Saturday, June 10, 2017

"Lead me, Guide me, Walk beside me" - saying above our bed at Swan Cottage

Although the title of this blog may have a spiritual meaning, it is appropriate for this adventure because it is invaluable to have a walking partner who is good with maps and between the two of us, we see most of the signposts. This quote is on the wall of our room at Swan Cottage where we just arrived after a 13.5 mile day (~22 km). It is always a welcome site to find our B&B, this time in a village called Pennsylvania, just 10.5 km from Bath, the end (or the beginning) of the Cotswold Way. One interesting aspect of journeying in this fashion is the fellow-travellers that you meet. It is easy to start conversation since we are co-sojourners. At breakfast we met a father and son from France who were spending three days walking in the Cotswolds. The father, according to the son, was addicted to walking the Way of Saint James in France and Spain and he does this pilgrimage in sections. He has finished it twice and intends to go back. He advises to walk it alone, without prior reservations, and be open to experiences along the way. He has a network of friends that he has met in this way.  We also met (actually they passed us) a couple of English blokes who we later caught up with at a pub for lunch. They have done a lot of distance walking in England and commended the Southwest Coast Trail to us, Cornwall in particular. I wonder if we will see any of them tomorrow at the end of this walking journey........

 Necessity breeds invention. Andrew was very creative in making curtains for our door last evening.

 Come in to St. Adeline's Church ~ these old churches tend to all be open to travellers for rest and reflection. This church was built in 1859 from the stones and plans of William Tyndale's original church located nearby where he heard the call to translate the Bible in 1520.

 Andrew trying out the pulpit!

 This is a millennium folly built to provide nesting sites for barn owls and swallows. Pretty fancy, huh?

 Flower of the day ~ meadow cranesbill, a wild geranium.

 Coming down the hill from a Norman church built between 1200 and 1225 AD. As we entered the grounds of the church there was a box with leaflets, encouraging walkers to take one.  Inside there was a blessing for walkers and these words "God has given us a beautiful world. As you walk be aware of His presence surrounding you, listen to Him speaking to you..."

 This is a primary school - how fun would it be to attend here? Lovely to see these old buildings being restored and used.

A new stone drywall being built in sections. Quite a feat and I assume quite time consuming. This was a long wall!!

2 comments:

  1. I thought the cow was fake! It was really still.
    I would like to go to a school like that. From Eden. That looks like a beautiful place. I thought
    the animals were really cute. I liked the pigs the most. They were ADORABLE! The gigantic slug
    was DISGUSTING!?! From Kathryn and Kate

    ReplyDelete