From: New Hampshire, USA
Started: 20230913
Finished: 20230924
My husband and I completed the Cotswolds Walk on September 24, 2023. It was a beautiful and wonderful experience. We felt like we were stepping back in time to mid-evil days. I hope this area never modernizes. There was so much history to observe and learn as we walked along. The scenery was spectacular. We loved walking through pastures, grasslands as well as walking through the small villages. The instruction packet that we received from Cotswolds Walk was great and the trail was well signed. My husband & I chose to not download the GPS on our phones as suggested, we chose to rely on our topo map of the area. That worked very well but was not helpful when we came into villages & tried to find our accommodations that were not right on the trail. We relied on asking local people for help. We found people were so friendly and helpful and it was a pleasure be able to meet and talk with them. They gave us more history of the town.
We loved the variety of accommodations along the Walk. They were all great but we did have some favorites. We spent more than one night at Lygon Arms and started to feel part of their family. The Woodland House gave lots of personal attention and a more homey atmosphere and the Bell Inn was great and offered more than we expected by giving us a ride back to the trail in Old Sodbury where we stopped the day before. And then it was a wonderful ending to the long walk to arrive at the Queensbury Hotel in Bath 2 days later. We were not expecting such luxury and sure enjoyed our 2 night stay.It was a special treat. We also loved the variety of places for meals from pubs to local restaurants and Take-aways. We loved trying the foods of the locals and found them all to be very good.
We had many memorable moments along the way but the ones that stuck out the most were: 1. crossing the summit of Heresfield Beacon while Hurricane Lee crossed over England. The strong wind actually blew me over twice as we walked the edge of the escarpment. My husband & Andy had to help me stay upright. The strong winds and heavy rain lasted 2 days; and the other memorable moment was when we heard that the old and famous Sycamore tree on Hadrien’s Wall was cut down. We had walked Hadrien’s Wall in 2016 and remember that tree very well! Such a sad tragedy!!