Snowshill, Snowshill Arms - Cotswold and Donnington Way - Walk 2 Miles

Snowshill - Snowshill Arms 



Snowshill Arms



There is something quite magical about the Cotswolds, which draws me back again and again. At times it's the silence that attracts me, but mostly it is the undulating landscape from which weather- worn, honey coloured buildings emerge gracefully from the soil as if they have been nurtured alongside the vegetation for centuries - which of course most have.

Whenever walking the Cotswolds I experience a strange and very satisfying sense of peace surrounding me. It is as if this is where I was meant to be, and where I belong. It's a place where one can think and put the world to rights without fear of interruption.



The landscape seems to stretch on forever



I believe Pythius experiences this too, as his face always registers joy when the mobile dog kennel heads for Burford and beyond.

Our trip to Snowshill with Auntie Liz this week rates as one of the most stunning and invigorating walks ever, even though it was only about 2 miles long.
 Snowshill is found on the northern Cotswold edge, and just a few miles from Broadway, approached by driving the A44 or B4623,  We began our walk after enjoying a delicious lunch at the Snowshill Arms, where we returned after the walk for a cold refreshing drink before driving home.



St Barnabas Church



This hospitable establishment stands almost opposite the church and is a great place to start the walk which took a large loop past Oat Hill, through a small woods, then onto a green landscape decorated with ancient trees that appear to be stretching for all they are worth to touch the sky. The path then took us on past Littleworth Wood, managed by the National Trust, and a short stretch of the Cotswold Way and the Donnington Way,before turning back towards Snowshill.



Rosehips




Pythius is impatient to walk on

 

The views along the way were simply breathtaking, despite it being a misty October afternoon, as the mist that shrouded the landscape added a strange beauty the lens of a camera can never capture. And the rose hips, sloes, elderberries and blackberries weaving their way through the hedgerows acted as a constant reminder that winter is almost here

Pythius has his say:.

When the girls are happy, then I am happy, and they were certainly happy as they walked through this glorious countryside, past the woods and on back to the place where our walk began. There was no river on this walk, but I didn't mind too much as the feeling of space and wildness that this walk offered  captured my attention throughout the walk.



 I rather liked the scent of Mr Fox too, and admit rolling in grass he'd marked a couple of times - I guess that didn't please the girls, but it certainly pleased me.  I just wish that the nice man who stroked me when we arrived at the pub hadn't pulled such a face when he realised I'd transferred some Mr Fox's odour onto his hands.