I like hiking and I like camping, but I have never done them together, despite TJ's past experience with and ever-present desire for backpacking. I guess I am a little scared that I won't be able to handle roughing it 24/7 like him. So for Thanksgiving weekend, we struck up a compromise: hiking but overnighting in B&Bs, in the Cotswolds. I like hiking for hiking's sake, but a warm village pub at the end of each day certainly made the circular route more appealing.
Some of the most difficult logistics of the trip involved getting to the start of the route. We had a short window to catch a bus from the airport to Oxford, where we would get some sleep before taking a train to our initial destination. We managed to make the bus, which meant we got to Oxford early enough that we could explore a little before going to bed. We started with a pint in literally the first pub we saw, from the window of the bus: the Port Mahon (top left). We took the fact that the place had chicken Kiev on its menu as a promising sign (top right). A few blocks down from our digs at the The Excelsior, on historic Cowley Road, we studied some suds at The Library (bottom left). Then we had one last nightcap at BrewDog before closing time (bottom right).
Some of the most difficult logistics of the trip involved getting to the start of the route. We had a short window to catch a bus from the airport to Oxford, where we would get some sleep before taking a train to our initial destination. We managed to make the bus, which meant we got to Oxford early enough that we could explore a little before going to bed. We started with a pint in literally the first pub we saw, from the window of the bus: the Port Mahon (top left). We took the fact that the place had chicken Kiev on its menu as a promising sign (top right). A few blocks down from our digs at the The Excelsior, on historic Cowley Road, we studied some suds at The Library (bottom left). Then we had one last nightcap at BrewDog before closing time (bottom right).
Not surprisingly, we ended up waking up later than planned, which meant we ended up missing earlier trains to Stroud, where we would start our hike. But the extra time turned out to be good because we strolled through downtown Oxford for a while (top). Due to the delay we did not dally in Stroud, only snapped a few pics of St. Laurence Church as we hit the road to Slad (bottom left). The path cut mostly through the woods until just outside the village, where we skirted the road to stay out of the way of local traffic (bottom right).
Slad was added to the route mainly because of The Woolpack, a pub that features frequently in the works of Laurie Lee, whose books and likenesses can be found throughout the small establishment (top). We managed to sneak into a table for lunch, a lamb-filled feast, starting with kidneys as an appetizer (bottom left). We rounded out the menu with lamb stew and a lamb sandwich (bottom right).
By the time we let all the lamb digest, the weather had turned. We slogged to Bussage, where our appropriately named planned pub pit stop, The Ram Inn, was closed. But we turned our bad luck around by using the extra time to make a detour to Stroud Brewery, where we warmed ourselves by the woodstove (left) and treated ourselves to pizza and porters (right).
It was fortuitous that we refueled because we got a little lost on the way to The Ragged Cot, our pub inn for the night. It was located further outside of town than we had suspected, but eventually, TJ's GPS pointed us in the right direction. We made it in time for dinner: beef-cheek roast for me and a pork-schnitzel sandwich for TJ (top left). Breakfast the next morning was equally generous, with a view of the fields we traipsed through the night before (top right). As we set off for the day, we finally saw how quaint the 17th century coaching house is (bottom).
We retraced our steps back to Minchinhampton, where animals, especially cattle, are in charge, as is made clear in the town sign (top left). We saw only horses and donkeys, but no cows, on Minchinhampton Common, the public green space all residents may use to let their livestock graze (top right). The common is surrounded by ancient defensive walls called Bulwarks (bottom left). Unfortunately, the walls did nothing to protect the animals from once being auctioned at the Market House for slaughter (bottom right).
We didn't have any illusions that Uley Brewery would be open so early in the morning (top left), but in a trusting tiny town, a lot of its operations, including piles of kegs, could be observed outside (top right). TJ might disagree, but I thought the view from Uley Bury, an ancient hillfort a short climb away, was a bit more enchanting (bottom left). The grass-covered ruins provided a 360-degree view of the surrounding valleys (bottom right).
From there, we hiked down to where we could join the Cotswold Way, which coursed along the valleys, eventually ascending up to Crawley Hill, where a panorama provided glimpses of the River Severn (top left). Along the way, we met a local man and his dogs, who led the way to Selsey Common (top right). Another descent and we connected with the Thames and Severn Way, which brought us back to Stroud (bottom left). Before we hopped on a train, we had a quick drink at The Little George to toast the completion of our route (bottom right).
We decided to spend our last night in nearby Swindon, as it offered better post-hike celebratory opportunities, including Hop Kettle Brewery (top left), where TJ tried to recall all the interim imbibing we had done during the hike (top right). Having just completed about 30 miles in 3 days, it didn't seem like a big deal to walk to Old Town, where we had a drink at The Hop Inn while we figured out how to access our accommodations (middle left). Eventually, we met our host, settled in, and sought out sustenance. We had atmospheric alcohol at The Wheatsheaf (middle right) after dinner at Old Town Thai (bottom left). An even better meal was to be found the next morning at Dotty's Café, where I had eggs Benedict and TJ had a bacon bap the size of his head (bottom right).
On the way to the airport, we had some time to reflect on our route. I could overwhelm you with snapshots of Cotswolds countryside, but I'll stick to the highlights. We crossed a lot of farmland, so we frequently saw sheep (top left) and horses (top right). Sometimes we saw other two-legged creatures (middle left). But most of the time, we had nature to ourselves, including stream-intersected forests (middle right) and limestone-cut cliffs (bottom left). It was easy to become entranced and almost walk by historic sites, including the Nymphsfield Long Barrow, a mound from which Neolithic skeletons and artifacts have been excavated (bottom right).
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