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English adventures

September - October 2024
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5 glorious weeks of cycling and hiking The Isle of Wight, The Cotswolds and the South West coastline path. Maybe even a pint of two in the evenings. Fingers crossed for perfect autumn weather. Read more
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  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    11
    Day 2

    Isle of Wight cycle

    September 26 in England ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Our beautiful UK trip kicked off on the quaint and historic Isle of Wight, The Island was formed at the end of the last ice age. It’s South of England about 1.5 hours drive from London. The island is only small so ideal for a three day cycle through the pretty villages and quiet, narrow, winding roads through the countryside. Our first night was in the seaside resort town Ryde and it was raining quite a lot so a great opportunity to sample the local ales at the local pubs on the esplanade. Simon orders the pints - I have half!

    Day 1 : Ryde to Yarmouth cycle. We cycled 44km
    on a self-guided trip which allowed us lots of freedom to stop and explore many beautiful tiny villages and old churches. Some highlights were the visit to Quarr Abbey - home to a small community of monks and some friendly pigs!
    We cycled on to St Mildred’s church where we discovered the tombs of Prince Louis & Princess Victoria of Battenburg - Queen Victoria’s family. So amazing and humbling to see their graves in such a small graveyard. We continued on cycling the narrow lanes and peering over the hedges to see cows or sheep grazing. Finally arriving in the harbour town of Yarmouth. We are staying in the main square upstairs at The Bugle Coaching Inn.
    After a 44km cycle often in somewhat windy conditions we enjoyed a pub meal of steak pie washed down with a red wine. 🍷 Felt like there should have been a warm fire 🔥 to sit by but it’s only the start of autumn here and 13c temps might be considered too warm for a fire.
    Early to bed tonight to prepare for a 38km cycle tomorrow. Fingers crossed for sunny conditions.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    11
    Day 4

    Day Two Cycle Isle of Wight

    September 28 in England ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Day Two : We departed Yarmouth, following the directions on our self guided cycling tour of the Isle of Wight. The total bike journey today was 39km to The White Mouse Inn at Chale.
    Departing Yarmouth on our cycles we followed a narrow dirt path through long corridors of overgrown forest forming a never ending canopy over the trail. I was imagining Robin Hood and his merry band of thieves to leap out at any moment.
    After meandering our way through the forest it opened up in to a clearing and we were pleasantly surprised by beautiful white swans swimming gracefully around in an estuary. Their back drop was a lovely stone bridge. Simply gorgeous.
    Along the way we discovered The Needles which are some of the world’s most photographed rocks. They looked like they were made of chalk! The site was also the location of the world’s first permanent Wireless Station! It was completed in 1897.
    We had a snack of flapjacks ( UK version of an oath muesli bar) and a brownie while gazing out over the English Channel. So pretty and to think that France is just across the water.
    We spent the afternoon cycling along the windswept coast line. At times we left the busy road and discovered little villages with quaint old churches and houses with thatched roofs. We also travelled up narrow lanes lined with tall hedges. We passed crops of corn and cauliflower. Not many sheep or cattle here.
    Tonight we’re resting at The White Mouse Inn which overlooks the ocean. Hoping for a sunset but too cloudy. We dined on scampi and bangers & mash and were treated to live music on a Saturday night.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    Day 5

    Day 3 Cycle final leg

    September 29 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    It’s Sunday in UK. Weather was a little gloomy and windy BUT not raining ! We set off on the final leg of our circuit of the Isle of Wight after a glorious and rather large English Breakfast!!
    Total kms today was 45km ( maybe because we miss-navigated a couple of times)
    Good news is that Simon and I are still talking after this self guided tour that has so many detailed directions and instructions. Felt like we stopped every 10 minutes. Challenging when you just want to cycle on.
    The English drivers overall were very polite to cyclists we thought. Often slowing down and waiting patiently to overtake us. The roads were narrow and the little farm lanes were even narrower! Today was a mix of riding on busy roads and little backroad lanes lined with green hedges where you would get occasional glimpses in to beautiful meadows and pastures. The lanes were lovely not just for the quietness but they protected us from the harsh coastal winds.
    We enjoyed many lovely coastal views and called in to visit the only windmill on the island and a very historic church with quite an overgrown cemetery. Fascinating mainly because of the age of the cemetery dating back to 1700s but also the overgrown parts and lovely big trees 🌳 growing amongst the crooked graves. This graveyard was a refuge to many wildlife like squirrels and bats and butterflies so that’s the reason for the overgrowth. There is something to be said about entering old churches. There is an incredible silence and peacefulness once inside.
    We arrived back at Ryde around 3pm
    our original starting point, just before rain set in.
    Total kms cycled was approx 125km in 3days
    Glad I had a padded seat! Pulled up pretty good for limited cycling training 😀
    It’s raining this evening 🌧️ grateful we didn’t have any rain on our cycle trip.
    Off to Oxford tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    1
    1
    Day 6

