One of the many wonderful things about exploring the Cotswolds on foot is that it’s not just about lengthy, hilly hikes. You can also enjoy fantastic scenery and Nature’s mood-boosting vibes on lots of shorter, flatter routes, including some of the guided walks led by Cotswold Voluntary Wardens.
Most of the wardens’ walks are free of charge and don’t require pre-booking: simply turn up on the day at the advertised meeting point and discover new places while getting gentle exercise in friendly company.
Rosemary Wilson, Guided Walks Coordinator for the East District of the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens, says people from all walks of life (no pun intended, though it is apt) join in.
‘They often come on their own, or in pairs, perhaps friends, or husband and wife. Numbers are usually in the low double figures, which is a nice size of group, and you get to meet interesting people – many enjoy the social aspect. The pace is around two miles an hour, which is quite slow and gives time to talk and look around at the countryside, and it allows me to highlight features on the walk. People start as strangers and leave as friends.’
Rosemary, who was a primary school teacher before she retired and has always loved maps, enjoys devising routes and going out to recce them. Among recent favourites has been an easy, circular 5-mile walk through Mitford Country, taking in Asthall and Swinbrook where the fascinating Mitfords lived and are buried, as well as woodland and tracks with lovely hedgerows.
Another of Rosemary’s well-received walks has been a 4.75-mile, stile-free Cotswold Café Crawl in the Evenlode Valley, with a member of the Everyone’s Evenlode team on hand to chat about the landscape and its biodiversity, and refreshment options at Bruern Farm Shop and Bledington Shop & Caf.
‘I always warn cafés in advance if a group is coming because we wouldn’t want them to run out of cake, would we?’ Rosemary laughs. She is planning a variation on the café theme with a Café 2 Café walk later this summer.
For further details of walks led by Cotswold Voluntary Wardens and other walks, easy to strenuous, see the Guided Walks pages of www.cotswolds-nl.org.uk
WOMEN THAT WALK
Another option if you fancy getting out in the fresh air in company is Women that Walk, held on the last Saturday of each month in and around the Dursley area. A walking group for women, it was set up early last summer by Karen Crowcombe who, looking for a group to join that offered short walks, decided to begin her own. She launched an invitation to any interested ladies via Facebook.
‘I thought maybe three or four would turn up, but 17 came,’ Karen recalls. ‘The next time, 19 came, then 25 or 26, then around 50, and one time there were 90 of us. Now it averages between 50 and 60. I’ve been blown away, the turnout is incredible.’
Karen (who works in health, wellbeing and fitness) offers the walks for free, devising and pre-checking routes with the help of ‘a band of amazing volunteers’. There is no need to book and each walk is around 5–6km / 1½–2 hours (not too strenuous but enough to perk up pulses) with a café or pub (which has agreed beforehand) at the start and end point for those who wish to share refreshments and carry on their chit chat.
There are lots of reasons why the walks have been so popular, Karen says: women walking together feel safe and confident, and those who come on their own soon mingle because everyone is supportive; the women are of all ages and, ‘it is easy to talk about life’s ups and downs while walking. Being in beautiful countryside is good for mental wellbeing.’
Start/end points and routes have included Froffy Coffee and the Cam countryside; Leaf & Ground, Dursley, and around Stinchcombe Hill; The Railway Inn at Cam and out towards Cam Peak and Longdown; Vestry Café and the Uley countryside and woodlands with ‘the most amazing views, passing Owlpen Manor on the way back’.
One person to have come on every Women that Walk outing is Carolyn. Eight years ago she took early retirement following the sudden, unexpected death of her husband, and she has since had other family caring responsibilities too.
‘I was reaching out for groups to join and I was interested in the walks because they are short, which can fit in with caring or childcare responsibilities that many women have,’ she says.
‘The fact it is a women’s group creates a different atmosphere: it is gentle, we walk, chat, laugh and have fun. Enjoying the views, the freedom of being outside, sharing life experiences and how you’ve dealt with them: it is a form of counselling. People also share nuggets of information about the area, and you build connections and friendships.
‘There’s no rush and we all look out for each other on the walks,’ Carolyn continues. ‘There’s always someone to grab hold of going over stiles and down dips in fields, or there can be streams and mud – and you get this ripple of laughter all the time through the group. It’s brilliant.
‘Staying on afterwards to continue chatting over coffee and a flapjack is my downtime – a winner!’
Find out more about Women that Walk at www.greatlifeproject.co.uk or email Karen Crowcombe: Karen@greatlifeproject.co.uk
