24-28th April 2006
Introduction
Each spring for six out of the last eight years, Mike and I have spent four or five days walking around the South West Peninsula Coast Path. Starting at Minehead in 1998, we chipped away at over 100 miles per year to reach Poole in April 2005. Our task was finally done and our life felt empty. So how were we to continue? Onward around the south coast (we could not face all those towns and built up coastline) or overseas round France or Ireland (too far for a short break). Finally the solution became obvious. We had last year passed by the start of the Macmillan Way, not far back down the Dorset coast near Abbotsbury. My mother had been diagnosed with cancer and was using the Macmillan Nurses. So all signs pointed us back to Chesil Beach and the start of a long walk north.
Monday 24th April 2006
I was awakened by a 6.00am alarm so that I could get some breakfast before driving over to Congleton. Mike was ready as always and we were travelling south by 7.00am. No point in worrying about the Birmingham traffic. The usual tactic is to have plenty of time to spare, join the queue, keep calm and eventually you are onto the M5 and moving again. We used the new exit off the motorway near Barnwood to get round to Cirencester and thence to Kemble station. Here we parked up and left the car to its fate. The station had a great atmosphere about it, friendly staff, a notice of the ‘station of the year’ award and glorious music (Benjamin Britten) emanating from the café. The man that ran the café told us about the Tunnel House Inn, the projected end of this year’s walk. ‘My local’ he said. ‘See you on Friday’ we called back as we left.
The journey down to Weymouth was faultless. The trains came spot on time and by 2.15pm we were waiting on Weymouth promenade for the once-a-day bus to Abbotsbury. The bus driver went out of his way to get us near to the start on Chesil beach. He went beyond his destination and let us off at his turning point at the beach road. So we only had 0.6mile to get to the start, a wooden walkway over the pebbles at the western end of Chesil beach
The stress just dropped away as we finally got walking. The clouds cleared and the sun struggled to get through as we traversed a glorious section of sheep-cropped hills near the coast. It was so dry underfoot, especially for two northerners with web feet. Moving fast and easily we had only one problem finding the route (around Maiden Newton) before we were passing an evening cricket match and crossing the church yard at Cattistock just as 7pm was chiming, bang on schedule.
We stayed in a lovely old house with a smashing couple. Sam was an OBE so we were in good hands.
Top of beach road: 15.00
Chesil Beach: 15.10
Cattistock 19.05
GPS Reading 13.53 miles in 4.05.36 (on route 12.9ml)
Ascent 2101ft Descent 1932ft
Stayed at Cattistock House, Cattistock, nr Dorchester, Dorset
DT2 0HY. Ate at the Fox and Hounds; I had cod and chips whilst Mike sampled the lamb curry. Puddings were not beyond our capacity. Beers: Dorset Gold (4.5%) and Copper Ale (3.7%) from Palmers Brewery, Bridport, Dorset
Tuesday 25th April 2006
We were down early for breakfast, raring to go. By 8.45am we were on the move (is this a record?). As we climbed up the first few fields, the drizzle got heavy enough to put up the umbrellas. The first section was a bit dreary, over large fields in wet misty conditions, into Yetminster. The route to Knighton was not easy to follow but things rapidly got better as the walking and weather improved. We were chased by frisky bullocks on the descent into Sherbourne. After a quick look round the abbey, we adjourned to a café on the main street for a much needed break. It had been a long morning.
The route left Sherbourne up paths and narrow lanes passed the golf course before dropping through woods to an easy-to-miss exit stile into farm land. The best of the day was still to come however as we passed through Sanford Orcas and up onto Corton Ridge. Views of Cadbury opened up as did the surrounding vista, spoilt only by the aircraft noise from nearby Yeovilton. We had made such good time that we decided to go the long way round Cadbury Castle using the Leland Trail to the west rather than two miles of tarmac. We were in South Cadbury and at the B&B soon after 5pm. Here we left our rucksacks and set off to explore the top of the ancient fort.
We always like to stay close to a pub but we hit the jackpot in South Cadbury. The Verney house is directly opposite the Camelot (ex Red Lion). So after showers and tea and lots of convivial chat with the Julie and Robin, we hopped across the road for a very fine meal. The Verney's had been extolling the quality of their local cheese maker, Montgomery’s, so we broke our usual custom of a ‘pudding’ to end the meal and shared a Montgomery cheeseboard instead.
Stayed at Lower Camelot B&B, South Cadbury, Nr. Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7HA
Cattistock dep. 08.45
Sherbourne (lunch) arr. 13.30
dep. 14.30
South Cadbury arr. 17.10
GPS Total: 23.5ml in 7.59.24 moving time
Ascent 2373ft Descent 2624ft
Ate at the Camelot. Steak and ale pie all round with the cheeseboard to finish.
Beers: Doombar, from Sharps Brewery in Wadebridge, Cornwall 4%
Golden Arrow, Cottage Brewing in Lovington, Somerset, 4.5%
Wednesday 26th April 2006
It was lovely sitting in the Verney’s conservatory having breakfast and listening to their conversation. Julie gave us each a slice of Montgomery Cheddar and a banana to see us on our way.
The route started with a road section across the A302 (like a motorway) and into North Cadbury. The highlight of the morning was the first view of Castle Cary and the Calvary and living cross planted in hawthorn high on the hillside above the town. We stopped only to read about the old castle foundations before we crossed over a ridge of hills in Bruton, entered down a most delightful wooded descent. Bruton looked a really nice little place although its narrow main street was totally inadequate for the size and amount of traffic. We popped our heads into the courtyard of Sexy’s Hospital before finding a tea shop for a sandwich and drink.
The next section started with a dead straight line, 3.5ml along an old coaching route. This led to a forest ridge where we turned left (north) beneath Alfred’s Tower. We were then a long time on wooded tracks before finally dropping back down into farm land and sunshine for the final few miles into Nunney.
This was the day we met our only other serious walkers. Four ladies were doing a multiple day trip of their own design across the south west. Later in the day, in the woods near Alfred’s Tower, a man strode towards us who had done most of the Macmillan way, but in out and back sections from his car.
We stayed at The Bell House, 2 Horn Street, Nunney, nr Frome, Somerset BA11 4NP. Our host had been born in Zimbabwe and still had family out in Southern Africa. The house had been a near ruin until the last war but had been rebuilt in the 1950’s and was fabulously situated at the heart of the village overlooking the castle. She was selling the house which would no longer be available to Macmillan Way walkers.
After a radox bath, we could just about manage a slow walk around the peaceful ruins of the castle on its moated island (French-style, so the notice told us). We ate in the George, the only poor pub we encountered. The beer was undrinkable. It is not often that I have to resort to red wine after a day’s walk. The food was ordinary, and that’s if you like Italian menus. The village had sadly lost a ‘local’ and it showed.
South Cadbury 09.04
Bruton (lunch) 12.30
Dep 13.15
Nunney arr 17.45
GPS Reading 24.18ml in 8.01.56 moving time plus 45 min lunch stop in Bruton
Ascent 3255ft descent 2987ft
Thursday 27th April 2006
We made a big effort to get up and breakfast early. We had two very long days ahead of us. So we were away from Nunney before 9am and off through the suitably named ‘Murder Combe’. It was really getting quite warm as we crossed Orchardleigh Golf Course with its poorly signed rights of way. But having managed the difficult bit, I made a total hash of the navigation on the next section and almost missed the path towards Beckington and the only section I had been on before. However we soon had the long road section through Rode behind us and I was back in the groove and unwilling to stop at Tellisford when Mike called me back to look at an old mill. It had seemed of little interest as I had passed it but Mike, with his usual nose for the unusual, had asked a builder what was happening and had uncovered a low head hydro scheme (55-60kW). I was soon in my element discussing kilowatts and voltages with the owner, a man who had already invested over £600k into a scheme with a 20-year payback.
All this delayed our entry into Bradford-on-Avon and our lunch. Our very expensive crumpets and cheese were spoilt somewhat by the volume and content of the conversation (monologue) from the next table. A loud woman complained to the whole tea-shop about her unhappy love life and her hatred of all things male. Perhaps her feet were as sore as ours.
The batteries had failed in my GPS so our mileages from now on were depended on the guidebook. It got hillier again as we approached Box and the busy A4. The riverside walk up By Brook turned out to be a drag across untrodden fields of long grass and marsh. By the time that Jill phoned to report my mother’s state of health, ours was not a lot better. Finally however we climbed into the final wood towards Slaughterford where we turned up the hill to our B&B in Biddestone. It was more than the suggested mile off route to Home Farm and our beds for the night. Quick showers (no time to wallow tonight) and we crossed back over the village green to the White Horse and a most welcome Woolly Bully Pie. We slept well.
Nunney dep. 08.49
Bradford-on-Avon arr. 14.30
dep. 15.15
Biddestone arr. 18.50
Estimated mileage 28 miles in 9hrs 15 min plus 45 mins for lunch. Ascent unmeasured.
Stayed at Home Farm, Biddestone, Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7DG.
Ate at the White Horse Inn, Woolly Bully Pie all round followed by some form of tart (real puddings were not a feature of this trip).
Beer was Butcombe Bitter 4.0%
Friday 28th April 2006
We spent a little too long talking to Mrs Smith so it was gone 8.45am when we pulled on our walking shoes for the last time and set off down the long lane leading to Slaughterford and the official route. I clocked 1.3 miles on the GPS before we were able to turn up By Brook and onto Ford and Castle Combe. Briefly stopping in the village to ring Felicity, we then crossed the most delightful of golf courses. Soon we could hear the roar of the M4 but this quickly faded after we had passed under it and into a long field-crossing section. A bench outside Luckington Church proved too tempting and we took our first rest of the day. This was fortuitous because Sherston, my original target for lunch, proved devoid of all cafes and tea-shops (this may have been because street closures forced us to by-pass the main street).
