Day 129 - What to do when one has only the day?

When things go wrong with one's travel plans at the start and you have had to take advantage of an offer that reduces your trip by a day at the end, then you have what my brother Stuart was going to experience. Today would be the only full day he would have with us. Tomorrow he must travel back to London to catch a flight to Frankfurt.

His original plan to spend 4 days (3 full days and 2 half days) and 4 nights with us had come down to 2 days (1 full day and 2 half days) and 2 nights. So, for his only full day, I met him at his hotel to decide on the activity for the day. We tossed around the idea of going to Blenheim Palace to see a historical property, a train ride to Hereford to see a cathedral town, or a walk to a local village that would expose him to the wonderful countryside (all of these ideas could have filled out the original schedule, but now it came down to only one). Since he had invested in some new walking shoes -- waterproof and vibram-soled -- he chose the latter option.  Looking outside, the weather was not co-operating, with snow starting but melting upon hitting the ground. The temperatures would go up to about 4 C. but the ground conditions along the country ways would be quite wet.

Stuart and I uphill from Blockley

We went back to our flat to get Angela and advise her of the decision. Always willing to go for a walk, we chose the route to Blockley, which would require a hill climb there and a hill climb back with a total length of 15 kilometers (I didn't tell Stuart this at the beginning -- I said it would be about 10 kms). But, the views into Blockley and across the Evenlode valley would be worth it if the sun were to come out, which it eventually did.  I also made the walk more enticing by suggesting a pub lunch once we got there which would energize us for the walk back. We would take two different routes to make it a more
interesting circular route.

Great Western Arms 

We started out with the snow falling, but it eventually stopped. However, the paths were very muddy and we stepped gingerly in spots.

When we got to Blockley, we showed Stuart around the village and settled ourselves into the Great Western Arms pub. The lunch was excellent with freshly made tuna mayonnaise baguettes, orange coriander soup and chunky chips, of course! 

The sun had been shining as we walked into the village, but upon leaving the pub we were again faced with walking through snow -- albeit for only a minute or two. With sunshine finally making its way into our day, the views across the valley were wonderful and our walk back took us past the horse farm at Batsford where Stuart immediately bonded with one of the horses -- perhaps a racehorse owned by a wealthy Sheik.

The Horse Whisperer

At this point, we could see the church steeple in Moreton which was a good thing as Stuart had begun to see a mirage that looked like a clawed-foot bath filled with hot water to soak in. His description sounded alot like his room back at the Manor House.

Eventually we made our way into town and dropped him off at the hotel with the plan to meet him for dinner, which tonight would take place at the Spice Room, our favourite Indian restaurant in town.

After dinner we went back to the Manor House for our nightcap before retiring back to our flat in time to watch Graham Norton.

Ale of the Day: Nice Try Ale, Hook Norton Brewery, Hook Norton, Oxfordshire