country walk

The village in which we’re staying, and the several other villages nearby, have been here for at least several hundred years. Before wheeled vehicles such as horse-drawn carriages became commonplace, and even after that, people moved between villages on foot, or guiding a pack animal. They needed to trade and socialize so the narrow paths they developed became essential parts of the human infrastructure.

Most of these paths remain today, throughout the UK. The public are allowed by law to continue to use them, even though most now border-on or pass through private land. While the locals use these foot paths routinely, visitors use them also, relying on guides, printed maps, sign posts or obvious signs of foot traffic to travel between and around villages and their watering holes.

Mary and I have been doing a little exploration of the countryside on foot so thought you’d like to see some of the local paths and what can be seen as they are travelled.

Before setting out on a footpath journey some preparations are necessary. Firstly, clothing and footwear need to be up to the task. Rain may be likely at any time and many of the paths have muddy sections, not to mention the spiky blackberry bushes, the steep-banked streams and the ploughed fields.

Then, unless a competent human guide is available some navigation aids such as map, compass, GPS, smartphone (only if wireless signal available), binoculars, and the skills to properly use them will be necessary. Although the paths are quite well marked at intervals, a map will be needed to at least help you decide which paths to take and how to find the starting points of the paths within villages. Direction knowledge is important for confirming that you’ve just taken the path that you’ve selected on the map.

This is a public path journey Mary and I completed on Sunday.

While we carried a paper map, we didn’t use it as I photographed the map and viewed it on a compact digital camera whenever I needed to check navigation. I also used a hand-held GPS which is a good substitute for a compass. Remember that prominent landmarks are not always visible and the precise location of the sun in the sky not always obvious so a GPS or a compass are really important.

Whenever a path comes to a fence there’s a stile, one of several different, dare I say it, styles. Mostly they’re rustic and made of local timber but sometimes they’re made of steel. They’re designed to allow a competent and agile human to cross the fence easily but to baffle livestock.

The great enjoyments of such a walk for us are the achievement of getting from village to village on foot and the sights seen along the way, usually unavailable to people travelling in a car. And of course the well-deserved pint at the pubs encountered.

Of course nav checks are needed frequently to ensure the correct track is chosen because sometimes there’s a choice of several nearby, all leading in different directions.

Mostly we got it right, however and were rewarded with some unique scenes.

By the time we’d reached Paxford we’d already done nine km, up and down hills, across ploughed paddocks, through hedges and over several stiles. We were in need of sustenance. Fortunately the Churchill Arms was open. We were welcomed with open Arms.

After a light and mostly liquid lunch we set out on the last stage by road and across fields, startling several pheasants on the way and making a slight detour due to the apparent non-existence of one of the important tracks marked on the map. Finished distance: 14.8 km.

We have plenty more walks available and intend (read “hope”) to get through several more before our time here is up. Next intended blog: a visit to the Roman Baths at Bath.

Location:Chipping Campden