I had never been to Westonbirt before, a failing that we were soon to correct. The owners, who charge substantial entry fees, keep quiet about the right of way traversing the arboretum. So we got a free taster of the wonderful woodland, set out in rolling parkland. After this beautiful section it was out onto the roads once more and thence to dry dusty tracks passed Chavenage House. I was praying for afternoon tea by the time we dropped into Avening but, once again, the route took us away from the shopping area. However the last shop, a post office with a bench outside, proved our salvation. We sat beside the road for 15 minutes eating Belgian buns and doughnuts. This was just the boost we needed to face the final section and we eventually took the welcome turn towards Tarlton and the finish.
We only had one more decision to make. To plod the 2 miles odd down the road to Kemble and the car, or complete our planned route to the Tunnel House Inn and phone a taxi. It was a difficult choice to ask two tired thirsty men to make. We arrived at the Tunnel House Inn at 6.20pm. We walked directly up to the bar and there, downing a lovely looking pint was our friend from the café at Kemble station, just as he said he would be five days previously. He introduced us to the landlord who listened with interest to oure tale of our week. 120 miles in 4 days and 3 hours. We quickly disposed of a pint of Uley Bitter 4% whilst the landlord ordered us a taxi. When this arrived, we wished our new friends au revoir and promised to be back next year to continue our walk north along the Macmillan Way.
The taxi took us to Kemble station where we found the car safe and sound but very dusty. It started first time. So by 7.10pm we were away and heading for the M5 and home. An easy drive saw us in Congleton by 9.30pm. I dropped off Mike and came straight home for a welcome shower and cheese on toast. I felt in relatively good condition and was soon falling asleep dreaming about the logistics of getting from Kemble to Oakham next spring.
Biddestone dep. 08.50
Tunnel House Inn arr. 18.20
9hrs 30mins for 28 miles (estimated).
Wednesday 13 August 2008
Offa's Dyke (Northern Section)
25th - 27th September 2006
Introduction
As a training session and remedial exercise for a bad back, I took up Mike Laurence’s suggestion for a good long walk before the winter. Offa’s Dyke is on our doorstep. Mike had never done it and it was many years since I did the southern section with John Myddelton.
Monday 25th September 2006
I left home just before 7am and wandered down to the college to catch the 38 bus to Crewe. I still was not sure whether the road to Congleton was open or whether the diversion up Ivy Lane still applied. Mike was waiting at the new bus station in Congleton and we had a slow but steady journey to Crewe Station. We found an immediate train to Chester and had long enough here to manage our first cappuccino and cake. Before we knew it, we were drawing into Prestatyn station and the start of the National Trail. Being purists we had to walk down to the see (Mike even went onto the beach). At 10.05am we were off, back to the station and the main shopping area and then up onto a wooded traverse of a ridge above the town. It was amazing how quickly we were out of civilisation and into pretty countryside with spectacular views along the Welsh coast.
The route looked well signposted but, in these early days, we missed a finger post and were off route by ½ mile before we suspected our error. That added another mile to the total. As we dropped into Bodfari we met a lady using a hawthorn branch as a walking stick. She told us she was from Sydney and had been away from home and her family for 5 months. She must like walking. She had a book listing accommodation and we took some phone numbers. A shop in Bodfari (3-3.20pm) sold us some water and chocolate ice creams. We had seen lots of Dim Parcio signs before but here we came across a Dim Stopio. It was getting very hot.
We rang a pub about halfway along the Clywydian mountain chain but no one was in so we left messages on the answer phone. Now was the time to commit ourselves to the mountains. It was a stiff climb up to the ridge, a climb that indicated just how unfit I was, especially in this heat. The main ridge was fantastic walking and we crossed the first major peak, Moel Arthur, and dropped steeply down to a col and road crossing (5pm). Still no reply from the pub below us so we had no alternative but to go on. Before we did however, I tried the Druid Inn in Llanferres and the owner said she could accommodate us and pick us up when we knew where we would come out. So we set out with positive steps for the traverse of Moel Famau, with its ruined Jubilee Tower on its summit. A long but easy descent took us down to the road and our destination for the day
We got down to the car park on Bwlch Penbarras at 6.45pm and rang the owner of the Druid Inn. She was a bit hazy as to which car park until I mentioned the Grouse, a huge black and red wooden carving. As soon as I mentioned this she knew exactly where we were and 10 minutes later we were driving down narrow lanes to Llanferres. We had a nice room, good showers and a pleasant pint of Marsdens Pedigree. This washed down a Steak and Ale Pie and a treacle sponge pudding
22miles in 8hr 45m
Tuesday 26th September 2006
A most pleasant lady was up and waiting as we came down for an 8am breakfast. After we had eaten everything she fried for us, she drove us back up to Penbarras and we were setting off at 8.57am on a beautiful cloudless morning, climbing Foel Fenlli, green above us in the morning sunshine against a blue sky.
In no time at all (probably nearly an hour) we were crossing the A494 at Clwyd Gate and on our way to Llandegla. Before we got to the village, a farming family stopped us for a chat and laughingly suggested we would be able to round up their sheep for them. The post office served tea and we bought some cakes in their shop so we had a good 30-minute rest (11.45-12.15) before starting out again into a warm afternoon. The climb up through Llandegla Forest (Dim Bicio signs) was shaded but we were soon out onto the open moor where Mike practiced his Welsh on a mountain biker. A mountain road took us down into Worlds End. The next section was a delight, a long traverse under some limestone outcrops, with ravens, buzzards and a peregrine falcon up above. We stopped for a short lunch break in this magnificent scenery. Next we gained the road which continued the traverse passed Castell Dinas Bran. It got very hot on the road, glaring sunshine with no wind. Eventually however we started the drop through the woods to Trevor. Here was the only piece of badly marked route that we experienced. An unmarked stile before the first house led to a disused railway embankment with no indication that a national trail ran that way. If Mike had not seen a family walking towards us from the other side, we would never have found the slippery decent from the embankment and the stile leading to the Llangollen canal.
We were only on the towpath for 400 yards. This brought us to a boat yard leading to the Pont Cysyllte but the tea shop therein was a more immediate attraction. I pleasant young girl served us tea and cakes, our second indulgence of the day. Then came the spectacular walk over the aqueduct with the River Dee a long way below us. I was really getting tired and sore footed as we tramped the 1.5 mile of towpath before the southern turn for our first view of Offa’s Dyke proper. The more impressive site was the B&B sign and my legs gave way. But Mike was understanding enough to know I was suffering so we knocked on the door of Plas Offa Farm even though it was not yet 5.30pm. We were shown a lovely big room by the farmer’s wife. The strange bird sounds were soon traced to the front garden where two parrots (one Amazon and one Macaw) sat squawking away.
The walk along the A5 to the pub proved longer than the half-mile that our landlady suggested but the Aqueduct Inn proved a welcoming pub, Pedigree again, and I this time tried a chicken curry and pudding before watching United on the big screen as they struggled to beat Bernfica. Mike’s torch did not work for the walk back but we managed with no problem to find our farm and our beds.
23 miles in 8hr 30m
Wednesday 27th September 2006
The forecast was not as good as for the last two days so the grey morning skies were not a surprise. It was a lot cooler as well which suited me better. Armed with another good fry-up and a plethora of blister patches, I felt I was finally walking myself fit. We were away again just before 9am. The easier ground was also more conducive to the fast pace required to get to Welshpool and the train home. Anyway there was a bus from Llanymynech so it was not vital that we made the full distance. We made good time on the first section through the grounds of Chirk Castle (open until the end of the month). A surprisingly big climb took us up onto an undulating plateau which ended in a road section to the Old Racecourse above Oswestry. We were now back in England. A magnificent descending forest path look us to a complex section of the route which wound its way round Trefonen taking in isolated areas of high ground. One of these, Moelydd, gave us a fantastic panorama.
Then it was up towards the golf course and Llanymynech Rocks and another limestone outcrop. A helicopter was circling over the village as we dropped down though the trees back into Wales to the final mile of road. It had been a long hard section with no shops, pubs or tea shops; 17 miles of non-stop walking in 5½ hrs. There was no café in the village, just 3 pubs and a post office. We checked to make sure the buses were still running then we tried a pub. No luck, she was not serving food at 2.30pm. The next pub would make us a pot of tea but took umbrage at my suggestion that I get some food in the post office and bring it into the pub. Yet she would not make us any food herself. I was beginning to feel unwelcome here. The last pub, the Dolphin Inn, looked a bit crummy but, as chance would have it, proved our salvation. The landlord could not do enough for us and we had bowls of soup and lovely baguettes. So at 3.15pm we were ready to start again. The only worry was that there was a very long way to go; almost 12 miles to Welshpool station. And our train was at 6.55pm.
The section proved very straightforward, towpath at first then a section on the dyke proper and finally along the flood embankment of the River Severn. At Pool Quay the route crosses the main road and takes to the towpath of the Montgomery Canal again. Where this turned off for the last mile to Buttington Bridge, we stayed with the canal right into and across the town. The station looked very pretty in the oncoming darkness at 6.45pm. A lovely old building lit up splendidly. It was a bit of a shock when we found that it did not have a railway line or platform. This had disappeared under the new road and the present railway is now over a footbridge and on the other side of the trunk road. However our journey was finally at an end and we were just in time for the train.
