Birdlip to Painswick

11 miles / 17.7 km

Wow, 5 days in a row with marvelous weather…no complaints here!

We left around 8:30 AM with nice blue skies. Even though rain was forecasted, nary a drop fell during our walk. However, a nice summer shower occurred late in the afternoon after we were already nice & dry inside our accommodations.

Most of the day we were high in the Cotswold hills walking through shady green forests.

One interesting part of the walk took us past the very steep Cooper’s Hill which is world renown for cheese rolling!!!

Every year at the end of May, the locals enjoy rolling a cheese wheel weighing several kilos down Cooper’s Hill which is 200 meters long with an almost vertical slope. The cheese wheel rolls down the hill at almost 70mph which basically makes it uncatchable; so the winner is the first person to cross the finish line down at the base. First prize is the cheese wheel. Too bad we missed this unique event by a couple weeks

Like on all other days, many locals were using the paths & the woods to walk their dogs, run, mountain bike, or simply take a nice walk. Those of us hikers passing through the area on the way to Bath are small in numbers compared to the locals. I’m a bit jealous that they have such lovely nature paths so close to their homes.

When we reached Painswick, we explored the nearby Rococo Garden which was started in the 1700s. After the rococo style fell out of favor, the garden fell into disuse & ruin for a couple hundred years before being restored.

For a few hours, we enjoyed walking in this special garden which is the only rococo garden in England.

Painswick is yet another extremely charming, old Cotswold village. Every street here has its own charm & history.