All Who Wander are Not  Lost… or How We Did a 6.0 miles Hike in 7.5 miles

Well it became clear today… we will never win the amazing race… we must rescind our application. We parked the car in at the Stanton cricket club. Stanton is as picturesque a town as you will see. The cottages with their thatched roofs and flowery gardens bear cornerstones dating 1600’s. Walking along the road to the trailhead, we heard a distinctive clip clop as a parade of horses with helmeted child riders trotted past. The last horse,led by a young woman, was carrying the youngest child who pronounced to us proudly that she was driving the horse.

This was the start to the day of livestock.

The Cotswold Way Circular loop cuts on and off the Cotswold Way, the Wyche Way and the Winchcomb Way… there -disclaimer noted.. we did not hike the whole Cotswold way which goes on 100 miles to Bath. We pass the pasture where the horses are, creamy white horses on the right, chestnut brown horses on the left. The trail  begins with a very steep ascent through a field with … you guessed it- sheep. They are very interesting creatures,some blase’, not caring that we pass, some skittish scurrying away and others curious, coming a little closer as we go. It was hot and when we reached a shady spot at the top and past through the gate to the next leg of the trail, we considered doing the shorter loop back to the car and then driving over to Snowshill, but once we caught our breath, slowed our heart rates and had a little water, we pushed on… next field -horned cows.  Pass the cows down the road…read the guide…should we have passed the cows on the right? Ah..no… back up the dusty road ( and I do mean up for it had begun a steep descent)… Hello again cows, past the new gates, turn left into the woods. The woods are cool and we ramble along to the next gate…which has a little too much overgrowth and is locked… look back at the guide… ugh… back up the path, perhaps we will retrace our steps and drive to Snowshill…no… find where the path turned (and we had not) and we are back on trail ( you see why the Amazing Race will not be a good fit).

Twist and turn through the woods, break through to a hill top vista with an expansive view of rolling hills and the lovely village of Snowshill nestled ..on a hillside..after we plunge down a steep hill into wood and out again…but there are the sheep to spur us on. The vegetation on this hike is different. There are more farms raising livestock and fewer fields of wheat. The sheep graze on the grasses and the thistle pop up along the landscape. We joke about how we aren’t quitters as we reach the last gate to the roadway. Arrive in Snowshill and as luck would have it we round the corner to see St. Barnabas Church and the Snowshill Arms… 10 mins to close ( most establishments close from 3-6pm in the smaller villages). Just enough time to sample the local brew and fortify our strength.

From there we hike a little further to the Snowshill Manor and Gardens. This is a beautiful manor house with two charming gardens and a cool shaded overlook where we took a break and had a tea cream. We found a table that overlooked yet another beautiful vista and settled in to test the goods. Prior to leaving for this trip, we binged watched the latest season of the Great British Bake Off. David poured the tea and did his best Paul Hollywood imitation, I cut the scone in half and loaded on the clotted cream ( a bit of heaven on Earth) and the jam and bit in… it was a good bake and the homemade jam made it really scrummy ! ( or that’s what I think Mary Barry would say). We wandered over to the main garden, terraced with stonewalls and varied from herbs and vegetables to flowers.

After we got our fill, we headed back out up to the trail to return to Stanton. This leg of the hike is still steep, but a little more gradual in the ascent… still we are motivated to get better use of our gym membership when we get home. Pass the sheep, pass the cows, see the horses and we finally arrive at the base where the  Mount, a charming hotel-pub waits. After our 6mi-turned 7.5 mi hike and walk through the gardens we choose a picnic table on the grass and order a supper of fish and chips for me and a hamburger ( Do you mean the beef burger, sir?) and enjoyed the breeze.

One last adventure before heading home to Blockley. We drove up to Broadway ( not the Broadway we love in NYC) , but a tower on a hill which looks towards the Welsh Mountains. There is a little knoll by the tower where the largest gathering of deer I have ever seen were laying in the grass or chewing on the reeds. Their ears perked up and twitched as a new group of people  came to the tower, but they remained peaceful in their area.

The magic moment comes… the sun, yellow in the sky over the mountains slowly sinks closer to the horizon. The color deepens, more orange, then pink, and silently slips out of sight, leaving only a wash of pink and purple and grey blue. Behind our shoulder, the nearly full moon rose up and brightened. Time to head home. Another great day in the Cotswolds.