Thursday, 22 February 2018

Cotswold Way

Wotton-under-Edge → Tormarton

holloway.jpg Distance: 16.47 miles
Ascent: 626 metres
Duration: 6 hours 19 minutes

Pastures and parkland
« Not walked | Not walked »

Setting off from Wooton, we took time to visit Hugh Perry's almshouses on Church Street; this quiet group of stone houses, standing around a small chapel, was built to house poor men and women, on the injunction that they "constantly attend upon the public prayers". Suitably chastened, we followed the Cotswold Way into farmland, walking along deep, overhung lanes filled with beech leaves.

This is ancient farming country; hillsides were marked with the ridged echos of old strip lynchets, evidence of a long history of use. This stretch of the Way also took us past the site of two mills, used for grain and fulling cloth, a reminder that the sheep grazing nearby would once have been part of a major local economy.

After a brief reminder of William Tyndale (the route passes Little Sodbury church, where Tyndale heard preaching that inspired him to start translating scripture into English) we continued through the extensive Iron Age hill fort of Sodbury Camp. Unlike some of the smaller forts along the path, Sodbury is well preserved, giving a sense of containment and safety inside the hefty walls.

dodington-park.jpgIn complete contrast, Dodington Park is a mannered, clipped, Capability Brown estate, where trees and landscapes have been artfully managed to create an aesthetically desirable vista. The temptation to run wild across Sir James Dyson's immaculate lawn was strong, but we resisted, heading out to the untamed woodland beyond.

Posted by pab at 15:04 | Comments will be back one day. Please email me instead!