Bidford-on-Avon to Hidcote Manor Garden

This was our wettest day, but it didn't rain for the whole day and the fact that we made rapid progress whilst it was raining enabled us to walk all the way to the Hidote Manor Garden (up the first climb of the Cotswolds) AND to have a cup of tea there before moving on to our final hotel of the holiday, the Manor House Hotel in Moreton-in-Marsh. Our first drive of the day, from Arrow Mill to Hidcote Manor was initially straightforward, on the route we used yesterday to Bidford-on-Avon then straight down the B4085 to Honeybourne. At that point our planned route cut across to Mickleton, but unfortunately we encountered a closed road, so ended up taking a rather circuitous route (by now with me following Richard because I'd lost all confidence in my iPad's various map apps). Thus we drew into the National Trust's car park at Hidcote Manor Gardens (SP429176) in convoy and a rather eager volunteer "parked" me nice and close to the entrance - not really what I wanted at all! Richard managed to escape his attentions and parked in a more out of the way spot.

We drove together back to Bidford-on-Avon, where we parked in the same car park as yesterday (still virtuallly empty) on Wards Lane (SP098521), donned wet-weather gear and picked up my walking poles for the first time this holiday, in expectation of the climb into the Cotswolds. Bidford-on-Avon is reputed to be on the tourist trail, because of its proximity to Stratford-on-Avon and some possible link with Shakespeare, but to be honest there didn't seem to be a great deal there, certainly in contrast with the lovely towns of Henley-in-Arden and Alcester which we passed through yesterday. The weather didn't help of course, and it is pretty enough down by the Church and the River Avon, which we crossed on the bridge which was originally built here in the 16th Century.

Straight after the bridge we took a path across water meadows, with good views back to the Bidford's bridge and church. This took us back to the river by a weir and lock and we turned right into the pretty hamlet of Barton, complete with delightfully named pub "The Cottage of Content". Barton describes itself as being on the edge of the Heart of England Forest and about a kilometre after passing through the hamlet we found ourselves on a route which is diverted from both what's shown on the 2006 OS Explorer Map and the 2012 Heart of England Way Association's guidebook. The alternative route was well signposted and probably shorter than either of the routes we were expecting, but turning onto it worried us as it felt as if we were heading back the way we'd come. We passed through acre after acre of newly planted woodland, eventually reaching more established woods near Fox Covert Farm and taking a very minor road to Dorsington. From our OS map I was expecting a longer walk along a more major road at this point (actually on the route we used when driving back to Bidford) so this was a distinct improvement and it will be even better when the newly planted woods have grown a bit!

Dorsington is another pretty village though we were now feeling distinctly wet and I don't really remember a lot of the walk from Dorsington to Long Marston, alongside Noleham Brook. I remember a bit more about the section between Long Marston and Lower Quinton: we crossed "The Greenway", a disused railway line that is now a "recreational route" running from Strafford-on-Avon to here, and bringing our old friend the Monarch's Way with it. Mention of railways reminds me that just to the south of this section of the route lies the site of the former MoD Long Marston Central Engineering Park, now home to the Long Marston Railway Depot where they store out-of-lease rolling stock. You can't see anything from the path (well, certainly not in miserable weather) but I'd noticed a few engines when driving closer with Richard and there are clearly bridges nearby where railway aficionados stand to watch and photograph the action.

We were more interested in attractive if misty views to Meon Hill, and in some amusing sheep antics. We reached Lower Quinton, which the path doesn't really do justice to (passing through modern housing not the older village centre to the east), but the rain had stopped and, just on cue, there was a bench, just opposite the Medical Centre. Not the best of views, so we continued a few yards into Upper Quinton where there was another bench. However that one was rather more solid, which would probably usually be better, but it also meant that it was rather wetter, so we walked back to Lower Quinton for a late lunchtime snack (it was 2pm).

The weather continued to improve for the rest of the afternoon and our walk continued through the attractive Upper Quinton, nestling on the northern slopes of Meon Hill. The signposting wasn't great, but the route was obvious, we climbed slightly higher onto Meon Mill then walked around to the west of it, now with views ahead to the Cotswolds. We descended again to the village of Mickleton; we had originally intended to park by the Church here, but it's quite a small space and would have felt rather cheeky on a Sunday.

We remained on the route of the Heart of England Way for a short distance from Mickleton, then rather than turning right into woodland, we continued straight ahead up a grassy bank which climbed steadily past the gardens of Kiftsgate Court to emerge close to the entrance and just a short distance from where we had parked at Hidcote Manor Gardens. We went into the gardens just for a well-deserved cup of tea and scone, planning to return the following day for a longer visit. For now we drove back to Bidford-on-Avon to collect the second car then on to Moreton-in-Marsh. We had some difficulty getting into the car park at the Manor House Hotel and on the first night they got the time of our dinner booking wrong, but otherwise it was superb, with excellent food and particularly attentive staff.

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