Jul 11th - Gloucester to Cheltenham

 A decision was made earlier on in the planning stage that we wouldn’t walk between Gloucester and Cheltenham.  The reasoning behind this was that there’s no one continuous trail between the two towns and what there is mainly wends its way through local suburbs.  So, without so much as a second thought about leaving Gloucester (the town itself really is a bit of a dump), we took the local bus. 

In blue: the planned trip

No early check-in to our accommodation today so while waiting we took ourselves off to Cheltenham Minster.  This Parish Church, dating from the mid 11th century, is the town’s oldest building but also has some 12th and 13th century additions.  It’s also home to some beautiful stained glass windows, all of which are unique as they were all commissioned by different benefactors, and for me ‘The Last Supper’ being one of the best. 

This afternoon, in-between downpours, we took ourselves out for a walk about town.  Cheltenham, so much nicer than Gloucester, has some magnificent old buildings, but one district in particular, Montpellier, is exceptional. It’s full of grand old ‘Regency’ buildings and gardens, yellow sandstone schools and colleges, and with its beautiful wide streets it’s just lovely. 

Top: Shades of ‘Royal Crescent’, Bath?


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