Cotswold Way, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds

Up early on a spring morning and off to Moreton-in-Marsh we go! Helen P and I met up with Ed, Matt, Becky, Alice H, Luke, Alice L, Chris, Louise and Tom at the railway station. Helen E and Paul were in transit and were hopefully going to catch up with us later in Blockley. Of and of course Max was there too :) 

We began by walking  through the centre of town, where I was trying to work out the path out westwards. You know you are on the right path as there is a caravan park to the left. In the distance we saw the first stately home of the day! I was also quite bemused on how hung over Matt and Becky were!!

The footpath crossed a few more fields and started to follow the hedge up to where it crossed the road to the falconry centre at Batsford Park. We continued up past the walled grounds of the old stately home and up into the woods. As we crossed the road we headed to a viewpoint which showed the lovely little village of Blockley.

To which point Chris was poking about a tree and clearly trying to find something. Then it dawned on me he was trying to find a geo-cache. The debate for me is out on this one. Some people call it blatant littering but I can see the fun side of it too – like a treasure hunt. Chris was clearly addicted! One of the treasures was one of those long party balloons which promptly got blown up and let off.It screeched and span around whilst we began to walk down the hill to Blockley.

On the way down we stopped at a pub in Blockley, had some lunch and a nice pint of ale. After lunch we made our way out of Blockley southwards through a little hamlet called Dovedale and into Bourton Woods.  I did another classic wait for people to go the wrong way and make them walk back oops. We strolled up past Hailstone Farm, at which point there was lots of wild garlic around which Helen P was picking up! We carried on over the road and down to the little village of Bourton-on-the-Hill.

At which point we walked  south towards the stately home at Sezincote. This place looked a bit peculiar, a cross between a mid eighteenth century ancestral pile and the Taj Mahal. It looked quite ridiculous. At this point I spot a few birds circling in the sky. We began walking down the track towards some farm outbuildings. At which point I lost my bearings and Chris helped out with his GPS.

Correcting the route we made our way along a field at which point at the end was a swing which many of us had a go on. It was getting late in the afternoon but still enough time to pick up an ice cream in Moreton. Which went down very well!!

The day was full of sunshine, hopefully a sign for many more days like this later in the year.