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| HAM HOCK AT THE WHITE HART, WINCHCOMBE |
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| BREAKFAST AT SUZIES, SEVEN SPRINGS |
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| LUCY & IAN ON PAINSWICK HILL |
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| COLOURFUL CLOCK AT ST. MARY'S CHURCH, PAINSWICK |
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| GREAT VIEWS FROM HARESFIELD BEACON |
Sunday 13
September, two months to the day since I caught the train to Scotland, and I
woke to the pealing of the bells of Winchcombe's St. Peter's Church. After
packing my gear away, I walked into town to eat breakfast at the White Hart
Inn. My blog writing duties took me well past midday, so I ended up ordering
lunch as well.
Like many Cotswold eateries, the White Hart is expensive, but the food was absolutely superb so I went for the full three-courses. By mid-afternoon I was so stuffed that I needed a walk just help the food go down.
I didn't follow the day's section of the Cotswold Way very precisely as there were often several ways to get to the same place, so I picked either the quickest or the most interesting. I also noted that there had been official alterations to the route since my map had been printed, some of which turned out to agree with my own ad-hoc modifications.
I was surprised at just how huge and sprawling Cheltenham appeared when I reached the top of Cleeve Hill and, further on, Whistley Hill. The descent from the latter brought me into the village of Seven Springs, which sounds to me like a mattress on its last legs. Anyway, this was my final destination for what had been a good walking day - warm and dry, but with a bit of cloud cover to provide shade from the sun.
As usual I needed a camp-site, so I made a bee-line for the Seven Springs 'Hungry Horse' pub and asked if I could camp discreetly on their nicely mown grass. The girl behind the bar was not very helpful, quoting all sorts reasons why it just wasn't possible, including the odd one that the manager's car would disturb me when he drove by! The charity motive didn't cut any ice either, so I admitted defeat and walked a short way down the road and came to a place called 'Hop Skip and Jump!' where they help children with special needs. There was a small gathering of people outside, including Lawrence, who worked for the organisation. He said that they owned some of the surrounding land and it was fine to camp there. A good end to the day, as Lawrence said.
On making my way back to the footpath in the morning, I discovered Suzie's Roadside Cafe parked opposite the Hungry Horse pub and serving breakfast to some local taxi drivers. When Suzie heard about my walk and the unhelpful attitude of the pub, she let me have my breakfast for free. Thanks Suzie.
My walk for the day led me around the edge of a high plateau, and provided me with some great views from places like Hartley Hill, Leckhampton Hill and Crickley Hill. It was shortly after then that I met Ian and Lucy, who were walking the Cotswold Way on roughly the same schedule as me. We spent some time enjoying the good weather as we walked together to Birdlip and then on to Painswick Hill and down into Painswick itself. They stayed at the Falcon Inn whilst I camped in a field just around the corner.
On Tuesday I steamed off west to Haresfield Beacon, and then south to Ryeford. I increased the day's distance a little by following an alternative Cotswold Way route that took me along the disused Stroudwater Canal and the up to Selsey, where I enjoyed an excellent lunch in the Bell Inn. It was then onto Dursley, where I picked up some provisions before continuing up Stinchcombe Hill. The hill is actually a plateau covered entirely by a golf course. I erected my tent on a bit of scrub land at the edge of the course, ignoring the glances of passers-by with golf trolleys, and had an uninterrupted night's sleep.
Like many Cotswold eateries, the White Hart is expensive, but the food was absolutely superb so I went for the full three-courses. By mid-afternoon I was so stuffed that I needed a walk just help the food go down.
I didn't follow the day's section of the Cotswold Way very precisely as there were often several ways to get to the same place, so I picked either the quickest or the most interesting. I also noted that there had been official alterations to the route since my map had been printed, some of which turned out to agree with my own ad-hoc modifications.
I was surprised at just how huge and sprawling Cheltenham appeared when I reached the top of Cleeve Hill and, further on, Whistley Hill. The descent from the latter brought me into the village of Seven Springs, which sounds to me like a mattress on its last legs. Anyway, this was my final destination for what had been a good walking day - warm and dry, but with a bit of cloud cover to provide shade from the sun.
As usual I needed a camp-site, so I made a bee-line for the Seven Springs 'Hungry Horse' pub and asked if I could camp discreetly on their nicely mown grass. The girl behind the bar was not very helpful, quoting all sorts reasons why it just wasn't possible, including the odd one that the manager's car would disturb me when he drove by! The charity motive didn't cut any ice either, so I admitted defeat and walked a short way down the road and came to a place called 'Hop Skip and Jump!' where they help children with special needs. There was a small gathering of people outside, including Lawrence, who worked for the organisation. He said that they owned some of the surrounding land and it was fine to camp there. A good end to the day, as Lawrence said.
On making my way back to the footpath in the morning, I discovered Suzie's Roadside Cafe parked opposite the Hungry Horse pub and serving breakfast to some local taxi drivers. When Suzie heard about my walk and the unhelpful attitude of the pub, she let me have my breakfast for free. Thanks Suzie.
My walk for the day led me around the edge of a high plateau, and provided me with some great views from places like Hartley Hill, Leckhampton Hill and Crickley Hill. It was shortly after then that I met Ian and Lucy, who were walking the Cotswold Way on roughly the same schedule as me. We spent some time enjoying the good weather as we walked together to Birdlip and then on to Painswick Hill and down into Painswick itself. They stayed at the Falcon Inn whilst I camped in a field just around the corner.
On Tuesday I steamed off west to Haresfield Beacon, and then south to Ryeford. I increased the day's distance a little by following an alternative Cotswold Way route that took me along the disused Stroudwater Canal and the up to Selsey, where I enjoyed an excellent lunch in the Bell Inn. It was then onto Dursley, where I picked up some provisions before continuing up Stinchcombe Hill. The hill is actually a plateau covered entirely by a golf course. I erected my tent on a bit of scrub land at the edge of the course, ignoring the glances of passers-by with golf trolleys, and had an uninterrupted night's sleep.