Cleeve Hill to Birdlip

 


An epic walk today. We left the Rising Sun at Cleeve Hill at 9am, and arrived 16 miles and 7 and a quarter hours later, footsore and weary, at the Royal George in Birdlip.

We would ideally like to walk as close to 10 miles per day as possible, but lack of accommodation on this stretch meant we were stuck with a long trek today.

However, what a glorious day for it. Sunny but not too hot, and thanks to the clouds here and there, pretty good visibility.

We initially had a short, sharp climb up onto Cleeve Hill - grassy downs incorporating a golf club and the highest point on our walk (317m).

The views were spectacular, and we had a variation of this view for most of the day. Cheltenham and its racetrack in the foreground, with the Malverns and beyond them the Black Mountains clearly visible. We could also just about make out the Sugarloaf, though it was a little hazy.

Our trail was nicely varied: open fields, the escarpment edge and woodland, with plenty of up and down to work different muscles.



The stone walls here are definitely a feature. This one was in the middle of nowhere, so I can only assume it was for demonstration purposes.


We stopped on Leckhampton Hill for our flask of tea and a purloined breakfast pastry. It would have been quite nice to just stop altogether, but we still had miles to go.


About an hour from the end we had an unpleasant, but mercifully shortish stretch alongside a very busy A road. After so many hours just walking peacefully, I felt like I had emerged, blinking, back in the 21st century.


We are once again in staying in the only hospitality provider in the village, so we are seeing some of the same faces from the trail. All of whom are having their luggage transported for them, so extra points for us.

The downside is that last night’s and tonight's pub are both in the Greene King chain, which means an identical menu. Slim pickings if you don’t want meat, but we managed. 

Tomorrow we have a much shorter walk, which our ageing bodies will be grateful for.

Em x

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