Second Day

Shenberrow Hill, Stanton to Prestbury Hill, near Cheltenham

Sounds hilly, right? Right.

To Stanway and Wood Stanway, not so much, so the first couple miles were easy walking in cool overcast weather.
The Way meanders through pastures full of sheep, and sheep dung, with regular passage through gates or over stiles. Today I began taking pictures of the different types. By the way, getting images into blogger using the phone is frustrating to the point of being impossible. I had been writing expecting to put them in, but I’m giving up (Note on 9/10/18: I am home, and retired, and taking time to add some photos).

  



Anyway, the Way goes out of a village, up a hill, down off the hill to another village, then repeat.
The morning was about seven miles total, and included our first field with cattle, rather than sheep. One steer did not want to move from our direct path, and did not like us using it. We took a wide detour around him.
Later another batch of steers gave us a close look as we skirted a barn and farmyard packed with sheep.
In Winchcombe we lunched at the Plaisterer’s Arms. Many of these bartenders have no idea what they’re pouring. Nice ciabatta sandwiches. In a shop I got asked if I’m Canadian. So that’s starting to be a thing.
Before Winchcombe we saw Beckbury Camp Hill Fort, basically a recognizable dirt walk in a field of sheep, then Cromwell’s chair, then Haile’s Abby, ruins after Cromwell had it destroyed, but the older & lovely church still stands.
After Winchcombe we climbed, and climbed, and climbed. One highlight was Belas Knap Barrow, Stone Age tomb. Based on skeletons in the tomb, the Stone agers May have practiced warfare. Huh!

Cleeve Hill offers panoramic views, and his a golf course all over it, sheep grazing everywhere.

We had an ale in the club house then pushed on a couple more miles to Prestbury Hill Farm.
This was a killer of a long day and we were exhausted.
In the doorway a burly man announced “There’s a problem with your reservation.” My heart sank.

  Eventually he said we had rooms okay. Paul is a great guy, but he needed to talk through his registration process three times, and we had to tell him at least three times that it was our error.
At 7:30 he gave us a ride to a pub in Cheltenham. We learned it is a town and the center for the Cotswolds but not of the Cotswolds, because it’s not in the Cotswolds.  Also, that a place in England needs a cathedral to be a city.
It was burger & pint night at the pub. Don’t have burgers in England.
But the ale called Bob is good.