Day 18 - Reading to Heathrow (And Finally Home)

Bed was the most uncomfortable I have ever slept in and the room way too hot.  Had to open the window and turn all the heating off.  Woke early and decided to catch an earlier bus to Heathrow.  Even LHR would be a more interesting place to hang around than the B&B.  Got downstairs at 7:30am to find the bakery open.  Had expected a rather fancy French bakery but was more of a greasy spoon so passed on the offer of breakfast (which was included in the price of the room) and just left.

Glad I did as traffic was bad and we were about 20 minutes late getting to Heathrow.  Still plenty of time before my flight so not fussed, but it would have stressed me out if I'd caught the bus I'd originally intended to take.  In hindsight would have made more (or at least just as much) sense to go all the way to London and stop overnight near Paddington and catch the Heathrow Connecct.

Once I checked in I had breakfast at a cafe outside security as I wasn't sure whether they'd be more shops this side or airside.  Turns out it there were far more airside.  Still, had a full English with a quite decent caffe latte with the last of my change 8.60 GBP which included a token tip.

Still had a 10 pound note so once through security I browsed the shops in an attempt to spend it.  No point changing it back to Australian dollars when it was such a small amount.  Bought a book, a bottle of water (for the plane) and a can of flavoured mineral water (to drink straight away).

Now on the plane writing this up.  The upper deck is definitely the place to be if you are travelling cattle class.  Only 11 or so rows up here so can easily imagine you are on a small plane rather than a massive monster.  There are a few empty seats up here so might have been able to finagle an empty seat next to me.  Not to worry.  My seat mate is a slender young woman of whom I greatly approve.  She drinks Bloody Marys and is reading a Lucifer Box story.

It is now 4pm London time and have about 8 more hours to go so time for a snooze for me.

Day 17 - Bath to Reading

Last full day of the holiday.  Spent time chatting with an American couple and the landlady, plus Cami the dog, over breakfast.  The landlady was very agreeable even if her breakfast policies are a bit rigid and stingy.

Went to the Roman Baths which are fabulous.  They weren't just baths, they were part of a huge temple complex.  You got to explore only some of it as it is now well below ground and only partially excavated.

Had a very detailed audio guide which got a bit longwinded in places but was very informative.  Got a bit cheesed off with the narration for a grave stone for a small girl who was only 1 year, 3 months and *sob* 12 days old.  This was repeated, complete with sob, several times.  I was ready to strangle her myself by the end.  Seeing the Roman Baths made me want to go back to the Thermae Baths.  I'm becoming a fan of steam rooms followed by cold plunge pools.

Finished up at the shop where I bought myself some sterling silver earrings with (rather indistinct) images of the god's face from the pediment.  Looks like a cross between a Celtic green man and a male gorgon to me.  An absolutely fascinating face.

Was about 20 to 12 when I was all done so decided to go for an early lunch.  Tilleys Bistro was nearby and had good reviews.  They were also doing a tempting lunch special so I wandered in.  Only to be told very sniffily that they weren't open and didn't start serving until 12.  Well, pardon me for walking in a wide open door.  It had quite given me the impression they were open for customers.  How silly of me.

Went to the National Trust shop and bought a few things about JA for Mary since I couldn't get any GH stuff.  Also bought myself some more jewellery - an amethyst bracelet and a hematite pendant necklace. Have amassed a good set of souvenirs (for me) from this trip.  Nothing for John, Jane or Jim.  Oops.

By the time I was done shopping it was well past 12 but decided not to go back to Tilleys since they were so rude.  Just wandered and ended up at the Arch Restaurant in Queen Street which was also doing a tasty lunch special.  Had asparagus (again, it's in season) with creme fraiche and cardoman flavoured breadcrumbs followed by steak and chips with salad.  Apparently this restaurant is famed for its steak which was very tender and tasty and cooked just as I ordered. Unfortunately, the salad was gritty which was a shame as the dressing was good.  Also had a glass of Australian shiraz and an espresso. 

After lunch had a look at 1 Royal Crescent which has been restored to its original Georgian splendour.  They only had the dining and drawing rooms plus the study and one bedroom on display.  They didn't have the servants rooms on show but they did have the kitchen visible.  The house seemed much too small, only one room deep.  It must have been subdivided at some time.  It was all beautifully restored and there were very earnest women guides in each room to tell you all about it. I joked that I could have lived there and one started to tell me how much it would cost to buy one of the houses on the crescent.  Slightly out of my price range at about 5M-10M GPB plus, emphasis on the plus I expect.

After this it was close to 3pm.  Still way early for my train but not enough time to do much else so I picked up my bags and headed for the station.  Lots of trains and people coming and going, so with people watching the time passed quickly.  

When I got to Reading I bought a bus ticket for the next day and identified the bus stop before heading to my B&B.  Got there about 5:30pm to find the bakery below all shut up and a sign on the B&B door saying check-in was between 9am and 3:30pm.  There had been no such warning on my reservation details.  I was more than a bit peeved when I called the phone number given on the bottom of the notice.  I didn't know where else to go and in any case, I'd paid already for a night there.  Was ready to make a fuss and insist someone come and let me in but it wasn't necessary.  They'd left my key card in a lock box nearby and gave me the code over the phone.  

The key card got me into a long corridor with motion sensitive lights that only came on when I was halfway down.  It ended at another key-coded door which let me into a stairwell with equally friendly motion-sensitive lights.  These lead to a floor with 5 rooms leading off it, one of which was mine.  Small but clean, if an odd shape, and a decent sized bedroom.  There was free WiFi but it was encrypted and there was no info on what the key was.  I didn't bother calling the number again to find out.  No information about when breakfast was served either.  

Had planned to ask for advice on places to go for dinner but with no-one to ask just went to the O'Neills pub next door and had a burger and chips with a pint of Guiness.  Very ordinary but reliable and convenient.  The B&B seemed deserted but I did hear one other person come and go.  Very spartan and unwelcoming after all the other places I've stayed.  Even the Vine in Stanton wasn't quite so bleak.  At least it had friendly cats.

Day 16 - Bath

Breakfast as before.  Met an American couple visiting here with their son and daughter that I'd met on the guided tour yesterday morning. Bizarre.  Bath isn't that small.

Today was spa day (Thermae Bath Spa) and I was so looking forward to it.  My achilles tendons have mostly forgiven me but my knees are still troublesome. Still, it gets easier to walk up and down stairs every day.

Started off the morning in the roof top pool.  Was pleasant to be lolling in hot water with such a fantastic view over the city, particularly as it was drizzling.  Unfortunately the water wasn't quite as hot as I would have liked so didn't stay long.

Next stop was the steam rooms.  There were four of them, each with a different scent - lavender, frankincense, mint and eucalyptus.  The method was to spend up to 20 minutes in each room (heated to between 40 and 50C) and then come out and have a stone cold shower for a minute or two.  After 5 minutes, or once you've decided you aren't going to have a heart attack after all, you do it all again.  I did this for all four rooms, having a brief stop at the foot spas in between steam rooms.  My favorite bit of the whole visit.

Next was the lower hot pool, the Minerva bath.  Again, not really hot enough.  The really pleasant bit was that there was a gentle anti-clockwise current in the pool.  I used one of those foam noddle things to help keep afloat and spent an hour just floating round and round and round.  It was rather hypnotic and rather snoothing, except for the idiot woman in bathing cap and goggles who kept trying to do laps.  Wish the lifeguards had made her stop.

After this had lunch.  Mineral water, club sandwich with salad and chips followed by a sadly dull mango pudding.  Rubbery and not much flavor.  

Then I had my treatments starting with the Kraxen stove which was just silly.  Sat in an alcove with a big paper cone drapped over me while steam was pumped through the hay (Alpine hay mind you) lining the alcove.  This went on for about 15 minutes.  Could have done without it.  Then instructed to drink some nice (herbal of course) tea and relax on a lounge chair with a magazine until time for the mud wrap. 

The wrap was fun.  Had to take off all my clothes and put on a paper G-string.  A towel was drapped strategically over my breasts which required quite of lot of dexterity as I had to move about a far bit. I then had warm oil rubbed over me followed by something granualar to exfoliate my skin.  This was then wiped off with warm cloths and the hot mud applied.  I was then wrapped in cling film followed by a large, heavy electric blanket.  While I cooked I was given a 20 minute scalp massage.  I was then given yet another glass of water to drink and instructed to wash off all the mud.  I then donned a clean pair of paper panties and was covered in body lotion.  Finally I had a back and shoulders massage then more water and another rest.  

I could have spent about another half hour in the spa but decided I'd had enough.  The Minerva pool was quite crowded so not as pleasant to float around and around and around in.  Just had a shower to wash off the smell of sulphur and back to the B&B.  My skin feels wonderfully soft.

