The Cotswold Way Day 3: Winchcombe to Cheltenham Race Course Station via Cleeve Hill, with Steam Train

Today’s excitement included meeting up with my sister Jane and her husband, and finding ice cream at just the right time. The steam train was pretty cool too.

The lack of bus service on Sunday to Winchcombe was not an issue as the GWSR steam train was running. Its station was two miles from our apartment, but Jane and Jumbo could give us a lift! We caught the first train at 10 am and had a relaxing ride to Winchcombe, during which time we caught up with each other’s lives.

It was about a mile’s walk from the station through Winchcombe to the Cotswold Way. The town seemed prettier today, but I don’t know why.

We walked along the River Isbourne, avoiding the climb up to Belas Knap on the Cotswold Way as we had done that the day before. The bottom of the valley gave us some interesting different views as we passed through Postlip before we rejoined the Way.

We emerged from woodland into open moorland that we realized was the golf course. We soon arrived at the club, which had a great ice cream stand. They allowed us to use their tables for our picnic which was very kind as they were out of the wind.

The path headed up the hill, meandering between golf tees, greens, and sheep. The wind blew harder and it started to get chilly. We’d had some rain earlier which added to the chill. As we approached the top, we spotted the Trig point on the summit and was welcomed by tremendous views of Cheltenham and its race course. We walked along the ridge for a while, taking care not to slip down the steep slope, while working out our route back to the car.

The climb down the hill took us off the Cotswold Way, and one of our footpaths was not well developed, but we made it, and then skirted around the golf course to get back to the car, after enjoying a fine cup to tea at the station. It had been great day’s walk, made extra special by our being able to catch up with my sister and brother-in-law.

Today’s relive: https://www.relive.cc/view/vevYQWNoZJv

Today’s stats:

We walked 9 miles, climbed about 1100 ft with 4 1/4 hours of walking. It rained a few times, contradicting most of the various weather apps we had, and was the chilliest day yet of the trip. It was fun to take the steam train and walk back.