Cam Long Down from Coaley Peak, Gloucestershire

I have been sneezing a lot for a couple of days and feeling a little run down. But with the sun shining this morning we both agreed a short walk and some fresh air would do us good, as Helena has been staying inside for the past two days . She suggested that Coaley Peak would be a good destination and she offered to buy me coffee if we then carried on along the road to visit the Prema Arts Centre in Uley.

We left the house by 11am and were up on the high Cotswold escarpment within ten minutes and at Coaley five minutes later. It is a public viewpoint, established by the National Trust, next to several old neolithic barrows right on the edge of the steep hillside where the limestone escarpment drops down to the Severn Vale. The Cotswold Way runs through the site on its route northwards from Bath to Chipping Campden, a distance of 100 miles.

There are always a few people gathered here, whatever the weather and today was no exception. Families were out with dogs, and I even noticed someone carrying a frisbee, which I didn't see being used as the wind was so strong driving the clouds up from the Bristol Channel. In fact from the viewpoint you can see where the river severn meets the Bristol Channel, in the far right of the picture, with the higher land of the Forest of Dean in the background. On clear days you can see the two road bridges carrying the M4 motorway across the Severn Estuary. Sadly you can also see Berkeley nuclear power station beside the estuary.

This view is looking towards the south toward Uley Bury and the outlying hill called Cam Long Down, and then further south towards the small town of Dursley which nestles down in the Vale. I liked the way the patches of sunshine were shining through the clouds on patches of fields and woodlands. The clouds were moving so swiftly that the scene was changing every second. The brighter weather didn't last long and nor did Helena who returned to the car before me with frozen fingers.

We did get to Uley and I had a good cup of coffee in Prema. As a point of interest this arts centre was created by Andrew Wood, whose sculptures I blipped yesterday. He bought an old Methodist chapel in the 1970s and restored it and raised the funds and started a Trust to change it into an arts centre which continues successfully to this day. Helena wants us top go to see the Tannahill Weavers, who are traditional folk musicians from Scotland who are playing there in March. Perhaps we can blip that too.

Inside Prema

Downham Hill, near Cam Long Down, from Uley Bury