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Above is a photograph of sunset last night over St Peter’s Church in Winchcombe, apparently one of the ‘great wool churches’. We saw this view as we ambled through the town and stretched out our feet. Little did they, or we know, the ups and downs that were coming.

This morning we found out.

First came the ‘old’ point of the day – Belas Knapp Long Barrow – a burial chamber, over 5,500 years old ‘constructed by prehistoric people as a place to bury their dead’. It sat low in the grass, like a tapered lozenge, with rock chambers burrowing in towards its heart.

It was so strange to think that the ‘old’ church of the day before with its 12th century worshippers, was still many centuries in the future when this was being built.

Then came the ‘high’ point, and the ‘highest’ point.

This was the view from the near the top of Cleve Hill. After taking this photograph we climbed on for another steep few hundred yards, to reach the top. There, along with a couple of sheep and a few golfers, we had the views to ourselves.

It was on our way down from the summit that this little explorer below caught my eye as I was taking a photograph of Cheltenham Race Course. I’m not sure whether the lamb was trying to scare himself or his mother, who lay a few feet away. She however did not pay any attention at all to his bleatings. (I am assuming, I am not sure why, it was a ‘he’ lamb)

It was around this time that the breeze dropped away and the humidity crept up. It was a warm trek downwards, along the lower ridges, and on through a butterfly conservation area. We saw nobody along this stretch, but just beyond it we did see butterflies. Here’s one that was especially obliging.

We also met a cow on a tight, hedgerowed path. It was as surprised by us as we were by it, and so we were able to pass before it had decided what to do about us.

Then it was down, and down, and down with beautiful stretches of flat paths, and blossomy lanes in between.

Some seventeen miles and many map contour lines later, we reached our stop. It was the weary end of a very good day.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow looks like it should be a slightly shorter walk, and still no rain … we hope.

Also, thank you so much for the donations that have come in. They are greatly appreciated by us. and I know by The Forever Friends Appeal, at RUH Bath too.

Just in case you’re still hunting for the link, here it is again:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/georgie-knaggs

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2021