Today’s post is 1375 words, 26 photos, a minute read. Enjoy!
Hi everyone,
This is the last post on our walk in the Cotswolds from earlier this year. This week I’ll take you from the market town of Chipping Campden to Moreton-in-Marsh where we started the walk a week prior. If you missed the earlier posts in this series, click here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Onward to Moreton-in-Marsh
After breakfast at the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden, we brought our luggage down for their last transport over to Moreton-in-Marsh. They joined several empty barrels of beer. There must have been a good time had by all in the pub last night!
As we walked out of town, I noted the many walking paths that cross through Chipping Campden. Today we were following Monarch’s Way trail. No, it’s not the butterfly, it’s the other monarch, we are in England after all. 
Since I live in Wisconsin Badger country, I thought this photo was fitting of the lodging down the street from the Volunteer Inn.
A look at the Chipping Campden war memorial in the morning light. I forgot to mention that it was cool this morning when we started out. I was wearing a jacket over my shirt and pullover hoodie. My Traveling Partner wore her knit cap the whole day.
In a little over a mile we walked through the village of Broad Campden, population of about 100. The local pub, The Bakers Arms, is said to be featured in the British television series, Father Brown.
Note the red phone box, post box, and red car line up for a photo!
Our walk through the countryside featured scenes like the one below. The fields, the flowering trees, and the sounds of the birds made a nice melody.
Speaking of birds, we came upon the scene of a homicide. A poor pheasant became dinner for some predator, likely a hawk. May it rest in peace.
We passed this bucolic farm scene with the large house overlooking the buildings in the farmyard.
This canola (rapeseed) field was in full bloom, there was yellow as far as the eye could see.
We walked under a road or old railroad bed through this underpass. It was the only underpass in our seven days of walking.
The hills were rolling in this portion of the walk, gentle not too steep.
In one pasture we were met by several Jersey heifers. This one was curious but leery, she didn’t approach.
On the edge of this pasture were several loads of cow manure mixed with straw drying in the sun. My guess is that once it’s dry, it will be spread on the pasture as a fertilizer.
Blockley
About three miles into our walk, we came to the village of Blockley, population about 2000. Our first stop was at the war memorial.
Our second stop was at the Blockley Cafe. It was Sunday and it looked like church had just let out, there was a crowd of people standing around visiting when we first arrived. Next door to the cafe is the Blockley Village Shop, a community run store where basic supplies can be purchased. The cool weather prompted us to try some warm drinks, coffee for me and tea for the ladies. Add a couple of fresh scones for some energy.
On one stone wall in the village, we noticed this memorial medallion for an accident that happened over 100 years ago. On August 5, 1924, four women and three children were killed and 11 injured in a single vehicle accident. Upon descending a steep hill into Blockly, the bus began to shake and rock, the driver tried to keep the bus on the road. At the bottom of the hill, the bus crashed into a 16 foot stone wall and tipped on its side. The village doctor lived behind the wall and was on the scene immediately as were a troop of Boy Scouts camped nearby. Other villagers quickly responded and took the injured to the hospital in Moreton-in-Marsh.
An inquest was held after the accident. The conclusion was that mechanical failure was the cause. The driver, who was injured in the accident, was cleared of any wrong-doing. As a result of his injuries, the driver had a steel plate inserted into his skull leading to pituitary stimulation that caused him to continue to grow. He died 20 years later and was over seven feet tall. This accident left a lasting impact on the village hence the memorial plaque in the photo below.
Near the cafe and public restrooms was the Anglican church, St. Peter and St. Paul built in 1180. This church appears as St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in the Father Brown British tv series. The rectory serves as Father Brown’s residence. The clock still tells accurate time, it was a few minutes after noon when I snapped this photo.
We walked up a pretty good hill coming out of Blockley but that high point did give us this good view of the village.
Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre
After about another hour of walking, we came to the Batsford Arboretum and Garden Centre. On this Sunday afternoon in early May, this place was quite busy. There was a line for the cafeteria but it moved along quite well. We bought some sandwiches and drinks then took them to the sunny patio. After eating, My Traveling Partner and The Eldest decided to check out the Arboretum. I declined, content to write in my journal and read my book. Beside that I had a small blister on one of my toes. When a couple with dog sat at the next table, I was entertained for a while by a black miniature schnauzer. It brought back memories as we had one just like it years ago.
While I was waiting, I did check out the garden centre and noticed this memorial to those who perished during World War I. 
Upon return from their tour of the Arboretum, my Traveling Partner and The Eldest told me about one of the trees they saw. The tree was grown from a cutting from the horse chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see from the attic window where she hid in Amsterdam. What an interesting way to keep her story alive for future generations.
The last 2.5 km (1.5 miles) to Moreton-in-Marsh was fairly level and uneventful. We did see a sheep kneeling to graze and walked through a field that we walked through the week before.
This is the last stile or gate that we had to go through on this walk. It was way more modern than most so easy to traverse. Next time we should count the number of stiles, gates, and other ways we took to clear a fence or wall between properties.
My traveling companions stopped for a quick photo. As I mentioned earlier, the day was cool, it started out at 40°F (4.4°C) and warmed up to 56°F (13.3°C) by mid-afternoon.
We did have to reenact the photo The Eldest took the week before and published on social media. It garnered lots of smart remarks. This was the end of the trail.
We had a great walk in the Cotswolds. If you are interested in doing a multi-day walk, check out the variety of walks offered by Macs Adventures.
Our lodging for the night was the Redesdale Arms in Moreton-in-Marsh. We stayed there a week ago, the night before we began our walk.
We weren’t done yet, at dinner in the pub, we worked on the five senses plus one.
What we learned – steep hills = bad, mostly level = good, about the Anne Frank tree in the Arboretum, there is such a thing as beet juice (it grows on you), paper maps don’t tell you where you are
Hearing – sheep, squawking birds, church bells, barking dogs, traffic, people talking about what is going on in America, hiking poles clicking, talking with Americans on the trail, booming shots to scare the birds off the fields, clanging of dishes, footsteps, crunch of gravel, wind whipping
See – handkerchief tree in Arboretum, rolling hills, buttercups, road kill, three dead pheasants, several dead trees, stone walls falling down, trail runners, bright yellow arrows pointing the way, waiter in pub balancing dishes, very tame sheep, big manure pile
Smell – recently spread manure, livestock, food cooking, rubber boots at the garden centre that smell new
Taste – beet, falafel salad, sweet potato fries, beer, avocado toast, tea cake, carrot cake, donuts, fresh juice, camomile tea, a bland ham sandwich, good chips (crisps), spritz
Touch – wool, bread for toast, moss on stone wall, gates, wind, cold, warm sun, thorns
That does it for this week, next week I’ll let in on a little secret. Hint: it’s a place in England.
Until then, happy travels!
Tom
PS: Click here for a link to the post about my book “Farm Boy.” Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a copy. Thanks to all have plunked down your hard earned dollars and read the book. TM