On The Way Again: Well Done Lads

Parked again in Coberley and walked to the Church. Turned left just past Coberley Court and onto the marked pathway for  'The Gloucestershire Way.'

At this juncture, I must point the finger at those who constructed the stile to gain access to this path.
Its steps are pitched too high and therefore not friendly to the walker.
But once over this obstacle, the route passes the  church and in an adjacent paddock I saw this rather mournful looking pony.

The route then passes through a gate into a large field. I must, at this time mention one salient fact; I had forgotten my course guide and although, I thought I had an understanding of the way; it was at this point that I made an error, having no advice to turn to,  D. and I should have turned left and made our way up the field, but, with no visible signing to guide us, we continued across the field on a clearly defined path.

The weather was clear and sunny and our walk  took us through pleasantly level pastures. Eventually we saw in the left hand corner of a field a stile, which led us out onto the Cheltenham to Cirencester road.
Looking  opposite, I saw a lane with a  post pointing to Upper Coberley. This, I remembered was the next port of call on our route and so we crossed the road and made our way for a good half mile up the steadily climbing lane.

It was, when we reached the first signs of Upper Coberley village, that we saw on our left a bridleway leading back  diagonally into a copse of trees, with  a  Gloucestershire Way  sign pointing that way.
Then was the way, we should have come. We resolved  on our return journey to walk this bridleway.
We walked into the village looking for directions onwards. We noticed a path on our right which climbed upwards. We were due for a coffee break, so we decided to take the path. I'm very glad that we did for it afforded lovely views over the valley. Here is a video that I took, which I hope gives you an impression of the scene below us.

After our coffee and sandwiches, we started on the return journey.

Here, are two pictures of the woodland, that we descended as we walked the bridleway.

The ground was muddy and slippery and I was glad for the support of my walking pole.

After this short section, the bridleway open up to reveal a large ploughed field, with the path in the centre. It was good to be walking in such an open space, with the sun shining down upon us.

The above picture, looks back towards the copse.

At the end of this bridleway was a stile in a fence, which led us onto the Cheltenham to Cirencester road again; but this time we were opposite a stile with a Gloucestershire Way sign pointing into  the field that we should have turned left at that first gate on our journey outwards.

But it didn't really matter, for our navigational mistake had given us a good circular walk in excellent conditions, saving some mud on our boots.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The two football teams, I support : Newcastle United ( The Magpies ) and Cheltenham Town ( The Robins) are both  in fine form. Last week, Newcastle defeated Manchester United 3- 0 at home for the ffirst time in over ten years; surely a cause for celebration. They continued in great style with a FA Cup

 win yesterday (7/1/'12) over Blackburn Rovers, who had previouly knocked the Magpies out of the Carling League Cup. Revenge, as ever, a sweet thing.

Cheltenham are second in League 2, having amassed an amazing 49 points. Being an eternal pessimist, I can confirm this total will make relegation very difficult indeed!

Here is a picture of the Robins in a Boxing Day match defending against Shrewsbury.

 It was an exciting match with two evenly matched teams. The result was 0 - 0; a good point for the Robins.
Yesterday Cheltenham went to play "Spurs  at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup. They lost 3 - 0, but gave a very good account of themselves, in front of a crowd of 35, 653; the largest ever to see the Robins play.
They took 5,000 fans to London.
Here are a couple of tweets from them, giving you a flavour of their experiences.
"  I  will remember today for the rest of my life! So proud to be a fan. "
"  The Robins played well today but Spurs were just too good. Great day for the players and the fans. "

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Enjoy the week ahead. Let's hope it stays bright and mild.

Ciao4now

Ck.

PS. if you want to read the Major's experience of the Nationl Health click here Health Matters