Cold Ashton

We really have been fortunate with the weather. It rained some during the night; I could hear what I thought was a squirrel in the attic, but it must have been rain. Guess I was thinking about the Wooton-under-Edge attempted squirrel assult that our host was contemplating.

We had a wonderful breakfast and since it was not raining (and did not rain the entire day), we only needed our rain pants due to the wet weeds, and we each wore a rain jacket...just in case. Poncho stayed in the backpacks.

Shortly after leaving the B & B, we had to cross a very busy highway that required 10 minutes of waiting, but we left no bodies with tire tracks. We crossed it again later, but did not experience as much difficulty.

Views were as good as those that we've seen throughout the trip. One unusual sight occurred when we walked through what we thought was a wheat field. There was a very distinct path and the wind was whipping the tall plants in a wave fashion...like going to a ball game and the fans do the "wave". This was natural and we just enjoyed the motion for a few minutes.

We passed a couple of men working on an old stone wall that they estimated to be over 250 years old. They were Cotswold Wardens and volunteered their time and talents to keep the trail looking good as well as to preserve the English history.

Further on, we came across an ancient battlefield. In 1643, there was quite a battle that changed much of England...we'll let you read about it in the picture. There is a monument there, built in 1720.

Crossing the field, we noticed the sheep all in a line. Lunch requires a certain amount of discipline so the sheep were with the program. Typical British, I guess.

We saw another of the Iron Age Forts, this one was Little Down Hill Fort and the last that we will see. Amazing that such a large amount of history goes almost unnoticed as there were no markers, we determined where it was from the guidebook.

We had our first good look at Bath from Prospect Stile, and it was 5k away as the crow flies. A wonderful pause from our methodical walk, we sat and enjoyed the many views. Our walk would soon be over and we wanted to savor the moment.

From here, we walked into and across Weston (down and back up), what we imagine as a bedroom community and had a bit to go to reach Bath. We motored on finally seeing Queen Victoria's monument, then walking in front of the Royal Crescent. I'll include pictures of Bath over the next two days, but we wanted to remember our journey as a series of beautiful samples of nature...and we saw many such samples.

Finally, we saw the Bath Abbey and the "official" end of the Cotswold Way.

Dinner was Italian and dessert was Panna Cotta, a custard like Mexican flan, but the flavorings were much different. Hope we can try this when we get home.

Tomorrow will be a late wakeup as the dogs need a rest.Read more