Travel day to London/ Hamilton Play

Breakfast, leisurely packed up, and made our way to the train station for our ride to London. While waiting,  I went through my Cotswold Way dog photos + a few other UK cuties.  It was so fun to see so many pooches in pubs, restaurants, on the trail and in towns. 

We met Bruce, the super sweet and ultra soft Born family dog while we were at their home in Chelsea. The other signs here were in pubs, at one of our accommodations or along the Cotswold Way. 

Once off the train right in the heart of the theatre district, we located our hotel, unloaded our luggage and took a stroll about.  This is our final fun day, so we got in some walking, exploring, beer and nuts,  a fabulous gelato . 

Walking around England, especially when focused on all the sights and sounds, it’s nice to have this street reminder to know which way to look for safe crossing.  This was at most large internationals in the touristy sections of London. 

Only after we arrived at the theatre did we realize that there really is NO dress code. Since we thought we needed to clean up and semi dress-up, we made our way back to the hotel and broke open our luggage for the final time on this trip.  Found our way to dinner prior to the Hamilton Play at the Victoria Palace Theater. It was an awesome performance and great way to end an awesome vacation in England. 

Our 25th Anniversary in Bath

Such a memorable anniversary! Tim surprised me with beautiful jewelry for our silver anniversary and a romantic hotel welcome to help us celebrate our special anniversary. The romantic that he is, he gifted me a bracelet made in Bath that has two silver bracelet bangles linked by five small O rings to represent our 25th. At home he also designed a very special heart shaped necklace. This is a very special anniversary in many ways and will always be remembered.  

After breakfast with Ed and Michelle, we said our fare-wells. Soon they would be making their way to Madrid for a few days together prior to Michelle’s next hiking adventure with her book club friends on the Camino Primitivo. 

We headed to the Thermae Spa to make an appointment for a massage and use of the natural hot springs .  The spa’s water comes from the same underground thermal system that has made Bath famous for thousands of years. The Romans built their baths around these springs, and archaeological evidence shows human activity around the springs going back thousands of years.England’s 

The Abbey is must see in Bath and has quite the history of glory to great disrepair. Shortly after it was completed in the early 1500’s, Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of  England’s monasteries in the 1530’s after breaking with Rome. Fortunately the church itself survived because Bath needed a parish church. Over the centuries the building deteriorated considerably. Major restoration took place in the 19th century, particularly under architect Sir George Gilbert Scott.

It truly is a stunning example of true craftsmanship. We heard that an organist would be preforming that afternoon, so we returned several hours later to listen to the sounds out of the huge pipe organ filling the massive abbey. 

We wandered the streets, the shops and some drink/food establishment.   Dinner was at a very popular Thai restaurant, followed by a yummy gelato dessert on the way back to our hotel. 

Great day in Bath!

 

Hiking day 9 to Bath

It’s the final day of our Cotswold Way hike into Bath!  It’s also Michelle’s 59th birthday. A day to celebrate! 

The route didn’t seem like there would be much climbing… but we had enough to get warmed up and relish the fantastic views. 

This monument commemorates Sir Bevil Grenville (1596-1643)  Who is the Royals Commander during the English Civil War. His grandson George Granville erected this in his honor in 1720.

We passed through the Lansdown golf club, literally crossing the fairway at least once,  Passing directly infront of where they tee off and alongside the OB line for several holes. The rusted piece of lawn area was nearby. 

It felt great entering Bath. Obviously, the path wanted us to see as much as we could so we were up and down the hills of Bath to get to our destination of the circular plaque in front of the Bath Abbey. 

The Royal Crescent is a sweeping row of 30 connected townhouses, built between 1767 and 1775. 

Bath Abbey is the magnificent medieval church in thea heart of Bath.  The start/finish circle of the Cotswold Way is in front of the Abbey. 

We raised a pint to celebrate the completion of our 9 day trek through the Cotswolds.

A special establishment, The Circus Restaurant, was selected to celebrate Michelle‘s birthday. We were joined by Louisa, a friend/family tie that journeyed over an hour to spend the evening celebrating with us. 

Champagne, wine, delicious meals and the full array of  “puddings”  desserts were throughly enjoyed by all.  It was a very memorable way to celebrate this special day. 

Gates 38

Hiking mileage  10.5

Elevation gain  1000’

Hiking day 8 to Cold Ashton

Today’s forecast had a chance of rain!  It was a little cooler and misty feeling to start, but turned into a comfortable day on the trails and backroads of the Cotswolds.  The hotel/restaurant that we stayed at had a car show early this morning. There was quite a crowd in the lobby and pub to get there coffee and pastries. 

What a variety of cars… Old and new,  classics from around the world. Great way to start a Sunday morning. 

We had to walkover a mile to get back on the Cotswold Way. 

Our method for counting gates and stiles each day is using the alphabet to keep track. In the beginning we were using random words or phrases that begin with the designated letter, but now we’re see using categories. Today’s categories were  countries and then foods. 43 gates!

It’s always fun to go through a gate and find friendly faces to watch us pass through. 

The beautiful estate is Durham Park. The baroque mansion was built in the late 1600s and the gardens around it are spectacular. We chose to view it from the road and carry on.

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This home had the most well maintained beech tree espalier hedge. Beautiful private home right on the Cotswold Way. 

The Holy Trinity Church in Cold Ashton is a grade 1 building - which is the highest level of historic protection in England . The tower is about 700 years old, while the rest of the church is about 500. 

Today we went over one large highway overpass and two very busy road crossing. There were no crosswalks, no signals, and it was very challenging to navigate an opening to run across the street.  Our overnight stay is not on trail and therefore we had some less desirable walking to this destination.    We did get some sprinkles in the last mile, but it was not worthy of raincoats. 

We discovered this place only has breakfast, and there’s no restaurants in the area, so we decided to take an Uber to Bath for a fun pub dinner. And that it was!

Gates:  43

Miles hiked 12

Elevation gained. 1290