So, having become a little obsessed with this strip of limestone which extends across the country I naturally engaged in a little internet research. I found that the Cotswold Way largely follows the scarp along the edge of the limestone. (The chapter in Paddy Dillon’s guide to the National Trails on the Cotswold Way is available on Google Books.)
I found that some people believe that an ancient route, predating the Fosse Way, followed the limestone scarp across the country.
Also that there is an LDP called ‘The Jurassic Way’, mostly in Northamptonshire, running from Banbury in Oxfordshire to Stamford in Lincolnshire. Like the Cotswold Way it’s around 100 miles in length.
I was busy looking at maps of the Cotswold Way when A came to peek over my shoulder.
“What’s that Dad?”
And when I told her…
“I’ll walk it with you.”
She really is very keen.
So then I had a new mission: to find a walk which we could do together over a few days. Not too strenuous and with plenty of interest along the way. I chatted to CJ about it and he had what I thought was an excellent suggestion – in fact something he had walked with his son last year.
So, I have a plan! Not the Cotswold Way – we’ll leave that for another time, but something closer to home, with striking scenery and oodles of history.
Having been watching with interest this little project of yours Mark – fascinating stuff.
It’s great fun combining other things with the walking – I know you’ve done it for ages with your nature based photos but it will be interesting seeing you change tack to deal more with historical aspects
.
As for the rocks – don’t get much chance to do oolitic limestone up here. I’m more of a red hot lava man myself! Gived me the vesicles of a young tertiary lava to rummage about in and I’m a happy bunny! Oddly, by coincidence, this will be (sort of) coming into my next post
I await with interest….
Geology stuff is something I’ve always wished I knew more about, but try as I might it never seems to stick in my brain.
Don’t know how old your daughter is, but we did a couple of 3 and 4 day backpacking trips with my step daughter when she was about 10. It was great fun – at that point she still had legs that were happy walking. It was when she got to about 13 that the teenage syndrome of not wanting to move off the sofa kicked in…
Geology is something I’m beginning to wish I knew something about! We have a book of ‘geological walks’ in the Lakes which we’ve never got around to trying. Perhaps we should.
Both A and B, the older of the boys, are really keen to go back-packing. Andy has a plan I think. (Andy usually has a plan.) I’m slightly concerned about the gear involved – both getting hold of it and carrying it. I’ve had a very generous offer of a loan of a tent (from a fellow blogger, almost inevitably) and I have stoves etc, so I suppose I only really need some lighter/less bulky sleeping bags. And a mule.
Our youngest seems to have jumped, at the moment at least, straight to the sofa stage.
I’ve done quite a bit of the Cotswold Way in little chunks. It is glorious in the sunshine. One or two of the villages are a bit “honey-pot” though but the pubs are just bl**dy wonderful. If ever you fancy a stroll along it give me a shout.
Another generous offer – you’ve got to love blogging!
I’ve been to the Cotswolds a few times and the idea of a path which hugs the edge of the hills seems to me to be the perfect way to get the best of the area. It looks like this is probably the best bit of my little pipe dream.
I’ve made a mental note Alan!
I’d quite fancy this one too…as long as there are no soddin’ tents…and no soddin’ hills…and no….
This is another plan coming together now – a bloggers convention on the Cotswold Way – the hills are relatively small, but there may still be a fair bit of up and down (I don’t know). I think Alan advocates stealth bivvying; so no tents then – that would be alright would it? I’m guessing there might be quite a bit of beer
drinkingreviewing going on to.I don’t suppose you’d want a geologist gate-crashing your convention… one with a bright red stealth-bivvy… ?
Naturally, I’ve added you to my mental roll-call Stef. It’s probably hard for a pipe-dream to be exclusive anyway! It’s possible that after a hard-evening’s beer ‘reviewing’ I would snore too loudly for any bivvy to be considered stealthy. If a mass bivvy can be in any way stealthy in the first place. We would just have to claim to be protesting about something: capitalism, feudalism, pointilism, nihilism…..
Much appreciated, Mark. It’s your dream so you should decide which “ism” to protest.
FWIW, here’s a link to a fine free smartphone app for you budding geology-types: http://www.bgs.ac.uk/igeology/
Good one Stef!
Something new for me to play with…thanks!
OK – I now know where to find the app – now I just need a smartphone!
The British Geological Survey have some interesting stuff.