Cotswolds - Day 7 - Bath

Cold Ashton to Bath

~1033' not a bad climb for the final day in the Cotswolds, but no walk in the park either. 

I didn’t take a photo of breakfast. There was a box of cornflakes, a couple of bags of granola and a plate of fruit she had cut up the night before. She cooked our eggs one at a time, so it was not a quick meal, but we had a nice conversation with some walkers we’ve run across several times over the last few days. 

I first need to get from our Inn back to Cold Ashton, 1 1/2 miles away. Jo Anne took a photo of me way up on the trail. Good luck finding me. 😁

After taking my photo above, Jo Anne went to the bus stop to wait on a bus that never came. She ending up walking all the way to Bath but not on the Cotswold Way. She took country roads and paths for a total of ~7 miles of rolling hills. 

After Cold Ashton comes the final 10 mile stretch to Bath. Leaving the busy A46, the Cotswold Way returns to rolling hills dotted with cattle and sheep, the noise of the traffic replaced with birds. 

Uh oh. Another muddy path. 

Then a walk through a freshly cut field of hay that was about a foot deep. It was worse than walking in sand at the beach and completely covered the trail. I just took off in the direction my app said I should go and made it across only to enter another like field. 

I think that’s the top of the big climb today. 

Oops, no there’s another hill. 

And another one 

And I’m still climbing

Looking back at where I started. 

Still going up

And up

And up!!!

Finally made it to the top. 

It's a gradual and continual climb to the top of the slope near Lansdown Hill, where the trail crosses the very field where the Battle of Lansdown took place in 1643. 

This carved monument is of a looting soldier from the battle of Lansdown. 

The area is clearly marked with orange flags and informative signboards, as well as a memorial.

The war memorial which is linked to the battle, was built in 1720. It is known to be the earliest surviving war memorial in Great Britain.

The Battle of Lansdown was played out between two equally matched armies of the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. The Parliamentarian army was forced to retire because they suffered so many casualties and were so short on ammunition. Coincidently, the day after the battle, a Royalist ammunition cart exploded, injuring their commander and significantly depleting their ammunition and horse supply. This meant that the Royalists were left vulnerable while the Parliamentarians were geared up to fight again. I learned all this from the sequence of plaques that describe the progression of the battle.

You can’t help but imagine, when walking, the chaos that occurred all those years ago.

The markers have two swords at the bottom and a spear head on top. 

Bristol in the background. The last Cotswold way escarpment selfie. 

Crossed another golf course. 

Walkers beware of golfers teeing off. 

The fairways were so lush and green. 

Taken from Prospect Stile

When walking by Bath racecourse, there is a kissing gate called Prospect Stile, which offers superb views across Bath and over the Severn estuary.

Some ladies walked up while I was videoing so that’s who you hear talking. 

More overgrown trail 

One more tree canopy

The last couple of miles of the trail beyond Weston see some unexpected ups and downs as the route twists to make the most of the open terrain before the final descent past Lansdown Crescent to the grandeur of Bath Abbey, the final destination on the Cotswold Way.

More spectacular roses

One final climb into Bath and it was a doozy. I had stopped to talk to another walker earlier and she mentioned the final climb into Bath was rough. She wasn’t kidding. 

I entered the city passing by the famous Royal Crescent. 

Then walked around what’s called the circus, a historic ring of large townhouses in the city of Bath, forming a circle with three entrances. Designed by architect John Wood, the Elder, it was built between 1754 and 1768, and is regarded as a pre-eminent example of Georgian architecture. "Circus" means a ring, oval or circle in Latin.

I’ve arrived at Bath Abbey, the official end of the Cotswold Way. 

My feet firmly planted on the circle marking the end. 

The priests opened the door of the abbey to let someone in so I quickly snapped a photo of the stained glass. 

And Jo Anne made it less than an hour after I did. If she hadn’t waited so long on the bus that never came, she would have beat me. 

Bath has so much to offer from the famous Roman Baths to Jane Austen’s house. The city predates Roman times when it was known as Aquae Sulis, but it is the Georgian buildings that have been protected as a World Heritage Site. The Cotswolds Way technically finishes at Bath Abbey where we took in the magnificent architecture of the building. Bath Abbey has been a place of Christian worship for over 1200 years and services still take place throughout the week. It was in Bath Abbey that the coronation of King Edgar (the first king of all England) was held. This became the template for all subsequent coronations including the most recent coronation of King Charles III in May of 2023.

We were very hungry so immediately headed to the Sally Lunn House. The restaurant and museum is in Baths oldest house (c. 1482). 

I had vegetable soup and a qtr bun. 

Jo Anne had the steak and mushroom trencher. 

Then I had a gf scone

And Jo Anne had Elizabeth’s Sponge cake. 

After eating we went to the Thermae Bath Spa. 

No photos are allowed so they lock up your phone, but this is what it looks like and the views from the rooftop mineral bath are pretty awesome. We allowed the jets to pound our tired and achy muscles until our skin was pruned. 

Marshfield Farms is the renowned ice cream makers around here and they just happened to have a shop, so we decided to try it out. They had several plant based flavors so I had the salted caramel. Yumm. Jo Anne had fudge caramel clotted cream. She said she couldn’t find the fudge. 

 If you sit on the benches beside the Abbey, (which we did to eat our ice cream) you can take in the view as frequently a busker will play in the center. We heard a fantastic singer, a skilled pianist, and an average guitar player. 

We walked back around to the front of the abbey and there was a sea of green t-shirts that said 100 mile 100. It was a fundraising group for spinal muscular atrophy. There were 100 participants doing the 100 mile Cotswold  Way in three days. 

We watched many of them come through the cheering line, even one in a wheelchair. It was very moving. 

Street in front of our hotel. 

The Eight Hotel is our lodging for the final night in the Cotswolds. It is the perfect ending to our Cotswolds journey. It has every amenity imaginable and then some, 

including homemade shortbread cookies. 

We are less than a ten minute walk to the train station, which we will be utilizing in the morning. Train to London Paddington, train from Paddington to Heathrow, flight from London Heathrow to Zurich Switzerland, and about 4 small trains to Murren. 

We’ve totally repacked our bags and packs for airplane travel. Showered and are hoping for a good night’s rest. 

Stats

Steps - 35,643

Miles - 15.5

Elev gain - 1033’ or 53 floors

I’ve now walked 16 days, an avg of 14 miles per day. 

Steps - 506,526

Miles - 219.7

Floors - 735

Elev gain - 22,416’

One of the most freeing aspects of worship is that it reminds me God is in control.

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.” Psalm 29:2