15/06/19 - Heart of England Way - Stage 27 - Chipping Campden

Distance - 8 Miles
Pubs - Churchill Arms, Paxton and Good Beer Guide Tick 389 at the Bakers Arms, Broad Campden
Geocaches - 1
Previous Stages - Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, Stage 5, Stage 6, Stage 7, Stage 8, Stage 9, Stage 10, Stage 11, Stage 12, Stage 13, Stage 14, Stage 15, Stage 16, Stage 17, Stage 18, Stage 19, Stage 20, Stage 21, Stage 22, Stage 23, Stage 24, Stage 25, Stage 26

Peak Costwold Walking here.   Expansive views, four lovely villages - all with at least one boozer, with three Good Beer Guide Ticks.

Not bad for an 8 mile adventure in the countryside.

I make my start at Broad Campden and head North on tracks that share the Monarchs Way and the Heart of England Way.

Easy Navigation to Chipping Campden

With Waymarkers, if you need them.

Less than a mile and I'm in the honey spot of Chipping Campden.   Start of the Cotswold Way, full of tourists and that means plenty of refreshment options.   Of course, I was too early to revisit but you need to find the Eight Bells for your Good Beer Guide Tick.

Start of the Cotswold Way - an unusual inside shot of the Market Hall

Easily the best pub in Chipping Campden

I head out of the village on the HOEW, heading North West - the opposite direction to the usual walks on the Cotswold Way.   A chance to admire St James Church up close, where the 120ft Church Tower is a landmark for most of this walk.

St James Church

Agricultural walking along field edges, until a little bit of lost history is found at Mickleton Hills Farm.   The last pitched battle on English soil?  Have a read at the link, I like the injuries ranging from an almost severed head to a bitten off little finger.   And the fact it was resolved by going to arbitration.    How very British.

Things you find in Cotswold Fields

Next chance for a break coming up in Ebrington, where the Ebrington Arms, a Good Beer Guide regular, is well worth a visit.   Its not the Times #1 Country Pub for nothing.

I'm spoiling you with Good Beer Guide Tick #2.   We're not even half way

I'm saving myself for Paxford, a village that I've not visited previously.   It's agricultural walking through overgrown fields.   I was mildly concerned with the "Beware of the Bull" sign over one stile but other animal presented more problems.   The fields are fiercely guarded by a bird of prey that I won't embarras myself by attempting to name.   The monster made 5-6 sweeps at my Fjallraven capped head before I resorted to defending myself my swinging my camera around my head and shouting "Away with you, foul Griffin".

I needed a drink.  And Paxford has the Church Hill Arms.

They're all handsome here.

Its a dining pub, with a huge picture of Marco Pierre White, that I initially mistook for Al Pacino.  Two real ales are on - ignoring the Purity Gold, I went for a Winston, taking 10 minutes to get the connection.   Like the Yubby at the Ebrington Arms, this is a North Cotswold Brewery special just for this pub.   There was little point registering my check in location in UnTappd.

Two Winstons in the Churchill Arms

More overgrown walking for the mile back to Broad Campden, mercifully free from attacks from the sky. 

The Bakers Arms is another Good Beer Guide Stalwart - although its questionable how such an isolated pub can afford to carry five hand pulls on.   Two x Wye Valley, Wickwar Bob, Prescott Hill Climb and a rarely spotted Stanney Bitter from Stanway brewery.   You simply wouldn't think they would have the turnover to keep so many options fresh.

Still - no complaints with my Wickwar Bob.

Had enough of Gorgeous Cotswold Boozers Yet?

The Timeless Bar of the Bakers Arms

Five stages left on the Heart of England Way.   This may well have been the highlight.