Signs of spring in the Cotswolds

Things are looking up.  The cold weather and icy winds of winter are still hanging on, but despite this there are cheerful signs of spring wherever you look.

Snowdrops blooming under trees, in hedgerows and in churchyards.  

Snowdrops have been cultivated since the middle ages and are associated with abbeys and churchyards as they are a symbol of the Catholic festival of Candlemas.  They are normally flowering  on 2nd February when Candlemas is celebrated and they are looking particularly fine this year.

A robin collecting material his or her their nest.

(male and female look the same)

According to folklore it is said that when Jesus was crucified on the cross, a robin flew down and removed a thorn from the crown on his head and sang to him, thus relieving his suffering.  The blood of Jesus stained his throat and chest, and ever since his breast has remained red.

 Lambs appearing in the fields.

These babies are sticking close to mum where there is always a constant supply of food.

Mum is a type of sheep known as a 'mule' and is a crossbreed between a hardy upland ewe and a lowland ram.

Best

Anne

Sunset over the Cotswolds in late November

Happy hiking

Anne

Walk the Landscape

Cotswold Way Landmarks: Broadway Tower

The Cotswold Way Walking Holiday 

enjoy superb rolling countryside with stunning views, 

pretty towns and villages and historic sites

Broadway Tower

This folly in the style of a Norman Keep was built by the Earl of Coventry for his wife on their Springhill Estate between 1797 and 1800.  It is in a prominent position with views over 16 of the original English counties and it can be seen from the family seat in Worcester. The Earl's wife took great trouble to find the most suitable location.   Before it was built she had a flaming beacon lit at the site, then drove around the surrounding area making sure that it could be seen.  

The hill was previously called the Beacon and Barrow Hill and was likely to have been a site for bonfires transmitting important national news such as the sighting of the Spanish Armada. For a short time in the 19th century the tower was home to William Morris, a founder of the Arts and Crafts Movement and was used a observation point during the Second World War.  There is also a Cold War nuclear bunker close by.  

Broadway Tower lies at the northern end of the Cotswold Way above the village of Broadway and about 5 miles south of Chipping Campden.  It now lies in a country park with a herd of red deer and a café.

Contact us to find out more about walking holidays along all or part of the Cotswold Way

Best

Anne

Cotswold Way Landmarks: The Market Hall, Chipping Campden

The Cotswold Way Walking Holiday 

enjoy superb rolling countryside with stunning views 

The Market Hall, Chipping Camdpen

The Market Hall on the High Street, Chipping Campden was built in 1627 by Sir Baptist Hicks, the town's generous benefactor, for a cost of £90.00. 

It was used to shelter the local market traders selling cheese, butter and poultry and the worn stone floor is a reminder of its regular use through 400 years. On market days wooden pens were also erected around the hall to hold sheep driven down from the hills for sale.  Imagine the hustle and bustle of a market day when people from the town and surrounding areas turned out to sell their produce or to buy a fat chicken for dinner or a few sheep for their flock. 

Chipping Campden lies at the northern end of the Cotswold Way so this lovely building in honey coloured limestone, is one of the first or last landmarks that walkers will have of the Cotswolds.

Contact us to find out more about walking holidays along all or part of the Cotswold Way

Best

Anne

Coln Saint Denis in the Coln Valley, one of the loveliest valleys in the Cotswolds

Coln Saint Denis

The Coln Valley is one of the most beautiful valleys in the Cotswolds.  A tributary of the River Thames, it lies on low ground to the south of Northleach and meets the great river near Lechlade-on-Thames.
It is best walked on foot, starting from the source at Withington in the north and passing through picturesque villages like Chedworth, Coln Saint Denis and Bibury.
A quiet walk north of Bibury, which is one of the main tourist attractions in the Cotswolds.

Good walking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

Late afternoon shadows over Snowshill

A lovely view of sheep on the hillside above Snowshill, taken in late afternoon just as the sun was going down.

Happy hiking
Anne
WalkTheLandscape.co.uk

Snowdrops, a sign that spring is round the corner

Snowdrops coming into bloom in a Cotswold churchyard

Make most of the bright, crisp, sunny days of late winter.
Good walking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

The Cotswold Lion

The Cotswold Lion

During the middle ages, wool from Cotswold sheep was amongst the the finest in Europe, and the reign of Henry VII (1485 - 1509) woollen cloth contributed half of England's wealth. Hence, the sheep producing the wool was called the 'Cotswold Lion'.

St James, the 'wool church' in Chipping Campden

The wool trade made the merchants living in the Cotswolds very rich indeed, as wealthy as Bill Gates is today.  The merchants funded impressive 'wool churches' in towns like Chipping Campden, Northleach and Burford, hoping their charity and benevolence would ease their path to heaven on their death.  

These 15th century churches are the lasting legacy of the times. 

Enjoy your walking.
Anne
Walk the Landscape

The Cotswold Way in midsummer

The Cotswold Way runs north-south along the Cotswold Edge for 102 miles / 164 km, from Chipping Campden to the city of Bath in the west of England.

It offers great views to the west along the full length.  Across the Severn Valley, to the Malvern Hills, the Severn estuary and south Wales.

The trail follows the sinuous route of the Cotswold edge and passes up and down the escarpment slope. The full length (102 miles / 164 km) is normally walked in 5 (strenuous) to 10 (relaxing) days - although shorter tours over part of the route are also available. 

If you are thinking of walking the  Cotswold Way, why not Contact us to arrange a walking tour.   We book accommodation, arrange luggage transfer, provide maps, directions and guide books, give advice on travelling to and from the holiday within the UK, and provide support in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Wishing you a great walking year in 2014

Anne
Walk the Landscape

Looking over Long Compton on a frosty morning

Long Compton from the Jurassic Way 

Long Compton, in the north east Cotswolds, is famous for its witches.  Perhaps the most notorious was Anne Tennant, the wife of a farm worker who on 15 September 1875 came to a bloody end.   Cruelly executed by a neighbour in the traditional manner for witches, this killing sent shock waves through 19th century England.  

Long Compton lies below the Jurassic Way, one of the ancient tracks across southern England.   It's just one mile away from the Rollright Stones, a Bronze Age stone circle, which in folklore is thought to be an invading Viking army turned into stone by a local witch.

Two of our long distance trails pass through Long Compton and by the Rollright Stones:

- Shakespeare's Way which follows the route from Shakespeare’s birthplace at Stratford-upon-Avon to his workplace at the Globe Theatre, next to the Thames in the centre of London.

- Cross Cotswold Pathway that starts at Banbury in Oxfordshire and wends its way south-west to the city of Bath. 

Contact us if you would like to know more.

Happy hiking
Anne 
Walk the Landscape

PS: check out Warwickshire Life to find out more about Long Compton and its witches. 

Dappled light along a Cotswold footpath

Happy hiking
Anne
Walk the Landscape

A Family Outing in the Cotswolds

Happy hiking.
Anne
Walk the Landscape