getters managed to jump the fences. As I’m sure I’ve conveyed, the sheep are slowly taking over England. When they set their sights on a piece of land and/or job, they will stop at nothing to get it. 

The gold course has a restaurant that allows non-members to access. We stopped in for a late afternoon snack. Even though we had food, we all wanted a break from the chilly day. We were the only ones in there other than the manager and bartender. They had a huge TV set to the Queen’s Jubilee celebration in London. There are events planned all week and it’s fascinating to observe how much has happened under her reign. We sat and watched for almost an hour as the musical trends progressed decade by decade before us. 

Sadly, the Queen couldn’t make the event. She is 96 years old and can’t handle being forced to maintain a stoic presence for hours on end like she used to. The rest of the Royal Family, including the next 3 kings were in attendance. It would have been nice if they had intermittently shown the Queen watching events on TV while reclining and being fed grapes (or whatever is the standard practice for resting monarchs is).

The final mile or so, we walked with another American who was originally from Montana but currently lives in Singapore. His wife is an executive for a Geneva based bank. He’s a retired lawyer. She’s had to go to the home office for some meeting, so he came over to hike the Cotswold Way in four days until she can join him later this week. This is his first day and he’s already passed us on our 4th day. We go intentionally slow. 

We parted ways with him at the turn to our B&B. We consider ourselves lucky to get this place for the night. The chance of rain tonight is over 80%. I’m praying for heavy storms. After tonight, the chances of rain are greatly reduced for the next few days. We might make some miles. Bear and Sassy’s youngest son will be joining them in Ireland on the 16th. 

Upper Farm B&B is simply gorgeous. They screwed up when they allowed me to stay here. The original farmhouse was built in the late 18th century with an addition made in the 1840s. When the current owner bought the place 30 years ago, the house was considered derelict. Now his investment is worth we’ll in excess of a million pounds. They only have between 3 & 4 acres, but it’s a beauty. 

They don’t offer suppers here, but they did make reservations for us at a pub in town. As part of the package, they take hikers into Cheltenham and drop them off for supper. They then pick us back up at a prearranged time. Our dinner place used to be a Catholic school but is now a restaurant. I know what you’re thinking—Henry VIII again. Not the case this time. This is a much more modern building. I’m pretty certain this city didn’t even exist when the crybaby king was alive. Now it’s an incredibly affluent city of 117,000 people. 

EFG

Technical issues! Sassy tried a new approach to sleeping—all of our butt pads for sitting covered with bubble wrap that the owners of the fruit farm  here let her try using. On top of this, we tried another repair of her sleeping pad with Leuko Tape. We were hoping for a soft landing onto the bubble wrap as her sleeping pad slowly deflated since she will have fallen asleep in comfort. 

What happened was not the hoped for soft landing. Bubble wrap makes a distinctive pop when pressed which is quite addictive to men once the first pop occurs. Sassy May have had a soft landing, but the pop awoke Bear who immediately started popping more bubbles. I woke up craving popcorn. 

Bear decided to have a go at sleeping on the deflated pad. Within 30 minutes his arms were completely asleep. He struggled to roll over like a quadriplegic which only increased my craving for popcorn. On the bright side, Bear’s experience on the pad convinced him Sassy needed a new pad. 

We agreed not to pack up to leave until we got Sassy straightened out (it took all three of us since she had assumed pretzel form from sleeping on the ground). After getting her straightened, Bear managed to find a Black’s just about 11 miles ahead. After several failed attempts at yogi-ing a ride, they called for a taxi. 

It was noon before they got back with a new sleeping pad and battery operated air pump. The sound of our pump combined with their recent excursion into luxurious tramping proved too great of a temptation. They are of the new platinum blazing class of hiker. 

Bunny had spent all morning convincing herself she was too tired to hike. She started out saying she couldn’t hike more than 10 miles if we don’t leave by noon to saying she couldn’t hike past the tent without taking a nap by the time Bear and Sassy returned. 

Back to the tents to reinflate our pad and inflate Sassy’s new pad for an afternoon of napping. Bear tried to stay strong and hike up to the Hailes Cathederal with me before he succumbed to the call of the pad. 

The Hailes Cathederal is a barely standing ruin which can be explained by the following phrase: “Waa, waa, waa, I can’t get my way so I’ll tear it down”—Henry VIII. Tramping through the English countryside has, if possible, decreased my fondness for royalty (present Queen excepted, and possibly her grandson if Charles doesn’t finish everything off). 

The church across from the cathedral, although modest in stature, has its own impressive history. It has been in continuous use since it’s construction in the 13th century. It’s easy to spot the changes to the structure over the years. Services are still held weekly. I wonder what one of the original congregants would think of the notice for the next service—zoom not available. 

Since we’re here for another night, we made reservations for supper. It’s pizza night! Until then, I just spent my waking time in the afternoon carbing up for the rest of the hike starting with ice cream and ending with a double chocolate brownie. I will not fall behind because of a caloric deficit, but I am having trouble understanding why, not only have I not lost weight after 150 miles of hiking, I think I might be gaining. Everything is upside down in England. 

EFG

We made it through the night, undetected. I don’t understand why wild camping is illegal in England. Everyone tells us it is and then gives us suggestions of how to go undetected. I think the biggest reason is to give people an excuse to kick partiers out of their woods and/or off their land. We’re a geriatric crowd and are pretty harmless. We don’t build fires and are too lazy to carry alcohol. Most nights, we’re in bed, asleep before dark. People should pay us to camp on their land to keep campsites unavailable from potential miscreants. 

Being the youngest of the group, as is usually the case with me, I possess certain qualities which the older folk may have lost. I’m not saying I’m the strongest, I’m not. I’m not saying I’m the fastest, I’m not. I’m not saying I’m the cleanest, I’m not. What I do possess that no one else in this group does, is superior bowel control. 