Did online check-in once I got back to the B&B.  Holiday definitely on the downhill run now.  Weather in Bath has been poor - gray and drizzly but would have liked to stay longer if it had been better/I'd had warmer clothes.  

Picked an aisle seat upstairs for the London-Singapore leg on the A380.  It is 2-4-2 up there and there is someone in the window.  The flight is fairly heavily loaded so I didn't bother trying for an empty seat next to me.  I'm in seat B so only one neighbour.  On the Singapore-Melbourne leg it is 3-3-3 seating so I went for a G seat with someone in the D and, currently, a gap inbetween.  Might get lucky that leg as it isn't as heavily loaded.

The B&B has a lovely whippet who introduced herself at breakfast.  She also came upstairs with me when I got home.  That is, I walked up the stairs once.  She raced up and down several times.  The landlady said she hadn't had a chance to walk her today so she let her into the house to burn off her energy running up and down the stairs instead. I do like how doggy this country is.  They are such agreeable animals in the main.

Dinner was at Bistro La Barrique on Barton Street.  I had the best meal of my whole trip there.  I left a large tip and told them so when I left.  It was a French version of tapas.  The owner/chef explained to a neighbouring table that when he took over a Spanish place he decided to invent French tapas because it let him try lots of different things, as well as the diners.  I had three Petit Plats. First was confit duck leg on a bed of shredded carrot and cabbage with orange sauce.  The sauce was a little too sweet for my taste but the meat was divine.  It just fell off the bone.  Second was fresh asparagus with parmesan and balsamic vinegar.  A very good example of a standard.  The highlight was the third dish, a flan of wild mushrooms with a cream and chive sauce.  I would have described it as a timbale as it had no pastry case.  It was mainly held together with cream and perhaps an egg.  It tasted delicious.  Very mushroomy and meaty.  Dessert was a very rich and chocolately chocolate mousse with amaretto biscuits pieces through it.  Also had a glass of wine (French of course) and an espresso.  Set me back a little less (even with extravagant tip) than the restaurant last night which wasn't as good.

Day 15 - Bath

Breakfast was cereal, half a grapefruit and toast.  Not a patch on what I've been having, although the coffee was decent.  Probably good to get into the habit of not eating too much since I'll be going home soon.

Did some errands (buying my train ticket etc) then went on the free guided walk of Bath.  Had to drop about before the end as I was just so cold and tired I was longing to sit down.  Very good tour.  Wish I'd been in better shape.  Came across these rather strange (muscular!) sheep statues.  Not sure why but interesting.

Had lunch at a rather upmarket French place that was doing a 2 course lunch special (Le Flamma, George Street).  I had the Alsatian equivalent of antipasto followed by a pizza, washed down with a glass of Alsatian white then an espresso.  This cost me the princely sum of just under 12 GBP and the owner/waiter whouldn't let me leave a tip.

Went to the Fashion Museum, which is in the Assembly Rooms.  They are much smaller than I had expected.  Was a real thrill to see the scene of so many Georgette Heyer novels.  Couldn't find anything GH related anywhere in town.  The town's favorite author is Jane Austen.  Poor GH is far too low-brow to rate a mention.  And JA hated Bath!

The Fashion Museum was interesting but had too much of a focus on modern (1960+) clothes.  Modern catwalk clothes are fairly much uniformly hideous.  I guess older clothes are harder to come by.  They had corsets you could try on but you needed someone to lace you up so I had to give it a miss, which was a shame.

After this I tottered down to Bath Abbey.  My first, and only, church on this trip.  The walls are full of plaques in honour of various people.  Took a picture of the one for Beau Nash.  Hope the photo will be legible.  One of my favorites plaques was to a woman from her husband and children.  It goes on at length about how wonderful she was but only gives her initials.  It ends up saying there is no need to mention her name, family or station because the people who matter know who she was.  Another was from the will of an elderly widow who left her money in trust for the aid of improverished widows of good breeding and character.  It basically was an extract from the will, including how much money she left in pounds and shillings to be invested in the "consols" at 3%.  At the time of writing the trust had aided some 45 widows to the tune of 25 pounds each.  Wonder how much that was worth back then?

After the Abbey I browsed in some shops, buying a newspaper so I could stuff it in my boots to help dry them out, then back to the B&B for a rest.  Dined at the Hole in the Wall restaurant (George Street again), whose entrance lived up to its name.  Full of courting couples.  Had a smoked duck, chorizo and canellini bean salad (beans undercooked) followed by roast lamb rump with potatoes dauphinoise and broad beans. Drank a Spanish temperanillo which was far cheaper and nicer than the Italian wine last night.  Huge servings so just had coffee rather than dessert and then home to bed.  

Day 14 - Tormarton to Bath

Distance Walked: 27km, Time Taken: 7h 30m, Avg Walking Speed: 3.6km/h

Official distance only again as it rained on and off all day.  When it wasn't raining, it was drizzling.  Miserable weather.  Walked the whole way with the Geordie boys, Dave and David. We all agreed it was definitely a day for walking in company.  If you were on your own it would just be too easy to give up.  A group of 4 other walkers at the Tormarton B&B (last stop before Bath) were talking about taking the bus.  The Davids were deeply scornful.

We didn't stop anywhere, just walked nonstop.  I had planned to stop at the pub at Cold Ashton but we got there at 11:40am and it didn't open until midday.  Didn't fancy sitting around in the cold and wet waiting for it to open, so pressed on.  Ate two chocolates and a packet of rather nasty biscuits around 3pm but wasn't really hungry.  My blood sugar regulation has greatly improved.

The only event on the walk was when I was herded through a field by a bunch of rather stroppy cows.  It was quite creepy.  They were all over the path but moved out of the way as I walked down it.  However, they then turned and followed me in an increasing crowd.  I didn't, quite, sprint to the gate at the end of the field but I certainly picked up my pace.

The breakfast at the B&B was OK except that the coffee was instant. In their defence, they made no attempt to pretend otherwise.  The landlord was Italian too.  He should have known better.  They really don't understand coffee here.  When I complained to the Geordie boys they asked me with genuine curiosity if I could really tell the difference.

Staggered into Bath about 4:30pm in a down pour so didn't take a picture of the Abbey to mark the end of the trip.  Didn't take a picture of the Geordie boys either which was a shame.  We were so cold and wet and stiff and sore we just wanted to get indoors, so we hastily said goodbye and parted.  A bit of shame.  Bath looks like a lovely city, even in the rain.

The B&B here is quite nice.  My room is way up in the attic of a 3 storey Victorian terrace house, which is hard on my poor knees, but it is a light and spacious room.  Only a shower though.  Slept well but there is a lot of noise from adjoining rooms.  Below is a photo of my room.  The only picture I took all day.

Had planned to buy some junk food from a nearby 7-Eleven and just hole up in my room for the rest of the day.  The Contours instruction said there was a small supermarket/newsagent near the B&B.  Well, there had been, but it is deserted and boarded up now.  Contours doesn't revise their notes very often clearly.  Felt a bit more human after a hot shower so staggered out for dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant (Martini) that the landlady recommended.  Wasn't too bad actually.  I had my doubts as it was heavily advertised in the tourist literature.  Had a goats cheese and pepperonata tart for a starter then manicotti with ricotta and spinach filling.  Wasn't really manicotti (seashells) but more like small portions of canneloni.  Tasted good regardless.  Finished up with tiramisu (better than mine) and a decent espresso.  Washed dinner down with a large (250ml) glass of Montepuliciano so very nearly fell asleep face down in the tiramisu.  They served me very quickly.  In and out in a hour, which I normally wouldn't like, but really appreciated at the time.

Day 13 - Wotton-under-Edge to Tormarton

Distance Walked: 24.5km, Time Taken: 6h 30m, Avg Walking Speed: 3.8km/h

Didn't use the GPS today as it was threatening rain so I buried the phone down in my pack so it wouldn't get wet.  Didn't go off track once (feeling rather smug) so using official distance instead. Suspect this gives a more accurate estimate of my average speed.  Mind you, I didn't stop for a rest, except for a 10 minute break for a sandwich.

Weather horrible all day.  Overcast and windy with occasional showers.  Every time I got the goretex coat out and put it on it would stop.  I take it off and 10 minutes later another shower.  Ended up no bothering with it as never got very wet.

Breakfast was not very nice.  The coffee was instant, although served in a French press.  Who did they think they were kidding?  Even if the taste didn't give it away, the lack of grounds would.  The host also hinted I might not want to open a new box of muesli but instead finish off the remanants of another brand.  I did want, and did, open the new box.  Only white bread for toast and the scrambled eggs were watery. From some sort of mix perhaps?  Still, the host was very friendly as was the couple from Exeter who were also staying.  They were the couple we had all met in Standish Woods the other day.

