Since leaving my beloved Malvern hills in a somewhat unplanned move to Cheltenham I have found new joys in exploring the Cotswolds.  At first, I thought that the hills were just a little too far away and that we would have to drive everywhere, but recently I have discovered that Cheltenham is a very good base for tackling the Cotswold Way (or at least the first bit of it) in 10-mile stages using public transport to start and finish each day.

Of course, as we all know, buses and trains can be an excellent way to travel but they can all to often let you down.  And so it was when it came to my planned walk from Dowdeswell to Birdlip.  Although I had carefully checked the bus timetables and picked a perfect Autumn day, it all went wrong when I asked the bus driver if he could drop me off at The Reservoir Inn.  “I’m not going anywhere near there, mate”!  What?!  Well, what I hadn’t realised, and the timetables hadn’t told me, was that the closure of the A40 at Charlton Kings meant that the bus was diverted miles away out to Seven Springs.  Grrrr!

But now for the blessing!  Dear reader, the day was not lost.  Fortunately, I had the right maps and timetables with me to get a later bus out to Painswick and do the next leg of the walk in reverse back to Birdlip.  A lovely walk on a beautiful day.  Blessed indeed.

Ed’s note: Here’s a piece of music that captures that sense of calm that can be found in walking in nature (with apologies for the inevitable ad at the beginning).