Cleeve Hill

The sun finally remembered it was August and came out to brighten our walk along some 5 miles of The Cotswold Way today. The views were long and clear. Distant Brecons brooded on the horizon. The Forest of Dean and The Malverns almost in touching distance. The Shropshire hills to the northwest and the Lickey Hills blurring Birmingham to the north completed this counterpane of rural Englishness! With a smudge of Wales thrown in for good measure!

Below our feet lay Cheltenham, Prestbury Park ( its famous race course) and the rapidly expanding suburb of Bishop’s Cleeve.

On our way home we stocked up on supplies in the local supermarket. Perusing the summer reading shelves I noticed that one book had failed to fly. It was called The Bench authored by a Duchess.

On an early evening walk we saw and heard our first Gloucestershire parakeet. We were told that this new noisy neighbour is the only parakeet in town … for the time being!