Broadway & Stanton

 

Host pub kitchen was closed when we went down by appointment for breakfast at 8am, something must have got lost in translation, so we went round to the local cafe diner for our bacon & fried egg sandwiches.

Obligatory selfie in front of Market Hall, marking the start of the Cotswold Way, and we were off, on a gentle climb up to Dover’s Hill, offering a good viewpoint from the escarpment. Bright conditions overhead to start with, if getting progressively a bit cloudy and grey as the day wore on.

Half hearted bouts of drizzle came and went, almost as if to force us to go through the motions of donning waterproofs, and we soon reached Broadway Tower, a 17th century folly which was recently used as an observation post for aircraft manoeuvres before being privatised.

Along the way, we passed a glorious profusion of damsons, sloes and blackberries, most of this fruit seems to have been left unpicked, which was a torture for Em.

The descent to Broadway marked the halfway point. We tucked into delicious friandises from the local artisanal baker, enjoying our flask of tea on the well-appointed village green. Cotswolds villages have a similar vibe to parts of South Somerset, with a warm butterscotch stone and higgledy piggledy architectural quirks.

Our final haul of this 10 mile long first stage took us over a hill to Stanton, an impossibly cute, sleepy little hamlet, where we are overnighting in an old manor house (see pic below), all slopey floors and mullioned windows. Not before trying out a half of Cotswold Gold at the Mount Inn, where are also booked in for dinner as it is the sole eatery within a five mile radius of here.

Incidentally, there are lots of Americans around, seeking their piece of Old England charm. No sign of Fatty Vance, thankfully.

PS dinner was pretty epic, supersize portions of lamb shoulder (Em) and burger (me), with stacks of produce from the pub's own vegetable garden.

Joff x