This was late but there was still time to change my clothes and have a quick coffee and sandwich at Shrewsbury. Then the Crewe train came in and we were on our way northwards and home wards. A comfortable connection at Crewe saw us on the 38 bus (free for those with a bus pass). The diversion route into Macclesfield enabled me to be set down at the end of my drive so I only had another 100 yards to walk. So ended a great few days out. I felt a lot fitter, less stressed and my back had been forgotten. Let’s hope the bedroom did not have a Dim Sleepio sign.
29 miles in 9hrs 45 min
Introduction
As a training session and remedial exercise for a bad back, I took up Mike Laurence’s suggestion for a good long walk before the winter. Offa’s Dyke is on our doorstep. Mike had never done it and it was many years since I did the southern section with John Myddelton.
Monday 25th September 2006
I left home just before 7am and wandered down to the college to catch the 38 bus to Crewe. I still was not sure whether the road to Congleton was open or whether the diversion up Ivy Lane still applied. Mike was waiting at the new bus station in Congleton and we had a slow but steady journey to Crewe Station. We found an immediate train to Chester and had long enough here to manage our first cappuccino and cake. Before we knew it, we were drawing into Prestatyn station and the start of the National Trail. Being purists we had to walk down to the see (Mike even went onto the beach). At 10.05am we were off, back to the station and the main shopping area and then up onto a wooded traverse of a ridge above the town. It was amazing how quickly we were out of civilisation and into pretty countryside with spectacular views along the Welsh coast.
The route looked well signposted but, in these early days, we missed a finger post and were off route by ½ mile before we suspected our error. That added another mile to the total. As we dropped into Bodfari we met a lady using a hawthorn branch as a walking stick. She told us she was from Sydney and had been away from home and her family for 5 months. She must like walking. She had a book listing accommodation and we took some phone numbers. A shop in Bodfari (3-3.20pm) sold us some water and chocolate ice creams. We had seen lots of Dim Parcio signs before but here we came across a Dim Stopio. It was getting very hot.
We rang a pub about halfway along the Clywydian mountain chain but no one was in so we left messages on the answer phone. Now was the time to commit ourselves to the mountains. It was a stiff climb up to the ridge, a climb that indicated just how unfit I was, especially in this heat. The main ridge was fantastic walking and we crossed the first major peak, Moel Arthur, and dropped steeply down to a col and road crossing (5pm). Still no reply from the pub below us so we had no alternative but to go on. Before we did however, I tried the Druid Inn in Llanferres and the owner said she could accommodate us and pick us up when we knew where we would come out. So we set out with positive steps for the traverse of Moel Famau, with its ruined Jubilee Tower on its summit. A long but easy descent took us down to the road and our destination for the day
We got down to the car park on Bwlch Penbarras at 6.45pm and rang the owner of the Druid Inn. She was a bit hazy as to which car park until I mentioned the Grouse, a huge black and red wooden carving. As soon as I mentioned this she knew exactly where we were and 10 minutes later we were driving down narrow lanes to Llanferres. We had a nice room, good showers and a pleasant pint of Marsdens Pedigree. This washed down a Steak and Ale Pie and a treacle sponge pudding
22miles in 8hr 45m
Tuesday 26th September 2006
A most pleasant lady was up and waiting as we came down for an 8am breakfast. After we had eaten everything she fried for us, she drove us back up to Penbarras and we were setting off at 8.57am on a beautiful cloudless morning, climbing Foel Fenlli, green above us in the morning sunshine against a blue sky.
In no time at all (probably nearly an hour) we were crossing the A494 at Clwyd Gate and on our way to Llandegla. Before we got to the village, a farming family stopped us for a chat and laughingly suggested we would be able to round up their sheep for them. The post office served tea and we bought some cakes in their shop so we had a good 30-minute rest (11.45-12.15) before starting out again into a warm afternoon. The climb up through Llandegla Forest (Dim Bicio signs) was shaded but we were soon out onto the open moor where Mike practiced his Welsh on a mountain biker. A mountain road took us down into Worlds End. The next section was a delight, a long traverse under some limestone outcrops, with ravens, buzzards and a peregrine falcon up above. We stopped for a short lunch break in this magnificent scenery. Next we gained the road which continued the traverse passed Castell Dinas Bran. It got very hot on the road, glaring sunshine with no wind. Eventually however we started the drop through the woods to Trevor. Here was the only piece of badly marked route that we experienced. An unmarked stile before the first house led to a disused railway embankment with no indication that a national trail ran that way. If Mike had not seen a family walking towards us from the other side, we would never have found the slippery decent from the embankment and the stile leading to the Llangollen canal.
We were only on the towpath for 400 yards. This brought us to a boat yard leading to the Pont Cysyllte but the tea shop therein was a more immediate attraction. I pleasant young girl served us tea and cakes, our second indulgence of the day. Then came the spectacular walk over the aqueduct with the River Dee a long way below us. I was really getting tired and sore footed as we tramped the 1.5 mile of towpath before the southern turn for our first view of Offa’s Dyke proper. The more impressive site was the B&B sign and my legs gave way. But Mike was understanding enough to know I was suffering so we knocked on the door of Plas Offa Farm even though it was not yet 5.30pm. We were shown a lovely big room by the farmer’s wife. The strange bird sounds were soon traced to the front garden where two parrots (one Amazon and one Macaw) sat squawking away.
The walk along the A5 to the pub proved longer than the half-mile that our landlady suggested but the Aqueduct Inn proved a welcoming pub, Pedigree again, and I this time tried a chicken curry and pudding before watching United on the big screen as they struggled to beat Bernfica. Mike’s torch did not work for the walk back but we managed with no problem to find our farm and our beds.
23 miles in 8hr 30m
Wednesday 27th September 2006
The forecast was not as good as for the last two days so the grey morning skies were not a surprise. It was a lot cooler as well which suited me better. Armed with another good fry-up and a plethora of blister patches, I felt I was finally walking myself fit. We were away again just before 9am. The easier ground was also more conducive to the fast pace required to get to Welshpool and the train home. Anyway there was a bus from Llanymynech so it was not vital that we made the full distance. We made good time on the first section through the grounds of Chirk Castle (open until the end of the month). A surprisingly big climb took us up onto an undulating plateau which ended in a road section to the Old Racecourse above Oswestry. We were now back in England. A magnificent descending forest path look us to a complex section of the route which wound its way round Trefonen taking in isolated areas of high ground. One of these, Moelydd, gave us a fantastic panorama.
Then it was up towards the golf course and Llanymynech Rocks and another limestone outcrop. A helicopter was circling over the village as we dropped down though the trees back into Wales to the final mile of road. It had been a long hard section with no shops, pubs or tea shops; 17 miles of non-stop walking in 5½ hrs. There was no café in the village, just 3 pubs and a post office. We checked to make sure the buses were still running then we tried a pub. No luck, she was not serving food at 2.30pm. The next pub would make us a pot of tea but took umbrage at my suggestion that I get some food in the post office and bring it into the pub. Yet she would not make us any food herself. I was beginning to feel unwelcome here. The last pub, the Dolphin Inn, looked a bit crummy but, as chance would have it, proved our salvation. The landlord could not do enough for us and we had bowls of soup and lovely baguettes. So at 3.15pm we were ready to start again. The only worry was that there was a very long way to go; almost 12 miles to Welshpool station. And our train was at 6.55pm.
The section proved very straightforward, towpath at first then a section on the dyke proper and finally along the flood embankment of the River Severn. At Pool Quay the route crosses the main road and takes to the towpath of the Montgomery Canal again. Where this turned off for the last mile to Buttington Bridge, we stayed with the canal right into and across the town. The station looked very pretty in the oncoming darkness at 6.45pm. A lovely old building lit up splendidly. It was a bit of a shock when we found that it did not have a railway line or platform. This had disappeared under the new road and the present railway is now over a footbridge and on the other side of the trunk road. However our journey was finally at an end and we were just in time for the train.
This was late but there was still time to change my clothes and have a quick coffee and sandwich at Shrewsbury. Then the Crewe train came in and we were on our way northwards and home wards. A comfortable connection at Crewe saw us on the 38 bus (free for those with a bus pass). The diversion route into Macclesfield enabled me to be set down at the end of my drive so I only had another 100 yards to walk. So ended a great few days out. I felt a lot fitter, less stressed and my back had been forgotten. Let’s hope the bedroom did not have a Dim Sleepio sign.
29 miles in 9hrs 45 min
Tuesday 5 August 2008
Fife Coastal Path
13-17th August 2007
Introduction
David rang me in late July and proposed a walking holiday. August is not a good time for mountains, England tends to be booked up, and Scotland is full of midges. So a research session revealed the best compromise for the time of year; a coast path in the driest part of Scotland away from any insects. The logistics were not straight-forward but eventually I came upon the solution of doing the walk from south to north (leaving the best bits for later) and leaving a car at the end.
Monday 13th August 2007: Start in the Rain
North Queensferry, dep. 15.00
Aberdour, arr. 17.15
Dave had arrived in Macclesfield the previous night so we were able to get a good early start. By 7am we were on our way towards the M6. At the M74 services, we had a quick coffee and cake before David took over the driving so I could navigate over the Kincardine Bridge and across into northern Fife.
It was a very easy and straightforward drive and by mid-day we were parking up in Newport-on-Tay and looking for suitable buses. I had originally planned a bus south to Leucars but this now did not look possible so we took a short ride north across the Tay Road Bridge into Dundee. The bus and train stations are not exactly adjacent so we had a mile through the main shopping streets before getting to the railway station and another coffee and refreshments. At about 1.30pm a train should have arrived to take us south but this was late and we had a worry about making a connection at Kirkcaldy. However, we eventually chugged back over the Tay, with me thinking about McGonagall’s poem ‘The Tay Bridge Disaster’. The countryside looked lovely as we crossed back across the Kingdom of Fife. We passed the ABNA mill at Coupar and then on to Kirkcaldy. We made the connection by a couple on minutes so were very soon going south west down the coast which we were to walk over the next two days.
