B2B Day 30 Chedworth to Bibury: Warm People, Wet Weather, and the Beautiful Coln Valley

For an OS map of today's walk (7.81 mi; 12.57 km; 492 ft total ascent), click here.

We woke after 8 hours of sleep, which is pretty rare for us these days. It was good to set off after another lovely breakfast, a chat with Caroline and Robert about extreme walking (with reference to Robert's exploits, not ours!), and a farewell gentle paw-on-the-feet from Pippi the dog.

Fossebridge and its Inn

We liked Chedworth. The architecture and gardens were lovely. We passed one cottage in particular which had a gorgeous "arbour tunnel" leading to a lush garden; in a couple of weeks it would surely be blooming beautifully. It was interesting to see that new homes were being built in styles sympathetic to the area and in the warm Cotswold stone we love so much—albeit enforced by planning regulations. Whatever the case, we wish there was more of that "fit with the area" architectural aesthetic where we live.

Today we began a three-day stretch of walking generally following the River Coln until it joins the Thames near Inglesham. On leaving Chedworth, our path initially took us to the Inn at Fossebridge, where we rested outside on a wall near the river (the Inn wasn't open at that time of day). There followed a slightly tougher walk diagonally uphill through two nice fields and then downhill along a driveway, over a beautiful bridge, and to the church at Coln St. Dennis. 

The bridge at Coln St. Denis

We rested outside in the sun on a bench before going into the church, which was a bit cold and musty. When we came out we had an enjoyable chat with a man who was mowing (and apologized for doing so!). He kindly gave us recommendations for food in Bibury.

We made good time on the road walking to the next village, Calcot, and navigated a narrow path between the houses. We met a man who had just parked his jeep, and talked with  him about the state of the paths to Coln Rogers—we avoided the one he described as "a bit tricky" as we guessed that it would be "pretty flooded"! The village of Coln Rogers was beautiful, and we liked the church. We sang "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" just before leaving the church, and when we came out a man who was working on the grounds asked us if that was us singing. We replied that it was, and he said, "It sounded like a whole choir." We were happy, mainly because that is what churches are for: to be filled with the praise of God.

Resting on the way to Winson...before the deluge!

We left Coln Rogers and resumed our walk down the valley, enjoying the lovely river views along the way while taking opportunities to rest when they presented themselves since our walk today wasn't all that long. 

Winson Church (after the shower)

Light and Warmth at Winson

On this day's walk, we always seemed to be at the corner of Ken's paper map, which he carries in a plastic map case. Shortly after leaving our restful bench by a bridge over the Coln, and just at the point Ken needed to turn the map, it started to rain, becoming quite a hard shower. He quickly managed to get the proper panels of the map into the case, we struggled into our coats and put on our pack covers, and then continued on our now very wet walk to Winson. Winson is yet another village with beautiful houses & gardens, but with a good feeling of a village that is lived in and well-loved. We hurried through the rain and to the Norman church and on entering Ken instantly exclaimed: "It's warm!" For those familiar with historic stone churches, "warm" is not the first word that comes to mind; cold and clammy is often the norm, but the heaters were on (by mistake?)—perhaps just for us. We found the lights, and enjoyed looking at the painted chancel, the mosaic tiled floor, and the stained glass windows of this beautiful place of worship. I took a copy of a souvenir "Coronation Gospel" which explored the religious symbolism of King Charles III's coronation ceremony as well as providing a text of the gospel of Matthew. We were inside the church long enough to dry out, and sang several verses of "Crown Him with Many Crowns" (in keeping with the coronation theme) before exiting. When we got outside, it wasn't raining any more.

We decided not to go across the river to Ablington and instead walked along the road to get to Bibury more directly. At one point, we saw a beautiful little young deer all alone. It was so cute! Eventually the road walking grew tiring (as it always does), but after not too long we branched off on a path along a beech hedge and then through fields with many stiles that made a beeline for Arlington, the village that merges with Bibury. When we arrived at the Catherine Wheel pub there, we stopped for some lemonade and a rest. 

Long ago Bibury was described by William Morris as the most beautiful village in England. And beautiful it was with its historic houses and cottages running along and perpendicular to the river Coln...but it was very, very busy! Some repair work was being done to the wall between road and river, which meant single lane traffic and lots of cars backed up, waiting to get by. Moreover, an ongoing theme of this trip was finding village shops closed. The shop in Bibury, where we were going to pick up something for breakfast the next morning, was closed. This was a blow to Ken because he chose our Airbnb—which was a ways outside the extreme northeastern end of the village—based on the location of the shop, which Google had informed us would reopen in March. [Thanks again, Google!—Ken] At the end of the afternoon we did head to our cute little Airbnb annex and rested for awhile—almost falling asleep until a motorcycle starting up directly outside woke us. Using the big umbrella thoughtfully provided by our host, we walked through another shower back across village to the Catherine Wheel for dinner: Gloucester old spot sausage and mash for me; a lamb, mint and potato pie with chips for Ken. The chips were particularly outstanding: crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. The woman who had served us lemonade earlier in the day brought our sauces and said, "There you go, my dears." She was really nice. 

Picture-Postcard Arlington Row, Bibury

 

After dinner we wended our way back through Arlington-Bibury, and near the famous weavers' cottages of Arlington Row we met and had a nice chat with an Australian couple who had also dined at the Catherine Wheel. Like us, they were on a trip that had been postponed from 2020. Unlike us, they were still suffering from some serious jetlag! 

The path that we took back to the housing estate outside of Bibury where we were staying included a field of adorable lambs and sheep with fascinating "stripey" faces and body markings. We also had a fun chat with a man walking his dog, who loved living where he was. We came home to our little place and watched a bit of television before going to sleep. Today was a mix of what we love best about travelling in England—meeting and talking with interesting people; enjoying the architecture and landscape; eating good food; and seeing sheep!