17/12/24 - The Old Swan, Minster Lovell

Myths and Ruins

Why walk along the River Windrush, when you can walk in it? The aftermath of Storm Darragh in full evidence on this short walk that packs plenty.

I'm here for two reasons;

Reason 1: A mercy mission to fetch a student in the final throes of his PHD for a permanent(?) return to Worcestershire. I am sure he will find another course to do before long.

Reason 2: Episode 5 of the Loremen Podcast is about the mystery of Minster Lovell. Surprisingly, a part of the Cotswolds previously unvisited. I love a good ruin.

Bonus Adventure Lab Cache at Minster Lovell Hall

The legend that made the Podcast;

Francis Lovell's story is intertwined with the Wars of the Roses, a series of dynastic conflicts in 15th-century England between the Houses of York (white rose) and Lancaster (red rose) vying for the throne. Lovell was a staunch supporter of the Yorkist King Richard III. After Richard's defeat and death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the Lancastrian Henry Tudor became King Henry VII. Two years later, Lovell participated in a Yorkist uprising that culminated in the Battle of Stoke Field. Following the Yorkist defeat there, Lovell vanished. Legend has it he returned to his estate, Minster Lovell Hall, and hid in a secret room, relying on a single servant for sustenance. When the servant died unexpectedly, Lovell was trapped and starved to death. Centuries later, during renovations, a vault was supposedly discovered containing a skeleton seated at a table with a dog's skeleton, believed to be the remains of the ill-fated Lord Lovell, forever linked to the turmoil of the Wars of the Roses.

A "doors open" Church requiring investigation.

Baron Lovell Effigy

Onward, for the walk.  An easy out and back along (and in) the River Windrush to Crawley.

River Windrush - not meat to be this wide.

Refreshment at the wonderfully evocative Old Swan. C15th, Grade I listed. I still find it an honour that for a tad over a fiver, I can sit in a Chesterfield armchair with a pint of North Cotswold Windrush Ale, completing their Times Sudoku Super Fiendish for as long as I like. Stone flagged floors and a huge fireplace. Gripes? Would have been nice to have the fire lit.

River lapping at the door

Even the rucksack gets a comfy chair

All set to pack the car to the rafters. What on earth does a student do with a string of industrial grade fairy lights? And when did he take up tennis?

Walk Details 

Distance - 4 Miles

Geocaches - 7 and an ALC

Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast and Jarrold Cotswold Walks, Walk 1

Previous Loremen Walks - Churchill, Burford, Long Compton, Swinbrook