Just as we pulled into North Queensferry it started to pour down. We thought that this was the beginning of the forecast storms. A steep decent down the road took us to the start, me crouched under the umbrella. We took a quick photograph underneath the Forth Bridge and set off, a few minutes after 3pm. The rain was intermittent throughout the afternoon. The initial mile round a headland was pleasant but then degenerated into a scrap yard/waste recycling plant and the streets of Inverkeithing. The threatened suburban traverse of Dalgety Bay was better than feared with pleasant avenues between the new houses and the shoreline. All we could see to the right was the city of Edinburgh across the water.
We made excellent time round to Aberdour and quickly found our B&B. The nearest pub, the Cedar Inn, was the recommended one and a few pints of London Pride and a plate of fish and chips and the world seemed a better place. The rain had stopped and the skies had cleared. Little did we know that this was the last rain we would see? An early night, the logistics of the car placement behind us, and the walk was all set up for the taking.
We stayed at Peartree House, 13a Shore Road, Aberdour, Fife, KY3 0TR. We ate at the Cedar Inn; I had fish and chips and drank London Pride and Deuchars.
Total distance (GPS), 8.20 miles
Moving time, 2.15.00 hrs
Total ascent, 632 ft. Total descent, 575 ft
Tuesday 17th April 2007; Home of a Prime Minister
Aberdour, dep. 09.37
Coaltown of Wymess, arr. 14.50
The village of Aberdour looked a delight as we set off the next morning under sunny skies. It was cool and clear and the views to the south were spectacular. The route followed the railway, sometimes on the far side from the sea. We found all sorts of problems getting through Burntisland. A road was closed at a bridge and the diversion put almost a mile on our route, not a pretty mile. Eventually though, we came round to the leisure centre and a little beach and began our way down the coast. We were forced onto the pavement beside a busy road and had a dreary two miles up passed caravan sites and golf courses until we were able to turn back towards the sea in the village of Kinghorn.
A short off road section took us round to Kirkcaldy which had a long and bleak promenade with the town up the hill to our left. Desperate for a cup of tea, we shot into a shopping centre and sat in a coffee shop for a quick lunch. There was little to see so we set off again at a good pace and were round through Dyserth by early afternoon and came upon a section of cliff top reclaimed from coal mining and slag heaps. The smell of sewage sprayed onto the fields was revolting. At last the industry was behind us and we started onto our first really pleasant section of grassy path round to the pretty village of West Wymyss. The white tower and refurbished cottages looked colourful in the sunshine. It was only 2.30pm when we came to the point for leaving the route and climbing up through the woods to find our accommodation for the evening.
I made a mess of the navigation and ended up in a huge field of cabbage, with a view of the pub beyond. A high wall proved a difficult barrier especially as it dropped us into a busy A-road. We got to the pub before 3pm, hours earlier than intended. It was closed; in fact it looked almost derelict. However we were eventually able to rouse someone, the son of the owner who was able to show us our rooms. So we have time for a good read and rest before the bar opened. The beer was not real ale, but went down well enough. The portions of food were huge. I had the biggest plate of curry I can ever recall and David had a monster burger and chips. We watched a bit of the Rangers match on TV before calling it a day. This was not the place to ask for some English football. We stayed in The Earl David Hotel, Main Street, Coaltown of Wemyss, Fife, KY1 4NN and drank Belhaven 80/-.
Total distance (GPS), 16.05 miles
Moving time, 4 hrs 36m 55s.
Average speed, 3.4 mph. Average pace, 17m 14s per mile
Total ascent, 2050 ft. Total descent, 1924 ft
Wednesday 18th April 2007: Robinson Crusoe and Chocolate Brownies
Coaltown of Wymess, dep. 09.05
Elie (lunch), arr. 13.45., dep. 14.15
Anstruther, arr. 16.20
It must have been the biggest breakfast I have ever faced, the complete works including both black pudding and haggis. But we had ahead of us our longest day so we would need the calories later. The rain during the night had cleared to leave a bright sunny morning, not too warm and perfect for walking. We set off down the road and this time found the correct track through the woods and back down to the sea. The early part of the walk was not an inspiration. The first two miles were OK but after we had passed through East Wymess and up to the top of the cliffs, we descended into Buckhaven and an hour of dreary suburbia ending with a power station.
But eventually we came to the bridge over the Leven and we crossed into a different world, a world of promenades, gardens, and guest houses. A huge beach stretched out in front of us and for the first time in the walk, we were able to take to the sand. Rachel texted me soon after we had started the crossing. I rang her back and noticed for the first time that David had dropped back and was walking with his head down. ‘Blisters’ I thought, regretting that I had not lent him my needles to burst them the previous night.
The route came back to the shore for a river crossing. The sand dunes around Lundin Links were hard work after the firm wet sands of Largo Bay. A lovely little bridge took us over to Lower Largo and the Crusoe Hotel. It did not look a likely tea stop so we walked on through town looking for a café. All we found was Alexander Selkirk’s house, the birthplace of the guy whose desert island experiences became the model for Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
David then explained that his knee was hurting, it was more serious than blisters. There was nothing we could do but walk on, over several more miles of sand before a deep river forced us inland and over a couple of wooden footbridges. These gave us access to a headland comprising
of a caravan site and Shell Bay, a lovely remote beach. A short climb to a tower led us over to a view of Elie and its magnificent golf course. A steep drop brought us back to sea level and a footpath around the course. Soon we were in the village of Elie enjoying chocolate brownies and tea at the Harbour Master’s café.
David’s leg was stiffening up but he decided he could make the last six miles so we left Elie for probably the best stretch of coastline, through the small fishing ports of St Monan’s, with it church by the sea, and Pittenweem. We turned left at Anstruther golf club-house and came out on the road just near our bed and breakfast. It had been a long hot day, a day which had reduced David to a hobble. After a short rest we slowly plodded down towards the harbour, pausing for a really good meal at the Dreel Tavern, haddock and vegetables, and then round the harbour for a pint in a small pub. We spent a pleasant half hour talking to an old couple who had just sailed over from North Berwick for the Anstruther Muster, an annual meeting of yachts.
David was now of the opinion that his walk was over and when he found that there was a bus to Glasgow that left at a convenient time in the morning, he resolved to go over to see Rachel.
We stayed at The Grange, 45 Pittenweem Road, Anstruther, Fife, KY10 3DT
Total distance (GPS), 21.70 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 52m 40s
Average speed, 3.1 mph. Average pace, 19.08 m per mile
Total ascent, 856 ft. Total descent, 919 ft
Thursday 19th April 2007: On my own round Fife Ness
Anstruther, dep. 09.00
St Andrews, arr. 16.10
It was obviously the right decision of David’s to terminate his walk and jump on the bus back towards Rachel’s. What was I to do? Go with him, go and get the car, or carry on? I had already paid for a rather expensive night’s accommodation in St Andrews and it would not be much longer to walk back to the car, possibly only setting me 24 hours behind David. So we parted at the bus stop by the quay in Anstruther and I set off on my own. I sat for a few minutes to ring the lady in St Andrews and warn her that we were down to a party of one. Then off I set on a glorious morning. Considering the weather that England was getting, we had been amazingly lucky.
It seemed no time round to Crail and onwards towards the eastern tip of Fife. I paused momentarily at a mobile home site to ask a lad painting a new prefab how much they were going for. ‘£200,000 for this one’, he replied. I walked on aghast. Finally I came to Fife Ness, not dramatic in the Cornish or Welsh way, just a low headland with a modern coastguard station and light house. Rather a let-down, really. Round the corner I came to my first golf course. Golf was going to dominate the next 24-hours. The first course was OK but I soon came to a notice that instructed me to ‘Walk on the Beach and if the tide is in, wait for the water to recede’. I began to feel unwelcome.
Whilst on the beach I saw an old settee in the sand-dunes so I was reminded of how hungry I was. I ate my emergency rations, the flapjacks I carry around the outside of the rucksack. Whilst I was preparing to continue, a couple came up the beach and were obviously happy to chat. I ended up walking with them for over an hour; David and Deidre, an architect and his wife from near Glasgow. I took a picture of them as we crossed the footbridge over the river just north of
Kingsbarn. By the time we got back to the coast and the weird shaped rock formations, I felt that Deirdre was uncomfortable with the rather relentless pace that I had injected into their walk. They seemed happy to wish me well and see me on my way. So back on my own, I soon pulled round a low headland and got my first view of St Andrews. This was rather dramatic. With its towers and ruins, it reminded me of a central Asian city seen in the distance from a desert crossing. The sea in between us gave it away, but it was with renewed enthusiasm that I strode out over the last couple of miles and dropped back into civilisation. Except for golfers, it had been a remote section of coast; no villages and very few farms.
The route came into town passed the leisure centre, along the east beach and then crossed over the lock gates of a delightful harbour. I kept to the outermost roads through the town until I finally came out at the old course. This came as a shock. I had no idea that the golf course came right into the town centre.
That was enough on the route for one day and time to turn inland to search for my bed & breakfast. It seemed a long was out and I was tired and grumpy when I arrived at the house, especially as I realised that I was going to have to walk all the way back into town later for a meal. But a shower and a rest revived me and I thoroughly enjoyed my exploratory walk round town and my real ale and fish and chips in the Cellar Bar in Bell Street. I was served by a delightful guy, a student earning some extra money in the bar. I had probably completed another three miles by the time I got back to the B&B for my early night.