Not much to report about the walk.  More of a slog than anything.  I planned to stop at the Somerset Monument just outside of Hawkesbury Upton to eat my sandwich but there was no bench and there was a stiff wind.  Only came across 2 or 3 benches the whole day in sharp contrast to yesterday when you couldn't seem to walk for more than 15 minutes before encountering another one.  

Ate my trail mix as I walked instead.  At one point, the packet got blown out of my hand into the hedgerows.  Fortunately just sideways so it didn't tip and I didn't lose any.  Ate my sandwich just outside Little Sodbury instead.  I came to the top of a fairly steep climb down and there was a brief patch of sunlight so I parked myself down on some dung-free grass for a brief (10 minute) pit stop.

The countryside is not as interesting to walk through as the earlier stages of the walk.  Two highlights though were a massive hillfort and the parklands belonging to Donnington House.  I could imagine a Georgette Heyer hero living there.

Got to the B&B just on 4pm.  I'm staying in a converted barn up in the attic.  A bit cramped and one of those modular showers complete with a low flow shower head.  On the plus side, I have an electric heater which I control so heat to dry my smalls and keep my room cosy. Bliss.

The Geordie boys are staying in a wing attached to the farm house. They had mentioned to the landlady that they knew me when they checked in.   She offered to ask them to take me to dinner with them when they left.  I accepted as company would be pleasant.  Might aim to walk with them for tomorrow morning.  Dithering about whether just to buy a sandwich here in Tormarton and press on so I get to Bath 4-ish again or to stop at the pub in Cold Ashton.  Guess I wait and see what the weather is like tomorrow.  If it is like today then I'll want to finish as quickly as possible.  

~~~~

Had dinner with the Geordie boys at the local pub.  It was the only place in town that served food.  The only shop of any kind in fact. Had a rather good steak and kidney pie with chips and broccoli, carrots and peas.  Washed it down with a pint of the recommended local ale, Severn Sins, which turned out to be a beautiful dark ale. Almost like a stout.  The Geordie boys had a couple of pints of Bass and then moved on to two bottles of merlot from Oxford Landing with their meal. They ended up insisting I have a glass of the merlot too, which came as a shock after the ale.  Staggered back to the B&B and to bed about 10pm which was a bit later than I would have liked.

Day 12 - Middleyard to Wotton-under-Edge

Distance Walked: 28km, Time Taken: 7h, Avg Walking Speed: 4km/h

Not sure why the GPS is claiming 28km for the trip distance as the official distance is only 24km.  I did lose the way twice but this would only have added 2km to the total.  The GPS did lose the signal and warned it would not be accurate but a 2km error is fairly large.  Will leave the total as is because it makes my average speed look good.

Gray and overcast and threatening rain when we set off in the morning but started to clear as the day went on.  I set off a few minutes before the Geordie mates but missed the second turning and ended up joining them until Dursely.  They were pleasant company.  Australian-style sense of humour.  I'm sure they'd think we have Geordie-style senses of humour.

The walk did a lot of unnecessary up and down and admiring of views but I knew what to expect so I just enjoyed it.  My blisters don't give me trouble any more.  The smaller of the two on my left foot has gone down.  My left knee still troublesome.  I wore the brace all yesterday at evening and while I slept but don't think that was a good idea.  My knee, if anything, was worse today.  Ibuprofen works.  At least it stops it hurting.  Don't know if it is helping fix the underlying problem.  I expect not.  Still, the knee only gave me trouble on the down hill bits and then only really noticeably by the end of the day.

Split up with the Geordie boys at Dursely.  I stopped at the Old Spot Inn while they went on.  They just lunch on bananas and chocolate. Too hardcore for me.  I had a steak and ale pie which came with dauphinois potatoes and seasonal veg - green beans and oven-baked capsicum and onions this time.  Not a pea in sight.  Got chatting to a man at the next table in the pub.  He is also doing the Cotswold Way but south to north.

Was feeling good, and rather full, so took the long route all around the edge of the golf course on Stinchcombe Common.  Had originally meant to take the short cut across it.  The short cut is all of about 200m while the long route is 4km.  Meet up with 2 couples on the golf course but out-paced them on then drop down into North Nibley.  I think they were planning to stop there for a pint/snack anyway.  Lots of people on the Way today.

Got to Wotton without any dramas.  Meet the other couple I seen in Standish wood yesterday in the street.  Turns out they are staying here at Chipping House too.  They gave me directions as the ones Contours supplied were just plain wrong.  They got here yesterday (taxi from Kings Stanley) and had eaten at the pub I was plannning to go to tonight.  They were not impressed so I will try the Royal Oak, which is nearby, instead.  They are going there too.  Wonder if I should try to join them?

Pleasant room here and pleasant welcome, but twin beds and only a shower.  Not very hot water in the shower but the heater is the bathroom is on at least.  So many places here have those water-filled radiators for heat but don't have the boiler on so the rooms are a bit cool for my taste.

Think I will just buy a sandwich here and finish off the trail mix for lunch tomorrow.  There are plenty of shops, unlike Painswick, so I shouldn't have trouble finding something decent.  The pub I was planning to go to in Hawkesbury Upton is off route so I think I'll skip it.  I definitely don't need the calories.  I won't be coming home thinner than when I left, that's for sure.

Went out for dinner with the plan of going to the Royal Oak.  There was a cold wind and a bit of drizzle so I stopped in at the Swan Hotel instead as it was closer.  However, the restaurant was deserted.  Only one couple seated and no sign of any staff.  I loitered for a minute but no-one showed up.  The owner of the B&B had warned me that being a Friday night things would be busy so I took this as a sign and left.  

When I finally got to the Royal Oak the couple were already there and well into their meal so the issue of joining them didn't come up.  In turn, I was well into my meal the two Geordies came into the restaurant.  The five of us were the only patrons so we just had a pleasant chat between all of us.  Food ordinary.  I had homemade pate as a starter which was good and then roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, with a side of mash, peas+corn and spinach.  The pudding was good but the beef overdone.  

Came back to the B&B with the couple.  The boiler for the heater in my bathroom has been turned off.  Bugger, not sure if my gear will dry. What do the English have against heat?

The Geordie boys are staying at the same B&B as me tomorrow night so I will have company on my walk into Bath if I want it.  

Day 11 - Painswick to Middleyard

Distance Walked: 22km, Time Taken: 5h 20m, Avg Walking Speed: 4.2km/h

Official distance only 16km but that is to Kings Stanley.  Middleyard is an outlying suburb about 2km further south.  Plus I lost the track twice and had to backtrack.  Still, I'm surprised at the total.  Mind you, the GPS did admit to losing the signal a few times going through Standish Wood so it isn't particularly accurate.  The bluebells somewhat made up for the loss of signal.

Didn't sleep well.  Much too hot under the doona and too cold otherwise.  Room also very light.  The landlady had helpfully left the light in the passage on as the guest in the room next door uses the bathroom across the hall from his room.  As this is a very old building nothing is level so there were huge gaps around my bedroom door.  I stuffed my towel up against the one at the bottom but could do nothing about the one at the top.  Oh well, got 6 hours sleep plus a couple more hours of dozing.  Today is a short walk - about 4 hours - and I've arranged to have dinner at my B&B so I can give my poor feet a rest tonight.  Blisters still enormous this morning, of course.

There were two other people staying at my B&B in Painswick - an Irishman and a man from Guernsey.  The compared stories about the English invasion of their respective countries, which in the case of the man from the Channel Islands was in the 13th century!  They haven't forgotten, or forgiven either apparently.  Phillip would have approved of the way the Guernsey man was dressed.  He was wearing sandals, shorts and a rather ratty singlet.  Before he went outside he put on a skivvy. 

Had the standard breakfast with quite good coffee.  The B&B's hound, a very elegant liver coloured dog called Islay, watched me eat with a soulful look in her eyes.  She even put her head in my lap a few times and sighed.  Since she was a dog and not a cat it didn't work, poor love.

It was so cold out you could see your breath! On the plus side, the surgical spirits had toughened up the surface of them nicely.  They aren't sore to the touch and gave me no trouble when walking.  I bought a knee brace in the chemist but it seemed to make my knee worse, not better.  Wearing it made my knee hurt all the time and give me shooting pains down my shin when I went down hill. Took it off and only got twinges of pain when going downhill and OK otherwise.  Waste of money.

Decided not to go off the path to get lunch as I wanted to minimise extra walking.  Planned to buy a sandwich in Painswick but the only ones in the 7-11 equivalent looked so sad they didn't tempt me. Snacked on the trail mix I've been lugging about as I walked.  Wasn't very nice.  Too sweet.  Will fish out the nuts and the dried cranberries and ditch the rest.

Meet several other people walking the Cotswold Way today.  The trail went through a wood that had many paths through it but wasn't very clearly signposted in spots.  I lost the trail at one point and backtracked to a crossroads where I'd gone astray.  While trying to work out which way to go I meet two Englishmen walking together and not long after an Australian couple from Brisbane.  Between us we had tried 3 of the 4 options so we were able to work out which was the correct path.  We then walked on together but with 10m between each group so we wouldn't intrude.  How very British of us.

