Day 50 - Chipping what?

So what the heck does Chipping mean? Today we took some time away from work to catch a bus to the nearby village of Chipping Camden and then do a crosscountry walk along the Heart of England Way back to Blockley. We then caught the bus back to MiM in time to finish off the day's workload. And the sun was shining on us the entire time. 

So back to the meaning of "Chipping." According to some research on our part, we found that the name may be derived from the medieval  English word "chepynge,"  which means "long market square." And "campden" is from the word "camp-denu" which is Saxon Old English for "field or enclosure in the valley." So I guess when you put it all together the town is a "long market square in a field in the valley." The town has two parallel roads that are at different elevations, a center market building, and plenty of shops, so the name makes sense. Like many of the towns in this region, it has a long tradition of wool trading and like those towns it has become a tourist attraction because of its beauty and traditional Cotswold yellowstone architecture.

An interesting activity that takes place here is something called the "Olimpick Games," which can be traced back to the early 1600s. Founded by a local solicitor, Robert Dover, these games are held every year either in late May or early June and the competitions include a number of rural games, one of which is shin kicking. At the end of the games, there is a large bonfire and fireworks display followed by a torch parade back into the centre of town.

After a quick look around town, we began our walk to Blockley. Previously we had walked north toward this village, and today we were going to walk south along the Heart of England Way. As mentioned earlier in this blog, the Heart of England Way was designed by walking enthusiasts, but it shares the route with the Monarch Way (also previously mentioned). he views continue to be amazing no matter where one goes walking.



Along the way, we came upon the very small village of Broad Campden or "broad field in the valley" with its thatched cottages and a single pub called the "Baker's Arms."  This pub can be seen in the BBC series 'Father Brown," which is filmed principally in nearby Blockley, and our final destination for the bus ride home.



Ale of the Day: Old Hooky, Hook Norton Brewery, Gloucestershire