Monday, July 14, 2014

Kings Charlton or Charlton Kings to Birdlip (that's right, Birdlip)

Last night we thought we knew the way home. Our hostess had dropped us off at the local pub about a mile away. The idea was we would take a cab or walk back. Well, hey, we're hikers. Yeah, we're walking back. Later we realized the first mistake was we went right when we should have gone left. We wandered around and asked a nice couple walking home with groceries, then a woman walking home for directions. (I made Tom stay on our side of the street so he wouldn't scare her.) I think they were all amused. When the husband of the couple gave us directions through a park, then a right, then another right, then something-something, his wife slapped his arm and said, they'll only get confused. Naw, he said. So after getting confused, that's when we met the second lady. We managed to get ourselves back to the B&B safely.

The B&B at Kings Charlton was intimidating. I found myself using my napkin to wipe up spills at breakfast this morning. It was a baronial manor that had been updated. However, the bathrooms were strange. The faucet in the basin shot water out that splashed everywhere. Good thing Tom and I were only going to be hiking!

We looked out the window and thought, uh oh. It was sunny, i.e., hot. Ugh. I never thought I'd complain about nice days, but the sunny days have been hot. Once we climbed out of town -- and it was Tom who figured out that the Cotswold Walk is all about getting us up onto the escarpment overlooking the valley -- it was great. There was a fresh breeze to cool us that lasted almost the whole day. We needed it because we went up and down and up and down.

Today we mostly hiked in forests. It made a nice change from sheep. Don't be ma-a-a-a-d, sheep! We even met one of the volunteer trail keepers. He was whacking away at encroaching plants with his scythe. He seriously questioned us about whether the sign posting was good. I told him about getting lost at The Tower but that it was my fault. He chuckled. I thanked him for his work. It's a massive undertaking for the cadre of volunteers who not only maintain the way but walk it once a year to renew the right-of-way.

Yesterday it was Winchcombe I kept seeing. Today it was Cheltenham. No matter how far we walked, there was Cheltenham. It was discouraging. Actually, just before we dropped down and couldn't see Cheltenham anymore (at least for today), we ran across a Visitors Centre. I'm not sure what we were supposed to be visiting because their signage was a little too discreet. We later saw a little sign proclaiming it the Crickley Hill Park. We were hot and dragging. The center (or centre) offered toilets, a picnic bench, and Mr. Whippy. I'm sorry I don't have a picture to show you but I was too busy salivating at the thought of a nice cold drink. Tom bought us 7-Ups. Delish. The sugar gave us energy and on we went. Mr. Whippy pulled up stakes right after we bought our drinks (it is an ice cream/drinks van) and left for greener pastures (maybe literally). It's true the centre had only us and two or three empty cars.

As we turned the corner out of sight of Cheltenham, I heard a phone ring. Whaaa? I heard someone talking on his cell phone. He was coming closer. He had a companion and ... ten dogs. The dogs ran immediately to Tom. There were all kinds. The one who loved Tom the most was a boxer. His owner -- and the cell phone man owned them all -- had to speak severely to him. The dogs were happy, the man and his companion were happy, and we were happy.

Clouds covered the sky in mid-afternoon, but there was no rain. It was still warm and a cool breeze still blew. As we made the home stretch, we entered a deep, dark forest. It was silent and looming ... until from around the corner came a man with a white shirt and tie, followed by another man with a shirt and tie, followed by a father and daughter arguing about something. Wait. We had just come from a wheat field into the forest. Where were these people going? But that at least gave me hope that Birdlip was close by.

The map showed Birdlip to be about ten and a half miles away from Charlton Kings (or Kings Charlton, or whatever). We thought we'd be here in time to look around a bit. Instead, we rolled in around five o'clock. Luckily, it turns out there's nothing to see anyway. As the Birdlip flies, it turned out, the ups and downs make for slow going.


Cheltenham, Cheltenham, Cheltenham.


Next to a very busy highway was this beautiful flax farm.


It was nice and cool in the forests.


Exactly.


Mystery plant of the day.


Bells in the meadow.



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