Pauline, Any Good Walks Lately?

[Lisa in Ottawa]

It's been a long and brutally cold winter. Am remembering lovely walks in the Cotswolds. Wondering if you've managed to get out and about on your almost daily treks.

On another note, I have spend way too much time planning our rather brief trip to Italy in May. Booked a hotel in Varenna On Lake Como. thought about it. Canceled and am now in a airbnb out of the downtown and up from the lake in Bellagio. Looks a little like student digs but I think will suit better than a hotel.

 

[Pauline]

We had great weather up until January, then we had some very cold weeks and now we are getting a lot of rain, which means MUD.

We were walking in December, but have turned into slugs now, just going out for a 20minute stroll around the village on the lanes. One day we were meeting a friend in Broadway, so stopped in Stanton for an easy 1hr walk on the Cotswold Way and the mud was bad. As I write this I have two pairs of very muddy boots waiting to be washed after walking out to the Painswick Beacon a few days ago.

Not my favorite time of year. And I seem to get out of walking shape very quickly.

But we have some walking planned for this year. We may do the Cotswold Way again (this will be our third time) but in May we are going to walk from Oxford to Bath. It goes Oxford - Woodstock - Witney - Burford - Bibury - Cirencester - Tetbury - Castle Comb - Bath. Cotswold Walks (who I do some work for) has designed this walk and we are going to be taking photos for the website. We won't stay overnight in B&Bs but instead will rent a cottage in Burford for a few days and do the first few days of walking. From Bibury we can do those days going back and forth from home - like we do for the Cotswold Way. This is a flatter walk, but the same length (103 miles). I am looking forward to it.

We are going to have a week hiking on the Dorset coast again (while checking it out as a possible place to move to). And I would like to get up to the Peak District.

Plus, I am booking the first two weeks of July in Switzerland (Grindelwald) to do some hiking.

Re: Italy. I think both places would be good. I am working on our September trip to Italy - a week in Le Marche and a week in Umbria (Spoleto) or maybe Lucca. I spend 75% of my waking hours looking at google maps, vacation rentals, travel websites. Argh!

 

[Kathy]

Pauline, your Oxford-Bath walk sounds so interesting. I wish we were going to be there this year to do some of that with you! (But we're also turning into slugs... don't have a big walking trip planned this year at all, though we'll day hike in the Luberon in June.)

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Wah! want to do that walk. Slugs, try minus 30 celsius or -22 Farenheit then you truly become sluggish. Sometimes I just take my poor little dogs to the end of the driveway.

Yesterday, it was a balmy -10C so I put on my lovely hiking boots and went out for 11/2 hours just walking downtown. I am soooo sick of long underwear and heavy boots covered in slush and salt.

Pauline, your upcoming adventures sound wonderful. I too seem to spend oodles of time planning little trips. Example en route to Sant" Antonio from Bellagio, I checked oodles of hotels in Milan and then realized we could get to Firenze and overnight. Then began looking into every possible place there. Just for an overnight! We really don't have any time in Firenze if we're going to get to our car rental on time. I finally reserved a cute place and am now going to cancel as have decided that over nighting at a Marriott outside city center makes more sense as we can go directly to train station. It takes 2 hours to get to Chiusi Terme. I also investigated picking up a rental in Firenze but have for now decided against.
Honestly, I guess it passes the time.

I love the Peak district but not as pretty as Cotswolds but of course beautiful in its own way. i have to look Dorset up. I get confused as to where all these different areas are.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Pauline, your Oxford-Bath walk sounds so interesting. I wish we were going to be there this year to do some of that with you! (But we're also turning into slugs... don't have a big walking trip planned this year at all, though we'll day hike in the Luberon in June.)

Hi Kathy,
I shouldn't ask you this on a European Forum but how was Morocco? I looked for a TR on ST but didn't see any postings. I guess I would know if I was on FB. (lol)

 

[Pauline]

That sounds like the way I do my trip planning Lisa.

Today we went for a hike finally!! I had to clean our boots before we started, then had to clean them again when we got home. A lot of mud - but not so bad walking, just a few bad patches. It was sunny, sunny, sunny! We walked for just 1 1/2 hours on a little route I made up that goes from the house, along the Cotswold Way and then up Wash Brook valley and back to Painswick. So nice to be in the fields and walking by the stream!!

Snowdrops by the lane in Painswick.

View over the fields.