southcotswoldramblers.org.uk A Tale of Two Tunnels Saturday 14 March 2009

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		Mike greets us and tries to explain our route .
		We set off across the fields from Frampton Mansell .
		Towards the Tunnel House Inn - He tries to explain some more - what he needed on the day was ... .
		... a map to hold up. Still here's one you can study. Our route is shown in green, the rail tunnels at 500 feet are in black and the canal tunnel at 370 feet is in blue. Lunch with be at the Tunnel House Inn! .
		We continue through woodland .
		Broad Ride, Cirencester Park, 4 miles to the town centre in a straight line .
		We stride out .
		Along the first section .
		Snowdrops still flowering .
		Coffee stop near Sapperton .
		The path crosses this field and we pass a clump of trees which mark one of the construction shafts for the 2.25 mile canal tunnel far below .
		Down we go .
		Into a sheltered valley .
		After crossing the A419 we approach the railway line .
		And pass underneath .
		Just in time to see the Cheltenham Flyer .
		Up we go again .
		And walk through Hailey Wood .
		Mike pauses to point out a construction shaft .
		Fenced off for safety .
		We continue alongside the railway line .
		Which is up on the left, the canal below us .
		And reach our lunch stop, the Tunnel House Inn .
		Glancing left, some of us spot the emerging canal .
		Happy ramblers awaiting their lunch .
		And tucking in! More walking this afternoon. .
		We pop down to see the classic Coates portal .
		Renovated in 1977 .
		We head off in the pleasant sunshine .
		Glancing back at the Tunnel House Inn .
		New lambs .
		Quite a few of them .
A bursting tree with a knobbly trunk - any ideas? .
We pass through Tarlton and its converted farm buildings .
Along a delightful track .
To emerge .
Through an old orchard .
And across farmland where some of us see a hare - sadly the camera is not ready .
Many fields .
With clear paths .
Some fallow deer dash by .
Several awkward stiles in this area .
Two friendly sheep say hello again -we saw them in the morning .
A sunny end to our walk .
Photos and captions from Mike and a welcome few more from Bernard - thank you.

As you can see, we thoroughly enjoy getting to know the South Cotswolds. We try to keep fit and succeed in having a good old chat. If you are interested in coming with us, see our Led Walks Programme and ring the leader if you have any questions about a particular walk. After two or three walks we hope you will then want to join the group as part of the Ramblers.