Bunny and I both needed to go last night when we got to camp. I set everything up while Bunny disappeared into the woods. It’s only 3/4 mile to a carpark with a toilet. I can wait until morning. We woke up in the morning and Sassy absconded first thing. Bear at least waited until he ate. It’s only 3/4 of a mile. I used to wait a week when I went to scout camp. It’s sad when you friends lose bowel control. They’re getting old. 

Bear still thinks getting ready in the mornings is a competition. I threw him a bone this morning and let him get his pack finished first. I tried going as slow as I could. I can’t even start to pack until Bunny gets out of the tent because I carry the sleeping pad and sheet as well as the tent. Bunny does carry the tent poles. As her left leg gets stronger, she’ll get to carry more. Not that it matters, it absolutely doesn’t, but I was the first with my pack on and ready to go. 

Our first stop this morning, after the carpark, was the town of Broadway. Broadway used to lay on the main road from Worcester to London and gots its name for how wide they have the road through town. It is probably the widest road we’ve encountered in England so far. Two cars can easily pass without scratching mirrors. 

The town was hopping this morning because of the Jubilee. I am so happy we get here to witness this rare even…70 years of symbolic monarch rule. Everyone loves the Queen—Charles? Fortunately he’s old and won’t sit on the throne as long. I’m afraid, if he did, it would be the death of the monarchy. 

We stopped at “Number 32” for second breakfast. Lunch is not even a possibility until noon at the earliest. We Yanks tend to eat much earlier than the English or other Europeans. While we were eating, three young men that worked there came out to talk to us because they have hiked the Cotswold Way. They did it in 3 1/2 days. They warned us about the remoteness we were about to experience and the lack of water we are going to encounter. We will average 3 villages a day the entire trip. 

The guys were not trying to scare us. To them, the Cotswolds are remote. They probably didn’t have a large budget to afford eating in pubs every day. They were all quite fit and probably did the hike on a long weekend. Since wild camping isn’t common, they weren’t familiar with filtering water and carrying lightweight tents. Dehydrated food is nonexistent along the trail which is why we’ve brought 2 days worth in case of unexpected closures. 

The AT through New York wants to make sure that you hit every rock pile high spot on the ridge you are walking. Sometimes, you can literally see the trail 50’ in front of you but you will walk 1/2 mile before you get to that spot. (I was a purist, I ALWAYS walked the 1/2 mile.) The Cotswold Way will do the same type of thing. It’s probably because of land access rights, but, in one instance today, we walked over a mile around a field to end up less than 100 yards from where we started. I’m a purist, I won’t cut it if I don’t have to.

Heading out of Broadway, an older gentleman stopped us and asked if we were hiking the entire trail. When he heard we were, he got very excited. He works as a trail steward and is on the trail board of governors. He said they only meet twice a year to discuss trail conditions. Because of Covid, they hadn’t met as a group for over 2 years. They really wanted the truth as to how well the trail is holding up. Bear agreed to keep notes and share the info with them when we are done. 

The trail has been fantastic up to Broadway. Granted, it’s only been 6 miles, but zero issues so far. Less than 2 miles out of Broadway we encountered a glitch. Maybe it was because Bunny was in the lead, or, maybe it was because there’s a new land owner that doesn’t want the trail crossing his land. In either case, we lost the trail. 

Bunny can be directionally challenged at times, but I’m sure the land owner was being a huge printer (I understand tender ears might be reading). He had signs taken down and gates tied shut. He forced the trail through a narrow path surrounded by electric fence. I’m pretty sure he blocked a turn on the trail. 

We also passed through Stanton, once we got back on trail. There’s a great pub called the Mount Inn that we wanted to stop at, but we missed it. We asked a man putting signs up and he told us it was about 1/2 mile behind us. I’m not THAT interested in going there. He also told us he was putting up flyers for a town wide party tonight. It’s always my dream that we’ll get invited to an event like this. “Can we find space in some of these huge mansions for these four Yanks who will be joining us for the Jubilee celebration? Sir Henry, can you spare the guest house for a night or two? You can! Hear that Yanks, let’s toast Her Majesty! You’re all set for as long as you want to stay.” Instead, we walked dejectedly out of town. At least I did. No one else seemed to have my fantasy so they weren’t disappointed. 

There was another country manor we passed, Stanway House. This is still a private residence, but they are open for tours for a total of 6 hours a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is a Friday. Some manor houses will do creative things to help reduce costs. For example, lease the house as a filming location for a global phenomenon. Stanway also rents the venue for weddings and special events. We couldn’t see the house, but we saw the tree lined avenue they are putting in place. The gate to the house was quite impressive and could easily provide living space for 3 large families. 

The goal has been Hayles all day. It was raining when we got here. We headed straight to the restaurant in the hopes of eating while it rained and setting up after. We were told to go to the farm store and get settled in first. In the farm store, she told us to go to the restaurant first. I thought we were in for a runaround. We got back to the restaurant and they told us they had just seated the last table and everything else was reserved. Here we go. 

The woman who told us to go to the restaurant, came in and directed a worker to carry a table and chairs in from the outside. She seated us in the middle of the restaurant and made sure we had everything we needed. She knew Sassy was gluten intolerant and helped her get food out of the store that would not cause the English countryside to be painted a delicious shade of brown. They were very accommodating to us. 

The campground area is quite crowded because of the Jubilee, but we had no problem finding spaces for our small tents. Her husband helped set us up and talked about the gun and political situation in the US. People around the world can’t understand the idiocy of our gun situation. All we could do was shake our heads in agreement because none of us understand it either. Almost everyone we’ve talked to here is afraid to travel to the US. What can we say, we’re over here ourselves. 

EFG