Exploring the Cotswold Way: A Journey Through England's Countryside | Complete Series

#CotswoldWay #toughgirlchallenges
🥾 ℹ️Total Stats ℹ️ Cotswold Way, UK National Trail 🇬🇧🚶‍♀️‍➡️Walking with Gemma @gemlaurensmith 🙌
Walking Days: 7 - we planed for 8 days, but we were slightly quicker due to a big day on day 2.
Rest Days: 0 - not really needed on a hike this short.
Travel days: 2 - 1/2 days of travel - to and from the start
Start date: 28th May - Bath Cathedral
End date: 3rd June - Chipping Campden
Earliest start time: 7.25 am - Day 2
Latest start time: 10.56 am - Day 3
Earliest end time: 2.20pm - Day 7 - last day
Latest end time: 9.15pm - Day 3 - we didn’t start walking until late
Longest time on feet: Day 2 - 12hrs 55 - this doesn’t mean we were walking all the time. We took plenty of breaks and had rest stops when we wanted.
Shortest day: Day 7 - last day 6hrs 35 - we also started pretty early. You are always more motivated on the last day when you know it’s the finish.
Accommodation:
Hotel/Bed: 2 nights (#gifted 🙏 Thanks Gemma)
Wild Camping: 4 nights
🥾Total Km: 194. Average daily km: 28
🥾Total Miles: 121. Average daily miles: 17
🦶Total Steps: 249, 744. Average daily steps: 35,678
💷💶Total Costs: £211 - not bad for a 7 day adventure.
👉It would have been more expensive if we hadn’t wild camped as much as we did and Gemma paid for the majority of the accommodation which would have added another few £100s on to the total costs.
💷💶Average costs per day: £30 - I would have preferred closer to £20 per day. I don’t think I was excessive on my spending.
💷💶Total costs - not including travel: £168
💷💶Daily costs not including Tavel : £24
💷💶Total Accommodation Costs: £60 - Gemma paid for both the hotels, this was just a small contribution.
💷💶Average Food Costs Per day: £15.41 - I think I was eating more, to try and get more energy throughout the day.
💷💶Travel Costs: £42.90 - although I got half of this back, due to the train being delayed.
💷💶Misc costs: £0 - none
Weather - we were super lucky with the weather. I was expecting it to be so much worse.
☀️Sunny days: 6 days - really beautiful days, blue skies, warmish - Gemma walked in shorts, it was still a bit too chilly for me to do that
🌧️Rainy days: 1 days - I honesty thought it was going to rain for the whole trip. I did carry an umbrella on this walk and loved it. I think it’s going to become my favourite piece of gear. ☂️
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
😀Total Enjoyment: = 83% Enjoyment - a really beautiful walk, and it was great to do it with a friend. It was a lot of fun. No issues, just great weather, beautiful scenery, great company. A fabulous week. 🥳
😫Total Fatigue average: = 50% - which makes sense - I was feeling pretty horrendous through out the whole walk. I haven’t been feeling great for a while. I got a blood test back and I’m anaemic (But not as anemic as I’ve been previously back in 2015 - but my iron levels were low….. (Blood haemoglobin 91 I need to aim to get above 112, Iron level 3 - need to aim to get over 11, Ferritin - 5 - need to aim to get over 13).
⛰️Total Ease of terrain: = 34% - there was no real challenge with the terrain. I found some bit hard because I was so tired and had shortness of breath and felt like I had no fitness. Compared to other challenges, this terrain was wonderful - just a few gentle hills here and there. If I wasn’t anaemic - It would have been very easy going.
Challenges: My energy was in the ground. I was tired all the time and wanted to sleep so much. 💤So glad on day 4 when we stopped early at a hotel, and I got to spend the rest of the day in bed. It was epic - hot shower, hot chocolate, in bed with snacks and netflicks. I was very happy!😃 🛌
Least enjoyable sections: 🐄only the sections which had cows in. I’m sure you know by now that I’m not a fan and some of the detours were through lots of cow shit!!!
✨Highlights: so many! The views, the little villages we walked through, the wild meadows, the gardens, the flowers. It was so stunning.
*****
Music - Endemic Sounds
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Video edited by Me!
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I'm wearing #gifted Inov-8 Clothing and Shoes
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Technical Mid Hoodie Women’s 2.0 Pink - £85
Stormshell Lightweight Waterproof Running Jacket Blue- £160
Train Lite 5" Shorts Women’s - £50
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[@andrewib5065]

Thank you for this. I live in Bristol and have zigzagged around the Cotswold Way, but have never taken it all on, so thanks for the inspiration. I am also very slowly making my way round the Wales coastal path, so currently looking forward to watching those. Have done Chepstow to Pembroke so far.

[@suebrown436]

What a lovely part of England. This certainly moved along, Sarah, with lumping all the daily vlogs together, and I really enjoyed it. Great to see such a beautiful village at the end.

[@toughgirlchallenges]

thanks so much for watching!! the final villages - were so gorgeous - I'm not sure I did them justice with the filming!!