Cotswold is listed as an AONB, which means Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. And so it is. The AONB designation makes it harder for Jeremy Clarkson to do everything he wants, but such is life. The Cotswold region is like if you took the still quaint parts of New England and put it in a US National Park, with all the restrictions to change therein.
The positive side is that the AONB limit what can be done in areas of, well, outstanding natural beauty. These areas don't make the cut as National Parks, but allows for the conservation and enhancement of the area. The Cotswold region is the largest of the 46 AONBs in the United Kingdom, but only England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. I'm not sure why there are no AONBs in Scotland, although it is possible the entirety of Scotland would classified as AONB.
Since you are no doubt wondering, Cotswold AONB is 787 square miles. It is not clear if having dangerous roads of death criss-crossing a region is required for it to be an AONB, but it's possible.
Speaking of "wondering," I suppose I need to clarify for most loyal readers exactly who Jeremy Clarkson is, and why he came up in reference to Cotswold. Neither Carol nor I had heard of him until Susan Eastoe (Leeds-AU programme, currently residing in the Cotswold) recommended we watch "Clarkson's Farm" because it based in Cotswold -- Chadlington, Chipping Norton specifically.
(Admit it, the "neither/nor" construct is superior to the "either/or" construct.)
Now I'm wandering off in a different direction, but as Don Minnis would say, "it begs the question" -- why do English villages have both their own name and the name of the larger town/city nearby? Like it is in both Chadlington and Chipping Norton? Or Kineton is both Kineton AND Cheltenham.
The town of Cheltenham is 39 miles from Kineton! Q:How is Kineton part of Cheltenham? A: It's not. That's like saying Alexandria, VA is part of Manassas, VA, because it is 39.1 miles away.
Anyhow, back to Jeremy Clarkson. He's a controversial British TV personality who people appear to either love or hate. He's hosted many successful shows, including the British version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire," "The Grand Tour," and "Top Gear."
He bought a farm in Chadlington, and had someone running it. The fellow retired, and Clarkson, seeing another money-making opportunity for a TV show. It's great reality TV -- not only is he funny and great on camera, but the regulars on the show are damn funny locals. Kaleb Cooper first appeared as a 21 year old (will be 23 in a few days), and is really good at telling Jeremy off as new farmer Jeremy Clarkson (age 63, so age 61 when he started farming). It's on Amazon Prime, if you are looking for a fun, breezy show.
Susan's point in suggesting we watch it was to get better acquainted with Cotswold (some of the B-roll is just breathtaking, and the wildlife is quite compelling). She isn't a fan of the man personally (I feel like I owe her that acknowledgment) but made the case that the show also does a great job of pointing out challenges facing farmers.
Anyhow, we binge watched (that means more than one episode a week for us) Clarkson's Farm and that's where we first heard the term AONB.
(Editor: You spent eleven paragraphs on THIS topic? Writer: Well, now it's twelve.)
Anyhow, I picked our second day hike on the following criteria:
- It was relatively flat.
- It ended at or near a pub.
- It was three miles or shorter (a Carol request)
On the Oxfordshire Walks app, I found a hike that perfectly met the criteria. It was the Bledington 2.5 mile hike. Bledington is a scenic village with a 15th century church and village charm.
We crossed multiple fields, with multiple kissing gates. We crossed over a stream, walked along a river. On our way, we met multiple nice local people walking their dogs. We had good lengthy chats with several dogwalkers, including a very nice young couple who loved visiting family in Virginia in 2022.
The walk was much easier, and not as hot, as the previous day. The excitement came as we were almost back to Bledington. As we rounded a corner in a field, a herd of cows came charging into that field, looking for fresh grass so they could eat and dump out cow pies. Thankfully, they were all female dairy cows, so they were pretty docile.
Carol was ahead of me and had a bit of a freak out when she thought there was a chance the cows would either trample us or want us to touch them. Then she resolved to cut through them. As she got close, the cows moved out the way. Crisis averted.
At the end of the hike, we crossed over to the King's Head pub. We actually had dinner reservations for that pub, but since we had lunch there, I cancelled dinner. When they found out we didn't have lunch reservations, they talked to the owner and found us a table. The food was quite good, and we had a rollicking conversation with an 83 year old gentleman who was a bit hard of hearing and only a little bit forgetful.
We talked up until he drained his third beer of the lunch hour (but had no food). We learned his wife doesn't like pubs so he comes to the pub by himself every day. They moved out from London 15 years ago, but he doesn't like it in Cotswold because there isn't enough to do other than going to the pub. The key disclosure is that they moved out to be close to their daughter, but he doesn't like the daughter. Yup, too much information. Don't worry Julia, Maddy, Torie -- even if I feel that way about one/all of you if I make it to 83, I wouldn't tell some strangers that observation! I wouldn't mind being able to walk to a pub though! He had been to the States eight or nine times.
The food was great, and I enjoyed my post-hike pint, which is one of the things I looked forward to most about Cotswold -- a hike followed by a pub lunch. Being Sunday, we had Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding, and it was divine!
There I was, sitting by a fireplace (unlit, of course given that it is June), drinking a pint and enjoying Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding. I felt like a quintessential Brit. And it felt good (don't tell my Irish ancestors, but I'm not one to blame people today for the sins of their ancestors.
Now is probably a good time to mention village names in Cotswold. Names like Bourton on Water, Chipping Norton, Stow on the Wold, Upper Slaughter, Chipping Camden, Moreton on Marsh, Temple Guiting, Lower Slaughter, Oddlington, Winchcombe, Guiting Power, Bibury, and many more unusual names to numerous to mention. It's as though the villagers naming the villages 1,000+ years ago said, "what name can we come up with to create tourist frenzies in one thousand years?" Hence that list.
Oh, and here's some pictures from the hike.
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