Broadway - Stanton - Winchcombe

Lovely breakfast (ham & cheese omelet for me, traditional English for Joe) in a gorgeous dining hall, with fresh fruit as well. Gracious staff to boot.

We were trying to get an early start, but in the end, we all set out together around 9:30am. 🤣 The Vincers joined us as far as Stanton (reputed to be the most beautiful town in the Cotswolds, where may TV shows are filmed) and then retraced their steps to Broadway and a 160-mile drive back to Kent.

We could see the Broadway Tower at points early on. It was a well-traveled path along sheep, cattle (belted Galloways!), and horse pastures today, and SPECTACULAR views all around. Climbed up and up and up, 1000' + today, until it was time to come down pretty steeply on a MUCH smaller trail. 😅 About 5.7 miles - good enough for me.

The Vincers turned back, J, A & E headed out on the trail, and I scouted a good place to sketch from. Took some liberties scootching a wooden bench for a better view. Popped out the paints and got a few blocks of color down when -- plop! plop! plop! - the clouds burst open. 💦💦💦 Fortunately, it was a short-lived shower, so I was able to continue on, albeit in my "waterproofs," as they are called here.

Since the town's inn (The Mount Inn) closed at 3pm, I set out about 1:30pm to locate it (back uphill!) and get a warm bite (shrimp in herbs and butter on ciabatta) before then. Of course, the sketching was great, and as always opened doors to conversations. The couple I sketched was so pleased with it, they took a photo!

A taxi drove me the 15 minutes to our place for the night in Winchcombe (supposedly called The Wesley House, but is now The White Hart - go figure). Est. 1554!! Half-timbered!

I got to explore the town a bit and do a much more detailed sketch than I did of Stanton in the rain, so it was satisfying. The wind was picking up, but it didn't rain. 😊

After I headed up to our room, I figured out a plan for tomorrow, and then J, A & E showed up. Glad I was able to let them know about the name change, as they had walked double what I did today!

I'm still a little surprised with the wandering, wonky nature of old inns here, with rooms and sections being added over the years. A&E and J& I both had the same dinner: sharing a fish pie with mash and a Greek salad, with gelato for dessert. I was a bit tired by that point, so we headed up to bed.

Zzzzzzzz z z z z . . . .

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