Broadway Tower, The Cotswolds

After storm Francis yesterday, it was a beautiful and mostly sunny day today. I decided to make the most of it and walk UP to Broadway Tower. I’m not sure how far the walk was but it was STEEP and I soon realised how unfit I am! I’m not one to give up though, and I made it in the end! I felt very virtuous once I realised how many cars were in the car park and the overflow car park!

The tower sits 312m (1024 feet) above sea level and is itself 20m (65 feet) tall. From the top on a clear day you can see 13 surrounding counties. It was built as a folly in around 1799 for the wife of the 6th Earl of Coventry. It later became the favourite country retreat for artist, writer, and craftsman, William Morris, as well as his Pre-Raphaelite contemporaries.

I didn’t go into the tower. I had no desire to stand in a long line. Hopefully I’ll be back in the area off-season and I can visit again when it’s not so busy. I did have lunch from the restaurant a short distance away and again enjoyed another half price meal deal. I followed it up with coffee and cake (also half price) at the coffee bar in another barn. I’m definitely getting value for money during this month’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme!

I walked back to town along a different, more gentle route. Next time I come I’ll definitely do the walk in reverse! See first Extra photo for some other scenes. Top right is a resting spot just over half way up. The other views were on the way down. I particularly liked the stone bust set into the wall near the path that I took - it was also the entrance to a rather elegant home.

I was exhausted by the time I got back to the campsite late afternoon. But it was an important night there - it was Pizza Night! And I wasn’t going to miss out on that. I ordered my pizza and said I’d be back right before they finished for the evening at 730. This is the same pizza I’ve enjoyed at other Cotswold campsites. I told them I’m a groupie and I’ve been following them around the Cotswolds! It was a beautiful evening and I enjoyed the pizza while watching the sunset, sitting beside the steam railway line that goes past the site.