I stayed at Balrymouth B&B, 6 Balrymonth Court, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8XT. I ate at the Cellar Bar in Bell Street and enjoyed Lomond Gold and Osians ales.
Total distance (GPS), 20.15 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 33m 31
Average speed, 3.0 mph. Average pace, 19m 31s per mile
Total ascent, 1079 ft. Total descent, 1029 ft
Friday 20th April 2007: Road and Forest
St Andrews, dep. 08.37
Tentsmuir Car Park (lunch), arr. 11.30, dep. 11.40
Newport on Tay, arr. 14.15
The lad in the bar the previous night had told me that the golf clubs were not happy with the development of the coastal path. I was now to find out just how unwelcome the walker is in St Andrews.
The map showed me that the route continued over all the golf courses, off road all the way from the old course to Guardbridge. However soon after walking down the 18th and reaching the road hole green, the notice diverted me onto a tarmac cycle way beside the A91. On another delightful and sunny morning, I had four miles along the main road, then two more miles passed RAF Leuchars and then on and on along tarmac towards the main car park of Tentsmuir Forest. By the time I stopped for my first break, I had done 10 miles of road walking I was very thankful that my new shoes were so comfortable.
I was delighted that there was a tea caravan in the car park and would have sat there for ages enjoying the drink and a rest if it had not been for a family who screamed and shouted at each and completely shattered the peace. So I took my tea and set off north along a wide forest trail, sipping my drink as I went. It seemed an age before the trail eventually came to Tentsmuir Head, the turn into the Firth of Tay. I had a quick rest on a bench overlooking the sea and estuary, my first view of the coast today. A couple of ladies walked passed on a narrow sandy track and I realised that there was a way along the coast that was outside the forest. So I took to this path and this led me on to the wet estuary sand. As the tide was out I made good time right along into Tayport. This looked a nice little place but I was soon through and onto an old railway, tarmac surfaced unfortunately, which led quickly round to the Tay road bridge and thence into Newport. I resisted the temptation of finishing at the car but marched resolutely on to the jetty which is the official start and finish of the route. Then I turned slowly back and returned the half mile to the car via a shop where I got a bottle of wine and some flowers for Rachel.
The car was OK and I quickly changed out of my walking shirt and started the drive back to Ayrshire. The earlier I got round Glasgow, the more likely I would be to miss the Friday rush hour traffic. This was not too bad and by 5 pm I was parking up outside Queens Terrace and enjoying a shower and my first pint of tea with Rachel and Johnny. David’s knee was no better and he would need work on his leg and back the following week. Thankfully he was soon to recover.
Total distance (GPS), 19.00 miles
Moving time , 5 hrs 27m 36s
Average speed, 3.4 mph. Average pace, 17.28 m per mile
Total ascent, 1151 ft. Total descent, 1107 ft
Introduction
David rang me in late July and proposed a walking holiday. August is not a good time for mountains, England tends to be booked up, and Scotland is full of midges. So a research session revealed the best compromise for the time of year; a coast path in the driest part of Scotland away from any insects. The logistics were not straight-forward but eventually I came upon the solution of doing the walk from south to north (leaving the best bits for later) and leaving a car at the end.
Monday 13th August 2007: Start in the Rain
North Queensferry, dep. 15.00
Aberdour, arr. 17.15
Dave had arrived in Macclesfield the previous night so we were able to get a good early start. By 7am we were on our way towards the M6. At the M74 services, we had a quick coffee and cake before David took over the driving so I could navigate over the Kincardine Bridge and across into northern Fife.
It was a very easy and straightforward drive and by mid-day we were parking up in Newport-on-Tay and looking for suitable buses. I had originally planned a bus south to Leucars but this now did not look possible so we took a short ride north across the Tay Road Bridge into Dundee. The bus and train stations are not exactly adjacent so we had a mile through the main shopping streets before getting to the railway station and another coffee and refreshments. At about 1.30pm a train should have arrived to take us south but this was late and we had a worry about making a connection at Kirkcaldy. However, we eventually chugged back over the Tay, with me thinking about McGonagall’s poem ‘The Tay Bridge Disaster’. The countryside looked lovely as we crossed back across the Kingdom of Fife. We passed the ABNA mill at Coupar and then on to Kirkcaldy. We made the connection by a couple on minutes so were very soon going south west down the coast which we were to walk over the next two days.
Just as we pulled into North Queensferry it started to pour down. We thought that this was the beginning of the forecast storms. A steep decent down the road took us to the start, me crouched under the umbrella. We took a quick photograph underneath the Forth Bridge and set off, a few minutes after 3pm. The rain was intermittent throughout the afternoon. The initial mile round a headland was pleasant but then degenerated into a scrap yard/waste recycling plant and the streets of Inverkeithing. The threatened suburban traverse of Dalgety Bay was better than feared with pleasant avenues between the new houses and the shoreline. All we could see to the right was the city of Edinburgh across the water.
We made excellent time round to Aberdour and quickly found our B&B. The nearest pub, the Cedar Inn, was the recommended one and a few pints of London Pride and a plate of fish and chips and the world seemed a better place. The rain had stopped and the skies had cleared. Little did we know that this was the last rain we would see? An early night, the logistics of the car placement behind us, and the walk was all set up for the taking.
We stayed at Peartree House, 13a Shore Road, Aberdour, Fife, KY3 0TR. We ate at the Cedar Inn; I had fish and chips and drank London Pride and Deuchars.
Total distance (GPS), 8.20 miles
Moving time, 2.15.00 hrs
Total ascent, 632 ft. Total descent, 575 ft
Tuesday 17th April 2007; Home of a Prime Minister
Aberdour, dep. 09.37
Coaltown of Wymess, arr. 14.50
The village of Aberdour looked a delight as we set off the next morning under sunny skies. It was cool and clear and the views to the south were spectacular. The route followed the railway, sometimes on the far side from the sea. We found all sorts of problems getting through Burntisland. A road was closed at a bridge and the diversion put almost a mile on our route, not a pretty mile. Eventually though, we came round to the leisure centre and a little beach and began our way down the coast. We were forced onto the pavement beside a busy road and had a dreary two miles up passed caravan sites and golf courses until we were able to turn back towards the sea in the village of Kinghorn.
A short off road section took us round to Kirkcaldy which had a long and bleak promenade with the town up the hill to our left. Desperate for a cup of tea, we shot into a shopping centre and sat in a coffee shop for a quick lunch. There was little to see so we set off again at a good pace and were round through Dyserth by early afternoon and came upon a section of cliff top reclaimed from coal mining and slag heaps. The smell of sewage sprayed onto the fields was revolting. At last the industry was behind us and we started onto our first really pleasant section of grassy path round to the pretty village of West Wymyss. The white tower and refurbished cottages looked colourful in the sunshine. It was only 2.30pm when we came to the point for leaving the route and climbing up through the woods to find our accommodation for the evening.
I made a mess of the navigation and ended up in a huge field of cabbage, with a view of the pub beyond. A high wall proved a difficult barrier especially as it dropped us into a busy A-road. We got to the pub before 3pm, hours earlier than intended. It was closed; in fact it looked almost derelict. However we were eventually able to rouse someone, the son of the owner who was able to show us our rooms. So we have time for a good read and rest before the bar opened. The beer was not real ale, but went down well enough. The portions of food were huge. I had the biggest plate of curry I can ever recall and David had a monster burger and chips. We watched a bit of the Rangers match on TV before calling it a day. This was not the place to ask for some English football. We stayed in The Earl David Hotel, Main Street, Coaltown of Wemyss, Fife, KY1 4NN and drank Belhaven 80/-.
Total distance (GPS), 16.05 miles
Moving time, 4 hrs 36m 55s.
Average speed, 3.4 mph. Average pace, 17m 14s per mile
Total ascent, 2050 ft. Total descent, 1924 ft
Wednesday 18th April 2007: Robinson Crusoe and Chocolate Brownies
Coaltown of Wymess, dep. 09.05
Elie (lunch), arr. 13.45., dep. 14.15
Anstruther, arr. 16.20
It must have been the biggest breakfast I have ever faced, the complete works including both black pudding and haggis. But we had ahead of us our longest day so we would need the calories later. The rain during the night had cleared to leave a bright sunny morning, not too warm and perfect for walking. We set off down the road and this time found the correct track through the woods and back down to the sea. The early part of the walk was not an inspiration. The first two miles were OK but after we had passed through East Wymess and up to the top of the cliffs, we descended into Buckhaven and an hour of dreary suburbia ending with a power station.
But eventually we came to the bridge over the Leven and we crossed into a different world, a world of promenades, gardens, and guest houses. A huge beach stretched out in front of us and for the first time in the walk, we were able to take to the sand. Rachel texted me soon after we had started the crossing. I rang her back and noticed for the first time that David had dropped back and was walking with his head down. ‘Blisters’ I thought, regretting that I had not lent him my needles to burst them the previous night.
The route came back to the shore for a river crossing. The sand dunes around Lundin Links were hard work after the firm wet sands of Largo Bay. A lovely little bridge took us over to Lower Largo and the Crusoe Hotel. It did not look a likely tea stop so we walked on through town looking for a café. All we found was Alexander Selkirk’s house, the birthplace of the guy whose desert island experiences became the model for Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
David then explained that his knee was hurting, it was more serious than blisters. There was nothing we could do but walk on, over several more miles of sand before a deep river forced us inland and over a couple of wooden footbridges. These gave us access to a headland comprising
of a caravan site and Shell Bay, a lovely remote beach. A short climb to a tower led us over to a view of Elie and its magnificent golf course. A steep drop brought us back to sea level and a footpath around the course. Soon we were in the village of Elie enjoying chocolate brownies and tea at the Harbour Master’s café.David’s leg was stiffening up but he decided he could make the last six miles so we left Elie for probably the best stretch of coastline, through the small fishing ports of St Monan’s, with it church by the sea, and Pittenweem. We turned left at Anstruther golf club-house and came out on the road just near our bed and breakfast. It had been a long hot day, a day which had reduced David to a hobble. After a short rest we slowly plodded down towards the harbour, pausing for a really good meal at the Dreel Tavern, haddock and vegetables, and then round the harbour for a pint in a small pub. We spent a pleasant half hour talking to an old couple who had just sailed over from North Berwick for the Anstruther Muster, an annual meeting of yachts.
