Cotswold Wayyyyyyyyy

 I have finally decided hiking sux . Yesterday was a trying day to say the least . It started off in Bath trying to work out where the actual walk started. After a couple of attempts following my OS maps I decided to ask some one. You would think that locals would have a bit of an idea well after about the seventh person I finally met a nice old gentleman who told me follow Landsdowne road to the end he did mention it was a bit hilly. Well I would like to nominate it for the longest hill in the UK it just went on and on steep also at one stage I thought I may need oxygen.

When i finally found the start of the yellow brick road off I went . Through some boring field edges then

it got a bit more interesting. I came across the site of the Battle of lands down that took place in 1643.

 The area where this bloody battle took place .So after passing this historic site I went on my merry way over fields stone walls etc. Then I went down this field and there was a bunch of cows all gathered around the style I wanted to go through.

I realised they were all young bulls and with attitude.

So to escape from these upstarts I jumped a gate into the next field this had grass and nettles in it about a meter high. I walked down the side for it must of been a kilometre there was a wall of vegetation and nettles between the two fields I was expecting the farmer to start shooting at me or something but thankfully I did not see him.After a diversion of a couple of kl I found the track again. Then I came across the second biggest hill in Britain. Now I know how sherpas must feel up in the Himalayas .

I was hoping to find a village by then with a nice bnb so I could relax but it was about 4 miles till the next civilisation. I was out of water and hanging for a drink. After a bit i met a young guy who said there was a village about a mile away with a pub. So I was visualising drinking a cool pint of larger for about an hour. When i finally got to the pub it was bloody shut with a forsale sign on it. There was no shops nothing so I wandered through the village in the hope of seeing a water tap . This elderly lady pulled into her driveway in her beautiful stone house. I asked her if she could fill my water bottles for me she turned out to be Scottish and was a lovely old dear. There was no accomodation in the village but she said there was a bnb near a church and explained where it was I went there and could not find it so I asked this other lady and she told me the same I don’t know if I was delirious but I could not for the life of me find it. It was very frustrating I thought I was going mad (probably was). 

I-decided to walk the next 3 miles to a town called old Sod berry I was told by a couple of people I would defiantly get accomodation there. By the time I reached there I was exhausted and my feet were killing me  I had been walking from about nine till six. I went in a pub called the dog inn they said they were fully booked out and that I would probably find it hard to get accomodation. They were right I phoned up another 3 pubs in the all fully booked. I was going to catch a bus to the next village but they stopped at five . She gave me five local taxi number none of them any good. So by now I was feeling a tad disponded. So I had a beer and ordered some food with another beer. I had a rest of a couple of hours then took off again as the day was closing. After about a mile walking I found a field with no cattle in it behind a big hedge so just as well I kept my tent.I don’t really like wild camping but if I kept on I would probably would of had to wild camped for six days so I decided to call it quits and headed for the city of Bristol . I am now in a premier inn writing this in luxury even got a hot bath I think I am a city slicker towny at heart I do love the countryside as long as you can get accomodation even if it is a proper campsite with showers.)