I've arranged to have dinner at the B&B tonight rather than walk back into Kings Stanley to go to the pub.  Good thing I did.  I'm sitting in the conservatory at the B&B typing this and it is pissing down with rain.  I got here about 3pm as I didn't bother stopping for lunch, and it was quite dark and gloomy.  Hope it doesn't actually rain tomorrow too, but I can't be too hopeful given the forecast.  Had good weather up until now.  Never very cold and generally sunny.  Even when the skies weren't clear it was never unpleasant.  Until now.

This B&B may be in a boring modern building but that means I have a purpose built bathroom with a real bath.  Bliss. Had a bath and then puttered around.  Got starving hungry by 6pm but dinner wasn't until 7:30pm so had to content myself with some more of the trail mix.

Had dinner with the two men I had meet in the woods - both Geordies, as well as a couple and their adult daughter.  I'd seen this group in the pub at Stanton but hadn't realised they were walkers too.  They were also Geordies so initially the conversation was all about places they knew around Newcastle.  It then moved onto stories about walks that had been done and walks that were planned, which was much more interesting.  Dinner was lasagne (not nearly as good as mine - much too oily), salad and garlic bread followed by strawberries and cream. Mum wouldn't have approved of the strawberries.  She hadn't sprinkled any sugar on them, never mind a drizzle of Cointreau.  We just had water to drink.  This cost 12 GBP which I thought was a bit steep but it was convenient.

Slept like a log.  The room, if anything, was too cold.

Day 10 - Leckhampton Hill to Painswick

Distance Walked: 28km, Time Taken: 6h 30m, Avg Walking Speed: 4.3km/h

Official distance was 23km but that was from the top of Leckhampton Hill above the Devil's Chimney.  It took me an hour to walk from the B&B to a point where I could easily rejoin the way.  I didn't try climbing up to the peak since I wasn't sure where the path started and it was drizzly so it would have been slippery.  Plus it would have been bloody steep.  Instead, I just followed the road around the western curve of the hill until it sloped down to the south and met the Way coming down.

I was mostly mobile this morning.  I could raise my right knee to a 70 degree angle.  I had wrapped my big toes entirely in extra large, extra cushioned bandaids and wore two pairs of socks so my feet couldn't slide around in my boots.  Apparently you can pop blisters if they are large and causing you grief, but at the edge not in the middle.  I might leave them alone.  They don't seem to be getting any worse.  On the other hand, they are painful so I might do surgery on them tonight.  I'll see how I go walking to the pub tonight.  They don't hurt when I don't have shoes on to squish my toes together.

For something new my left knee started to complain.  Felt like I'd wrenched it although I haven't.  It was okay going up hill or on the level but definitely hurt going downhill.  Will see how it is tomorrow and buy a knee brace from the chemist here if it is still sore tomorrow.  Tomorrow is an easy day.  Only 15km but nowhere to stop for lunch without going off-piste so I'll buy a sandwich from a shop here.

The weather today was actually quite pleasant for walking.  Overcast and drizzly but never actually raining and walking kept me comfortably warm.  There was also very little wind.  The mist made it seem as if you were looking at the countryside through a soft focus lens which was actually quite charming.

Most of the walk was through woodlands and definitely always took the scenic route rather than the direct one.  A bit tedious given I was anxious to keep moving and there wasn't much of a view.  I've definitely tackled too challenging a walk.  I realised I'd missed a view of a Roman villa down in a valley after going about 1km past it but couldn't face going back so I've missed it.  Also missed the chance to have good look at a neolithic fort - the Painswick beacon. Just wanted to arrive.

Got to one possible lunch stop, the Air Balloon pub, by about midday but still not yet halfway and wasn't hungry so pressed on to Birdlip. Got there around 1pm and ate at the Royal George.  Had a big slice of steak and ale pie, with seasonal veg (broccoli, parsnips and carrot but not peas for a wonder) with mash and onion gravy plus a half of Spotted Ale bitter.  All very good.  Didn't stop long as anxious to press on as had 14km more to go to get to Painswick.

Got here without drama and managed to find the B&B without hunting about.  However, they were having a "thing" so I'm staying next door instead.  Have a huge room but still just a shower with a low flow shower head.  The woman who runs this place is very pleasant and they have a large friendly, but not bouncy dog.  A very agreeable place.

Breakfast was bran flakes with grapefruit pieces and milk (the yoghurt was all in tubs) with a glass of orange juice.  I then had scrambled eggs (for a change), mushrooms, tomatoes and bacon, followed by toast and marmelade with quite decent plunger coffee to drink.

Meet a couple of men going to same way as me but they fairly quickly outpaced me.  Was also outpaced by a man who got a lift to the bottom of Coopers Hill where the cheese rolling competition is held.  I cannot believe people run down this slope.  I'd be nervous about climbing down it on my hands and knees.  It is all but vertical.  Some people are just insane.  

Haven't encountered many other hikers, just lots of dog walkers.  This is a very doggy country.  I like it.  Haven't meet any hikers in the pubs either.  They are all much more hardcore than me and eat sandwiches while perched on drystone walls.  Just about the only people lunching in pubs, besides me, are OAPs.  Some of them gossip scandalously which is very entertaining for me.

I had dinner at the Royal Oak.  It was recommended to me.  Also, the landlady recommended going early as the chef gets drunk and the quality of the food becomes rather hapazard.  Had steak and ale pie again, this time with chips (good - he must of still been at the tipsy stage) and peas plus a pint of the local tipple.  It was a lovely pub with a cheery landlady who teased everyone and lots of nooks and crannies.  Would definitely make it my local.

Got back, limping horribly.  My landlady, a former nurse, wouldn't hear of me popping the blisters and insisted I take her bottle of surgical spirits and apply this liberally to dry them out.  This, of course, meant taking off the bandaids I'd put on.  As some of the gum had stuck to the surface of the blisters this was very unpleasant. Fairly useless too, as no amount of surgical spirit is going to shrink blisters this size over night.

Day 9 - Cleeve Hill to Leckhampton

Distance Walked: 24km (estimate),  Time Taken: 6h, Avg Walking Speed: 4km/h (estimate)

Not sure of the exact distance because got lost trying to find the hotel in Leckhampton.  I attempted to use GPS to locate it and me on map and that killed the trip counter.  Bummer.  Know I walked for 6 hours and did 10km in the 2 1/2 hour morning leg.

Good-ish weather for walking.  Sunny but with a howling gale up on the Common but wearing the beanie took care of that.  Glad I packed it rather than going ahead with my plan to buy a nicer one here as I wouldn't have done so and I really needed it today.  In spite of the weather I've picked a good time of year for this walk.  Every field is full of wildflowers and the woods are full of bluebells.  

The way marking on the Common was pretty poor.  The posts were there but the inset arrows showing which direction to head in had mostly fallen off.  You could usually spot the next post in the distance but not always.  Got down off the Common without having to do any backtracking though.  Made it to the Reservoir Inn by 11:30am.  

Breakfast was very pleasant with tables set up in the conservatory.  I was the only guest at breakfast, which I'm getting rather tired of. There had been two other guest staying but they'd eaten earlier.  Had bran flakes with grapefruit pieces and some yoghurt.  Then I had 1 fried egg, 1 hash brown, half a tomato, some baked beans and a slice of black pudding.  I then had 1 1/2 slices of toast with marmelade and some rather ordinary plunger coffee.

Lunch at the Reservoir Inn was delicious.  The first good pub meal I've had.  I had a steak sandwich with fried onions, roquette and mustard mayonnaise.  The steak was tasty and tender which was unusual. It is usually a cheap and nasty cut.  Unfortunately, I was being uncouth and eating it with my hands and dropped a piece of steak on the floor and had to grovel around in full view of the other diners and bar staff.  Oh well, I'll never meet them again.

My glutes are merely uncomfortable today but by hip flexors are very stiff and sore.   The right leg particularly.  I had to go up the stairs one at a time, i.e. step up with the left then bring the right up to join it, lather, rinse, repeat.  I couldn't step up using the right.  I had to lift my leg with my hands to put my trousers on. Hopefully the will have eased off tomorrow just like the glutes did.

My blisters are in a terrible state.  The glue on the fancy blister bandaids had oozed and stuck to my socks so I peeled them off when I took my socks off.  The blisters are twice the size they were at the end of the first day.  Not sure what the appropriate treatment is for blisters.  Should I pop them?  I don't have Internet access so I can't check.  Have a feeling you shouldn't.  Have settled for putting even bigger bandaids over them so hopefully they won't get any bigger.

The clamber down from Leckhampton Hill to my B&B for tonight did not go well.  There are only two paths marked on the map but many more on the ground.  Ended up going north instead of west but met a friendly woman out walking her dog who put me right.  She even offered me a lift to the hotel which was kind of her.  Got lost on the last bit into Leckhampton and turned around (unnecessarily) to ask for directions.  Not having good luck.  Should have bought a compass.  Not sure what to do tomorrow.  The clamber back up won't be fun but don't want to risk not getting back on the trail.

