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I slept so well at Leckhampton Hill and set off again in early morning sunshine towards Winchcombe .

One of the many advantages of camping on top of a hill is that you start the next day’s walk going down, which I did for the next hour or so. The fabulous views continued for quite some time as I strolled along munching dried fruit and nuts for breakfast. I was north of Cheltenham now and looking forward to the rest of the morning’s walk. There followed a mile or two of very pleasant walking through woodland, Lineover Wood, in particular.

At 10:15 I arrived at Cleve Common, which I’d been looking forward to as it was said to be a highlight of this walk. There was a great view of Cheltenham racecourse to my left with sheep and lambs, grazing and sheltering from the sun under the trees to my right. The Cotswold Way wound around the hill so I headed across the middle to see what I could find, large grassy humps and large outcrops of rock. The landscape was amazing and of course there were dog walkers and a great many sheep.

I then set off down a pretty bridle path to Winchcombe for lunch where I found the Lion Inn, a lovely old pub, which was perfect.

Setting off after lunch, I met Roger Rob and Jean and walked with them for a few miles having a very pleasant chat. We made very good progress, Jean was a flyer. I then took a short cut through grassy meadows to the lovely Wood Stanway and then to the impossibly picturesque Stanway, with the ancient Stanway Hall. This was followed by an enormous meadow with old oaks and buttercups. This was the absolute ideal of rural England. I sat in the grass under the shade of an old oak tree and was completely content. This place was even better than the hill where I’d camped last night. I’d completely run out of superlatives.

A mile or so further on I reached a delightful village, Stanton. Words fail me again to describe it adequately. After Stanton, I took a steep bridle path in preference to the Cotswold Way, saving a mile or so and arrived out of breath at the top of the hill with about three miles, all downhill, until Broadway.

I arrived in Broadway and repaired to the Crown and Trumpet pub which was busy, a good sign. In need of some carbs, I ordered a pint, potato wedges and garlic bread. Rosemary’s famous garlic bread is pictured here. Hungry though I was I couldn’t manage more than half of it, delicious though it was. Broadway is a lovely village full of pubs and seemingly very friendly people . It’s also in Worcestershire . Another county ticked off. At about 7:15 I headed off again aiming to walk another two miles to the Broadway tower which looked like a fine spot to set camp. I would only be 22 miles from Alcester. I had caught up and had every chance of meeting Dave the next day late afternoon. 

What a fantastic day. 

Day Summary:

My best day so far? A wonderful walk. 28 miles travelled. I’ll sleep well tonight.