Tag: fun

Hiking the Cotswolds – Real Hikers Do it in the Rain

Well, I guess we couldn’t have expected to have a totally dry hike. Our last 2 days of hiking were all wet. But, finishing up the last 6 miles between Broadway and Chipping Campden and then 7 miles between Chipping Campden and Moreton in Marsh made us feel like true hikers.

Broadway to Chipping Campden offered quite a hill to climb to get to Broadway Tower (a folly feature as Jimmy mansplained to me 🙂 ).  But even in the rain it was totally worth it.  Good views, lots of sheep, plus there is a small museum in the Tower so we had a nice place to dry off a bit.

Did I mention that before we even started we had some treats.

All in all it was a pleasant day.

Our final day of the hike was the wettest of all.  We started in Chipping Campden and made it to Blockley before we ran out of steam. We thought we better refuel.

IMG_1729From this point we decided it wouldn’t be wimping out to just call a taxi to take us to our hotel.  However, this was not to be.  No one told us that although there are taxis listed in the area, they all have much better things to do than haul our tea and rain soaked butts to the next hotel.  So we carried on through the muck and mir-rah!

IMG_0444We finally made it to the hotel and warm and dry clothes.  But we do feel our endurance earns us a badge of honor.

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Hiking the Cotswolds – Bourton on the Water to Winchcombe

There was one important factor we failed to consider when we booked this trip.  We . . . Are . . . Old!  This became all too apparent on the second day of our hike.  The first day was 10.8 miles, the second day was 12.2 miles.  When you’re old, that is a lot of miles to walk in two days.

Four things you need to bring hiking when you’re old

1. Pain Meds – Advil, Tylenol, Aleve – pick your poison.  It can make the hike more enjoyable.

2. Salves – There is never a shortage of bug bites, chafing (see previous blog), sunburn, or general skin irritation when hiking the countryside.

3. Hiking poles or walking sticks – really, just look at it as practice for a cane.

4. Taxi fare – It’s a sign of wisdom to know your limitations.  I mean, we are on vacation here.

Nevertheless, we began our day in fairly good spirits in hopes of no rain and maybe even a little bit of sun.  We were not disappointed.  We saw plenty of fauna:

Sheep
And more sheep.
Oxford Cattle
Watch out behind you Jimmy
A butterfly shows us the way.

And of course great landscapes – unbelievable really:

We met new friends a long the way and had a great lunch at the pub in Naunton!  And when we finally slogged  into Winchcombe we found our inn (The Lion Inn) and had an awesome dinner.

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Pulled chicken and pancetta with penne in a tarragon cream sauce. So good!

In the end it was a great day!  We had fun and saw awesome things that made us feel like great adventurers.  However, next time we need to remember before we start the hike that we are old!