Great Cotswold Walk: South loop

The Great Cotswold Walk, 132 caches, 23 miles, Quenington, Glos

We had two options today - we could either join a group to find some more Below Above caches, or complete part of the Great Cotswold Walk, a large series which has been on my To-do list since it was published in 2013. We decided that we'd let the weather decide, and with the forecast promising that there'd be sunshine, we settled on planning for what we hoped would be a good walk.

At the moment, I'm trying to find as many caches as I can before August in order to get ever-nearer to number 2,000. Since its publication, I had my heart set on completing the entire GCW in a single day. However, I decided that it would be wiser to do it in three parts instead, especially given the time of year.

Below is a map of the GCW, illustrating how we've decided to split it (as suggested by the CO). I'll be referring to the three sections in my next few blog posts as the North, Central and South loops. Today, we completed the South loop...

GCW South, 38 caches, 7 miles (94-130 + the two 'Links') 

We began this section of the series from Quenington, although I suppose it's possible to start from Fairford. We were lucky as the sun was shining as forecasted; we knew we were in for a good walk from the go-ahead since the area was picturesque the second we got onto the footpath. 

Picturesque meander at the start near #94

We were glad that the caches were straight-forward finds with no-nonsense hints - just what you need when you're trying to build up a good pace; this also meant that we could spend more time enjoying our surroundings. Having said that, there were some neat hides and it wouldn't have been quite as fun if there hadn't been caches to find! 

I've got to be honest, I was a little surprised when I saw that the Great Cotswold Walk was the resounding winner of Cotswold Caching's Series of the Year 2014. However, after just a couple of miles, I could clearly see why - the landscape was just so beautiful and untouched, plus the paths were quiet which is always a bonus. 

I always love walks where there's something unusual to see, and this stretch of the GCW had that. Firstly, there was a sphere wonderfully crafted from horseshoes besides the entrance to an blacksmiths. 

Sphere made of horseshoes 

And secondly, the Ox Pens in Fairford was a rather interesting structure. It's an ancient agricultural building with wooden stalls that accommodated pairs of oxen which used to pull ploughs. We actually had to walk through it since the doorway (yes, doorway) to the permissive footpath was located at the back of the building. 

Ox Pens, Fairford - doorway to the permissive path

The route of the permissive path was absolutely stunning. We were walking besides Pitham Brook, parallel to the River Coln. The Ernest Cook Trust, who own the land, have done a brilliant job in managing the Coln, with various diversion spillways and beautiful streams in addition to Pitham Brook - as a keen geographer,  I was very interested; we even diverted off the main route a little to admire the Coln itself. 

Slight diversion - the River Coln 

The views soon opened up; we were obviously in a valley, and so they weren't very far-reaching, but the views across the fields ahead of us were still fantastic. We could only imagine how amazing this area must be in the spring and summer. We'd have loved to have seen a kingfisher along this stretch too... maybe next time. 

Lovely countryside and nice views ahead

All too soon, we were back at the car in the charming village of Quenington, having found all 38 caches. 

I can't speak for the rest of the GCW (yet) but this section was simply superb. The landscape was extremely picturesque - well, absolutely stunning in parts - particularly along the watercourses. The caches weren't too challenging, which meant that we weren't distracted from the lovely walk. What's more, there was a good variation in terrain - from low hills, to ploughed fields (we did get muddy!) to tarmac, to tracks, to riversides. Having set a couple of series' myself, I know it's difficult to find a route with a variation in terrain, so the CO has done a great job here - the variation always makes it that little bit more interesting. 

If all's well and the weather's pleasant, we'll be completing the Central and North loops over the next couple of weekends - so watch out for those posts. The South loop was excellent, and has certainly built up our appetite for more... 

Griff Grof