Winchcombe and a walk

Winchcombe is another village constructed in this beautiful calcareous creamy stone, with great countryside to enhance it. Made great by the medieval wool trade, the subsequent trade decline, meant that the buildings remained without further development, such as Wesley House.

We went on a long walk with a bad guide book but worked  out the route anyway. We encountered some incredibly old church and farm buildings, some over 1000 years old, with uncovered medieval paintings, stunning scenery and a thunderstorm or two, which came earlier than expected. Mary had complete wet gear and I used bush knowledge and also stayed dry. At one hiding place Mary found a geocache box. Should have invented a name and filled in the log. 'Lostaussies'?

At one house a sign said 'ring bell for ice cream' so we did and a man our age came out and introduced us to his 40 different species of chilli plants, his homemade furniture and the story of his life as a ship's carpenter!

I had gooseberry and elderflower icecream.

We also saw an old locomotive, still in daily use.