When we left the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden, there was a light drizzle falling. The drizzle thickened into rain and then a downpour. I had forgotten my gaiters back home and soon water was wicking through my socks and into my boots so that they squelched at every step. But as we climbed into the hills (something we’re not used to on the flat prairie) we could see incredible vistas of the surrounding countryside despite the weather.
By the time we reached our halfway point, the pretty and quite posh village of Broadway, we were wet through but quite happy nonetheless. Like other villages hereabouts, the buildings in Broadway are made of golden Cotswold stone that glows even when it’s raining. We ate sandwiches at a tea room. The sun came out as we were finishing. Christine went to look at the museum dedicated to Gordon Russell, the Arts and Crafts furniture designer. I stayed outside to enjoy the warm sun. I took off my boots and wrung the water out of my socks. Christine was charmed by the museum, where visitors were encouraged to touch the furniture on display.
Then we started walking towards our destination for the day, Stanton. We were almost there when a thunderstorm blew up. I thought we could make it to the village if we hurried, but I was wrong and it turned out that Christine was smart to put on her raincoat at the first sign of rain. We found ourselves on the wrong footpath somehow, and then we walked right past our B&B. For a while we were convinced that we were in another village entirely.
Finally we figured out where we were and found the house where we’re staying. It’s quaint (of course) with a chicken pecking away in the front yard and a crackling fire. Now we’re sitting in a beer garden waiting for the pub to open. On the way to the pub we walked past a house with the date 1618 carved above the lintel. It makes me think about how long people have been walking these paths. After all, the Cotswold Way is just a linking together of various older paths and rights of way. I wonder if the first inhabitants of that house walked some of them.
