Purdown - Tuesday 17th April 2012

Decided to tick off this 4 mile one-way walk from WW3, although we were broadly familiar with the area covered.  A bus to Filton, and finished up on Ashley Hill, so it worked really well.  A very good walk, which took us on to the top of Purdown, where we have not walked before.  Fantastic Bristol views, a real success.

 Good view of Glenside

Chedworth: Friday 13th April 2013

From the Gloucestershire walk book, we decided to tackle this 5 mile stroll, taking in Chedworth Roman Villa about 2/3 of the way round.  The walk was pleasant, although a bit more hilly than the '1 mountain' code suggested, and the Villa was certainly interesting, with lots of mozaic, and a brand new visitor's centre.  Bit shocked at the NT price of £8.50 each,  but having come this far...

Tormarton and Dodington Park - Wednesday 11th April 2012

From a book: 'Pub Walks along the Cotswold Way' published in 1996, this was designed to be 4 miles, fairly flat, and quite quick to get to, as part of R's recuperation from two weeks of chest infection.  Interesting to see the village of Tormarton, with many grand houses but a derelict-looking pub.  The walk was interesting and pleasant for the first half, which was up Dodington Lane....

 In the distance is 'Dodington Manor', easier to see with the zoom...

 Lots of very young looking lambs in the fields...

The return section, through the planted estates alongside Dodington Park (apparently owned by James Dyson who has 'spent more on trees that we would spend on a house') was strangely boring... a rather empty landscape which undulated, but didn't have any points of interest.  A bit like farmland which is not being farmed. 

Beer and chips in the pub at the end was good for morale, referred to as The Portcullis, but with a pub sign showing it is now known as 'The Major's Retreat', apparently the ex-military landlord's response to much ribbing from the locals.