Sunday, day three of the Knights tour of the Cotswolds. Unfortunately the day didn’t live up to its name as we were greeted in the morning by dark cloudy skies and a cooler temperature. Before the ride got underway there was a small matter of the prestigious “Awards” ceremony.

We then followed the route of the Coln River to Coln St Dennis before arriving at Fossebridge. As we looked up the road ahead we were confronted with what appeared to be a 20% climb on the busy A429. “Just a little way then turn right” advised Neil after consulting his phone maps. With huge sighs of relief we set off turning right, continuing to follow the course of the river passing Stowell on the way to another coffee stop at Northleach.

On leaving Northleach we began to head south via Eastington and Aldsworth with some short steep climbs and quick downhills. “It should be mostly flat from here” said Neil confidently only to be caught out again as we faced more climbs on the way to Coln St Aldwyns. It did eventually flatten out as we cycled into Hatherop. Just as we came to the junction we were confronted by a convoy of Minis turning into the junction preventing our exit. After we’d watched car after car passing ahead of us, the convoy ground to a halt, allowing us to continue to Lechlade.

When we pulled into the town, Neil consulted his maps again before declaring “Left here!” We’d only gone a few yards when he then changed his mind “No that’s the wrong way” before turning around. Watching him continuously consult his maps at every junction was a bit “old school” compared to having a modern Satnav with turn by turn instructions.

Saturday, day two of our cycling weekend and after yesterday’s busy traffic roads through the outskirts of Swindon, Neil was determined to show us the “real” Cotswolds. The ride was due to set off at 0930 but as we started to get ready Michael appeared still shaking the sleep from his eyes and preparing to tuck into what looked like a ‘full English’. “Oh” he said “I thought it would be a more relaxed start this morning” as he continued attacking the beans and veggie sausages with gusto. “No Michael, the ride ‘always‘ leaves on time” we all advised him.

When we eventually got going, we started with a gentle climb northwards along a quiet country road called Bell Lane to a quaintly named place of Ready Token. Continuing north we were then faced with a gently undulating terrain. Our first real challenge came as we left Bibury. After a brief warm up of 7% we hit the steep double digit section, fortunately it didn’t last too long. In fact Matthew was enjoying it so much he continued past the turn off to Ablington before turning back. The route then continued north through Winston to the small village of Northleach where we stopped for a coffee break.

While at the cafe we noted that having covered around 15 miles we had only been passed by one car, unlike the previous day where we were surrounded on every road. The undulating terrain continued as we headed northeast with short steep bits interspersed with longer ups and downs and each downhill helped to build momentum into the next climb. Our next destination was Bourton-on-the-Water a very picturesque village described as the “Venice of the Cotswolds” which attracts many visitors as we found out when we arrived.

“We’ll head for Upper Slaughter next” said Neil as we set off on the climb out of Bourton. Half way up the hill we spotted a sign pointing to Upper Slaughter so turned off to regroup only for Neil to inform us “We’re going this way” he said pointing further up the hill. When we finally reached the top, we came upon a car accident with emergency services in attendance. Luckily we were able to continue as we did a “loop round” heading back downhill to Lower Slaughter.

Just as we were about to leave the village, we encountered some heavy farm machinery negotiating their way along with a convoy of cars following behind so we ‘tagged’ on the back. As we followed behind, a car facing the opposite way decided to do a three point turn right in front of us, splitting our group in two. A few choice words followed as Michael let his feelings known about the hierarchy of road users and the appalling driving we had just witnessed. The message obviously didn’t sink in as the driver continued to try and overtake the leading part of our group despite there being no place ahead. The behaviour continued until we reached the junction of the main road where ‘parted the ways’ as we wished him a “nice day”. I don’t think the feeling was reciprocated.

Our route continued through Wyck Rissington and Upper Rissington. While heading south, Chad commented “There’s an airfield over there” unfortunately we couldn’t see anything beyond the hedges lining the road. By this time we were all looking forward the lunch stop but Neil seemed to have other ideas. “We could call in at a local shop and buy a few sandwiches” he suggested at which point Heather put her foot down “I want a cafe stop Neil” she stated forcefully and so we headed to Burford, the “Gateway to the Cotswolds” where we found a cafe on the busy high street.

While we were enjoying our lunch we were plagued by wasps. There was a wasp trap nearby but they seemed wise to it and preferred what we had on our plates. Soon enough it was time to return home. But…. before that we had planned to call in at the Spotted Cow 🐄 pub at Marston Meysey. While heading from Little Barrington to Coln St Aldwyns we had a call from Mrs Puggy to tell us the pub was closed but there was an alternative of the Masons Arms at Meysey Hampton where they served some lovely “big boy” beer.

The final journey back to the “digs” was quite short with a brief interlude before we headed out to the local Falcon Inn for “supper” (Dinner or Tea depending on where you come from). Following homemade “puddings” at “home” we had great fun and games before retiring for the night.