Naunton and Bourton-on-the-Water

Tuesday 11th September 2001 

Following on from the previous day I was walking in the Cotswolds on quite an enjoyable walk, which was ruined by what I heard on the radio at lunchtime. I was following a walk described on the walkingbritain.co.uk website which starts from the picturesque, tourist-filled village of Bourton-on-the-Water, but when I saw the price of car parking I instead went to the tiny village of Naunton where I was easily able to park for free by the side of the road. Just like the day before I had taken the original route and adapted it for my own means making it rather different to how it was supposed to go. Not only was I now starting from half way round the route but I also headed off in the opposite direction (going anti-clockwise instead of clockwise) and towards somewhere that wasn’t even on the original route. Instead of dropping south into the Windrush Valley I headed North-West to the Guiting Power Nature Reserve, which is a thin strip of wetland where a small tributary of the Windrush threads through unspoilt scenery. Using a guidebook is an excellent starting point for walks, but you should never feel bound by their route. If there is something nearby that perks your interest, then feel free to abandon your route to investigate, as I did ten years ago. 

At the end of this 17 acre reserve I joined the Windrush Way as it climbs through Grazeley Wood to reach the A436 at Westfield House. I remember at this point not being sure of my route. I think I might have taken a wrong turning (and not actually have passed Westfield House) and so I was not where I thought I was. In fact I was so sure that I was right and the signpost was wrong that I tried to move the signpost back to the direction I thought it should have been pointing! I suppose I thought that someone else had tampered with the sign because it didn’t agree with where I thought I was. The lesson I learnt from this was that I should match what I see on a map with what is on the ground and not try to force what is on the ground to match what is on the map. I followed the Windrush Way across fields littered with Foot & Mouth notices (but none actually baring access) and passed through the medieval village of Aylworth before joining the originally described route coming out from Naunton beside the River Windrush. After a pleasant, at times muddy walk along the valley I eventually reached the tourist-packed village of Bourton-on-the-Water. This photo of Bourton-on-the-Water is courtesy of TripAdvisor 

With the time approaching two o’clock I settled down on the grass beside the river that runs right through the middle of the village and had my lunch. As I switched on the radio the news was on, which ended with: “And to repeat the opening news item…” You know something significant has happened when the news feels the need to repeat themselves and on this occasion it was indeed important. As I sat on the lawn in brilliant sunshine surrounded by dozens of blissfully unaware tourists I heard that an aeroplane had crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Centre. You always remember where you were when you heard something ground-shattering like that. JFK being shot I’m sure must have had a similar reaction and more recently I remember that I was in my bedroom getting ready for Church when I heard about Diana, Princess of Wales. But I find it surreal when I remember the sunny, happy circumstances that I was in when I heard about the Twin Towers. 

After the second plane crashed it was obvious that this was terrorist action and left me in a daze for the rest of the walk. I went out of Bourton-on-the-Water and followed the Warden’s Way up a hill to a road and then down into the tiny village of Lower Slaughter. I’ll never forget standing on that road being asked by an American tourist for directions to the Slaughters, while in my ears was the three o’clock news talking about the events that had just occurred in New York. It was all too surreal and I just mumbled that it was down the hill trying not to think what this tourists reaction would be when he heard the news. Numbly I walked through the picturesque little villages of Lower and Upper Slaughter as I slowly made my way back to my car in Naunton. My mind was no longer on the walk, but on the awful things that I was hearing on the radio. The Warden’s Way provided me with a sure guide alongside the River Eye before climbing over Brock Hill and down onto Naunton. 

The following day I didn’t feel like doing much walking, so I dragged myself around a short walk starting from the village of Chedworth incorporating the nearby Roman Villa. The walk ended before lunchtime in rain so with no motivation to do anymore walking I decided it was time to go home.