Cotswold Way Day 7

I had a really disturbed night’s sleep. It turned out that the tent wasn’t pitched on as flat an area as I’d thought and I kept slipping down and to the right all night and also the cold reached new depths during this night, despite having numerous layers of whatever I had with me on! It was also really damp feeling, probably partly because there was minimal ventilation under the outside flysheet of the tent because of the way it was pitched. I was therefore up REALLY early this morning.. before 5! I was really quite excited and ready for the off anyway.. having so few miles to go until the end of the walk! I packed away the tent for the last time! It had done me proud! And at only 50 quid it had saved me a packet on B&B’s all the way! A very valid expense and I’d even got used to, and even LIKED the wild camping on this walk! I will certainly be doing it again on other walks.

I was walking by not long after 5 this morning. It was another clear and sunny morning! I’d been soooo lucky with the weather on this walk, apart from Day 2, which had been horrible and miserable! I came to a golf course and made my way around the edge of the escarpment through it. I was surprised to see patches of frozen grass as I walked here! It certainly had been a cold night! No wonder I’d been chilly!

I made my way out to the Little Down.. a hill overlooking the village of North Stoke and further beyond… good views out over Bristol in the distance. I still hadn’t really got any glimpses of Bath as yet, hidden in its ‘bowl’ formed by the surrounding hills. I headed back away from the edge and up onto the flat top of the escarpment housing Bath racecourse and around the edge again to Prospect Stile. From here there was a good view at last of Bath and the rest of the mornings walk descending gradually into the city. I took some photos before starting my descent.

The city of Bath at last, nestling in its bowl like depression, and the way ahead, my final descent from the Cotswolds.

I made my way around the edge of Kelston Round Hill and followed a track all the way down to Pendean Farm, with fields of bulls, cows and calves on my left. I then took to my last field paths of the walk along the side of Dean Hill and then a sharp descent into a park on the edge of Weston, on the outskirts of the city. I sat on a bench here for a while before making my way across the closely mown grass to the road. The walk through Weston town was quite pleasant if only because it made a change to be somewhere larger than a small town! Though at this time of the morning on a Sunday, the streets were pretty much deserted! I walked up through the churchyard, pleasant and peaceful in the early morning slanting sunlight, and then followed waymarkers up hill again and through alleys and narrow streets to eventually arrive at Sion Hill. From here the grand sides of Bath began to be exposed. The houses on Sion Hill were posh, many behind high walls.

I descended from the hill by cutting diagonally across the common and golf course on a tarmac path to the road and crossed this to walk through the park below. Off to my left now were the backs of grand four storey town houses in cotswold stone.. more what I’d expected from Bath.

A walk through Weston churchyard in early morning sunday sunshine.

The backs of grand town houses as I walk through the park before joining Royal Avenue.

At the bottom I joined Royal Avenue turning left and walking past the Victoria Monument and then up on my left the amazing spectacle of The Royal Crescent, designed by John Wood the Younger in 1767. I sat for a while on a bench feeling a bit like the numerous homeless people that I’d seen sleeping rough in the park and in the bandstand etc etc. It seems an odd sort of city to have so many homeless people and certainly highlighted the disparity of wealth in society today!

Victoria Monument

Royal Crescent.

I made my way through the streets to Bath Abbey and the end of the whole Way! I’d made it and in double quick time considering I was carrying the extra weight of the tent and all the accoutrements of camping. Yay for me! I took photos as I walked through the streets. The plan had been to have a look around some of the sights of the city, but as I had walked by quite a few of them on the way in, I decided to give it a miss as I couldn’t face carrying the rucksack around any more than I had to! 100 miles was quite far enough! I had a nice and fairly cheap breakfast in a café near the Abbey and then made my way down to the Train station. If it happened that there wasn’t a train until much later, being a Sunday and a reduced service, then I would happily wander around sightseeing until I could get back.

Beautiful arhcitecture as I wander to Bath Abbey.

Shopping street.

Left: typical street in Bath.

Above: Bath Abbey and journey's end!

Luckily, there was a train to Bristol in only about 20 minutes and so I bought my ticket for 20 odd quid and waited until it arrived. The connection from Bristol to Birmingham New Street was good and then I just made my way to Birmingham International where I had rung and arranged to be picked up from. The journey back on the train was good. I could see much of my route off to the right … the edge of the Cotswolds Escarpment prominent most of the way from Bristol to Birmingham. Even better I got home in time for a Sunday roast.. what better way to finish a walk!