Wednesday, June 7, 2017

"To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." - Henry David Thoreau

Left Painswick late this morning, at 11 am, as our host was doing our laundry and apparently their dryers here aren't very high heat so it took a loooooong time but we are so thankful for clean clothes. We set off, well rested (the bed was so comfy, I don't think I moved a muscle after my head hit the pillow). We also hit the halfway mark to Bath, so that was exciting.
A little trivia about the Cotswold Way. The word 'cotswolds' comes from the word 'cots', meaning stone sheep shelters and 'wold', meaning rolling hills. It aptly describes the beautiful scenery we have been enjoying the past 5 days. Hard to believe we have only 4 days remaining of walking the Cotswold Way, but two of them will be very challenging. Tomorrow is election day and the polls show Labour getting close to the Tories. Might be interesting.
It's also amazing how quickly the views become commonplace as we get more walking in. At the beginning of our walk it all seemed so breathtaking and now we only take a few pictures of the landscape rather than dozens per day!

 Waiting patiently on the window seat for our clothes to dry so we can depart!

 The streets are very narrow. This is the home across the street from our B&B.

 Come on, Andrew. Stop taking pictures and catch up to me!

 The halfway marker to Bath - only 55 miles to go! (Actually the trail is 102 or 103 miles so not quite half.)

 She almost looks fake, but she decided to pose for us!

Plant of the day ~ spotted orchid. These are quite common throughout the meadows. The leaves have dark spots, hence the name.

Two ladies offered to take a pic of the 2 of us which was kind. This is the Cromwell Stone commemorating the siege of Gloucester - 1643 in which the Parliamentarians of Gloucester defeated King Charles I. This was part of the English civil war.

 Another stunning vista! The distant water is the River Severn, indicating that we are moving south although in a serpentine way.

 Walking through a shaded path in Standish Wood - where's Andrew??

 At the end of a long day - so happy to shed the hikers and air the bare feet.

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