Moreton-in-Marsh to Batsford Arboritum and Bourton-on-the-Water

The weather forecast for today was not promising and there was heavy rain in the morning, so much so that I declared that I wasn't going to walk today!; in general that was the idea of this little holiday, no pre-arranged agenda, just walking where and when we wanted to, but it was the final day of the holiday and it would have been distinctly annoying to have left the final section unwalked. We dithered a bit before setting out from the Manor House Hotel, to the extent that by the time we had driven to the long stay car park on Rissington Road in Bourton-on-the-Water (where we planned to leave one car) it was just after 10am, so only had to pay for 5 hours parking, not "all day", because parking is free after 3pm. Even better, by the time we'd driven back to Moreton-in-Marsh and parked the other car back at the hotel, the rain had stopped, and amazingly it essentially stayed dry all day.

In was market day in Moreton-in-Marsh, but we just stopped to buy some snacks at the Tesco Express on the High Street before walking back across the fields to Batsford Arboretum, again following the route of the Monarch's Way. We'd put on full waterproofs before setting out, because we'd fully expected the rain to return and also because we knew the undergrowth would be wet. However waterproofs in summer make for hot walkers and we didn't even get as far as Batsford before stopping to take them off. We rejoined the Heart of England Way and cut across a field to the Arboretum's drive, turning left onto the drive to the A44 where we turned right.

The A44 heads up the hill through the appropriately named Bourton-on-the-Hill, a village which we only knew from driving along the road (one of the main routes through the Cotswolds). The road undoubtedly spoils the village, though it was nicer when travelling at walking pace, and even nicer after we turned left away from the A44 just before the Church. We followed lanes through the village then headed south on a grassy path which maintained its height, about halfway up the hill. Richard got a phone call, happily this time about our new central heating system not his parents!

We entered woodland, wondering whether we would actually get the promised view of Sezincote House, and taking photographs whenever we got a glimpse through the trees. However, we needn't have worried; we passed a pretty lake and emerged from the trees and were greeted by an excellent view to the house, with a herd of cows grazing in the field in front of it. Sezincote is a bizarre place; it looks as if it would be more appropriate in India than in Gloucestershire, especially with its weathered-copper onion dome on top! The house was built in 1805, a 19th-century reinterpretation of 16th and 17th-century architecture from the Mughal Empire. It is credited with influencing the design of the Brighton pavilion after a visit by The Prince Regent in 1807.

The guidebook mutters about the path being routed to one side or another of a fence to avoid grazing cows but, given that I am not a great cow lover, this approach seems very sensible to me. One of the fields had clearly had cattle in it recently, but we only had to avoid the cow pats, not the cows themselves! We continued to the village of Longborough. Neither of us had ever heard of Longborough so we weren't expecting much, but it is actually a lovely Cotswold village; and like Blockley yesterday, it has a community-owned village shop which serves refreshments. We stopped for a cup of tea and a slice of delicious lemon drizzle cake. It turns out that Longborough has its own opera house too, initially started in the gardens of a private house (which we walked past on our way out of the village) but now in a purpose built building which was not in sight. How can we not have heard of Longborough?

We continued on through rolling countryside and woodland then, after crossing the A424, found ourselves on a minor road which took us past the Donnington Brewery and down to the busy B4077 through Upper Swell. There was no pavement and it was difficult walking but we soon turned off the road again and headed south towards Lower Swell. This took us through a more manicured landscape, and we met a man on a tractor out cutting the grass. We stopped at a conveniently placed bench just above a lake and talked to a couple of dog-walkers, then we continued to the village. As we walked on to Hyde Mill it was trying to rain, but it didn't come to much.

Hyde Mill is an attractive house, with a flock of soay sheep. The route around the house was altered some years ago (though after both the guidebook and the map were published); fortunately the signposting was fine! We continued on over fields, being joined yet again by the Monarch's Way along with the Gloucestershire Way. We watched a line of cows heading off for milking, then met the farmer's dogs when they were allowed into the field we were in for a play.

We reached Lower Slaughter, another pretty village this time alongside the River Eye, and with a veritable meeting of long distance paths (Heart of England Way, Monarch's Way, Gloucestershire Way, Macmillan Way, Wardens' Way). The path from Lower Slaughter to Bourton-on-the-Water was not very exciting, but it's the final mile of the path so we followed the route as per instructions. This took us over the main A429 (Fosse Way), through the outskirts of Bourton-on-the-Water, on a path past a school and the Parish Church to the bustling High Street, famous because the shallow River Windrush passes closeby, crossed by picturesque low bridges.

We found another multi-path signpost, which I think marks the end of the Heart of England Way and took photographs both here and on the bridges. The teashops were closing and/or very busy, so instead of a cup of tea, we bought ice-creams and ate these sitting by the river. Thus we had, in part at least, celebrated the end of the walk. By way of further celebration we headed to the lovely Model Village, a one-ninth replica of Bourton-on-the-Water, first opened to the public back in 1937. I love miniature representations of real worlds and we even got a reduction on the adult entry price because of being old (the first time I'd experienced an advantage of being over 60) Then we drove back to Moreton-in-Marsh.