Cotswold Way 2014 Day 6

Sunday 3^rd August 2018 Tormarton

I was kept awake by other guests making noises late in the night, and then more noises before my alarm.  I chatted with the B&B owner a bit over breakfast but found her personality and opinions did not endear me to her in any way.  I was off just after 8 and up and over the hill through woods and on to Nympsfield long barrow. 

Then on through more woods then up and along an interesting hill called Cam Long Down.

Down and through Dursley, the largest town I’ve encountered thus far.  After purchasing a 1.25 litre bottle of coke for £1 to supplement my water supply, it was up hill again, this time to a golf course.  As I was making good time I made the executive decision to barrel on through all the way to Tormarton today but, as a consequence, I also chose to leave out the loop walk around the golf course, taking the alternate “short cut” that took some distance out of my day.

Onward and through North Nibley then up the steep sunken lane to the top where the way markers had me going around in circles for a while until a group of people kindly pointed me in the right direction.  Next up was the Tyndale monument where I climbed the 121 steps of the narrow winding staircase to the top.

Onward and down through more woods to arrive in Wotton-Under-Edge sometime between 12:30 and 1.  My original plan was to walk this far and then catch a taxi to Tormarton for my night’s accommodation, then catch another taxi back tomorrow morning so I could walk the next section.  But my earlier decision and the timing of arriving here made it make sense to carry on.

I power-walked my way until I came across the Lord Somerset Monument, which looked to be much taller than Tyndale.  Unfortunately, I could not find a way into the grounds surrounding it to make the ascent, which was probably a good thing as my feet and legs began hurting soon afterward.

My pace really started to slow down through Old Sodbury and Coomb’s End, but then it was a relatively short up and down toward Tormarton.

I located my B&B (outside the village) to take a bath and sooth my aching muscles.  I walked into the village to find the only pub closed!  I wandered around the village to see if there was anything else to see, and on my return found a car parked outside the pub, so I sat nearby and watched until a sign was brought outside to indicate it was open.  Inside for some cider, steak and chorizo pie, and spotted dick pudding.

Day 7