Had a pleasant welcome here.  Got given a jug of milk so I could make myself a "nice cup of tea" to help me recover.  Have a double bed also this time but still no bath.  My have to wait a week until my appointment at the Bath Spa for that.

There was no-one on reception when I went out for dinner so had to pick my direction myself.  Got it wrong of course but managed to find a small cluster of shops.  Settled on a slightly dingy pub that was having a meal deal for 5 GBP for a standard meal plus a drink.  Had faggots (giant rissoles) with gravy, mash and - guess - peas.  Was edible.   

Had a man try to pick me up in the pub by the name of Augustus (Gus) Fantom.  Told me all about his girlfriend problems and his soon-to-be ex-wife problems.  Why do men think this is a good idea?  Also told me he would like to visit Australia but he can't get a visa since he has done time for drugs and violence.  Again, why was this a good thing to tell me?  He is half English, 1 quarter Indian and 1 quarter Chinese. He told me he understood the Aborigines because he doesn't belong anywhere either.  Didn't have the heart to tell him the Aborigines definitely belong somewhere.  It is the rest of us that are the ring-ins.

Ate quickly, made polite excuses and left.  Turned the correct way this time and walked down a street with twice as many shops in it on the way back to the B&B.  Oh well, it was a cheap, edible and interesting dinner.

Back at the hotel feeling very sorry for myself.  These blisters are making life really miserable.

Day 8 - Stanton to Cleeve Hill

Distance Walked: 29.5km, Time Taken: 7h 15m, Avg Walking Speed: 4.1km/h

Official distance was only 22km but this does not take into account the new "improved" route around the edge of Cleeve Common rather than across it.  The distance also includes about 1.5km of backtracking when I got lost or thought I was lost.  Means tomorrow with an official distance of 19km, including the off-route bit to get to the B&B, will be a stroll in the park.

The weather for walking today was okay, although not as good as yesterday.  Clear and sunny but with a bitterly cold wind.  I wore the down vest and stuffed my hands in the pockets.

Was fairly miserable in the morning.  Felt okay while in motion.  The blisters and muscles were merely sore rather than painful.  However, I expected to reach Winchcombe by about middday but didn't get there until closer to 1pm.  On checking my GPS it turns out I had walked more like 16km than the 12km I was expecting, hence the extra hour. Armed with that knowledge, plus a half of the local bitter and two of the strongest over-the-counter painkillers available I set off for the afternoon leg in a more cheerful mood.  That turned sour towards the end as it also took me an hour longer than I expected and the instructions for coming down off the Common to get to the hotel were as clear as mud.

Feeling very stiff and sore now.  However, I know won't need to walk this far again so life should be easier from here on in.  Even the last two days of the trip, which I thought would be the hardest, will be less effort than today.

Had a pleasant breakfast at the B&B in Stanton.  I appeared to be the only guest.  There was one other person staying there but she seemed to be a friend of the owners.  They had dishes of fresh fruit out, including raspberries.  If I'd know how few people were there for breakfast I would have eaten more of them.  Breakfast was a very restrained amount of fresh fruit with yoghurt, then the fry up - 2 eggs, 3 rashers of bacon, 1 tomato, mushrooms and half a slice of fried bread.  One of the cats kept me company while I ate.  From the beady eyed stare as I ate every mouthful it is clear that guests, such as myself, have been feeding her (him?) pieces of bacon and sausage from their breakfasts.  It wasn't my cat so I had no qualms about encouraging it in bad habits.  It was the friendliest thing in the place.

Lunched at the Corner Cupboard Inn according to plan.  If this is a recommended pub then I'd hate to eat at an unrecommended one. Admittedly, it was recommended more on the basis of its beer.  Had a cheeseburger, which was exactly that, a meat patty with a slice of cheese in a bun, along with chips and a bit of salad.  It was all edible but that is about all you can say.

My welcome here at the Cleeve Hill hotel was everything that was lacking at Stanton.  I was sat down in the living room and feed tea and cake before being shown to my room (which has a lock on the door).  The room is in much better shape.  Clean and well maintained in comparison with shabby and a bit rundown.  I get a double bed but no bath, just a shower.  I do get my own teddy bear though.

Had dinner at the Rising Sun pub, which is a short stagger down the Common from here.  Had duck breast in a red wine sauce (tough but tasty) with potatoes dauphinois and steamed seasonal veg (carrot, snowpeas, cauliflower and, of course, peas).  Washed this down with a glass of Rioja which was drinkable.  Had a slice of chocolate cheesecake for dessert which was too rich.

No wireless here but I found a open router at the pub.  Checked the footy scores before someone switched it off.  I got only 4 right. Wonder how well Jenny did?

Discovered I'm being to be able to identify fields of sheep from those of cows or horses by smell alone.  Whoever babbles on about fresh, clean country air doesn't know what they are talking about.

Day 7 - Chipping Campden to Stanton

Distance Walked: 22km, Time Taken: 5h 25m, Avg Walking Speed: 4.1km/h

Official distance was only 16km but my total includes a detour via Snowshill Manor and a minor unofficial detour when I took a wrong turning.  My total doesn't include wandering up and down Broadway's High Street looking for the Crown and Trumpet (which was off the High Street on the road out of town) or the time sent wandering lost around Stanton looking for the B&B.  The time is just the time spent walking not the lunch stop in Broadway (about 1 hour).

Had planned to look around the gardens at Snowshill but it was heaving with day trippers and I was beginning to develop blisters on both big toes.  I had bought super-duper bandaids for dealing with blisters but had thoughtfully packed them in my suitcase.  I was feeling grumpy and miserable by the time I reached Snowshill so pressed on to Stanton.

Not thrilled with this B&B.  I had trouble finding it as there was no sign outside to let you know where it was.  I only found it because the Contours woman who was delivering my bag saw me wandering up and down the village.  We went around the house and in through the open kitchen door at the back.  There was  just a note on the hall table saying which room was mine.  I got the twin bed room again rather than any of the doubles (which have tester beds!).  Didn't get the twin in the attic either.  More suicidally steep stairs to climb to get to it but it has a bath whereas my room only has a shower.  Doesn't have a loo.  None of the rooms do (except the attic room).  Instead the rooms on this floor share several spaced down the corridor.  A nuisance if you wake in the night wanting a pee.  The rooms also don't have any locks on the door. This coupled with a wide open front door makes me a bit nervous but I guess that's just my city paranoia showing.

On the plus side, the rooms here have individually controlled heating and those instant hot water heaters so you don't have to worry about running out of hot water.  There is also plenty of places to hang clothes and I got two sets of towels so I did a big pile of laundry.  With luck some of it will have dried by tomorrow.

The weather was perfect for walking.  Mild, mostly sunny and not too windy but enough of a breeze that the insects weren't too much of a bother.  

A lot of the track was through paddocks full of sheep.  They are loud.  They don't so much baa as bellow.  Also while you do need to look where you were walking, it wasn't to avoid mud.  The countryside is picture postcard pretty though.

Not sure what to do about dinner.  The pub here apparently doesn't do food on a Sunday, i.e. today.  Not sure if that means the restaurant isn't open but they do bar snacks or no food at all.  Wandered downstairs earlier to try to find someone to ask about what I could do.  There is a man talking to someone in the private office but I didn't feel that I could knock on the door.  Not a very welcoming place.  Might just wander on up to the pub in a minute and ask there. My hotel for tomorrow night, the Cleeve Hill Hotel, apparently gives you a warm welcome.  I'm not too fussed about warm but a welcome will be nice.

Had lunch at the Crown&Trumpet as planned.  A ploughmans lunch - big slab of cheese, a bread roll (yesterday's, frozen and still a bit on the cool side), half a boiled egg, half a tomato, some coleslaw and some salad.  Washed it all down with a pint of something local.  It is easy to drink a lot of beer here as the real ales aren't very fizzy and are cool rather than cold.  Not a bad meal.

Tottered up the hill to the pub for dinner.  It is called the Mount Inn so it had to be at the highest point in the village, just as this B&B has to be at the lowest.  They do serve food every night of the week so no problems there.  I had fish and chips (with peas which seem to be the default vegetable here).  Unfortunately, the fish was tasteless and the chips soggy.  I should have had the pork belly special.  I was tempted but decided to pass since it was what I ate last night.  A shame because the people next to me had it and said it was delicious. I washed it down with a half of something by Donnington's which was inoffensive.  

Another tourist, German I think, also had the pork belly which was served on a bed of beans in a large ramekin.  The ramekin was put a plate for serving.  The tourist asked the barman if it was okay if he put the food on the plate and ate it off that rather than out of the dish.  Bizarre.  Why did he need permission?

I tottered back down the hill to the B&B, discovering why my glutes and my adductors (abductors - outer thigh muscles anyway) are so sore.  It is from keeping my balance going down slopes.  They had loosened up by the time I got back to the B&B which is good news for tomorrow.  My blisters are still painful, which is not.  I do hope the hotel at the next stop has a bath.  I so need to soak in hot water.

