Uley Bury

Our Boxing Day ramble was from the pretty little village of Uley to the top of Uley Bury, an iron age hillfort with incredible panoramic views around Gloucester and the Severn Vale.  The climb from Uley is very steep, but delivers instant gratification.  I highly recommend a trip, as well as a walk around the village itself.  Its worth noting that the village has its very own brewery, Uley Brewery, and you can sample the local ale at the Old Crown right in the village centre.   Lovely!

The village of Uley from atop the Bury

A Windy Walk Around Haresfield Beacon

I read an article the other day about Haresfield Beacon and Standish Wood, saying that the walk along the Cotswold Way through here was one of the finest in the country.  So, this Saturday I took my dog there.  I have seen some beautiful countryside, and this was right at the top.  I find its impossible to ever really capture the scale and colours with my phone's camera, but I've tried!  The wind was absolutely howling- at one point it actually blew my phone out of my hand as I took a picture.  I have to say, I might actually prefer these winter walks.... there's not many people about, which means less or no dogs, and the livestock aren't in most fields, so its off-leash for my dog the whole time.  And its easy to be in spots were one can see for miles and miles, yet not see a single other person nor hear anything but the wind.  Complete relaxation!

Guiting Power to Naunton

I've been wanting to do this walk for a while, and kept having to cancel it last minute.  It was a beautiful, crisp sunny day today in The Cotswolds, with just a tiny bit of snow here and there.  So, we set off in the morning and did a loop from Guiting Power's village green over to Naunton, along the Rive Windrush, and then back to Guiting.  There are two excellent pubs on this walk- The Black Horse in Naunton and The Hollow Bottom in Guiting Power.  Sadly, my dog is one of those dogs that can't stand other dogs... and animal, in fact.  So, I don't get to stop in for a pint whilst she rests by the log fire.... Luckily, I can have a log fire when I get home, and the pints are much cheaper when they come from my fridge.

Belas Knap Long Barrow

We took a nice hike the other day that went through an abandoned farm near Charlton Abbotts and over to Belas Knap.  Very interesting place to visit- its a fully intact neolithic long barrow dating from around 5000 B.C.  If you look closely, you might be able to see the ghost that we saw when we first approached the structure.