A Hint of Spring
“It was the kind of March day that feels springish, despite the weather not yet having warmed up: yellow crocuses bloomed on the verges, the leafless hedges were sprinkled with buds like tiny green fairy lights about to be switched on, and the sky was very blue. That kind of day only comes at the very tail end of winter, and it makes everything feel fizzy and exciting.”
Did you know that England has over a dozen National Trails?
For example, Hadrian’s Wall Path traverses the 73-mile-long, coast-to-coast fortification built to guard the wild northwest frontier of the Roman Empire in England.
The South West Coast Path is a 630-mile continuous trail along the entire coastline of England’s southwest peninsula. We walked on very small sections of the path while in Cornwall.
The Thames Path follows England's best known river for 185 miles as it meanders from its source in the Cotswolds through several rural counties and into the heart of London.
Devised by renowned walker and writer Alfred Wainwright in 1973, the 197-mile Coast-to-Coast Path passes through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors National Parks, and the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)—where hikers dip their boots in the Irish Sea before setting off and in the North Sea at the end of the trail.
The Cotswold Way travels over 102 miles between Chipping Campden and Bath. At one point we had envisioned incorporating the entire trail into our itinerary, but for a variety of reasons, decided against it.
However, since we are staying at the trail’s northern terminus in Chipping Campden, we settled for walking a small portion today.
This is the ancient Kitsgate Stone. Although very little seems to be know about it, it’s position and the hole through it suggest it may have been a “moot stone,” marking where ancient meetings were held.
Throughout the UK, the public has right of access to certain areas of land under the Countryside and Rights of Way (CROW) Act of 2000. This right is commonly known as the “right to roam” or “freedom to roam.” Because the public is frequently walking over otherwise private lands, and those lands often support livestock, people must climb over stiles or go through gates that are intended to control the movement of livestock. Interestingly, because they are for the benefit of the landowner and their livestock and not the public, the stiles and gates must be maintained by the property owner and not the government.
Does anyone else see Teletubbies or perhaps the Windows XP wallpaper?
Counting sheep
Broadway Tower, our destination, comes into view.
4, 5, 6…
Broadway Tower is an iconic landmark on top of a beautiful Cotswolds escarpment know as Beacon Hill, the second highest point in the Cotswolds.
The hill was a natural place from which to send long-distance signals and was used for this purpose long before the tower was built, including warning of the arrival of the Spanish Armada in May 1588.
Broadway Tower was the brainchild of the great 18th century landscape designer Capability Brown. His vision was carried out for George William 6th Earl of Coventry with the help of renowned architect James Wyatt and completed in 1798. The location for the Tower was wisely chosen, a dramatic outlook on a pre-medieval trading route atop beacon hill.
James Wyatt designed his “Saxon Tower” as an eccentric amalgamation of architectural components ranging from turrets, battlements, gargoyles, and balconies.
April 2023
June 2015
Oh Tea! We enjoyed the gorgeous afternoon outdoors with tea and a snack from the Morris and Brown café—so named after William Morris and Capability Brown.
Afterwards we headed back for home.
Chipping Campden comes back into view. Round trip we walked 8.14 miles. We may have only walked 4 of the 102 miles on the Cotswolds Way, but at least we can say we’ve walked some of the famous path.
Spring in the Air
We have both felt like we are watching Spring slowly unfold for the first time in our lives. It started with the snowbells in February, followed by the daffodils in March, and now—everywhere we look—Spring is burgeoning, slowly and steadily, color burgeoning.