David was now of the opinion that his walk was over and when he found that there was a bus to Glasgow that left at a convenient time in the morning, he resolved to go over to see Rachel.
We stayed at The Grange, 45 Pittenweem Road, Anstruther, Fife, KY10 3DT
Total distance (GPS), 21.70 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 52m 40s
Average speed, 3.1 mph. Average pace, 19.08 m per mile
Total ascent, 856 ft. Total descent, 919 ft
Thursday 19th April 2007: On my own round Fife Ness
Anstruther, dep. 09.00
St Andrews, arr. 16.10
It was obviously the right decision of David’s to terminate his walk and jump on the bus back towards Rachel’s. What was I to do? Go with him, go and get the car, or carry on? I had already paid for a rather expensive night’s accommodation in St Andrews and it would not be much longer to walk back to the car, possibly only setting me 24 hours behind David. So we parted at the bus stop by the quay in Anstruther and I set off on my own. I sat for a few minutes to ring the lady in St Andrews and warn her that we were down to a party of one. Then off I set on a glorious morning. Considering the weather that England was getting, we had been amazingly lucky.
It seemed no time round to Crail and onwards towards the eastern tip of Fife. I paused momentarily at a mobile home site to ask a lad painting a new prefab how much they were going for. ‘£200,000 for this one’, he replied. I walked on aghast. Finally I came to Fife Ness, not dramatic in the Cornish or Welsh way, just a low headland with a modern coastguard station and light house. Rather a let-down, really. Round the corner I came to my first golf course. Golf was going to dominate the next 24-hours. The first course was OK but I soon came to a notice that instructed me to ‘Walk on the Beach and if the tide is in, wait for the water to recede’. I began to feel unwelcome.
Whilst on the beach I saw an old settee in the sand-dunes so I was reminded of how hungry I was. I ate my emergency rations, the flapjacks I carry around the outside of the rucksack. Whilst I was preparing to continue, a couple came up the beach and were obviously happy to chat. I ended up walking with them for over an hour; David and Deidre, an architect and his wife from near Glasgow. I took a picture of them as we crossed the footbridge over the river just north of
Kingsbarn. By the time we got back to the coast and the weird shaped rock formations, I felt that Deirdre was uncomfortable with the rather relentless pace that I had injected into their walk. They seemed happy to wish me well and see me on my way. So back on my own, I soon pulled round a low headland and got my first view of St Andrews. This was rather dramatic. With its towers and ruins, it reminded me of a central Asian city seen in the distance from a desert crossing. The sea in between us gave it away, but it was with renewed enthusiasm that I strode out over the last couple of miles and dropped back into civilisation. Except for golfers, it had been a remote section of coast; no villages and very few farms.The route came into town passed the leisure centre, along the east beach and then crossed over the lock gates of a delightful harbour. I kept to the outermost roads through the town until I finally came out at the old course. This came as a shock. I had no idea that the golf course came right into the town centre.
That was enough on the route for one day and time to turn inland to search for my bed & breakfast. It seemed a long was out and I was tired and grumpy when I arrived at the house, especially as I realised that I was going to have to walk all the way back into town later for a meal. But a shower and a rest revived me and I thoroughly enjoyed my exploratory walk round town and my real ale and fish and chips in the Cellar Bar in Bell Street. I was served by a delightful guy, a student earning some extra money in the bar. I had probably completed another three miles by the time I got back to the B&B for my early night.
I stayed at Balrymouth B&B, 6 Balrymonth Court, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 8XT. I ate at the Cellar Bar in Bell Street and enjoyed Lomond Gold and Osians ales.
Total distance (GPS), 20.15 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 33m 31
Average speed, 3.0 mph. Average pace, 19m 31s per mile
Total ascent, 1079 ft. Total descent, 1029 ft
Friday 20th April 2007: Road and Forest
St Andrews, dep. 08.37
Tentsmuir Car Park (lunch), arr. 11.30, dep. 11.40
Newport on Tay, arr. 14.15
The lad in the bar the previous night had told me that the golf clubs were not happy with the development of the coastal path. I was now to find out just how unwelcome the walker is in St Andrews.
The map showed me that the route continued over all the golf courses, off road all the way from the old course to Guardbridge. However soon after walking down the 18th and reaching the road hole green, the notice diverted me onto a tarmac cycle way beside the A91. On another delightful and sunny morning, I had four miles along the main road, then two more miles passed RAF Leuchars and then on and on along tarmac towards the main car park of Tentsmuir Forest. By the time I stopped for my first break, I had done 10 miles of road walking I was very thankful that my new shoes were so comfortable.
I was delighted that there was a tea caravan in the car park and would have sat there for ages enjoying the drink and a rest if it had not been for a family who screamed and shouted at each and completely shattered the peace. So I took my tea and set off north along a wide forest trail, sipping my drink as I went. It seemed an age before the trail eventually came to Tentsmuir Head, the turn into the Firth of Tay. I had a quick rest on a bench overlooking the sea and estuary, my first view of the coast today. A couple of ladies walked passed on a narrow sandy track and I realised that there was a way along the coast that was outside the forest. So I took to this path and this led me on to the wet estuary sand. As the tide was out I made good time right along into Tayport. This looked a nice little place but I was soon through and onto an old railway, tarmac surfaced unfortunately, which led quickly round to the Tay road bridge and thence into Newport. I resisted the temptation of finishing at the car but marched resolutely on to the jetty which is the official start and finish of the route. Then I turned slowly back and returned the half mile to the car via a shop where I got a bottle of wine and some flowers for Rachel.
The car was OK and I quickly changed out of my walking shirt and started the drive back to Ayrshire. The earlier I got round Glasgow, the more likely I would be to miss the Friday rush hour traffic. This was not too bad and by 5 pm I was parking up outside Queens Terrace and enjoying a shower and my first pint of tea with Rachel and Johnny. David’s knee was no better and he would need work on his leg and back the following week. Thankfully he was soon to recover.
Total distance (GPS), 19.00 miles
Moving time , 5 hrs 27m 36s
Average speed, 3.4 mph. Average pace, 17.28 m per mile
Total ascent, 1151 ft. Total descent, 1107 ft
Monday 4 August 2008
Macmillan Way (Part 2)
16-20th April 2007
Introduction
In April last year, just weeks before my mother died, Mike and I had completed the southern section of the Macmillan Way, 120 miles from Abbotsbury to the Tunnel House Inn. Donations were sent to the Macmillan Way Association to pass onto to Macmillan Cancer Relief, the nurses from which had supported my mother in those last few months. So it was back to Kemble Station and to the Tunnel House Inn for the continuation of our walk northwards through England.
Monday 16th April 2007: Return to Kemble
Tunnel House Inn, dep. 10.00am
Rendcomb, arr. 1.00pm
Rendcomb, dep. 1.30pm
Bourton-on-the-Water, arr. 5.50pm
There was to be no driving this year. We had organised our start and finish points to have good rail links. Jill took me down to Macclesfield Station to catch the 6.24am train to Tamworth. Mike made a connection at Stoke and met me on the train. The rather complicated travel plan was thrown into chaos when a train had hit a cow and delayed the Tamworth to Cheltenham train. It arrived at Tamworth 25 minutes late jeopardising our chances of catching the Kemble connection at Cheltenham. However the train made good time, gained a few minutes and just sneaked into Cheltenham ahead of our connection time.
So at 9.34am, just as planned, we were back where we had finished a year ago, on Kemble station having a cappuccino with Nick Clarke, the man who runs the coffee bar. We heard all about his motorbike ride to Cape Town and promised to buy his book. Then it was into a taxi and off to the Tunnel House Inn. The taxi driver was not keen to risk the rather bumpy drive so we had an extra few yards before we officially started on the Macmillan Way once more. The weather was getting spectacularly good, cool winds and blue skies. Little did we know that it was to be like this all week and we were to get rather fed up with the unbroken sunshine. The early part was pleasant but surprisingly hilly but we kept up a tidy pace because of the late start time. Eventually we caught our first glimpse of Rendcomb College as we plunged down a steep road into our lunch-stop. The couple in the post office gave us tea from a machine and let us eat our own butties whilst sitting at their outdoor table. The school-children drifting passed us were evidently at the fifth most expensive college in the country.
The afternoon session proved long and hot, especially up the final miles into Cold Aston. However not long after that we crossed a busy main road and dropped passed the biggest field of free range hens into the Windrush valley. Here we turned off our route and on to an old railway and then a stream-side footpath into Bourton-on-the-Water. The B&B was not far from the end of the link path. Even though we got to the pub next door by 7.15pm, they could not cater for us because of a large party, so we wandered into the village and had a quiet meal at the Manse. We were served by a very pleasant young Spanish couple.
