Hiking day 6 to Wotton Under Edge

Another beautiful morning! 

We began with a walk in the woods. Many of our wooded walks have been on a hillside with the valley far below on our right and the ridge on our left. It is beautiful to see the sunny farms and valley views peeking through the trees. 

We  were welcomed by various free range animals today. Horses, cows, sheep goats, we also saw pigs but not in the same field that we were walking through.

Walking on the path we’ve seen lots of unique rock stack and mounds surrounding them. A trained eye can identify that they could be extremely old burial mounds. This historical landmark is Nympsfield Long Barrow. It is a communal tomb that was constructed 5000+ years ago.

We had a more than a fair amount of steep ups and downs today, It is the biggest day elevation gain while in the Cotswolds. 

It’s incredible how massive some of the trees are along the trail, especially knowing how much limestone is beneath the surface. This is one huge beech tree. Most of the woods that we’ve been walking through are predominantly beech trees. 

The clouds are spectacular here. It’s beautiful how the sun finds its way through to light up different locations of the valley below. 

This spectacular oak tree pulled us in for a closer look, but you had to be far away to grab a photo of this giant. 

After 10+ miles  we passed through the town of Dursley and saw The Hoptician Micro Pub. It seemed like a brilliant place to take a break. It was very small in size but huge in selection. 

After the “rest stop” we had an almost immediate steep climb to get to a route decision. At the top of the climb was a big beautiful and apparently popular golf course. There were two routes at this point cutting across the golf course or going all the way around. 

Tim and I chose the shorter route.. giving us about 4 miles to get to Wotton-Under-Edge, our destination. Michelle and Ed took the more challenging route with 2.5 miles more than us and more elevation gain. 

Pretty much anytime we got to a hilltop and scanned the surrounding hills and valleys we could see in the distance a tall tower.. Tyndale monument.   It seems so far off in the distance… until we were right there in front of it.

This 1866 tower commemorates, William Tynedale (1494 to 1536), producer of an influential English translation of the Bible. The tower stands 111’  and it’s a prominent landmark from miles away. 

Gate count:  35  / 39

Miles hiked: 16   /  18.5

Elevation gained: 2300 / 2600