5 April 2013: 32km. Started 09:00. Arrived 17:00
Although I had a fairly long day ahead of me, I lingered over breakfast talking to some other guests – a couple with their eighteen year old daughter having a final break before revising for “A” levels and the hope of taking up a place at Cambridge in the autumn. There was a back gate from the B&B directly on to Cleeve Common – I reached the correct path according to both the map and my GPS but the familiar acorn signs of the National Cotswold Way were missing. Once at Winchcombe, I met the family from breakfast, who admitted they had arrived by bus. However I discovered from them that my map was “old” and the path rerouted explaining the absence of signs.
Winchcombe village was indeed a friendly place – I was accosted by a man who told me about his Himalayan trek from last year, the lady at the tourist office told me of her plans to complete the Cotswold Way north to south (to be with the wind – but I thought the prevailing wind usually south westerly) and a man at the sandwich shop told me about the Winchcombe Walking Festival held in May. He invited me to on the local community radio station Radio Winchcombe if I was still there the next day – sadly not.
Belas Knapp Neolithic Long Barrow 3800BC 
Hailes Abbey 
View near Hailes Abbey 
Still occasional snow drifts 
Traditional Cotswold stone villages
The route was picturesque, passing Hailes Abbey. Pilgrims financing the mediaeval abbey flocked there in search of the Holy Blood of Hailes. This was believed to be a phial of Christ’s blood but at the reformation was denounced as clarified honey coloured with saffron.
There followed a pleasant mix of old woodland and open fields as well as some estate / parkland planted with specimen trees. Fortunately for me the field with a “Beware of the Bull” sign was just occupied with ewes and lambs. I passed through some very expensive and exclusive looking villages – Stanway where there was a large Morgan convertible car parked prominently; Stanton with many thatched dwellings and an interesting village cross. A long upward stretch followed past Buckland to my destination – the larger, but still predominantly very affluent, village of Broadway.
Where's Kathryn? 