Pressing Pause (again)

Chillier nights and misty mornings back in the Cotswolds. We enjoyed exploring the villages of Bibury, Burford, Windrush and Sherborne and as the sun returned, we were able to return to the footpaths. Red kites often soared overhead, kingfishers darted about near the rivers and thankfully no cattle! 

Our day exploring Oxford was also full of unexpected encounters. We walked along the canal path from Wolvercote to reach the city of spires in glorious sunshine. Once we’d wandered through the alleyways to admire the honey-coloured architecture, we sat to have lunch which I’d packed. An hour long conversation then followed with a young four year old named George, who was visiting the UK for two weeks with his parents from Singapore. The family were originally from Shanghai but work had taken them to Singapore. Little George was fascinated with Poppy (especially her wagging tail) and I was interviewed thoroughly on my knowledge about her!

From Oxford we headed back to Stowe, just outside Buckingham as I’d read about the installation of 200 soldier silhouettes by ‘Standing with Giants’ as a mark of remembrance. We spent time walking amongst them and reading the last letters written by troops on the frontline to their loved ones. Lots of other visitors were pausing to take in the sight and children were asking their parents about the art work and its meaning.

Seeing the poppy wreaths made me realise we are almost in November, my favourite month of the year; birthdays and bonfires. 

After meandering back through the Chilterns this week, we will be pressing pause on our van adventures and shall be returning to Norfolk next month, so I shall look forward to catching up with local friends and spending cosy evenings in front of the fire. If you’re reading this and would like to visit the far east of the country (even though it’s a pain to get to,) you are most welcome. Just get in touch!

Wandering into Wiltshire

 A week of two halves! The first half was spent with lovely friends in Box (including Maisie the spaniel) exploring the pretty village of Castle Combe in the sunshine. It featured in the film Warhorse and unsurprisingly on a sunny Sunday was busy with tourists. Poppy and Maisie had a great time swimming and springing about in the long grass, as only spaniels can! 

Our last few days have been wet, wet, wet from the rain brought by storm Babet, although tucked up in the van we were well sheltered. Our walks took us to Caen Locks, Roundway Down and a fantastic meet up with Sarah, who six years ago I met when walking London to Brighton for charity. I love catching up with friends and even though we hadn’t seen each other since that gruelling almost 30 hour walk, it was like we were back on that day, chatting away. Just perfect.

Our attempts to walk yesterday were a bit hit and miss. Every part of the Thames path we tried to walk was flooded! Poppy did make friends with a greyhound and after they’d chased each other round the waterlogged meadows, she was exhausted so we opted for a cafe in the afternoon.

We’re leaving Wiltshire today and heading back into the Cotswolds to complete our loop of the picturesque villages and walks (hopefully) through more open countryside.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Second Summer!

Well, we keep following the sun, or maybe it’s following us. Our Cotswolds’ walks have taken us to so many pretty villages, churches, pubs and across open, green countryside.  One of our favourite places was Bourton on the Water, although we had to visit twice as on the Saturday after walking for four hours and not seeing a soul, we arrived in Bourton to a packed scene with children paddling in the water, dogs everywhere, motorcyclists, a gridlocked high street and pubs and cafes overflowing. We made a sharp exit and headed for a quiet bench in the churchyard for lunch. 

What a difference when we returned on Monday. We could actually stop to enjoy it and Poppy could finally get in the water without me worrying that she would eat everyone’s picnic food!

Other routes have taken us to The Slaughters, Guiting Power, Adelstrop, Northleach, Chedworth’s incredible Roman Villa and Painswick, where we had the most perfect woodland park up spot. We had the pleasure of meeting Tina and her dog Flynn each morning and evening we stayed there. 

With our days filled with steps (sometimes many more than planned due to detours to avoid curious cattle,) our evenings have been occupied with music and books (plus a little bit of Strictly.) Tina donated a book to my little basket, so as soon as I have finished my current read, I shall be starting it. Small acts of kindness. So simple, yet they make a big difference.

If you’re still reading my ramblings on this blog, then thank you. I hope if you’re in the UK (or even if you’re not) that it brings back memories of places you may have been, or inspired new journeys. Wherever you’re exploring today, I hope the sun is still shining. It’s my first rainy end to a day, so after our canal walk this morning, a hot chocolate with my book and a sleeping spaniel at my feet in a pub is where I find myself.

Have a great evening everyone!

Cotswold Country

Nine hours sleep, ten miles walking a day, getting just a little bit lost and one-pot wonders for supper. Ahhh, the joys of being back in the van! As I have just a month until I need to be back in Norfolk for a while, I decided that the Cotswolds looked like a good area to explore and so far it hasn’t disappointed. 

Autumn colours are beginning to appear, along with the usual treasures of conkers and berries reminding me of everyone’s favourite hymn from primary school.

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled

And the silk inside a chestnut shell…

Apologies if this is now stuck in your head for the rest of the day! And if you didn’t have the joy of learning it at primary school, go look it up, such a good song to sing with kids!

As usual I have no set route and am using a walking book I borrowed from the library, along with people’s recommendations as to where to head. So far we have explored Stowe, Chipping Norton, Moreton in Marsh, Chipping Campden, Broadway, Snowshill, Stanton and Blockley. We also visited Batsford Arboretum where we had the pleasure of meeting another beautiful spaniel called Dolly and her lovely family. We shared travel tales and coffee outside as the weather was so mild whilst the spaniels had a well-deserved rest!

I find myself in Winchcombe this morning enjoying a coffee and having nowhere I need to be. In a conversation with friends, I realised how incredibly fortunate I am to have this time to myself, to live so simply and to allow myself to stay very much in the present moment. It definitely takes practice. Life is not for dwelling on the past, or for always planning for the future, which is not promised. Yes, enjoy memories, look back on experiences and definitely learn from mistakes, but enjoy your present surroundings. I am trying to become an expert at mono-tasking and I highly recommend it.