Cotswolds

Our second day in the Cotswolds, we decided that the best thing we could do would be to just hike around the area. You can't replace the smells and sights and the feel of simply walking the countryside. We bought a very simply illustrated walking map of the area and decided to do a circular hike that would bring us to several quaint little towns. So packing our bags with our picnic lunch (White Cheshire Cheese, a cucumber, some crusty rolls, and a pear and orange), water, extra clothes, etc. we set out.

Many of the paths we hiked were considered walking routes or public rights of way with a few roads. We read about the English loving their right to free-passage so much that once a year the Rambling Society organizes a "Mass Trespass"-- each of the 50,000 miles of footpaths are walked in the country. As long as each footpath is walked at least once a year, they can stop landlords from putting up fences. I love it!

Of course, this means that we were able to walk through many a sheep pasture. It was a good 8 mile walk from Stow-on-the-Wold to Lower Swell to Upper Swell to Longborough to Donnington to Broadwell and back to Stow. Each gate was different with different locks. One of the best was the "kissing gate."

Along the way one of my favorite things, besides the fact that it was hard not to take a picture of every cottage and garden and landscape, was that each cottage had a name. It made me wonder where each name came from. I think I might want to bring that tradition home. We should make a sign to put outside our condo, "The Loft." What do you think, Steph? Some of the names were: Serendipity, Mosswood Cottage, Old Church Cottage, Little Rosewood Cottage, and our B&B, the Little Broom Cottage.

After our morning walk, we stopped in Stow for some cream tea and enjoyed journaling, reading, sitting in peaceful silence, talking, and sometimes eavesdropping. Some of my favorite English sayings that I've heard so far in my time here (Must be imagined with a British accent!):

• "Put your kit there and don't mind the rubbish." (Our host telling us to put our backpacks in the car and avoid the shovels and garbage)
• "You've had a jolly good walk and run. Now stop tugging me!" (Middle aged English woman talking sternly to her little dog)
• "It's 4:10." "I thought is was 5:10." "No, it's 4:10." "Imagine that. 4:10!" (Two older English ladies having cream tea next to us)
• "Brilliant! Well done!" (The bookshop man to me after I found a 5 pound note to pay with instead of a 20)
• Ta! (for thanks) 
• jumper (for sweater)