Cycling in the Cotswolds. Chiz Dakin

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      A typical eastern Cotswold view over ripening corn and rolling hills – near Chadlington (Route 9)

      The track in front of me was smooth, dry and flat and there wasn’t another soul in sight. To my right the mirror-calm water reflected the blue skies overhead, with a few fluffy white clouds adding extra interest. Splashes of colour from brightly-painted canal boats and tall, motionless green spikes of bankside vegetation added to the tranquil scene. I was on the Stroudwater Canal near Slimbridge (Route 16) and had stopped to take some photos of the peaceful early-morning scene. A moment later I was particularly glad I hadn’t just hurtled by at speed...

      A swan was snoozing quietly in the shade of tall reeds, all curled up with her sinuous head buried beneath a wing, now and again raising it drowsily at some gentle background noise. As I was about to edge past her, another early-morning cyclist arrived rather abruptly, seeing the swan (and me waving my arms) only at the last minute. He then rode carefully past this sleepy queen of the canal, keeping as far away as he could. But we needn’t have worried: she was far more concerned about catching up on her beauty sleep than hissing territorially at either of us.

      On another occasion I was pedalling as fast as I could up a steep but short slope; that day I was on an off-road section of Akeman Street (Route 18), grinning from ear to ear as I overcame a challenge that looked more difficult than it was in practice.

      Such is the variety of terrain in the Cotswolds, from quiet lanes and challenging tracks to thriving (and busy) villages and town centres. And unexpected wildlife encounters seem far more common when travelling by bicycle – the quiet but relatively fast approach on two wheels allowing you to get a bit closer than perhaps by any other means of transport, including feet.