Although much smaller than Chipping Campden, Blockley is a unique collection of buildings reflecting its past glory of mills and silk production and is quite different in character to other north Cotswolds villages.  The village was originally owned by the bishops of Worcester. During the eighteenth century, when the wool industry was in decline, Blockley turned to silk production and became prosperous in the 19th Century, with no fewer than six mills employing over five hundred residents.

We meandered through the village, passing by the St. Peter and St. Paul Church and cemetery and then found our turn onto the Heart of England Way.

We continued our walk for another few miles up one hill and down another, through the woods and pastures until we saw the outskirts of the thriving market town of Moreton-in-Marsh, almost 14 miles from our starting point in Broadway. Once in the center of town, we checked into the Manor House Hotel, a 16th-century retreat, where my room was tucked away at the end of a maze of turns and half-stairs up, half stairs down, overlooking the main street of town. After walking around the town, we enjoyed one of the best dinners of the trip in the hotel’s main dining room. The next morning we would complete our last leg of the trip, back to Lower Slaughter.