In the anticipation of a walking tour of the Cotswolds, one has many preparations to attend to. Especially when walking alone. But what I did not realize is that I would not feel alone. There would be other walkers along the way. Perhaps not crowds of them, but here and there, I found them. Or they found me.
One such couple made a good deal of difference in my first day. I recall being in the middle of a paddock, searching for a tree stump. The stump was to have the waymark sign on it, and that would be my direction. But first I had to find the stump! And I wasn't finding it. Quite a lot of time was spent searching, but before I became completely desperate I saw a man and woman walking toward me with a map and directions in hand.
It was such a relief to see two friendly faces - my first traveling companions! When they spoke, I knew them to be from the UK so they might know where my stump was.
They did know, and led me to it. The tree stump did have the waymark sign on it. The trouble was that there was more than one waymark sign. There were three.
Nevertheless, these two lovely people walked with me, first one direction, and then the other, and it didn't matter because I was not alone!
Peter and Carolyn, as I came to know them, stayed with me until we knew where we were. They gave me their phone number, and asked me to call when I reached my B&B because they wanted to be sure I made it.
This is the essence of a good UK walking tour - the people you meet along the way. And we three will stay in touch! because you never know when you might need a friend.
See you along the way!
the SconeLady
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