Oh To Be In England Now That April's Here Or The U3A Walking Holiday
Our Walking holiday to the Cotswolds, organised by Jim,
He is the leader for the weekend, and we put our trust in him.
You can see for miles on a summers day
The spectacular views of the Cotswold Way.
Sheep and new born lambs in pastures lush and green,
It is good to share with the U3A, the things that we have seen.
Newly built dry stone walls, cowslips everywhere,
It is lovely to have the time, to be able, to stand and stare.
Discovering masses of bluebells as far as the eye sees
Or have our soul refreshed by leafy green beech trees.
The unexpected sighting of a fox travelling at speed,
Past fields of bright yellow flowers of the rape seed.
I wonder who has trod this path and been where we have been
Just like the skylark, we delight, in this pastoral scene.
Lunch by the River Severn, at the Red Lion, we stop to rest
And view the English countryside at its very best.
But how did we get to this Shangri-la?
In Sherpa Jim, we placed our trust, who said it wasn't far.
Over trousers, hats, walking poles were shared,
We are not fair weather walkers, we came prepared,
And believed the news that it would be a breeze
As we climbed over slippery fallen trees.
We followed on encouraged by his smiles
As we supported each other to climb over stiles.
The 'slight incline' left me having to stop,
Puffing like a steam train before reaching the top.
At the Devil's chimney, a sight we must be
Sheltered from rain, huddled under a tree.
One step forward, then slid four back
Squelching along this muddy, rain soaked track.
We trudged this assault course for many more miles,
Climbed over electric fences and plenty more stiles.
There was laughter and friends to give a helping hand
On this brown, unforgiving, uneven land.
But I think the message is loud and clear,
Please can we do it again next year?
Pamela Eldridge
Click on images to enlarge.
TOTTON U3A WALKING HOLIDAY IN THE COTSWOLDS
FRIDAY-MONDAY, 25th-28th
APRIL 2014
We
are now into our eighth year of walking holidays and they continue to
be as popular as ever. This year over 30 of us met at the Holiday
Inn, Gloucester at the start of another memorable weekend’s
walking. The forecast wasn’t very promising and, as predicted, it
rained as we travelled to Gloucester. We had been well primed by Jim
Harrod, our intrepid leader, to go well prepared, with wet weather
gear, good walking boots and walking poles to assist on the steeper
gradients, all of which was to prove very sound advice.
After
refreshments, we set out at 2.00 pm on a circular walk from the
hotel. We all donned wet weather gear as the drizzly rain kept
coming, but we appreciated being able to stretch our legs and get
into the countryside for a brief spell, before returning to our hotel
to relax before dinner.
The
hotel proved to be very comfortable, with pleasant rooms, courteous,
helpful staff and excellent food. After dinner, having exercised our
legs and fed the ‘inner man’, we were now ready to exercise our
brains with some of Dave’s quizzes. They were real brain teasers
and provoked the usual spate of friendly arguments.
And
so the pattern was set for the next two days.
Saturday
we woke to sunshine, which stayed with us until we had almost
completed our morning’s walk. This had been from the Severn
Springs Public House up to Hartley Hill, part of the Cotswold Way.
We had quite a steep ascent by lane, then footpath, to the top of the
hill, passing fields of sheep, with their gambolling lambs. The
views from here were breathtaking, with a golf course way below us in
the valley, Cheltenham laid out beyond that and ranges of hills all
around in the distance. We circled back inland to a lane where, as
the wind hit us, it started to rain, making us long for the pub at
the bottom of the hill as we made the long descent.
After
a welcome rest and refreshments in the pub, we drove back to the car
park at the top of the lane we had descended earlier and circled in
the other direction. Here we walked across farm land which provided
us with panoramic views all around. We descended to a farm and took
the path to Charlton Kings Common and the Devil’s Chimney. This
chimney stands on the side of the hill and had been formed by erosion
of the Jurassic limestone. We continued on to Leckhampton Hill at
almost 300m, the site of an Iron Age hill fort. Again, the views
were magnificent, marred only by the fact we had to race for shelter
when the heavens opened for a short, sharp shower, following which we
made our way back to the cars and returned to the hotel before 4.00
pm. A good day.
The
evening followed the previous format, except that we were allocated a
special room for our quiz, as we had very nicely obstructed the bar
by occupying all the tables closest to it the previous evening!
Sunday
dawned and we were all eager for our walk, feeling we had got into
our stride by now. Little did we know what lay ahead!
We
met at the Red Lion Riverside Inn on the River Severn, where we left
our cars for the day as swallows were spotted swooping above the
river. We set off a little behind schedule on a very steep ascent
through meadows, with a beautiful bluebell wood on our right [lots of
mistletoe in this area too]. This path became a little slippery but,
as before, the hard work was worth it when we were able to enjoy
spectacular views of the beautiful countryside. Huge fields of rape
made dazzling splashes of colour in the patchwork landscape, while
nearer at hand, we were treated to cowslips and delicate violets to
complement the bluebells. A large fox with a beautiful white brush
was spotted crossing the path ahead of us.
We
then descended a steep lane towards the River Severn where we had to
negotiate a stile with an electric fence on the far side, this to
keep the sheep in the huge field we had to walk through. The sheep
here had some very young lambs and many still to come. It was
pleasant walking through the meadows by the wide, swiftly flowing,
muddy river, lined with many ancient willow trees.
Our
route now ascended steeply through a wood and, bearing in mind much
of this area had been under water earlier in the year, it was
inevitable that the path became treacherously muddy, with the added
hazard of fallen trees to negotiate. We laboured on, helping each
other where possible, and eventually thankfully spilled out into a
meadow after one last steep effort, boots, and in some cases,
clothing, caked in mud. Here we rested and regained our equilibrium,
before tackling what we thought was the easy bit back to the pub.
But no, there was another stretch of woodland to negotiate, not as
bad as the first, but every bit as slippery. Then, thankfully, it
really was all downhill across the fields the way we had come, with
our goal – the pub – in the distance below and a narrow boat
chugging along the river.
We
all cleaned ourselves up as best we could before piling into the pub
for welcome drinks and sustenance.
Our
afternoon’s walk was curtailed as we set out much later than
anticipated, but the sun was shining and it was pleasantly relaxing,
despite the rather high stiles some of us found quite challenging.
What a bonus, though, and well worth the effort, for we came across
the most incredible field of milkmaids, in shades from deepest pink
to white, the whole looking like a soft white blanket spread before
us. We walked through the middle of this to a tributary of the river
where some of us took great delight in playing ’Pooh sticks’ from
a convenient bridge. What a peaceful end to a strenuous day.
Our
last evening together was as convivial as the previous two and, as
Jim said when he spoke to us before the quiz, the day had highlighted
the feelings of friendship amongst us, as we helped each other during
a challenging morning’s walking. A real adventure!
All
too soon, Monday morning saw us leave the Holiday Inn and make our
way to Barrow Wake Viewpoint near Birdlip for a last short walk, with
panoramic views over the whole area. We were fortunate to see
another fox as we returned, having had a delightful stroll through
beech woods all decked out in their new green leaves. What a lovely
conclusion to a weekend to remember.
None
of this would have been possible without all Jim’s planning and
hard work beforehand, as well as his care of us during the weekend;
thank you Jim; and not forgetting Elaine for all her support. Thanks
to John, too, for choosing such a pleasant hotel and of course, Dave,
for providing his quizzes for our enjoyment.
Sue
Sue
