12.11 Cotswolds Walk 1

0540 I have slept really well. I think it must be still only 0200 or 0300 and I’m surprised to see it’s past 0500. As soon as I arrived last night I turned down the central heating so my room has been nice and cool for sleeping. Rooms that were too warm were a real problem last holiday but this time it’s been perfect. Breakfast doesn’t begin until 0730 so I may as well doze a bit longer.

0620 I didn’t really sleep but I have rested a bit more. Time for coffee. The selection of coffees, teas, hot chocolate, water, biscuits (and sherry!) in the room is excellent. It was cold when I arrived last night and my weather app tells me it feels like 3 degrees right now.

0730 I head down for breakfast. I fill up; I have a long walk ahead of me today.

0800 I do a bit of planning and pack my bag with the things I think I’ll need.

0845 I start a walk using my app. The walk starts through grassy fields. The temperature is brisk but I’m feeling fine and before long I‘m just walking in t-shirt. I pass a field of sheep and they all stand perfectly still on queue as I walk past. After a while the walk takes me across recently ploughed fields. The mud cakes to my boots. Again, I‘m grateful I invested in decent boots for this trip. Also, I‘m thankful to Robyn who gave me great advice on my last trip to wear two layers of socks; no blisters this year!

At times it’s hard to know if I‘m going in the right direction. The footpaths are not all clearly marked. I put my trust in the app and it‘s really good for directing me. Sometimes I just head where it tells me and hope for the best. A couple of times I head the wrong way and need to find my way back. The walk takes me through a couple of small villages. It also takes me across a field of cows. Walking among sheep doesn‘t bother me but the cows stare me down and I steer clear of them as much as I can. About 3/4 into the walk the clouds are getting darker. Luckily I packed a spray jacket. Before long I need to put it on. The showers aren’t too heavy but they persist on and off until the end of the walk. My trousers are pretty damp by the end.

1420 I get back, 20.6 km later. Surprisingly, I don’t feel too bad. I took water with me but I haven‘t felt hungry; the big breakfast I had has served me well. I have make a coffee before slipping into a nice hot Radox bath. Afterwards, I clean my boots before the remaining mud dries.

1500 It‘s still early so I head out to check out the street. I had the impression that there were lots of interesting shops in the Main Street but on closer inspection, there‘s not anything I find worth buying.

1640 I sit down in the bar by the fire to work on my blog.

1900 Time for dinner. Blue cheese and walnut Soufflee, chicken supreme and Creme brûlée. All extremely delicious. The food in this hotel is excellent.

2020 It‘s been a big day. Time for bed I think.

England 2018Ian Barber13 November 2018Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds, Nature, UK, Walking Comments

11.11 IWM Duxford and on to the Cotswolds

0530 I haven’t slept well due to leg cramps. I get them now and then. I didn’t drink enough yesterday, so I suspect I may be a bit dehydrated. I will try to rehydrate today. It’s going to be a busy day then travelling to my next base.

0645 As expected, it is especially quiet at breakfast. It’s raining outside.

My shoes are still damp after last night’s adventure. I use the hair dryer to dry them a bit and it appears to work.

0800 After repacking my bags I work on my blog post for yesterday.

0900 I check all the timetables for today’s travels. I’m all packed and ready in plenty of time. Today I want to visit the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. This part of the museum is all about aviation. It mainly has war planes but also some commercial ones. It has been on my to-do list for the last couple of visits to the UK. My bus is not until 1012.

0930 The weather has cleared up.

0950 I get to the bus stop early but there isn’t clear signage for the bus I want. Then a driver also points to a notice saying that busses won’t be stopping in the street between 1000 and 1200 due to the Remembrance Day march. Not looking promising. Others are looking for the same bus too. Another driver suggests walking to another stop just in case the bus picks up the route later. It sounds like it’s worth a try. I walk with someone who was going to the hospital. We chat until we reach a bus stop.

1015 After a few minutes the bus arrives. Phew!

1030 As we try to exit the motorway, the bus gets stuck in the queue of cars also wanting to go to the museum. We grind to a halt. When it’s clear we are going to be a long time the bus driver executes a tricky manoeuvre which gets us to a place he can drop us off to walk the last short distance. Legend!

1054 I’m in the gate.

1100 In one of the hangars we observe 2 minutes silence. It’s somber but then a very small boy nearby keeps asking “Why is everyone so sad now?”. For me, that innocence just makes the occasion even more poignant and moving.

I wander around the various hangars. I’ve been to some air museums before, most notably the one in Washington DC. So there’s not a lot here that really excites me. Having said that, it’s really well done and very extensive. Maybe it‘s just me today. They do have a Concorde you can walk through. Unfortunately, inside it is set out as the test plane would have been with instrumentation. It didn’t give a very good sense of what the passenger experience would have been.

1230 I need to make a call to aim for the 1327 bus back to Cambridge or wait until 1527. I haven‘t seen everything, but I think I‘ve seen enough. And leaving early will mean I don’t get to the Cotswolds quite as late.

1325 The bus arrives.

1345 We reach Cambridge. On the way to collect my bags from the hotel I get my train tickets. I decide to get First Class. It‘s another long journey and I would like to be comfortable. I grab some lunch that I can eat on the train.

1428 We depart for London Kings Cross. The first train is definitely more comfortable in First Class. The weather is clear with just patchy cloud.

1535 We arrive at Kings Cross station. I make my way to the underground after going the wrong way only once. It’s a rabbit warren of passages and escalators.

1550 I take the Hammersmith & City line to Paddington.

1600 We get to Paddington station.

1620 I‘m onboard the train that will take me to Morton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds.

1637 We depart, stopping at Slough, Maidenhead, Reading, Didcot Parkway, Oxford, Hanborough, Charlbury, Kingham and Moreton-in-Marsh.

1830 We arrive in Moreton-in-Marsh. I‘ve been to this town a couple of times, so I know my way to the hotel. I haven‘t stayed at the Redesdale Arms before but I have eaten here. It‘s the polar opposite of the last hotel. Old charm and history, dating back to around 1650. The room has a physical key!

1930 I head down for dinner. I‘ll try out the dining room menu tonight. I have fried breaded Brie, seared Scottish salmon and sticky toffee pudding with toffee icecream. All excellent and much more than I needed. But ... I‘m on holiday!

England 2018Ian Barber12 November 2018UK, IWM Duxford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Cotswolds, Aviation, Airplanes Comments