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Thursday 7/9/17: Old Sodbury to Wotton-Under-Edge. 21km 8hrs.
We were expecting rain when we left Joan and Rock Cottage this morning about 8.50 am. However although the skies remained grey to black it didn't eventuate!
We even had some sunshine briefly so we considered ourselves lucky. We walked up and down and across, but mostly up it seemed, moving through Little Sodbury, Horton, past Hawkesbury Upton and into Lower Kilcott. Once again we had great scenery from narrow green tunnels to open green fields and past stone cottages and rushing streams. We got through Alderley and Wortley and up to the high point of the day at Tor Hill. Hett, Jane and Rowan were keen to visit Newark House about 0.5k off the track. I was running out of steam, or to mix metaphors had hit the wall!
Nevertheless I went along, had some coffee and cake and then looked after the packs while they explored the house.
Two older women chattered away nearby, sounding like a scene from Coronation Street, but I still managed to doze off until Hett returned. Once again we got on the road again and so I managed a third or fourth wind and slipped to the front of the peloton. We stopped and chatted to walkers going the 'normal' north to south Cotswold Way, who told gloomy tales of even higher hills to come! Once into Wotton-Under-Edge I was running for home. Home being the Swan Hotel on Market St and so I was less than appreciative of Hett and Jane stopping to look at churches and shops.They seemed a bit less goal directed than me and drifted off 'lonely as a cloud' while I gnashed my teeth.
Eventually we made it to the Swan Hotel and this time, we did better on the rooms with a four poster bed and some character to the furnishings. We still missed out on a bath, while the Davidson's had enjoyed one at the two previous places! I guess it was a case of swings and roundabouts. We had a nice dinner at the Swan and have now come to bed. The weather sounds like it is deteriorating with one inch of rain falling tomorrow and very strong to gale force winds by Sunday! Hopefully we'll be ok as the terrain is getting tougher. Tomorrow is about 24km long so it may be challenging in the rain. I'll let you know how we go,
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Kate Emery I can only imagine how well you kept your cool in the face of adversity, Pa. x K