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.