Total distance (GPS), 25.10 miles
Moving time, 7 hrs 21m 39s
Average speed, 3.4 mph, Average pace, 17m 35s per mile
Total ascent, 3043 ft, Total descent, 2923 ft
We stayed at Lansdowne Villa Guest House, Lansdowne, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, GL54 2AR. We ate at the Manse Hotel; we both had fish and chips and I continued with a Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Tuesday 17th April 2007; The Day of the Tennis Courts
Bourton-on-the-Water, dep. 8.50am
Long Compton, arr. 2.00pm
Long Compton, dep. 2.30pm
Shenington, arr. 5.40pm
Getting an early breakfast and a prompt start, we headed back along the Windrush to the point where we had left the official route the previous evening. The village of Lower Slaughter looked an absolute picture in the morning sunshine, perhaps too perfect. We got off route in the next series of fields and had to head for the River Dikler and follow this round to pick up the correct line once more before crossing the river to reach Hyde Mill. It always seemed to be warmed when we were on tarmac and, by the time we reached Adlestrop, we were glad to get onto grass again. There were tennis courts everywhere. We must have passed at least six gardens that contained well kept courts. The village shop at Adlestrop was closed so we continued ever onwards stopping briefly at the bus shelter to see the old station sign and read Edward Thomas’s famous poem.
We halted again at Chastleton House. The hall itself was closed but next door was a delightful chapel surrounded by a quiet grave yard with an ancient yew tree. By the time we got to our designated lunch stop, Long Compton, it was late. It had been a long morning. Whether it was inaccurate mile markings in the guide book or the unplanned excursions off route, we shall never know but the GPS indicated that we had covered 2 miles further than expected. We sat on a bench near the primary school and ate the last of our supplies, then we moved up to the village store and begged a cup of tea and a cake. These we enjoyed whilst sitting in the kiddies recreation field.
It got even hotter as we embarked on the afternoon session. The highlight of this section was a magnificent track called Ditchedge Lane which rang straight and high above the surrounding countryside. After climbing up and up for what seemed like miles, the loss in height was sharp and we suddenly dropped into Epwell. We were off Mike’s map now. Mike had left one of the four maps at home and we were now totally dependent on the guidebook. It was costly only in Epwell where we took the wrong path out of the village and found ourselves not heading for Shenington at all. Guessing which way we had erred, we turned left at our first road crossing and thank goodness soon picked up the correct path system. Minutes later we were in Shenington. A young couple, out walking their dogs, pointed us towards our destination, a beautiful old farm that was now a huge and elegant house. Mrs Coles made us a pot of tea and we chatted for ages about the farm, her choir and the fact that Mark Elder, conductor of the Halle Orchestra often visited the village.
A hot bath revived our spirits and gave us the energy to walk the 150 yards to the pub. A lovely meal was washed down by some great beer. All this was served by a young lady who turned out to be a professional musician, a French horn player who had actually played with Mark Elder and the Halle. We slept well that night.
We stayed at Top Farm House, Shenington, Banbury OX15 6LZ. Dinner was in the Bell Inn where we both had duck and I again repeated the Stick Toffee Pudding. The beer was Hooky Bitter
Total distance (GPS), 26.23 miles
Moving time, 8 hrs 15m 11s
Average speed, 3.1 mph, Average pace, 18m 52s per mile
Total ascent, 2311 ft, Total descent, 2222 ft
Wednesday 18th April 2007: Edgehill, the Longest Day
Shenington, dep. 8.40am
Chipping Warden, arr. 1.15pm
Chipping Warden, dep. 2.00pm
Weedon, arr. 6.30pm
We had a very big day ahead of us so we ordered an early breakfast and were ready to set of soon after 8.30am.There was an uphill start up a beautiful grassy valley. There was a brief problem with the route up these fields but we soon crested the broad ridge and began a magical walk along the northern edge. The views from Sunrise Hill were breathtaking. Edgehill was rather disappointing as the views were obscured by trees. A poorly kept path led us into Warmington where all we could hear was traffic noise from the nearby M40. It could probably be worse because most of the south lanes were stationary. Another slip with route finding around Warmington Church cost us another few minutes but we eventually sorted out the mistake and were on the road over the motorway.
Farnborough Hall looked delightful in the sunshine, especially in its beautiful parkland setting. A vicious looking dog watched us cross the railway line on our way into Claydon but there were few people around as we walked down the road to the canal. A narrow-boat was in the nearby lock but we hurried on over the fields towards Chipping Warden, our lunch stop.
We sat on a bench near the market cross and eat the delicious sandwiches that Mrs Coles had made us. Then we tottered over the road to the Griffin and ordered a pot of tea.
We now face a very long afternoon. Mike was glad when we got near to Eydon because we were back on his map and not so dependent on the guidebook. Whilst crossing the next series of fields we came across a freshly ploughed section, baked clay turned over into almost unwalkable clods. I fell during this crossing and cit one arm and grazed another. There was much relief when we reached the other side and regained our rhythm. The approach to Canons Ashby was magnificent; much more so than the close-up view. The walking got easier as we found tracks and good field paths over to Farthingstone. In my original schedule for the week’s walk, I had planned to stay here in the quiet village but had had to abandon this when we found that the pub does not provide food mid-week. So even though we were very tired and ready to call it a day, we were faced by an extra four miles into Weedon. But with one last concerted effort, we pressed on passed the lovely church at Church Stowe down towards the railway line; busy with Virgin trains all heading to and from Cheshire, our home. The canal was right beside the railway and this was the end of the official route for the day but not the end of our walking. We still had nearly a mile up the towpath into Weedon and our hotel for the night.
We staggered out onto the A45 not knowing where the hotel was was. A local pointed down to the lights at the A5 junction and in minutes we were checking in to the Globe Hotel and being shown our room overlooking Watling Street. The hotel was run by an Indian couple, although they were actually from Tanzania, Arusha in fact. After showers we went down for a pint but there was no beer, just lager. So we went over the road to the Wheatsheaf and wished we hadn’t. One of those places where all conversation stops when you open the door and five male faces stare at you through a curtain of cigarette smoke. Anyway we got a drink of beer and shot back across the road tempted by the Indian menu chalked on the board. Mike went up to order the curries, only to be told that the Indian food chef had not turned in tonight. So we were back on the bar snacks and I ended up, much later than intended, with Beef and Guinness pie backed up once more with bread and butter pudding.
We stayed in the Globe Hotel, High Street, Weedon, Northants., NN7 4QD
Total distance (GPS), 29.99 miles
Moving time, 9 hrs 8m 45s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 17s per mile
Total ascent, 2244 ft, Total descent, 2504 ft
Thursday 19th April 2007: The B&A Pie Day
Globe at Weedon, dep. 9.00am
Creaton, arr. 1.00pm
Creaton, dep. 1.45pm
George at Great Oxendon, arr. 4.30pm
This was going to be our easy day after the efforts of the day before. So we had a leisurely breakfast and made a 9am start, late for us on these warm days. Back along the canal and passed a family of new borne ducks, we were soon back on route. A careful crossing of the A5 brought us to Flore. The village shop sold sandwiches so we stocked up for later and then set out over a long set of flat fields. We lost the route near Vicarage Farm and ended up climbing some fences to get back to the signs. A long stretch of road took us through the Bringtons and passed Althorp Park. It was getting hot again as the sun blazed down on the shade-less tarmac. Surviving a rather nasty main road, we then got our first view of Holdenby Church, splendid up above us on its hill. I was getting quite ready for lunch as we climbed up the steep road towards Teeton and then steeply down and up into Creaton. We sat on the grass outside the school to eat our sandwiches and then walked to the Post Office to beg a cup of tea. What lovely people ran the shop. They did not normally supply cups of tea but in no time we were sitting on the wall outside drinking tea from proper cups and eating lumps of bread pudding.
This gave us the energy and incentive to brave the afternoon heat and complete a relatively straight-forward section of the walk. This took us passed Cottesbrooke Hall and its splendid parkland all the while on a good track. Then at Maidwell and the road works around the church, we dropped down the fields and onto the old railway line, now the Brampton Valley Way. It was 4 ½ miles along this old line to Great Oxendon with the only features being the two dark and dank tunnels. This has obviously bothered some people because our host for the evening was later telling us that many go over the first tunnel and the second might be taken out of the official route if it is diverted at some time in the future. I thought they were great fun but I would not like to have been alone inside them.
We arrived very early at the George which was locked. However the owner responded to a ring of the bell and we were shown to a lovely newly decorated room in an adjacent building to the pub. We then had the luxury of a leisurely shower and a rest before we wandered down for a few pints and a marvellous meal cooked by a good chef, the owner.
Total distance (GPS), 21.99 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 46m 32s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 28s per mile
Total ascent, 1396 ft, Total descent, 1187 ft
We stayed at the George, Great Oxendon, Market Harborough, LE16 8NA. We ate at George; I had superb meal of Lamb Shank in a honey sauce followed by Bread and Butter Pudding. Mike went for the B&A option, beef and ale pie followed by blackberry and apple pie. The beer was Batemans XXXB.
Friday 20th April 2007: Saving a Family of Ducks
George, Great Oxendon, dep. 8.45am
Hallaton, arr. 12.45pm
Hallaton, dep. 1.30pm
Oakham Station, arr. 4.40pm
We tried for an early start but a long chat with the hotel owner/chef over breakfast, and then a blister treatment session on my feet meant we were not as quickly away as planned. A few clouds were around for the first time in the week but these soon burnt off and we were backed once more to warm sunshine. We crossed the A6 at the western end of the new Kettering by-pass and the diversions were well signposted around the new roundabout. There was a grand high section leading over towards Weston by Welland with a final descent straight into the village. A long road section was made more interesting when we met Phil Bagshaw, a local LDWA member setting up an event for the following Sunday, an alternative to the London Marathon. He was very chatty but time was pressing, we had a train to catch, so off we set again passed Slawston Hill and over to our lunch stop. The last half mile into Hallaton was not well signed and we were off course to the west before realising our mistake.
