#9: Leckhampton Hill - The Air Balloon Pub

The "Which Way"?

A shorter and less inspiring stretch today even though the vista from the site of the neolithic hill fort at Crickley Hill is breathtaking. For part of the walk the peace of the countryside is shattered by traffic noise as it powers up Birdlip Hill to the roundabout at The Air Balloon public house. I did find two or three b&w images but one really needed calmer air to still the foliage for the 1 second exposure and the others are possibly not up to muster. I'll see but I suspect this stretch will turn in a blank.

#8: B&W Images: Dowdeswell - Leckhampton Hill

Barleyfield Tracks - Lineover Wood

Wheatfield Tracks - Wistley Hill

#7: B&W Images: Cleeve Hill - Dowdeswell

Thistles - Bill Smyllies Reserve

Hay Meadow - Above Dowdeswell Wood

#8: Dowdeswell - Leckhampton Hill

Woodland Path

The Load

Roman (Edible) Snail

This the first day for which I anticipated rain - but luckily throughout the 6 hours of the walk it rained for perhaps a minute. I'd read in one of my guidebooks to the trail that the Romans had introduced the edible snail to the area, not finding ours to be tasty enough I suppose, so I was not altogether surprised to find one of these monsters, relatively speaking, at the edge of the path.

I discovered a hitherto unexpected benefit of walking the path in both directions. About 30 minutes after having reached the farthest point from my day's start, so, whilst I was on my way back I found lying on the path a piece of my tripod that had worked loose and fallen from my backpack. An expensive item to replace had I not doubled back and found it, without knowing I'd lost it!

The scenic aspects of this walk are truly beautiful, but it's hard to prise out an image that suits my B&W treatment. I found myself often watching my feet and where I stepped as parts of the path were very muddy and slippery rather than being head up and looking for pictures. My B&W subjects were a wheat field and a barley field.

#7: Cleeve Hill - Dowdeswell

Thistle Heads

Car wreck - from where?

Bench and Trees

The most memorable aspects of today's walk will be the spectaular views from Cleeve Hill. Looking over Cheltenham and its racecourse you can see the Severn Bridge 43 miles away to the south, the Brecon Beacons 70 odd miles to the west and to the Clent Hills over 40 miles to the north west - all across the valley of the River Severn. And at one point you can see Gloucester Cathedral, Tewkesbury Abbey and just about see Worcester Cathedral. Is there anywhere else that one view can take in more than three of our cathedrals and abbeys? I found just 3 B&W pictures today plus a few more that I would have taken had the light been right or the breeze a lot less. I may return to a couple of shots in future.

Beautiful large thistles were in abundance along a few stretches of the walk with their flower heads on the verge of bursting open; very photogenic. Beautiful unspoilt nature and natural habitat has been the essence of the Cotswold Way so far. Most of the walk has been litter and rubbish free so it came as real shock to find an old wrecked burnt out car embedded in a hedgerow at a place where I couldn't see any way that a car could have got there. It's almost as if it had dropped in from on high!

#6: B&W Images: Winchcombe - Cleeve Hill

Beech Roots

#5: B&W Images: Hailes - Winchcombe

Chandelier - St Peter's Church - Winchcombe

#6: Winchcombe - Cleeve Hill

Marbled White

This was my second of two consecutive days on the Cotswold Way - making up for my 17 days off. I've now covered 23.5 of the 102 miles or, as I'm walking it in both directions, 47 of the 204 miles. There are some steep sections on this stretch ensuring my knees were given a good workout. Belas Knap Long Barrow was a real treat to come across at the exit from a wooded stretch of the walk. It was created over 4500 years ago by our neolithic ancestors in which to bury their dead.

Butterflies were in abundance today - particularly Ringlets and the beautiful Marbled Whites feeding on thistles. They obliged me by staying put long enough to get some digicam pictures.

I was able to do my good deed for the day when I helped a couple of Danish hikers who were well and truly lost by showing them where they were actually located on their detailed OS map!

#5: Hailes - Winchcombe

These four signs dotted around Winchcombe hint at its long history

A short walk of about 6 miles today in mild breezy overcast conditions. I knew there would be days when no B&W images presented themselves - and today was just such a day - until the end when I nipped into St Peters church in the lovely small town of Winchcombe; a town with a 1,000 years of history. I was saved from a duck by finding an attractive composition with the brass chandelier (dating from 1753) hung in the centre of the nave and the stained glass window at the east end of the church. I spent 45 minutes in the church whilst I was setting up and was accompanied by an organist and a cellist playing some delightful music.

I've no intention for this walk to become a documentary of churches and chapels along the way - but it's starting to look that way.