King's Stanley to Wotton-under-Edge

Day 7

Walk distance:  11.1 miles

Total Ascent: 1,606 feet

1st October. Change in the weather. Autumn has arrived, wet, cool and breezy.

We set off at 9.30 just as it began to rain. A damp, vertical, penetrating rain that found its way inside your clothes within seconds.  Fortunately, after a short, steep

ascent up the hillside we entered an area of dense woodland.  Compared to the drizzle, the occasional fall of one big drip on another was relatively pleasant. ( yes, I know what I have just written!!).

Back in the open, and the rain had mercifully stopped.  The remainder of the day was to remain overcast but dry.   We passed Nympsfield long barrow where, upon deciding to have a photo' of the two of us taken together, I had the misfortune to ask a gentleman with only one arm, and a dodgy one at that, to press the shutter.! Maybe the results weren't too bad.

Continuing on, we endured the long slog to the top of Coaley Peak, a popular picnic area with a magnificent panoramic view.  With poor visibility we were deprived of the fabulous vista written about in the guidebook, and had to depend upon the conveniently

sited display board to imagine the panorama across to the Severn bridges and the Welsh mountains beyond.

Then followed another dramatic woodland landscape, with old quarry faces now overhung with creepers, creating a jungle-like effect.  Further on we were faced with, possibly, the steepest climb of the walk so far, straight up the side of Cam Long Down. Here were meant to be the best views along the whole of the Cotswolds Way, but not today.

After 6 miles, and around lunchtime, we arrived in the rather unmemorable town of Dursley, in time for our habitual tea and cake. I bought two bargain books in a well-stocked charity shop, which, I confess I came very close to throwing away an hour later in order to lighten my load as we made the assault upon the inevitable vertical hillside leading out of town back up to the escarpment.

At the top of the escarpment the route levelled out into another long section through woodland, and then, after the village of North Nibley, commenced the fourth, and final

steep climb of the day through woods to open grassland and the imposing monument to William Tyndale. He was born in the village in 1484 and provided the first complete translation of the Bible into English. The monument appeared out of the gloom like some gigantic phallic symbol. Tyndale was accused of heresy and burned at the stake in France in 1536, and, I suppose, after a comment like that, I should suffer a similar fate!

A quiet two mile section through woodland followed before we arrived at a curious stand of conifers surrounded by a circular stone wall. These commemorated the battle

of Waterloo in 1815, and were in fact the third generation of trees to have been planted here, an earlier planting having been cut down to provide fuel during the Civil War!

The final descent of the day led us to the town of Wotton-under-Edge with its ornate

clock celebrating Victoria's jubilee, and its very pretty almshouses built with money bequeathed by a former local resident who went on to become the Sheriff of London.

Our walk complete we caught the last bus of the day arriving back in King's Stanley after dark.

Stained glass window in the Alms Houses Chapel

The Alms Houses at Wotton-under-Edge