Cotswold Way + Monarch's, Diamond, Windrush, Wardens Ways +

[naturelover]

I have finally written up an account of our walking trip to do the Cotswold Way, after which we circled back around in a large loop encompassing a variety of other walking paths, to end up back at Winchcomb.
England has never ceased to amaze me in that it can have the population it does and yet still retain endless tracts of houseless land. Not only that, but the system of ancient rights of way means that you can walk on far more of that land than often seems the case here, where “Thou shalt not” seems written on every door and fence. Following these dotted lines on the map, you can spend whole days without encountering a single other soul if that’s what you choose.
Tonight I have gone through my Cotswold Way photos with a view to writing this article, and feel the most astonishing homesickness for that path that we enjoyed so much. It is not wilderness like our national parks might aspire to, but it is certainly not urbanised, and almost all of every day we wandered at our leisure through woods and fields, past domesticated and wild animals and magnificent gardens, monstrous trees that reeked of history, their beer-bellied girths and gigantically spreading canopies telling their own tale of longevity. Meanwhile, when we chose to, we could interact with friendly country people who seemed to share none of the rapacious ways of the twenty first century. We loved them.
For pictures and more information, please see my blog: natureloverswalks.blogspot.com

[Lindsay]

Looks good naturelover. I too am a fan of walking in Britain, although most of my walking thus far has been in Scotland. I agree it mostly isn't wilderness walking as we know it in Australia, but the amount of remote countryside is remarkable considering the size and population.

[icefest]

Looks good naturelover. I too am a fan of walking in Britain, although most of my walking thus far has been in Scotland. I agree it mostly isn't wilderness walking as we know it in Australia, but the amount of remote countryside is remarkable considering the size and population.

I think the isles have much better laws protecting the countryside from construction than we do.

[alanoutgear]

We did the Cotswold Way with two other couples from around Bendigo last year. It was fantastic. We met up with some lovely Canadian sisters and walked with them for a few days too. One of them has lived in Woodend (just south of Bendigo) for around 30 years.

We had two especially great nights in Uley at the Old Crown and Wotten Under Edge at the White Swan. Dinner and "afters" with the locals - "Ooohs" and "Arrhs" peppered the conversations, and one old bloke was talking to me about his aarses - I eventually worked out they were his horses.

There's something about neolithic burial mounds and Norman churches that continues to be awe inspiring. Perhaps it's the fact that they're at least 800 odd years older than Oz.

We also walked in Scotland - a bit of the Great Glen, and a Monro or two around Torridon. Great walking.