Page 60 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2023

GREAT TRAILS FEATURE
LOST AND FOUND IN THE
BY CYNTHIA DAVID
For someone challenged by maps and technology, a solo walk in southern England’s Cotswolds region may seem a surprising vacation choice. That thought crossed my mind as I walked back from Broadway Tower along a well-marked path and suddenly emerged onto a country road. Surely I’d find a gate through the woods on the other side, but no luck. At that moment a young couple out for a stroll wandered into view, the first of many friendly locals who stopped to chat and set me on the right path. They, too, were heading back to Chipping Campden and showed me the trail marker I’d missed about two metres before the path ended. I happily joined them and learned they were both actors. At the edge of town they advised me to follow the church spire to reach my hotel, a useful tip in these parts.
The next morning I stood in a green pasture surrounded by sheep and the remains of grand Campden House. After missing a gate on the map I came upon a field of poppies in full bloom alive with chatty skylarks. Just then an older couple strolled into view from the direction of Broad Camp- den. The tall lean man, a local landscape artist who’d moved to the area from Yorkshire, said the pub was closed that day but I should continue walking to view the hamlet’s thatch- roofed homes. “No need for a map,” he added, seeing my worried face, “just turn left at the puddle, watch for a gate closed with string and walk uphill through the apple orchard.”
“You can’t miss it!” his wife chimed in. And she was right.
ORIENTATION
With more than 4,800 kilometres of footpaths and bridle- ways spread over five counties, the Cotswolds offer plenty to explore on foot. Longer routes include Monarch’s Way and Heart of England. The most famous, however, may be the Cotswold Way, an eight-day, 164-kilometre trek from
60 DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2023
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK/ANDREW ROLAND | SHUTTERSTOCK/GOWITHSTOCK | SHUTTERSTOCK/FRANK FISCHBACH | CYNTHIA DAVID | SHUTTERSTOCK/JJFARQ