03/11/13 - Cacheless Clarkson Country

Distance - 10 Miles
Geocaches - 2
Walk From - Country Walking Magazine - Walk 32 - Nov 1999

Some signs to tell you are in the Cotswolds...

1. Everyone drives a 4x4
2. The bus stop has a poem on the bench
3. The hen houses provide better accommodation than we see on the Brummie Ring
4. A man is carrying a box.  Labeled "Quail Eggs"

And this is not just any ordinary part of the Cotswolds.  This is Kingham... home to the Cotswold royalty of Clarkson, Cameron and Rebekah Brookes.  Higher in the popularity stakes, we also pass the bass player from Blur's cheese factory.

Even Sonia is tempted to come along, despite the fact that I have picked a ten miler.  The dog, having missed us on our international break, also shows a degree of excitement.  So, apart from a 6:30am revising GCSE student, we have a full quota of Mappimen for the walk.

Park up at Bledington.  The place looks familiar.  We come to the conclusion that we stopped here on the way back from a weekend away in Oxford. 

Head out into the countryside, admiring the pastoral views and the sunshine.

Whenever I go to Europe, I long for the Cotswolds

After a reasonable start, we hit some serious mud at Bledington Heath.  Just how much rain have you had over the last couple of weeks?

No sign of a lake on the OS Map

Almost a relief to pick up the road at Daylesford.  We follow this past the church and into the grounds of Adlestrop.

This hamlet was immortalised in the poem by Edward Thomas, one of the famous WW1 poets.  His train made an unscheduled stop here and he wrote all about it.  The train station is no longer here, but they have put the old sign and bench to good use in the bus shelter.

Cache GZ

Bus Shelter with Poem

I am happy, as nearly half way through the walk, I have my first cache to find.  I am hunting whilst the quail egg delivery man walks on by.

We have a loop around the grounds of Daylesford House.  More pleasant walking you could not hope to find anywhere else. 

Views and Sculptures

The loop is soon completed and we are back at Daylesford.  The farm shop looks suspiciously as though it may have a tea room but I want to save liquid refreshment for later.

We have a very straight south easterly path to follow for a mile to Kingham.  The only thing of interest is a rather special hen house.

Happy Chickens in a Chicken Manor House

We arrive at Kingham.  It's 11:45 - a touch too early for the pub to be open.  We spend the time on the village bench eating sandwiches.  Sonia rues the fact that I didn't bring enough cash for the Sunday lunch.  Checking out the on-line reviews, where I see lunch for two cost £130, I think I need plastic.  Still, they did have a cheeky glass of champers to start.

Still clinging to that honour?

Alex James' Local

We are much happier than on display.  Timer went off quicker than expected.

Then we complete our walk through the village.  Next destination is the railway station, which is on the London mainline, with the capital only 1hr 20 away.  A nice looking house is for sale.  It could do for me and work.  We play guess the price.  Sonia, an ex estate agent, was only £400,000 and two bedrooms out in her estimate.  Looks like I will still be going to the Smoke via Birmingham International.

Kingham Station has the second and last cache on the round.  Very surprising to have such a low number on such a lengthy route in prime walking country.  I know Clarkson has tried to get public footpaths on his property diverted.  Maybe he has also been sabotaging the caches.

A fingertip search of everything metallic eventually produces joy.

With weary legs, we only have to make our way back to Bledington.  This is quite a spot and does offer the chance for more refreshments.



The King's Head - Lunch was less than £130 when we came last.

And then its strikes me as why I remember it so well - this was the starting point for a 40 cache trail called the BBC trail that was my previous best ever caching day.  They must all be archived now.