Getting stuck in

Do you fancy hedge-laying, leading guided walks, inspiring kids to love the countryside, or even rescuing a sheep from a river? It’s all included in a day in the life of a Cotswold Voluntary Warden

- Siân Ellis

MARGARET’S STORY

Finding herself staring out of an office window on sunny days a few too many times when she worked as an academic at Glasgow University, Margaret Reid knew when she took early retirement that she wanted to do something outdoors. On moving to Winchcombe in 2011 and having fallen in love with the Cotswolds, she joined the Cotswold Voluntary Wardens and discovered a wonderful variety of opportunities.

“I started out as a parish warden in Adlestrop, which means looking after paths there, reporting anything that needs attention to our wardens’ work parties, liaising with the village council and landowners. I love doing it and the time commitment is flexible.”

As she enjoys walking, Margaret also decided to train as a walks leader and now plans routes with fellow warden Sheila Wasley as part of the popular guided walks programme offered by voluntary wardens across our Cotswolds National Landscape.

“Plants, flowers, geology: people are interested in different things and feed them into their walks. My interest is social history and things like church sundials and churches – there’s a fabulous little church at Hailes, and Lower Oddington’s has lovely painted walls. It’s fun thinking up walking routes and very satisfying to share them with people. One walk we did ended in Adlestrop with a local resident giving us a short talk about village history and what it was like to have grown up there.”

THE SECRET’S OUT