~~~~

The B&B here has redeemed itself.  In spite of the absent hosts (still no sign of them) and the faint, rather unpleasant odour of boiled bacon downstairs, they aren't all bad.  They have cats!  Two black moggies, one of which condescended to come upstairs and keep me company for a while.

Day 6 - Chipping Campden

 Distance Walked: 10km (approx)

Was toasty warm in bed even without the heating on.  The water in the shower was hot too.  Almost scalded myself.  Not such a bad place really.

Woke at 3:30am and dozed until 4:30am.  Decided stuff it and took a pill.  Slept through until 7:20am.  Hallelujah.  Was a bit groggy when I got up but a hot shower took care of that.  Maybe I'm finally on the correct schedule.  My room here quieter and darker than the one in London which must help.

Meet up with an American girl at breakfast who I'd seen on the bus and in the pub yesterday.  Turns out she is also doing the Cotswold Way with Contours, only she is doing it over 6 days and leaving today. She's more energetic than me.

Had the requisite huge breakfast today with good coffee (plunger).  A cup of (tinned?) grapefruit pieces followed by the full English - 2 poached eggs, 2 rashers of bacon, 1 tomato, 1 sausage and some mushrooms.  Followed this up with a piece of multigrain toast with quince jelly.  Could have also had cereal and orange juice.  I'm definitely coming home fatter than when I left.

Plan for today is amble about the village.  See if I can't buy a compass somewhere and perhaps do a small walk to a nearby village. Bought a map of trails in the vicinity.  Might try out the gear with a short mile or 2 hike.

~~~~

Spent the morning ambling about the village and reading all the menus for the various cafes and restaurants.  NB, no compasses to be had for love or money.  Weather cool but OK if moving about.  My hands were freezing but no-one else was wearing gloves.  They breed them tough here.  Everywhere I went there seemed to be tourist sketching or painting, including two perched in the long grass in a field just outside the village.  Only their heads were showing which looked very peculiar so I took their photo.

By about 1pm I decided to stop at my chosen tea shop for lunch but being a Saturday and the village such a pretty place it was swarming with day trippers.  My chosen place was full.  I decided to go and buy a newspaper and then come back in to see if a table was free.  One had freed up in my absence but had been quickly snaffled.  I waited a while sitting on a bench outside but still no joy.  I decided to settle for the other tea shop which hadn't looked so inviting but it was full to the brim too!  Wandered about but nothing else appealed so ended up deciding to by a sandwich/roll from the French bakery near the B&B and take it back there to eat.  Luckily the bakery had some tables at the rear and they were all free so I ate there.  I had the chacuterie platter with fresh baked bread (very good) followed by a coffee and a brownie (average).

After my experiences trying to get lunch I decided it would be wise to book a table for dinner tonight.  Selected a slightly upmarket hotel/restaurant called Kings.  Initially the waitperson I spoke to was reluctant to set aside a table for just one person (ah, the joys of solo travelling) but then another waitperson pointed out that Table 11 was free and it was a bit cramped for two and so would do for the solo diner so I was permitted to make a booking.

Went back to the B&B to discover someone had thoughtfully opened my bedroom window so now instead of being slightly stuffy it was full of fresh but very cool air.  Had a leisurely read of the Saturday papers sitting in the sun in the living room downstairs.  There is no heating on in this place.  Eventually I finished the papers and the sun had moved so I was feeling rather chilled.  Went back to my room and had a hot shower until all the hot water ran out.  After this I crawled into bed.  Feeling human again now,

Before heading for my room I had a snoop around the place as I was here on my own and all the doors to the unoccupied bedrooms were open. There is another twin room (#4) in use which has its own private bathroom next door, with a bath.  Also on my floor are two doubles (#2 and #1).  The American girl was in #1 which is a pleasanter room than mine.  The best was #5 upstairs in the attic.  It has a double bed plus 2 singles and its own full sized bathroom.  This suite takes up the whole of the top floor.  A party of 5 has just shown up to take the three previously free rooms.  Don't know how breakfast is going to work as there is only room for 6 (a table for 4 and another for 2) and there are 8 of us staying here tonight.

Just checked my footy tips.  So far have got only 2 out of 5 correct. Fremantle won again!  What is the world coming to?

The waiter who so grudgingly allowed me to make a reservation turned out to be very chatty this evening.  We talked about walks in the area and Australia.  He wants to go there because "it is always warm there".  He is Polish and spent several years in Switzerland before settling here so from his point of view he is right.  Another waiter chatted to me about the iniquities of his current candle supplier. My Polish waiter moved on from chatty to touchy-feely by the end of the evening.  Not sure if he was being flirtatious or just taking pity on the poor woman all on her own.  Either way it was a pleasant evening.

I had pork belly on a bed of cabbage and bacon with a potato cake cooked with sage.  I also had a side of green beans to up the vegetable content of my diet.  This was all washed down with a glass of Spanish tempranillo (sp?).  I was tempted to have the Australian shiraz but it wasn't I winery I knew.  This was then followed by a pear poached in red wine with a cinnamon parfait (very good) and an espresso (not too good).  That makes four cups of coffee today and about 100% more calories than I needed.  Still, with the exception of the coffee, it was all very good.  Not too expensive.  The whole day is (just) within budget and most days have been far less.

Walked 13.5K steps today.  Tomorrow I start walking for real.

Day 5 - To Chipping Campden

Distance Walked: 11km (approx)

Woke at 5am.  Surprise, surprise.  Rash and itching gone but will take another antihistamine tablet just to be on the safe side.  Skin a bit rough still but not nearly as bad as yesterday.

Forecast for Chipping Campden for today - light rain and a top of 14C.  Tomorrow is much the same but a whole 1 degree warmer.  Joy.

Had my first bad coffee of the trip.  Bought a newspaper and sat in a coffee shop until the BM open since it was drizzling and didn't want to walk around in the rain.  Have been pleasantly surprised by the food and drink so far.  With the exception of this morning’s coffee it has all been perfectly edible/drinkable.

The BM packed again today but no sign of school groups.  Perhaps Thursday is a special childrens day or some such.  Saw the Assyrian exhibits and the Elgin marbles.  Actually bothered to read all the signs for the marbles this time.  They describe each figure on the frieze which showed a procession.  Things like here the riders have bunched up, there a rider is looking over his shoulder at a commotion behind him.  It was fabulous.  You really got the sense of motion.

Bought myself a replica ancient Greek bracelet from the shop.  The original was a solid gold band with snarling lions heads at each end, with a small gap to get your wrist through.  Mine is gold plate over an elastic core.  Still very beautiful.

Left the BM to head to Paddington with 1 1/2 hours to spare and needed just over an hour of that time.  By the time I'd got to the Tube station, waited for a train, queued up to cash in my Oyster card, lugged my suitcase over to Paddington station proper, queued up to get more cash, then fought my way through the hordes at M&S to get some lunch I only had 20 minutes before my train was to depart.  

~~~~

Well, I arrived in Chipping Campden.  Not the 27 hour door-to-door marathon getting to London was but a mini-marathon in its own right. I'm so glad I can speak the local language, albeit with a funny accent.

I took the train from Paddington to Moreton-in-Marsh.  Just to tease the railway operator wouldn't tell you which platform your train was leaving from until about 15 minutes before the departure time.  This lead to crowds of people gazing longingly at the information screens like some sort of bizarre religious rite.  I should have taken a photo.

From Moreton-in-Marsh the plan was to take the local bus to Chipping Campden.  A simple sounding plan.  However, when I got to the station it wasn't obvious from where you caught the bus.  I asked the station master but he said he wasn't a local and didn't know but did point me in the direction of the town centre.  My instructions said the buses could be found outside the Corn Exchange.  On a large traffic island in the middle of the town there was a large municipal looking building with a bus out front.  Success I thought.  However, these were just the municipal loos.  Turns out the "Corn Exchange" is just one of the shops lining the high street, selling trinkets to tourists.

