May 16 - 18 The Cotswold Way - Cold Ashton to Bath

Once again, I didn't walk. I had arranged for a local taxi to pick me up at Hill Farm, and take me to Bath. 

I believe this is the end marker of The Cotswold Way. If I'm wrong, please let me know. 
The transfer service would bring my luggage later that day. I extended my trip with MacsAdventure an extra day to enjoy more time in this ancient city. My husband, Steve, joined me in Bath about noontime, arriving by train from London. After settling in at the Kennard Hotel, near the Pulteney bridge, we began to explore our surroundings. 


Steve desperately want to get his load of laundry washed. We found a laundromat up near the entrance to the Henrietta Garden. Steve really wanted a "service wash", meaning he wanted to drop off the bag of laundry and come back later to pick up the clean, folded clothing.
We returned to the hotel to ask for their recommendation. Turns out the hotel has a working arrangement with a local company. Bags are in our room. For £18 per bag, they will pick up the bag in the morning and drop it off in the afternoon or early the next morning. We decided this was the best solution. Our clothing was delivered to us at 7:30 am for £34 (discount for 2 bags). Success!
We took a long walk along the weir that we'd seen while walking to our hotel.

 Besides ancient buildings, this town also has a soccer stadium and cricket fields. They also have some delightful pubs. The best was a small greenhouse called The Green Tree Pub. I'd seen it mentioned on the wall of my kitchenette at Hill Farm. Good beer and ciders, no tv or muzak, just conversations with the locals. 
When we returned the next night, they asked if we wanted to sit in our "usual seats" at the bar. Oh my. Everyone present noticed that special compliment! I guess we were VIP's.
We spent the first half of our full day at the Bath Abbey. It was a bargain for £6.50 each. 

We didn't purchase tickets for the Roman Baths as they were £22 each.

 That seemed awfully expensive for a much shorter tour. Instead, we walked around the area and found many lovely corners and sitting areas within the city.

I took the above photo because the knees of those guys up there caught my eye!

Comments

  1. PaulaMay 22, 2023 at 6:30 AM

    Impressive, love the stain glass

    ReplyDelete
  2. JackieMay 23, 2023 at 8:51 AM

    Barb - I'm so proud of you for doing this "leg" of the journey alone. I hope your hip injury is not serious and you feel better soon. Hello to Steve as he joins you in Bath.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

May 12, Cotswold Way - King's Stanley to Dursley

Image
Yesterday, I walked from King's StanIey to Dursley. It was geographically 7.5 miles. Short, I thought. I started walking at 9:15. But the ups and downs were very challenging. I was quite behind in time, and I needed to meet a taxi at the Old Spot Inn at 5 pm.  I panicked about 3 pm. My hiking directions said a tarmac road was coming up. When I got there, I checked in with the Google Maps app. It responded with a walking route to Dursely on back lanes 2.3 miles - less than an hour. Yes! I can walk faster on tarmac, and there were no steep slopes. I arrived at Old Spot with enough time to enjoy a pint of dry cider and a packet of roasted peanuts.😁 I am taking today (Sat, May 13) off. I need to rest, and do some laundry. The hills are ghastly on the Cotswold Way. The next hike to Sodbury 12.6 mi down the trail, also starts with a corker of a hill. I've consulted Google Maps and, yes, I can walk to Wortley on a back road and avoid that first big climb up and over the escarpment. T...
Read more

May 15 - The Cotswold Way Old Sodbury to Cold Ashton

Image
Well, I can't provide photos from the trail because I didn't walk the trail. A muscle just to the back of my left hip (a glute?) is in pain. Even Aleve is not helping. Elsie at the Old Sodbury Hotel suggested that I take the Stagecoach 620 from the stop up the street to Bath. There, I'd be able to get a taxi to my next accommodation. The bus ride was fun. We went to several small towns. The names of town in this area are creative. Here is a screen capture from Google Map, to give you an idea. I laughed out loud when I read Pucklechurch on a directional sign we passed. This bus was clean and, when I took the photo, had few passengers. More folks climbed on board as we got closer to Bath. Most everyone was around my age or older. We passed this house being engulfed by Wysteria. It took about an hour to reach Bath. Since it was 10-ish, I went into Cafe Nero for a coffee. This is a espresso bar, so I had a large Cappuccino and poke around on ...
Read more

UK - 2023 Introduction

This year, I'm off walking in and near the Cotswolds of southwest England.  A high school friend, Carl Peterson, is joining me for the first walk from Kemble to Oxford following the Thames Path West walking trail. We will begin at the headwaters of the Thames river, and walk east to Oxford. Foreign travel is new for Carl, so we agreed to take a few days to explore London first. What better way to get the jet lag behind us before we begin the inn to inn walking? Besides, if we are in London, then let's take the time to see the major attractions, learn about public transportation, learn about English pounds (£), and sample pub fare. After exploring Oxford, Carl will return to the states. I will head back to Painswick which is a small town about half way down the Cotswold Way walking trail. I will walk solo over the next 7 days. My husband, Steve, will join me when I reach Bath.  We will explore Bath, Bristol and Cardiff together before we head home. The entire trip, London thr...
Read more