A walk in the Cotswolds

Other than my daily exercise - a cycle ride or a walk locally - yesterday was my first planned trip out with a friend since lockdown in March.

We met up in the Cotswold village of South Cerney and took a gentle meander beside the River Churn, then along a disused canal towpath, heading back to our starting point across farmland.  The lane beside the river is unusually named "Bow Wow" and, despite my searches, I couldn't find any reference to its origins.  I am sure it must date to a time before the local residents started using it as a favourite dog walk.

The river at this point is also famous for being the starting point for the annual Grand Duck Race, when the village is closed to traffic and the streets are taken over for the May bank holiday festival. Visitors can pay for a numbered yellow bathtub duck in the hope it will be first to cross the finishing post.

This area has many old Cotswold stone buildings and a snapshot of this unusual riverside "garden room" is the subject of a small sketch in my journal entry for the day.

Garden folly along the Bow Wow
Pen and watercolour (approx. 2" x 3")