Getting Beyond the Familiar #2: We Begin Walking Part C

After about 17 miles of hiking on a day that is supposed to be 15 miles but involves a bit of getting lost and backtracking, I arrive at the Swan Hotel in Wotton-Under-Edge. I left the Elmond House early, though some might think that I cheated a bit at the start: Rather than backtrack through town to where I'd left the trail yesterday afternoon to make my way to the B&B, I accepted a ride to the top of the hill I would've had to climb. Maggie, the woman in charge of the Elmond House, asked if I were "a purist," if I would feel somehow deprived if I cut out a section of the trail and avoided that backtracking I assured her that I am far from pure in anything in my life, and what would've been a 2-hour hike was replaced by a 5-minute car ride. 

The weather is wonderful. The topography is wonderful. Some things I see look like this:

More than once, somehow, I lose the trail along the way and have to retrace my steps to find my way. Imagine my glee, though. Like most trips, navigation becomes an effort in problem solving, and I solve each problem with only a small bit of frustration. Approaching the town of Dursley, I walk along a ridge and see the town below. The views look like this:

I am looking forward to finding a place to stop for a snack of some sort, a place of respite. In the town, though, I struggle to find the trail markers, and at one point stop in the shade of an old building, comparing my surroundings to the map and guidebook. A woman at least 25 years my senior walks by, and she asks if I needed help. I tell her I do. She points me in the right direction, tells me that she'd walked the Cotswold Way when she was younger, and wishes me luck. I head up a steep road that led to a steeper dirt path, and at a trail junction find the a signpost lying on the ground, one of its signs with an arrow showing the direction of the Cotswold Way. The way the sign is situated, though, I can not be sure of which path to follow. According to the guidebook, I am supposed to walk along a golf course, which I can see at the top of the hill. Small problems resolved again.

I am hot, tired, and sweaty when I reach the town of Wotton-Under-Edge. I manage to find the Swan Hotel, and inside am greeted by a man who says, "Are you alright?" I think first that perhaps he knows the older woman I saw in Dursley who asked if I need help. I tell him who I am. He shows me around--the bar, the dining area--then shows me to my room which is bright and cool. He tells me when the dining room opens for dinner, when it opens for breakfast. Alone, I lie on the bed and rest. My legs are tired. I am hungry. I probably stink. I wash a shirt in the sink and hang it in front of an open window.  And it is not long, until I force myself to move, to clean up a bit (showers seem so welcome at the end of the day!) and to explore the town. Most of the shops are closed for the evening, but I scout around a bit to see where I'll be starting tomorrow. I return to the Swan Hotel, which looks like this:

I have a beer, and then I have another. I eat dinner. When it is dark outside, I head up to my room and read my map and guidebook in preparation for another long day.