Just over a week to go

On Wednesday 7th may I travel up to Worcester to set out on the Big Walk again. I am always filled with a mix of excitement and nervousness just before I go. The excitement comes from the challenge and the discovery of new places along with the time I get to reflect on what's important. In contrast to this comes the fearful thoughts on how my feet will cope with the daily mileage and if when I arrive at the B and B they are expecting me! I learn in short to trust God more and me less.
I have been out doing my final long distance training this week which was 20.25 miles and involved 3750 feet of climbing in the Devon hills.
The countryside has turned notably  greener this week and the Bluebells are at their best. On my walk this week I saw several Jays and lots of Buzzards, Yellow Hammers and Skylarks. I also saw several large fields of Cuckoo flower of 4 or 5 acres in size. My route home takes me through Holyford woods which was once a site of gunpowder production. Climbing the hill out of the woods you the get a wonderful view over the Axe estuary before the easy downhill path to home. My feet held up fine so there are many " reasons to be cheerful".

A sunny day by a clear blue sea

With only about three weeks to go before I set out from Worcester on the next leg of my walk I strode out along the coastal path from Branscombe. The sun felt warm and the sea was calm and very clear.
I walked along the pebble beach and crossed a stream where it enters into the sea.. This called for a spot of long jumping in order to reach the other side and I continued my journey amongst the driftwood and debris that  had been left behind in the recent storms. On a day so calm it seemed hard to imagine that the sea had been anything but tranquil . After climbing to the top of the cliffs via the Hooken I crossed the caravan site  and headed towards the old cottages at the top of the cliffs. Crawling  on the grass in front of me was a Adder who was attracted by the warm sunshine and looking for his lunch. He crawled off  and I headed down the hill to "Great Seaside" where an Orange Tip butterfly had recently emerged and flew past me. I eventually reached my return point and headed for lunch at the Fountain  Head. The perfect end to a glorious mornings walk.

A Preparation day in the Devon Hills

I have been having problems with the side of my right foot so felt it was necessary to test it out before I started back on the LEJOG  in Worcester . My trip out today would be 21 miles out along the coastal path to Sidmouth and then head in land via Sidford and Southleigh and through Holyford woods and home. It was a sunny start to the day but there was a cool breeze blowing from the north which made you keep  your fleece on. The coastal path is winding steep and beautiful. I never tire of walking it and today it was the turn of the Rooks to grab my attention. They have just started nesting and their noisy calls can be heard from a long way off. As the coastal footpath follows the sheltered under cliff  with Speckled wood  butterflies on  patrol in the sunny glades. Evidence of the severe winter storms is apparent all along the coast with washed up debris everywhere . After lunch with 9 miles covered I started the long climb up to Harcombe and onto Southleigh . There were lots of lambs playing in the fields  and the primroses adorned the grassy banks. At Holyford woods many ash trees have been blown down by the recent storms their skeletons lying abandoned throughout the woods. All that remained was the final journey down hill to home having walked 21 miles. No doubt in the morning my legs will be a bit stiff but I did feel a sense of achievement and my right foot felt fine. So far so good!

The Big walk continues - Worcester to Northwich 111 miles

I am back walking the footpaths and roads of England in May and start my journey in Worcester . The route takes me through rural Worcestershire  on through the Shropshire hills and Into Cheshire .
I set out on the 8th May and hopefully get to Northwich in Cheshire  on the 13th of May.
Set out below is my route with each of its daily stages:
Day 1 Worcester to Tenbury Wells - 22 miles
Day 2 Tenbury Wells to Stokesay - 16  miles
Day 3 Stokesay to near Shrewsbury - 21 miles
Day 4 near Shrewsbury to Prees - 23 miles
Day 5 Prees to Tarporley - 17 miles
Day 6 Tarporley to Northwich -12miles
This will make a total of approx 111miles through some of England's most beautiful countryside .
I am looking forward to it already but let's hope it stops raining every day by then!!

Tewkesbury to Worcester-19 miles

The weather forecast for this morning had been filled with doom and gloom with wet weather and strong winds by 11 am.I felt that my best plan was an early breakfast and to try and get as near to Worcester before the deluge began. Leaving Tewkesbury I crossed two large rivers,the Avon and the Severn. My plan was to follow the Severn all along the Severn way footpath to Worcester . After three mile of doing this all seemed well, all I had to do was to follow the river. Suddenly without warning everything changed. The path I was following stopped and disappeared into a large jungle of Hymalian  balsam . This was about 8' tall and provided no clue on where to go. I thrashed my way through and by now my coat was soaked and covered with pink debris from the flowers. After about 20 yards more of jungle warfare I found traces of the path again and arrived at Shipton upon Severn. I decided after this episode that I would take the minor roads along side the Severn until they took me via a cycleway to the centre of Worcester. As I reached Worcester the cathedral bells were ringing and I found my B and B and reflected on my days adventure. It had stayed mostly dry all day and the prophets of doom were proved wrong. My journey had come to the end for another year. Next year it would be time to visit Shropshire and Cheshire God willing.

Cheltenham to Tewkesbury- 13 miles

It had rained most of the night and the morning had a similar theme to it, as I broke free of the urban area and out into the countryside. My route left the Cotswold way and followed a series of minor roads and footpaths in order to join up to the Gloucester way that would take me to Tewkesbury. There is always something very uncertain about public footpaths, that centres around their maintenance (or lack of it).This is how it was to be today as the footpath I had been following suddenly headed into a maize field with just a very muddy track through the middle. I emerged through the other side with mud laden boots only to be confronted by the path continuing across a ploughed field. This was too much for me and I headed around the narrow field margin to ensure I picked up the minimum of mud on my boots. I still managed to reach the other side walking like an astronaut with heavy space boots on. It took a few miles and lots of wet grass to shake off the farmers field.  Eventually I reached Tewkesbury and found a tea room where I ate my way through a toasted sandwich,some carrot cake and ice cream, washed down with a pot of tea and a glass of beer. I thought I would push the boat out! I found my B and B which was friendly and comfortably and showered away my aches and pains before finding an Italian  restaurant for my evening meal.

 

Painswick to Cheltenham - 15miles

As I drew back the curtain I could see that it was going to be one of those damp drizzly mornings. I had breakfast with some Australians, before loading up and heading out of the town, via a footpath across the golf course.  I was back on the Cotswold way again which headed over the hills to Birdlip through a series of dark damp woodlands. Every so often I would meet American walkers dressed in ponchos which they must have found useful as the rain got heavier. The woods following overnight rain had become sticky with mud and slopes had to be taken with care to avoid falling over. The swirling mist got denser the higher I got as I approached Birdlip. It was a bit like a scene from the Hounds of the Baskervilles. At Birdlip the welcome sight of The Air Balloon pub came into view and I stopped for lunch and to dry myself out. After lunch the sun came out and I descended off the hills to Cheltenham. After a while I reached the town centre and found my bed and breakfast. When staying in B and B's you have some pleasant surprises and unpleasant ones. This definitely fell into the latter category as the lady of the house had to be one of the least humorous people I have ever met. She seemed totally unsuited to the role that life had appointed her to of meeting and greeting  and reminded me of one of the Stepford wives, although less helpful. Breakfast next morning was a poor affair so I left early for the road to

Tewkesbury.