I managed to catch the correct bus but had to be asked to be told when we got to Chipping Campden as I had no way of telling one picturesque village from another and the English appear to be allergic to signs.  The best bit of the bus journey was hurtling around the countryside in a full sized bus down narrow roads (just barely 2 cars wide) with lots of blind corners.  Don't fancy doing any road walking on this trip.  There are no shoulders.  Saw lots of signs pointing to walking trails.  

Once in Chipping Campden it should have been easy to find my B&B but that would make life too simple. My instructions said it was on Lower High Street but the allergy to signs includes street signs and my instructions lacked a village map.  They did include the singularly useless piece of information that the B&B is next to Butty's.  Why they thought it would be helpful to tell me that the place, whose location I don't know, is next to another place whose location is also a mystery I have no idea.  If I did know the village well enough to know where this Butty's is then presumably I know it well enough to know where the B&B is too! 

I wandered for a bit but didn't find the B&B.  I did find the tourist information centre where I got directions and a map.  Turns out the B&B was all of 100m from the bus stop but, of course, in the opposite
direction to the one I chose.

I haven't meet my hostess yet.  There was no sign of any life when I got here.  Instead, she had just left out the keys to the various rooms neatly labelled so you knew which one was yours.  There was also a note asking when I wanted breakfast so I've left a note in return requesting it at 8am.  I wonder if we'll ever meet or communicate entirely by note.

I'm not overly impressed with this B&B so far.  While my room is vastly bigger than the one in London and much quieter (the London B&B was on a main street and a major bus route) it has no soap! I understand it is at the cheaper end of the range so no little bottles of various toiletries but soap is fairly fundamental.  Also, while I packed little bottles of shower gel, hand lotion, body lotion and various other lotions I did not think to pack soap. 

Had dinner at the Red Lion which was one of the recommended pubs.  The beer was fine but the food just ordinary.  Asked about the pie of the day and when told it was shephards pie made a joke about the amount of sheep in the area.  Turns out my waiter was Welsh - the northern hemisphere equivalent of the Kiwis so he thought I was teasing him, so he teased back.  

A man in the pub smiled at me and said hello, so I smiled vaguely back.  Turns out he was the publican and the man who'd given me directions to this B&B.  He claimed to be hurt to find he wasn't memorable with the ladies.  I waved my beer glass in his direction and claimed it was my 10th pint so he shouldn't feel hurt.  We had a nice chat.  He's travelled a lot and likes Australia because it is so big. I said I liked here because there is so much to see close by.  Just caught myself from say because it is so small.

Headed back to the B&B and asleep by 9pm.

Day 4 - London

Distance Walked : 12km (approx)

Stayed up until almost 10pm last night but still woke at 5am this morning.  Tried wearing my ear plugs but they were just uncomfortable and didn't seem to make much difference to the noise level.  Just hope I sleep more soundly at the Old Bakehouse at Chipping Campden tomorrow night.  This is getting old.

A new couple were checking in when I got in yesterday afternoon.  They are in the room above me and appear to be related to elephants.  I wonder if I make as much noise for people in the rooms below me Assuming there is anyone below me.  I've not seen the couple I encountered on the night I checked in again.  Perhaps they are gone or just better sleepers than me.  There is another American couple (elderly) I've seen both mornings for breakfast, as well as a business man yesterday morning.  Hope the place is doing OK.  It deserves to have few vacancies but it is not on any booking site which can't help.

It feels rather lazy but very comfortable to be holidaying somewhere where I can speak the language and where they drive on the correct side of the road.  It makes life so much easier.  Mind you, crossing the road isn't as easy as you might expect.  Drivers here are severely allergic to using their indicators and there are a myriad of one-way streets so it is not always obvious where the traffic will be coming from.  Most road crossings in the central area  have "Look right" and "Look left" along with an appropriate arrow painted on them, presumably to deal with this.

Schedule for today is brief visit to the BM this morning (doesn't open until 10am and I want to be gone by midday) and then R&J at the Globe at 2pm.  Turns out the Globe is a bit of a nuisance to get to.  It is a good 15 minute walk from stations on any line convenient for me. I'll head over there and then lunch in the vicinity and check out their museum before the play starts.  I'll do another quick visit to the BM tomorrow before I go.  Means I'll miss the Geffrye which is a shame.

A gaggle of (North) American college students were at breakfast this morning.   They'd obviously arrived yesterday as the breakfast routine was new to them.  The older American couple still here.  Turns out they are in Room 4 which is behind mine.  So they don't have to put up with street noise, just noise from me.  Hope I'm not being too much bother.

Have a dreadful itchy rash on my face and neck.  It  is either sweat+detergent from the sheets or my very expensive new Boots face cream.  Hope it is the former and not the latter.  Have left off all creams today and will get some cortisone cream from the chemist.  I have such cream at home, thought about packing it but left it behind. What was I thinking?  It isn't as if this is the first time this has happenned to me while travelling.  I'll have another go at the Boots face cream once I'm on the Way and this rash has gone.  If it doesn't recur then it was the detergent used here coupled with sweating in the night.  They do keep this place toasty warm.  

Must not scratch.  Must not scratch.  Must not scratch.  Must not scratch.  Must not scratch.

Went to Boots and told them my woes.  The woman told me to bring back the cream and they refund my money.  It hadn't occurred to me that they might do that.  That was good to hear.  What wasn't so good to hear was they can't sell hydrocortisone cream over the counter.  I need a prescription.  Who not only left their hydrocortisone cream at home but also their medicare card?  They could, and did, sell me antihistamine tablets which worked after an hour or two.  Definitely an allergic reaction then rather than heat rash.  Will give the Boots face cream another, more controlled, test once I'm on the Way.

Spent the morning at the British Museum but didn't really enjoy myself.  Full (*full*) of groups of shrieking school children.  Why are they unable to move other than in clumps or communicate at other than full volume?

Lunched at a place near St Pauls tube station called Itsu Dynamite which specialises in miso soup based dishes.  Had their Hoi Sin Duck soup.  Chunks of duck plus carrot, rice noodles, mushrooms and bean shoots.  Good value for money even in dollars.

Walked across the millenium bridge to the Globe.  They wanted a largeish chunk of money (> 10 GBP I think) for a tour of their museum so I skipped that and just loitered until the play began.  The actors were good and the experience was just great fun.  They often exited into the groundlings and played it with great verve.  The comic bits were very funny and the bawdy bits complete with very bawdy gestures. The main actors really made you believe they were lovestruck teenagers rather than doomed lovers you were supposed to idolise.

Could have strangled the 10 year old boy who became hysterical with laughter whenever one of the actors made a rude gesture.  His mother just put her hands briefly over his mouth to shut him up.  What a missed opportunity.

The only problem is that the theatre is open to the elements and it was a cold day.  On the plus side, no wind, but it never got over 14C.  By the end of the second act I was shivering uncontrollably. Mercutio was dead by then (he had been my favorite actor) and it wasn't as if I didn't know how it ended so I left.  I just wasn't enjoying myself any more.  When I got back to the hotel I crawled under the bed cover to warm myself up.

Dined at Spaghetti House which is part of a chain.  Expected it to be dreadful but it was quite decent.  My waiter, whose native language was clearly Italian, kept calling me "Lady" as in "Lady, here is your wine" and "Lady, would you like some cheese".  It was quite amusing because he was clearly trying to be very polite but it came across as New York aggressive.  I wonder how it goes down with the Amerian tourists.

I had a "glass" (175ml) of an Italian red with spaghetti carbonara, good bread, tiramisu and espresso.  Total cost including tip of 22 GBP.  Good value if I don't convert, outrageous if I do.  

Went to bed early (8:30pm).  Know I'm going to wake at 5am so I might as well get a decent night's sleep before hand.  Hopefully I can sleep later once I'm in Chipping Campden.

I was supposed to call Sarah Gabb of the Old Bakehouse at Chipping Campden to talk about my arrival time tomorrow.  One of my favorite things, calling a stranger.  Well I called about 12:30pm and got an answering machine - which I dislike even more.  Left a message saying I'd be arriving about 4pm and my phone number.  Tried calling again 5-ish but just got the machine once more.  Wonder if I should try calling tomorrow morning about 10-ish so she is bound to be at the B&B (I assume she doesn't live on site) or just show up?  

Walked 16.5K steps today but knees a bit happier than they've been.

Day 3 - London

Distance Walked: 11km (approx)

Woke at midnight, took a sleeping tablet and went straight back to sleep.  Woke at 5am and couldn't get back to sleep even though still tired.  Don't dare take another pill since they last 4 hours and I need to get up before then.  Think it is the buses that wake me.  They are quite loud even with double glazed windows.  Might try ear plugs tomorrow night - and strong coffee in the afternoon.  Need to move my body clock forward an hour or two.

