We woke quite early; about 6:00am so had an early start and were away for 7:15am. The walk down into Winchcombe confirmed our decision to stop where we did - there was nowhere else to camp as we soon approached the main road into Winchcombe. There were a few people about but not many as we made our way through and turned to page 1 of the guide which assumes a start at the top of Vineyard St, the road we walked up yesterday.

It is a pretty tough pull out of the town up Langley Hill and we were relieved to reach the top. This would have been the end of yesterday had we elected to continue - a big 'ask' if ever there was one.

Langley Hill to Gretton is mostly downhill so is an easy walk into the village, emerging at the Bugatti Inn. The Prescott Hill climb, owned by the Bugatti Club is nearby, hence the references. We stopped briefly for a drink and energy bar before setting off, our legs already beginning to seize up. The walk to Alderton is across mostly flat fields punctuated firstly by crossing underneath the GWR steam railway line and then the main Cheltenham to Stow Road just a half mile from the Hobnails but still more than five miles to go - how frustrating!

Through Alderton and the elevation starts to increase as the route skirts the hill which in parts is Oak Hill and parts Alderton Hill with Dumbleton Hill behind and one or two other hill names given but in reality is one large hill mass that has to be circumnavigated via the wonderful village of Dumbleton which for some reason sounds to me like something out of Harry Potter.

Being the final five miles of the forty two our legs and enthusiasm were beginning to fail so I gave a mile by mile countdown in the hope of generating some as yet untapped energy. I'm not sure it worked but as we entered Oxhill Wood after the climb from Dumbleton I stated 'through this wood and it is just over a mile to the finish'.

Well no-one started running or looked any fresher so we plodded on. It was mid-day as we emerged from the woods. 'First pint at 12:30' I claimed. Still no-one broke into a trot. Oh well, I tried.

Alderton came and went - 'just across the field' I claimed, which annoyingly turned into two fields with a dog-leg in the middle - will it ever end? Then, as we entered a small coppice, I could see the pub. We have arrived! We climbed the final stile into the Hobnails Garden and headed for the nearest seat. Walk - done!

Dropping my pack I walked straight into the bar to order the largest pints they did and we sat in the garden scarcely able to believe it was all over, but it was, we had done it; the Winchcombe Way was ticked off the list!

It is a beautiful walk in beautiful countryside. It would be perfectly possible to spend five or six days doing the walk, stopping to explore the many villages along the way, or like us you could shorten it to three reasonable days or even two if you were feeling like a challenge. There are no high mountains, but there are a good number of stiff climbs to test the legs and if, like us, you choose to wild camp, there are plenty of places to stop, although of course you should ask land-owners permission first. Whichever way you do it and over whatever timescale, remember the country code; take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints. I told the farmer on the first night he would not know we had been there and it was true, we left nothing, not a single matchstick or tissue, nothing except maybe some flat grass where the tent was. If you can carry it in, carry it out! Take plastic bags to put your rubbish in - you will find a rubbish bin sooner or later.

For those thinking of doing it, there are maps that cover the route, but you need three. A more cost effective solution is to buy the official guide written by Robert Talbot; it is A5 in size and was £4.99 in 2013. It is not widely available but specialist bookshops should stock it. We purchased ours from the Cheltenham Tourist Information Office. It is just thirty two pages long but crams everything in. You could, at a push, get away with nothing as the signage is so good, but that would not be recommended unless you knew the area extremely well.