    Oxford

    September 30 in England ⋅ 🌬 15 °C

    After arriving in Oxford via bus from Portsmouth we checked in and took a wander around the University city of Oxford otherwise known as the Dreaming Spires due to so many churches with tall spires.
    Our first stop at Oxford was The Bear Inn- oldest pub in Oxford and also the pub where my brother Anthony worked when he was 23years old! It had the biggest collection of college half ties. There were hundreds of them representing all the colleges. We had a very traditional lunch of chicken & leek pie washed down with an ale.
    At the turn of every corner was a surprise of incredible architecture and design as we discovered the many colleges, university halls, libraries and churches. I didn’t even realise this is where Harry Potter was filmed!!
    One of the highlights for us was a beautiful afternoon walk around the oldest Botanic Gardens in UK 🇬🇧 The greenhouses were so cool as they had speciality plants such as carnivorous plants and arid plants.
    The following day we took a tour of some of the Oxford University historic buildings.
    Did you know there are 26000 university students study here! There are 38 colleges in total. Students get allocated to any college.
    Here are a few facts from our walking tour!
    * Divinity school - old university hall which was used in the Harry Potter film
    * Sheldonian Theatre
    Where students matriculate & graduate
    * Bridge of Sighs 1914
    Bridge that took you to prison (Venice)
    The reason Oxford has a bridge is simply because Cambridge has one!
    * Bodleiana Library - quad 1602
    Copyright library - library has a copy of everything ever printed
    13million books
    * All Souls College - most prestigious one
    16th century. You can apply directly however you
    need to be an Oxford graduate to have any chance at all of studying here. Only accepts between zero and two students a year
    Most clever students would go here
    Everything paid for next seven years of their study. Basically only 30 people study here!
    * University Church of St Mary has a tower with spiral stairs that you can climb up to the top of the tower and this provides the best views over Oxford.
    The final thing I will mention is that the prestigious Oxford University has the following statistics on their enrolments-
    60 % state. 40% private school enrolment which maybe is a testament to the free education system that the UK has developed.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    3
    Day 8

    Cotswolds Day One

    October 2 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    As I write this, we are sitting by a beautiful open fire at the Eight Bells Pub at the top end of Chipping Campden. Simons having a second pint and I’m enjoying a Prosecco. Lots of Americans here and locals with their pooches.
    The special locals have their own steins hanging in the bar.
    Today after devouring a delightful full English breakfast we departed Chipping Campden the town where the Cotswolds Way commences,
    Our walk today was 18km to a little village called Stanton. The temp was around 13c and overcast.
    We hiked on little paths through small farms. There were many little gates to open and go through to the next paddock or section of the track. The gates are known as kissing gates and stiles. The gates are pretty cool and very well maintained. I loved feeling the smoothness of the rails which occurs because thousands of hikers have opened them over the years.
    It’s the middle of autumn 🍂 and this particular area has received incredible amounts of wild weather and high rainfall over the last week so the tracks were quite muddy. One track had horses running up and down it so it was very treacherous and slippery.
    The Cotswolds have some very unusual sheep including a breed known as the Lion Sheep
    🐑. We also saw some belted Galloway cattle.
    People have lived worked and farmed the Cotswolds for over 6000 years.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    Day 9

    Stanton to Cleeve Hill Day 2

    October 3 in England ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    It’s Thursday 3rd October and a spectacular sunny autumn 🍂 day here. We are excited for a big day of hiking across the escarpment to Cleeve Hill.
    Chipping Campden was a beautiful village to stay for a second night. We loved our dining experiences and the beautiful shops.
    I met a local farmer whilst waiting for a coffee at Chipping Campden this morning. He gave me a quick run down of the history of wool around these parts and he told me the names of the local breed of sheep 🐑 mainly bred for their lovely chops these days. The main breed is North Country Mill with the spotty black legs and faces and the Texal are the broad face pretty eyed sheep. 🐑
    It costs too much to shear the sheep in England so the only sheep are the ones for meat.
    Later on the hike we met a farmer at work. Him and his son were “daggjng” the ewes in preparation for the rams. Basically tidying up their bottoms (crutching). He also has a lot of steers locked up and feeding them silage which was very smelly indeed!
    We had a transfer to Stanton at 9:30 and walked 25km today to arrive at Cleve Hill around 4:30pm
    It’s a long walk up and down hills and through woodlands and across the sides of hills where sheep are grazing.
    Our BnB was at the very top of Cleve Hill and we had a beautiful room with a magical view over Cheltenham, a sprawling city below. The sunset as we walked to the pub for dinner was gorgeous.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    Day 10