Schedule for today is buy ticket to Moreton-in-Marsh, check out Cardiff Hotel location then Tower of London tour in the morning and Geffrye Museum in afternoon.  Hope my knees cope better today.

~~~~

Didn't end up getting to the Geffrye as I didn't leave the Tower until 4pm.  Went to the British Library on my way home instead.  As well as a copy of the Magna Carta and the Lindisfarne Gospels as other big name items they had Charlotte Bronte's manuscript of Jane Eyre (open to the obvious page) as well as Jane Austen's Persuasion and some of her notebooks.  Such a thrill.

The Tower was far more interesting than I expectly - mostly.  Was vastly underwhelmed by the Crown Jewels.  Gaudy and many of the crowns decked out with borrowed diamonds that got returned after the event they were worn for was over.  All style, not much substance.  There were signs everywhere asking for donations to help maintain the Tower.  Given that they took 17 quid off me to enter and the Queen is one of the richest women in the world I figure she can pay to maintain her own palaces. 

Had lunch in the caf in the Tower.  Tasted fine and good value for money if you thought of the price in dollars, not pounds.  I had a steak and ale pie (one of the tall ones) with mashed potatoes, mushy peas and carrots.  The pie pastry tasted as if it had been made properly with lard.  Yum.  

At the Tower I wandered the walls, looked at an exhibition of Henry VIII's armour, the Tower Edward the something (first?) lived in when in London and various other towers where famous prisoners had been kept and had carved graffiti into the walls.  The "Tower" is not a single tower but a castle complex with multiple towers and other buildings.

The London Walk of this was OK.  The guide, Brian, was a bit theatrical for my taste but it was interesting to hear the history. Most of which I knew but wouldn't have connected to the various locations without someone telling me about it so worth it.  It cost more than I expected and many people were getting a discount for reasons that were not obvious to me which all peeved me slightly. However, it was only 4 GBP more than the cost of entry to the Tower so it was value for money.  There was no queue to get in, so taking the walk didn't let you skip the queue as promised, but given how crowded the place was I could well believe there are queues to get in in high season.

Before heading out for the Tower walk I went to Paddington to buy my ticket to Moreton-in-Marsh.  Opted for the 1:30pm(-ish) one so I'll get to Chipping Campden around 4pm.  I also went to look at the square where the Cardiff Hotel I was originally planning to stay in is located.  It really is wall to wall B&B's.  I didn't see a single private house, although one of the places on the corner was some sort of doctor's surgery.  The square was a much more pleasant location than Gower Street but the whole area around it was a bit seedy.  I'm happy with my choice.  

Discovered a street full of restaurants (Charlotte Street) one street to the west of Tottenham Court Road and very close to the hotel.  All very hip and mostly crowded.  Had a double espresso at 4:30pm so was feeling better this evening.  Still wasn't hungry by 7:30pm and definitely wasn't feeling hip so just bought a sandwich, some fruit salad and water from a Tescos and ate in my room.

Walked just under 15K steps today.  Feet much less sore but lower back and knees still very painful.  Very worried re knees.  If I come across one of those Chinese massage places I'll get them to have a go at my quads.

Day 2 - London

Distance Walked: 12km (approx)

Woke around 3am, then again around 4:30am and finally again at 5:30am.  At that point gave up and got out of bed and starting writing this up.  Not quite a full 8 hours but back on a reasonable schedule.  Was a bit hot in the night which doesn't help.  Hopefully will sleep more soundly tonight.

Dithering about what to do with this toy.  Definitely not carrying it about with me since I've got wirelsss access here.  (Not through the hotel.  Can't get its setup to work.  Just some generous soul who hasn't the sense/knowledge to change the default settings on his router).  If I just hide it in my suitcase then it will be very easy to find.  If I lock it in my suitcase then it says there is something in the case worth stealing.  Hmm, might opt to locking it I think.  

Schedule for today is V&A and Museum of London and a little shopping. Also need/will get ticket for Moreton-in-Marsh on Friday.  Fun.  Just need to wait until breakfast starts at 7:30am.  Must remember not to start too early since nothing will be open.

~~~~

I've now had my first full English breakfast.  I started with orange juice and a small bowl of museli.  I even ate the raisins - my fruit ration for this meal.  I also had a cup of drinkable filtered coffee and the fry-up - an egg, half a tomato, some (tinned) baked beans and a rasher of bacon.  I topped this off with two pieces of toasted (brown) bread with butter and orange marmelade.  They offered me seconds!

The weather was overcast and drizzly in the morning but quite pleasant by lunchtime.  A nasty cold wind started up around 5pm.  Awkward weather overall as I kept taking off the coat because I was getting hot and sweaty and then putting it on again because I was chilled.

Stanfords was a disappointment - they didn't have a complete set of Wainwright's books.  Foyles was a bit better.  They had a better range of Wainwright than Stanfords, including his C2C book which I bought. It's a great read.  He was clearly a cantankerous old bastard. Waterstones did have the Abercrombie book, but at full price, even though it is listed at a discount on the website.  I bought it anyway.

London is grimy and dirty and crowded but magical all the same.  So many of the street names and places have meaning.  I kept getting a thrill walking down the most dingy of streets.  I did a lot of walking.  Even the major "main" streets are narrower than I expected. I would look at the map and decide head straight down here and then go left at the next major intersection.  Some time later I would still be looking for this major intersection only to discover I had passed it some time back.

I walked around 16,000 steps today - or roughly 12km.  My feet feel like they have been pounded into hamburger and my lower back aches from carrying an overloaded shoulder bag about.  More worrisome, my knees are very stiff and sore.  I would love to have a hot bath to ease them out but had to settle for stretching, massage and emugel. If 12km is that damaging I'm going to have real trouble on the Cotswold Way.  Hopefully, the fact that on the Way I'll be wearing my boots and carrying a back pack will make it easier on me.  I'll wear the boots tomorrow and see if it helps.

Part of all the walking I did include walking down 193 steps of a spiral staircase leading from ground level to the platform at Covent Garden station.  The equivalent of a 15 storey building according to the announcement.  Not sure if was a recorded message I triggered by taking the stairs (it strongly urged using the lifts instead) or whether a special announcement just for me.

First stop on the sightseeing programme was the V&A.  It wasn't as enthralling as the guide books make out - or else I'm just a philistine.  The clothes were fascinating but the textiles and tapestry galleries were closed.  I looked through the jewellery, silver and some of the sculpture galleries too.  The jewellery curator and I have very different taste.  My favorite gallery was the Cast  Court.  A Victorian notion.  If you can pinch a monument or statue take a plaster cast of it and display that instead.  Amongst other things they had a copy of David and Trajan's column.  How on earth do you take a plaster cast of Trajan's column?!

I planned on having lunch at the V&A's cafe but baulked at the prices.  When back to Chinatown/Soho and dithered about.  I came across a place called Bistro 1 which had an interesting menu and a 2 courses for 8 GBP lunch special.  Decided that was too cheap and it had to be nasty and moved on.  Turned out it has excellent reviews in the Cheap Eats guide so will go there for dinner tomorrow night (10 GBP for 2 courses).

Ended up spending almost the same amount of money at Foyle's cafe for a ham roll and a mug of cafe latte.  It was 2pm by then and I was starving and needed to sit down.  If you think of it as costing $7 it was quite reasonable.  The roll was a honking big pasta dura one and fresh.  It was spread thickly with English mustard (and no butter). There was more of a slab of ham off the bone rather than a slice. Topping this off was a good dozen small gherkins.  A very agreeable sandwich and the coffee was drinkable.

Next stop was the Museum of London will I greatly enjoyed.  Some of the displays were a litle too interactive for the kiddies but it was fascinating to see how that city has developed.  And, I have to confess, I had fun playing with some of the interactive bits.  The shop had a lot of stuff I wanted to buy in it too but settled for Tube map teatowels and a replica Roman spoon for Mum.

Haven't been able to buy myself any souvenir jewellery yet.  The V&A only had things by modern designers rather than items based on the collection.  The MofL had a few items based on the collection (the Cheapside Hoard) but out of my price range.  Will have to get something from the BM.

Feeling utterly exhausted by 6pm.  Should have had a strong coffee in the afternoon.  Don't know why I didn't think of it.  Staggered out to dinner at a burger joint nearby that had respectable reviews at 7pm. Huge cheeseburger with chips ("fries") and a mineral water for 12 GBP including tip.  All tasted fine but hardly gourment.  Burger restaurants, as opposed to fast food joints, seem big here.  There are at least 3 chains that I've heard off.  Got back around 8pm.  Forced myself to stay awake until 9:30pm-ish then collapsed.

Had thought about doing a Pub Crawl walk with London Walks starting at 7:30pm but just couldn't face it.  I would have been miserable.  I was so longing to lie down and go to sleep by 6pm.  Perhaps Thursday night if they have one and I've adjusted better.