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Friday 8/9/17: Wotton-Under-Edge to King's Stanley 24km 6 hrs 30 mins.
Sometimes walking with friends can be challenging. Last night we had talked over a beer, about better communication and letting each other know what we were wanting to do, or where we wanted to stop and sightsee. As part of that, we planned to meet outside the Swan Inn at 8.30am and Hett would see the chemist about replacing her glasses, Rowan would go to the bank and Jane and I would do a bakery run. Rowan and I were there getting our boots on at 8.30 am, knowing Hett had gone to the chemist, but not knowing where Jane had disappeared to. We set off downtown and Jane suddenly turned up, acting as if we had never planned to meet! I had a few restrained words and headed off to the bakery, assuming she was coming too, but once again she disappeared, this time into the chemist as she was getting some hip pain and wanted to get something for it. My frustration with her grew, at the lack of a few words or some communication about what she was planning to do. The final straw when I caught up with her again, was that she had assumed that I would have read her mind, as to what Rowan and her would want from the bakery and have got it for them! Sometimes an acknowledgement of the problem she had caused would be nice, rather than it always being someone else's fault.
Anyway, we wandered off in drizzling rain with me feeling very irritated with Jane and her with me. Despite the weather we made good time through North Nibley, over fields and through farms to Dursley. Once in Dursley we wandered up and down looking for coffee, with Jane keen to check out a place called The Bank. Unfortunately it was full and so we wandered back up the mall in light rain to a bakery and a pleasant coffee and cake. We managed to miss a turn in Dursley and only got back on track when a kind local led us back to her place and guided us out the back and eventually to the Cotswold Way.
Occasionally my watch GPS was useful to confirm where we were on the map and some of the places were names to conjure with. For example Cam Long Down, Hetty Pegler's Tump and the Nympsfield Long Barrow where we had a rest break in watery sunshine. From there the trail meandered through Beech forest with lots of steep ups and downs and eventually to our B & B, Village Views and our hostess Pam.
As Jane and Rowan had a small room the night before we gave up the bigger bedroom with views and en-suite for our smaller bedroom and bathroom across the corridor.
After a relaxing and restorative bath we shared a taxi with Rowan, Jane and another couple to a pub called The Old Fleece. We had a good, but expensive meal and came back here to take it easy. Tomorrow is a much shorter day of 15km to Painswick, but unfortunately the bad weather is coming in so it looks like a couple of days of walking in wet weather gear.
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