Day 6 - Painswick to Leonard Stanley (near Stonehouse)

Today is Tuesday, Oct 25, and I’m now up to date!

Last night I stayed at a lovely B&B in Painswick. I had a pretty good sleep, although stayed up late trying to catch up on this blog - they had such strong WiFi! By 1 am, I couldn’t stay awake any longer (remember what I said about being a night owl?!) and turned out the light. It was a very comfy bed with a thick duvet to keep me warm and cozy.

It dawned a little overcast this morning and the fellow said that the rain wasn’t due until 5 pm. Good news, I guess. We had a delicious breakfast with all of us sitting together - there were five guests staying there last night. One couple was travelling by bicycle. Very brave on these narrow winding roads! They were going home to Bristol today. At least it wasn’t raining!

After my strange and unexpected fall on the road yesterday, my left knee is bruised and a bit tender. It works fine, for the most part, but I didn’t want to subject it to an entire day of uphill and downhill walking. It needs rest too. In fact when I was getting dressed this morning, I noticed a bruise on my chest. I am guessing that is where I fell on top of my camera that was mounted to the front chest strap of my daypack. I still think it was weird that I fell. I would have liked it if there had been a witness to at least tell me what they saw.

The hosts at the B&B helped me investigate various routes today to get to King’s Stanley… which actually really turned out to be Leonard Stanley, the town next to it. These two towns are not really on the Cotswold Way per se, although they are quite close. After some thinking, I decided to take a bus to Stroud, a bigger little city, on the Cotswold path, and from there would walk along the canal - a flat walk - to King’s Stanley first, which then becomes Leonard Stanley at the bottom of a hill! (Who decides these things?!)
So that’s what I did. After leaving the B&B I walked around Painswick for an hour or so, looking around. The buses run every hour… I caught the 11:15 bus to Stroud and was there in less than 20 minutes. It’s a much bigger place, much more traffic, people, stores and construction. I found a place to sit and have coffee and study my guidebook to figure out which way to go. Just by chance, I found the Canal Office, and inquired inside about where to go and when to turn off the path for King’s Stanley. The woman was very helpful, and so, armed with a map of the Stroudwater Canal System, I set off. It was very straightforward, and a lovely walk. Although semi-overcast, it never did quite rain here.

I got to King’s Stanley fine, and figured out Leonard Stanley as well. But I walked up and down several streets in Leonard Stanley before asking a fellow who was walking his dog where the pub was. He pointed it out right away. It was probably the only street I hadn’t walked down yet!

This pub has obviously been newly renovated. The room I am in (only second floor!) is enormous. With a very large and comfortable-looking bed!
I will consult my guidebook about where exactly to go tomorrow. I believe I am the only guest staying here overnight. The pub is open now and there is a dull, muffled murmur coming from below my room. It’s almost a comforting sound… and then there is a hoot of joy or of sadness as whatever sports team they are watching - or their opponents - scores a goal or points.