Windrush: Naunton to Bourton

After a long gap I resumed my walk down the course of the Windrush, from the quiet village of Naunton. From here the Windrush winds a gentle course, through gentle countryside..
passing gentle Cotswold "Lions"

and into the midst of genteel Bourton on the Water...

This "Venice of the Costwolds" is a real tourist honeypot, today buzzing with visitors enjoying the sunshine

and smiling at the cute ducklings, fighting the "mighty torrent" of the Windrush

Since the Windrush flows through the grounds of Birdland (http://www.birdland.co.uk/) AND i'm a birdlover it would have been crazy not to have called in and taken a wander around before leaving Bourton.

Here's looking at ya!

The Military Macaw family on parade

When I had thus enjoyed my tour of the park I made my walking return to Naunton,

following the Warden's Way path, once again, as it passed up the course of the Eye stream
through Lower and Upper Slaughter, two pretty little villages that seem modelled on the bigger busier neighbour somewhat, and then over the ridge and back to my starting point.

This was not one of my walking epics as such....but a gentle afternoon strole, and very pleasant too!

Windrush walking: the feeder streams.

A new project is hereby launched from the back of my mind (where it has sat since finishing the
Thames path) into the real world: I have begun a series of walks to explore the course of the rivers flowing from the Cotswolds, into the Thames. The rivers in question will be:
the Coln, the Leach, the Evenlode, maybe the Cherwell, and the Windrush.
And the Windrush gets the treatment first.

In fact I began today's walk in Winchcombe, a place with which I became more familiar
when following the Cotswold way in Spring 2003. Today I left the town from the grounds of Sudeley castle and via the Warden's Way. This path brought me over a ridge and into Guiting wood, whose pinewood gloom lies on the side of in one of several quiet little valleys whose
streams link together as the Windrush
The valley side featured in the photo above, however, far from being planted
with conifer woodland contains a precious jewel, some remants of old Cotswold
meadow.....with the potential lure of flowering bee orchids (not seen this time...)
amongst other commoner species.

In days of yore these meadows, with countless others across the "Cotes Wolds" were
quietly grazed by prides of "Cotswold Lions", the sheep breed whose wool made these hills
rich. Now you can see a few remnants of their kind, with the fringe that one of their defining features, at the Cotwold Park Farm (of which the flower meadow is part, though now grazed by cattle) or read more about them HERE: http://www.charitynet.org/~cotswoldsheep/



I'm not great on naming flowers, however this is a plantain in flower....



This I thought was a hellibore, but I'm told its a butterfly orchid....

And here is a common spotted orchid ....

A rock-rose..
and this I know is a dog-rose!!
In the valley below, the waters flow onwards......



By the time it reaches the quiet village of Naunton the Windrush is a confident toddler....
and here I left it for this trip....
...but not without first popping in to view the interesting old dovecote.

I took a look within, and the best view was gained NOT by looking at the floor

(bat caves are still worse though! heehee!!) but into the wooden struts of the roofspace,

and at the wall peppered with its pigeon-holes (no mail for me today.....)

Thence back to Winchcombe, and homewards for some pigeon pie .... or something. I forget.