After a quick recharge in London we headed off on our around England adventure! First stop the Cotswolds. We had reluctantly decided to pick up our more robust awning for the coming month in the UK as we were antiscipating the weather to be a little inclement. Maybe a little pessimistic but probably more realistic. We didn’t know how to set it up so were hoping for a little privacy… which of course we didn’t get but luckily it went off without a hitch!
The next day we set off on a pretty big walk around the Cotswolds and right away it was interesting. England have a law called right to roam which is the general public’s right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. This means that on certain walks like this one you kind of end up walking through people’s property. This one was right beside a beautiful horse stables and dressage training ring and then through cow fields. I find it very strange just walking through people’s farms but you quickly get used to it.
The walk wound through rolling farmland and along bridle ways edged with hedges. I don’t know how I didn’t get a stomach ache as I ate so many wild blackberries from the hedges. Just as we were starting to get a little over the scenery we took a turn into the Wychwood forest. It felt like we were walking into an enchanted old wood with amazing old gnarly trees covered in moss. It was a pleasure to walk through it, especially considering we had not seen another soul throughout the walk.
The woods soon opened up in patches to huge green meadows and we were a little stumped as to what it was used for as it didn’t seem to be used for farming. We worked out pretty quickly that we were on some sort of massive estate as we came across beautifully manicured lawns and stately buildings which we walked right through the middle of and out the front gates.
Just as we came through the gates and were close to finishing the walk we came across a lovely old man sitting on the wall who called us over to have a chat. We spent the next half an hour talking to Douglas who happened to be the groundskeeper for Lord Marlborough whose estate was across the road (not the one we walked through) and Douglas lived in the old gate house. He was in his 90s and retired but had been allowed to continue to live on the estate. He told us some great stories about the Wychwood forest and the Cornbury Park Estate we walked through and the Marlborough estate which when we got home we looked up and he was on the money. Unfortunately it started to rain and we had to leave and make our way home. I think Douglas was keen for us to continue our conversation inside his house but I think if we went in we would never be allowed to leave!
That night the wind and rain picked up and we were so grateful for our ridiculously large closed in annex which kept our gear and us dry and comfortable. S