After a lunch of corn soup and sandwiches, we decided to hike several miles down to the nearby village of Bourton on the Water, another quaint historic village, where we stopped at several shops, including a local pub for the first of many pints of ale and glasses of wine we were to enjoy during the next four days.

After hiking back to Lower Slaughter we explored the village, checking out the art gallery, old mill, St. Mary’s Church, and other nearby inns. Before our group dinner in the main dining room, we met with a local hiking guide who described the various legs of our upcoming hikes and explained how a new App could be downloaded that would serve as our GPS-based guide during the next four days to help us navigate the many trail options we will find along the way.

After dinner we retired for the night, ready for our first major outing . . . an 8-hour hike from Lower Slaughter to Winchcombe, almost 14 miles to the west.