Stroud

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Isn't this just an adorable sidewalk cafe with the perfect view!?! It was a great way to spend our last morning in the Cotswolds.

Day 2-Cotswold Way

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Holy Crap, I'm way behind!! Its been a busy week or two, but here we are back on the Cotswold Way. Some of us were more enthused about starting the morning with a climb out of Uley and back to the trail than others (or more enthused about walking at all)....but we made it there eventually and with only minor confusion. There were some very nice views, it wasn't actually raining, and overall it was a relatively pleasant walk (above). Until...B's knee started hurting a lot, so we cut off the path and wandered into a little town for a break. It was an adorable place, with the stone fences below. Apparently the bus only runs until noon though, so we then followed some locals' directions to the next town. They insisted we should take the road rather than a different footpath, failing to mention that walking on the road was incredibly unpleasant, especially after it started to rain and given that there was only one lane for us and both directions of traffic! On the upside, there were adorable lambs and cows along the way (below).

At the next town we took a bus to our final destination (which is the only way to go, because B was already accusing me of trying to kill him...) Upon our return to Stroud, we were dismayed to find the pub/restaurant below our hotel playing bad hip hop and filled with questionable looking dudes. After an advil run, we ventured out to a place with a moderately less disagree atmosphere, but decent food and returned to watch an amusing British documentary on male gigolos, both of which left us feeling much better.

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Uley

 

 

There wasn't a whole lot to see in the little town of Uley when we finally got there. Which was fine, because we weren't really going to go exploring anyway. The pub/B&B/store, was good for dinner and relaxing though. And it was across from the Church/cemetery, which looked suitably misty for us to start off the next morning!

Day 1-Cotswold Way

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Our first day hiking started less than promisingly as it was a rainy day. But England is rainy and several people told us we had a nice, short walk, so we were still pretty excited. B started out with the right attitude smelling flowers and whatnot (top). (We got a late start, since we spent quite a bit of time walking around Wotton). After an initial climb up to a clearing overlooking Wotton, we went through some nice forest areas with lots of wild flowers (above).

Much to B's annoyance, we made a few wrong turns, adding to the journey. (Turns out the way is labeled well in some places and in others the many public paths get a little confusing). Below is a clearing after the second detour. Things were still going pretty well though.

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There is a big gap in pictures here, as with a little confusion in one town and more rain, B was really beginning to dislike hiking and our short walk was getting a little longer than we preferred. We took a short cut towards the end on the roads as a compromise and the picture below is from the final stretch!

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Rough Week

 

The aftermath of a bike accident. Almost all better now though!

Wotton B&B!

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Ahh, the Wotton B&B. It was a wonderfully strange place. The owner was a very aristorcratic Englishman. His family had apparently been in town for generations (he told us he was one of the trustees of some important building/landmark). Above, you'll see the portrait he had commissioned of himself to go with the portraits of his father and grandfather. You'll also see the various decorations from our room. It was a nice enough place, but a bit strange. We were in a kids room I think. We had twin beds and a sailing theme and apparently a 1970s tv! It was a little like Dwight's Beet Farm themes! Good times!

Wotton Under Edge

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Wotton-Under-Edge was one of the most charming little towns I've been to. The first picture above is of some of the fields on the bus ride there. Its a small place along the Cotswald Way and was where we decided to start our hiking journey. More on that later. We got there in the late afternoon, checked in (next post will be on the B&B), and then went to eat and check it out. English pub food is decidedly mediocre, but the atmosphere is lovely. The next morning before setting out on the actual hike, we walked around the area to some adorable little narrow lines recommended by the B&B guy. The picture immediately above is from the main street of town. Everything below is from the walk around the little lanes. You'll note the Ram's Inn, 10th century house (still occupied), apparently it is haunted!

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