Day 9: Cotswold Way, Cold Ashton to Bath, 10.3 miles. Total mileage: 101 miles.

Cold Ashton, Weston, Bath

Sure wish we could have had a bath in Bath.

As it were, we got a heck of a shower. But we finished the Cotswold Way in Bath as expected having hiked 10.3 miles today for a total of 101 miles. It is tradition to start and finish at the Cotswold Way plaque that is embedded in the walkway in both Chipping Campden and Bath. In Bath, the marker is right at the door of Bath Abbey. Looks like we came in one mile short of the traditional Cotswold Way trek. We don’t care.

Gary and I watched the weather forecast closely last evening and into today. Barring some sort of tempestuous storm, neither of us would have actually agreed to schedule a taxi to Bath this morning to end our journey. That would have been like Gandalf sending The Great Eagles to deliver the Hobbits straight to Mount Doom. Where’s the story in that?

Light rain was forecasted to stop within an hour from our 8 am start. We considered ourselves lucky that we felt good walking briskly through the very light presumed temporary rain.

Having had a perfect night’s sleep, I had never felt better facing a hike; I looked forward to the uniqueness of the day as the two hiking days behind us had seemed so similar.

Knowing today would be taxing and unusual, I was careful last night and today not to forego the various aids and elixirs in which I rely for my well-being: multi-vitamin, magnesium, Metamucil, electrolytes, water, ibuprofen. Any dose I could double, I did. But not the Metamucil.

A really unusual time constraint we had today was that our luggage was being couriered unaccompanied from our bed and breakfast to Bath by taxi. We were assured this has been done successfully many times. So as we walked our trail today, we had to consider our 12:30 pm luggage rendezvous at the train station in Bath.

Against all my gloomy predictions, today’s luggage taxi ride was a success. For the entire nine days of our hike, in fact, our luggage transfers to and from each of our accommodations were seamless. For that matter, all our hotels and inns were nicely appointed for our needs and were ready for us upon arrival.

We left this morning from the warm comfort of what was probably our most perfect bed and breakfast. It was clean and simple with a spectacular view. What a beautiful way to end our stay in the Cotswolds and begin the final leg of our adventure.

Today’s stretch of trail felt more utilitarian than any other. We were on a real schedule. And as we forged ahead, the weather deteriorated and the rain increased. With several miles behind and several more ahead of us, it was a gloomy time.

We encountered a young local man walking his dog in tandem with us. He showed no obvious concern about the weather, the sort of conditions in which most wouldn’t want to check their mail let alone converse with strangers. But he made light conversation, eventually offering us a ride into Bath so we could avoid the rain and not be late.

Head down and dripping wet, I just needed this man to go away. I saw him as the devil on our shoulder, offering the easy way out at a difficult moment despite all we’d already managed. Our quick pace and disinterest eventually shook him off.

Even in the rain, the earlier parts of today’s trek were beautiful as always. Latter parts took us through the urban streets of Weston and Bath. Even in the city, we took on some agonizing final back-alley climbs. Whoever charted the Cotswold Way route was clearly a great lover of beauty...with a touch of sadist.

We ended our hike and searched the city in desperation to get dry and warm. We were freezing and soaked. We chose an Indian restaurant situated next to the stunning Bath Abbey. The place offered a really nice lunch, but was probably the only establishment in all of England that didn’t serve hot tea.

Reflecting back on the adventure, what a blessing it has been to shut out the real world for a while, welcoming the willful ignorance that comes with being largely unplugged. We gave ourselves plenty of green space to be consumed by natural beauty.

For all my efforts to maintain tranquility, I was unwillingly pulled back into my reality many times. Those moments reminded me of the lovesick Richard in the movie Somewhere in Time where Richard’s hypnotic time travel is forsaken when he finds a modern penny in his suit pocket. Upon seeing it, he’s dramatically sucked back into his own time.

Our “pennies” that sadly jolted us back into our own reality included an accidental glance at a newspaper headline. A gas station. An innkeeper who pressed for our thoughts on Elon Musk. The infected nose-piercing on a waitress. Extraordinarily dangerous road crossings.

But mostly we remained cheerful characters in our own fantastical story.

We spent shamefully little time in Bath today. It deserved more of our attention. Thirty years ago, Gary and I visited Bath on a different trip through England. One thing about an ancient city, the historic parts of town do not change! This time, we opted to forego our time in Bath and ride six hours north to Edinburgh by train. No, we are not hiking.

We must note (below) a lovely Australian couple we met at the train station, Peter and Nicole. They finished the Cotswold Way two weeks ago and have been driving all over England these last two weeks avoiding their brutal 24 hour flight back to Australia. They will go home by way of Singapore which to an American seems unimaginable.

Gary and I are lucky enough tonight to be riding first class on a train headed for Scotland. Thank you, Cotswold Way, for the fairytale adventure. And thank you, readers, for walking alongside us.

In our haste that lasted the entire day, we did not stop for libations at any point except for my microscopic sample of an orange chocolate whiskey in a shop across from Bath Abbey. It was worth buying if I’d had room in my luggage.

If you have additional interest in watching our favorite video log of the Cotswold Way, a young couple, Ben and Rachel, have chronicled their trip HERE.

I am excited to blog about our two upcoming days in Scotland and one in London. I will be taking photos and notes, but will not post in real time as I have been.

Cheers!