    Cleve Hill to Birdlip Day 3

    October 4 in England ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    We walked a total of 25km to the tiny village of Birdlip today. The Cotswolds Way took us along the escarpment surrounding the city of Cheltenham. The track today gave us the highest views of Cotswolds. We could almost see across to Wales and definitely the Malvern Mountains in the distance. The views were stunning.
    We are starting to understand why the walk is so popular. I thought we’d be walking through little villages and farms with sheep everywhere but there is so much more. We found ourselves walking through woodlands of beech trees, past disused quarries, along stone walls and down narrow tracks that are lined with hawthorn hedges. Every turn of a corner finds you in a different environment. One thing for certain it’s a beautiful trail that is so good for the soul and the mind.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    2
    Day 11

    Birdlip to Painswick Day 4

    October 5 in England ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

    It’s Saturday 5th October
    A short walk today from Birdlip through many woodlands. The distance was only 13km today.
    We arrived in Painswick around lunch time so we spent the afternoon wandering around the Painswick Rococo Garden. 🪴 It was planted in the 1740s. Over 240 years later in 1984 it was restored. There were many interesting aspects including a house for an eagle 🦅 a pigeon house, a pond, a plunge pool and an orchard. Our favourite was the maze garden. The maze was created to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the gardens.
    We are resting in a lovely little bnb and about to head to The Oak - a local pub down the road.
    It’s been a perfect autumn 🍂 day! So lucky with the weather so far.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    Day 11

    Painswick to Kings Stanley Day 5

    October 5 in England ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Sunday October 6th
    It’s overcast and cool today. We walked 16km to Kings Stanley and it rained at 4pm just after we settled in to the pub where we are staying!

    Last night we wandered the streets of Painswick where we stayed on Saturday night at a BnB called St Anne’s. All the houses and businesses look the same in this town. We received a warm welcome at The Royal Oak pub. It was a proper English pub. Very cosy, stone built and full of locals mostly. We had a delicious traditional cottage pie for dinner.

    Next morning we set off after a full English breakfast, home cooked. We were also provided with a packed lunch - fresh cheddar and chutney sandwiches 🥪 with crisps and muesli bars.

    In the section today we came across the marker that indicates the half way point along Cotswolds Way stating Bath 55 miles on one side and Chipping Campden 47miles on the other, which clearly isn’t halfway but it’s close.

    So we’ve walked about 75km so far with about 88km to go.

    We walked through a lot of woodland today. The trees are so magnificent and we passed many English locals out for their Sunday stroll with their children and their dogs 🐕 Everyone seems to own a dog or two in England. We came across some horse riders too! 🐴

    After leaving the beautiful woods, we hiked through corn fields and a vineyard which had grapes 🍇 almost ready to harvest. Not many sheep today but mostly cows 🐄 of different breeds.

    We arrived at Kings Stanley around 3pm where we had a transfer taxi service to our hotel in Frocester. Fingers crossed for Sunday Roast dinner.

    It’s going to be a huge 27km walk tomorrow and predicted rain 🌧️.    Read more

  • TravelerEnglish adventures
    1
    Day 13

    Kings Stanley - Wotten Under-Edge Day 6

    October 7 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Monday 7th October

    If I could only choose one section of the Cotswold Way to do again, it might be this day from Kings Stanley to Wotton Upon Edge. It was undoubtedly another hard stretch with a lot of climbing up and down, but I think it might have been the prettiest.

    The rain last night had made everything shine, but now the sun was out and the sky was blue.

    Our steps took us up the hill from Kings Stanley to rejoin the trail and climb through a wood to Coaley Peak.

    As you near the top of the hill, there are old iron age forts left in the ground. Actually we saw loads of these on The Cotswold Way. There are lots of historical markers showing you where and how people lived ages and ages ago. It’s one of the draws of this trail.

    As you walk the ridge, you can see where you’ve come from and where you are headed. There are several bigger towns that you never go through on The Cotswold Way, but that you can see from these hilltops.

    You could see the little white specks of sheep in the fields below and as we looked at the map, I could see we would be circling the ridge, dropping down, and then climbing right back up again.

    We stopped in the little village of Dursley where we stopped for a tea and had a quick chat to a couple of hikers from Montana and New Zealand. There are not many walkers on the trail at this time of year it seems.

    The climbing was a little more gradual and spread out after the steep morning hills. For much of the afternoon, we could see the Tyndale Monument in the distance as it got closer and closer.

    We climbed up through another forest after North Nimbley. When we emerged from the trees we were finally on the hill with the Tyndale Monument.

    We had been watching it all day, so it only seemed fitting to climb to the top.

    It was built in 1866 honor of William Tyndale, who did an early translation of the New Testament into English. He was born nearby.

    We were rewarded with beautiful views of the surrounding valleys and villages. From the monument, we descended into Wotton-Under-Edge. Along the path we saw many squirrels out collecting grain from the nearby field where a crop had been harvested. We must have seen about 20 squirrels 🐿️ They were super cute

    We we then made our way to our hotel, The Swan.    Read more

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