On the Trail of the Yubbington Yawnies
More folk tales from the Loreman Podcast. Episode 6 tells of the simple folk of Ebrington, known colloquially as the Yubbington Yawnies.
Most villages have an idiot. Ebrington is full of them, according to legend. Famed for;
- Caging cuckoos to stop summer ending
- Fishing for the moon in the village pond
- And most famously, attempting to make the church tower grow by covering the base in manure, prompting a poem.
“The Yubberton Yawnies be so wise
They mucked the tower to make it rise
And when the muck began to sink
They swore the tower had grown an inch”
This all happens to be in prime Cotswold walking country.
I start at a previously undiscovered car park hidden behind a new build estate and handily positioned for the pub, the Ebrington Arms. North, climbing hills to Lark Stoke. Some fine views in all directions. I am sure the OS Maps had a feature where you could use the camera and it would identify topological features and superimpose the data on the views. If it is still there, I couldn't get it to work in the field.
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| Lark Stoke Hill Views |
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| And over Ilmington |
A drop down to the edge of Ilmington. This is a village recently walked on the Centenary Way. This means I have crossed the border from Gloucestershire into Warwickshire.
Back uphill, over Windmill to walk the grounds of Foxcote House.
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| A gap in the hedge to view Foxcote House |
Nash's lane to take me back to the pub. Did I find any idiots? Walking back into town, I followed two late middle aged ramblers who stopped to start passionately snogging. I wouldn't have minded, but this took place at the spot where I was thinking of having lunch. For a moment, I was worried things were going to escalate but they spied me getting my banana out (not a euphemism) and scuttled off.
Oh, and the pub beer garden had two men in identical clothes (yacht shoes, pink knee length shorts, stripey tops), with identical hair (bald, beard) both drinking rosé wine. Do these people phone each other up first?
The pub was labelled by the Times as the best Village Pub in England. It used to be owned by someone connected with the North Cotswold Brewery and sold a beer called Yubbies. It has changed ownership since my last visit but still has beers from that brewery in the line up. Knowing it would be more than a fiver a pint, I asked for a sample of the Shagweaver first.
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| Cotswold Village Pub - The Ebrington Arms |
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| Cask beer in a summertime garden |
Perfect condition. Just goes to show, you can have cask in summertime. If you pay £5.45.
Walk Details
Distance - 7 Miles
Geocaches - 7
Walk Inspiration - Loremen Podcast and Harry Hargreaves The Third Book of Cotswold Rambles, Walk 3
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