However we were soon standing outside the pub wondering were this ‘next door’ tea shop was. It turned out to be next door, in the pub car park no less. What a splendid café. I had a gorgeous brie and bacon sandwich and Mike had a jacket potato; very expensive but we had no other food with us. Leaving the café and reaching the northern edge of the village, we stood entranced by a mother duck and her ball-of-fluff ducklings crossing the road to the village pond. Then along came a car travelling alarmingly fast. Mike, the old softy, stood in the road waving the car to a halt and shepherding the ducks safely to the pond. The driver was not amused; not a smile passed his lips as he slowly drove off.
The next section was along a wide tarmac byway. I felt the end in sight and jogged a bit of downhill; this was easier on my sore feet. We still could not see Oakham as we came through Brooke and onto our final climb. Eventually we crested the ridge and saw the famous church spire. Charlie, a Dalmatian would not leave us as we got toward the final bit of road. Then as we entered Oakham, another dog walker stopped us to enquire about our progress. He had seen us in Brooke a few minutes earlier and was surprised by our rapid arrival. A train halted our progress momentarily at the level crossing, and then we were into the town centre and admiring the parish church. This signified the end of this year’s route and all that remained was to find the station, get the train times and change our clothes. A 30-minute wait for the train was made more bearable by the presence of a micro-brewery next to the station. A pint of Rutland Rouser (4.5%) was quickly dispatched before limping back to the platform and the Birmingham train. Our connection involved a 40 minute stop-over at Nuneaton. The coffee bar was closed but Mike had the brilliant idea of trying the Azda supermarket and sure enough their coffee shop was open. Mugs of cappuccino, with refills, for £1 each.
Felicity met us at Macclesfield Station; Jill fed us with fish pie and thus ended another great week of walking.
Total distance (GPS), 23.25 miles
Moving time, 7 hrs 10m 36s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 30s per mile
Total ascent, 2160 ft, Total descent, 2176 ft
Introduction
In April last year, just weeks before my mother died, Mike and I had completed the southern section of the Macmillan Way, 120 miles from Abbotsbury to the Tunnel House Inn. Donations were sent to the Macmillan Way Association to pass onto to Macmillan Cancer Relief, the nurses from which had supported my mother in those last few months. So it was back to Kemble Station and to the Tunnel House Inn for the continuation of our walk northwards through England.
Monday 16th April 2007: Return to Kemble
Tunnel House Inn, dep. 10.00am
Rendcomb, arr. 1.00pm
Rendcomb, dep. 1.30pm
Bourton-on-the-Water, arr. 5.50pm
There was to be no driving this year. We had organised our start and finish points to have good rail links. Jill took me down to Macclesfield Station to catch the 6.24am train to Tamworth. Mike made a connection at Stoke and met me on the train. The rather complicated travel plan was thrown into chaos when a train had hit a cow and delayed the Tamworth to Cheltenham train. It arrived at Tamworth 25 minutes late jeopardising our chances of catching the Kemble connection at Cheltenham. However the train made good time, gained a few minutes and just sneaked into Cheltenham ahead of our connection time.
So at 9.34am, just as planned, we were back where we had finished a year ago, on Kemble station having a cappuccino with Nick Clarke, the man who runs the coffee bar. We heard all about his motorbike ride to Cape Town and promised to buy his book. Then it was into a taxi and off to the Tunnel House Inn. The taxi driver was not keen to risk the rather bumpy drive so we had an extra few yards before we officially started on the Macmillan Way once more. The weather was getting spectacularly good, cool winds and blue skies. Little did we know that it was to be like this all week and we were to get rather fed up with the unbroken sunshine. The early part was pleasant but surprisingly hilly but we kept up a tidy pace because of the late start time. Eventually we caught our first glimpse of Rendcomb College as we plunged down a steep road into our lunch-stop. The couple in the post office gave us tea from a machine and let us eat our own butties whilst sitting at their outdoor table. The school-children drifting passed us were evidently at the fifth most expensive college in the country.
The afternoon session proved long and hot, especially up the final miles into Cold Aston. However not long after that we crossed a busy main road and dropped passed the biggest field of free range hens into the Windrush valley. Here we turned off our route and on to an old railway and then a stream-side footpath into Bourton-on-the-Water. The B&B was not far from the end of the link path. Even though we got to the pub next door by 7.15pm, they could not cater for us because of a large party, so we wandered into the village and had a quiet meal at the Manse. We were served by a very pleasant young Spanish couple.
Total distance (GPS), 25.10 miles
Moving time, 7 hrs 21m 39s
Average speed, 3.4 mph, Average pace, 17m 35s per mile
Total ascent, 3043 ft, Total descent, 2923 ft
We stayed at Lansdowne Villa Guest House, Lansdowne, Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire, GL54 2AR. We ate at the Manse Hotel; we both had fish and chips and I continued with a Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Tuesday 17th April 2007; The Day of the Tennis Courts
Bourton-on-the-Water, dep. 8.50am
Long Compton, arr. 2.00pm
Long Compton, dep. 2.30pm
Shenington, arr. 5.40pm
Getting an early breakfast and a prompt start, we headed back along the Windrush to the point where we had left the official route the previous evening. The village of Lower Slaughter looked an absolute picture in the morning sunshine, perhaps too perfect. We got off route in the next series of fields and had to head for the River Dikler and follow this round to pick up the correct line once more before crossing the river to reach Hyde Mill. It always seemed to be warmed when we were on tarmac and, by the time we reached Adlestrop, we were glad to get onto grass again. There were tennis courts everywhere. We must have passed at least six gardens that contained well kept courts. The village shop at Adlestrop was closed so we continued ever onwards stopping briefly at the bus shelter to see the old station sign and read Edward Thomas’s famous poem.
We halted again at Chastleton House. The hall itself was closed but next door was a delightful chapel surrounded by a quiet grave yard with an ancient yew tree. By the time we got to our designated lunch stop, Long Compton, it was late. It had been a long morning. Whether it was inaccurate mile markings in the guide book or the unplanned excursions off route, we shall never know but the GPS indicated that we had covered 2 miles further than expected. We sat on a bench near the primary school and ate the last of our supplies, then we moved up to the village store and begged a cup of tea and a cake. These we enjoyed whilst sitting in the kiddies recreation field.
It got even hotter as we embarked on the afternoon session. The highlight of this section was a magnificent track called Ditchedge Lane which rang straight and high above the surrounding countryside. After climbing up and up for what seemed like miles, the loss in height was sharp and we suddenly dropped into Epwell. We were off Mike’s map now. Mike had left one of the four maps at home and we were now totally dependent on the guidebook. It was costly only in Epwell where we took the wrong path out of the village and found ourselves not heading for Shenington at all. Guessing which way we had erred, we turned left at our first road crossing and thank goodness soon picked up the correct path system. Minutes later we were in Shenington. A young couple, out walking their dogs, pointed us towards our destination, a beautiful old farm that was now a huge and elegant house. Mrs Coles made us a pot of tea and we chatted for ages about the farm, her choir and the fact that Mark Elder, conductor of the Halle Orchestra often visited the village.
A hot bath revived our spirits and gave us the energy to walk the 150 yards to the pub. A lovely meal was washed down by some great beer. All this was served by a young lady who turned out to be a professional musician, a French horn player who had actually played with Mark Elder and the Halle. We slept well that night.
We stayed at Top Farm House, Shenington, Banbury OX15 6LZ. Dinner was in the Bell Inn where we both had duck and I again repeated the Stick Toffee Pudding. The beer was Hooky Bitter
Total distance (GPS), 26.23 miles
Moving time, 8 hrs 15m 11s
Average speed, 3.1 mph, Average pace, 18m 52s per mile
Total ascent, 2311 ft, Total descent, 2222 ft
Wednesday 18th April 2007: Edgehill, the Longest Day
Shenington, dep. 8.40am
Chipping Warden, arr. 1.15pm
Chipping Warden, dep. 2.00pm
Weedon, arr. 6.30pm
We had a very big day ahead of us so we ordered an early breakfast and were ready to set of soon after 8.30am.There was an uphill start up a beautiful grassy valley. There was a brief problem with the route up these fields but we soon crested the broad ridge and began a magical walk along the northern edge. The views from Sunrise Hill were breathtaking. Edgehill was rather disappointing as the views were obscured by trees. A poorly kept path led us into Warmington where all we could hear was traffic noise from the nearby M40. It could probably be worse because most of the south lanes were stationary. Another slip with route finding around Warmington Church cost us another few minutes but we eventually sorted out the mistake and were on the road over the motorway.
Farnborough Hall looked delightful in the sunshine, especially in its beautiful parkland setting. A vicious looking dog watched us cross the railway line on our way into Claydon but there were few people around as we walked down the road to the canal. A narrow-boat was in the nearby lock but we hurried on over the fields towards Chipping Warden, our lunch stop.
We sat on a bench near the market cross and eat the delicious sandwiches that Mrs Coles had made us. Then we tottered over the road to the Griffin and ordered a pot of tea.
We now face a very long afternoon. Mike was glad when we got near to Eydon because we were back on his map and not so dependent on the guidebook. Whilst crossing the next series of fields we came across a freshly ploughed section, baked clay turned over into almost unwalkable clods. I fell during this crossing and cit one arm and grazed another. There was much relief when we reached the other side and regained our rhythm. The approach to Canons Ashby was magnificent; much more so than the close-up view. The walking got easier as we found tracks and good field paths over to Farthingstone. In my original schedule for the week’s walk, I had planned to stay here in the quiet village but had had to abandon this when we found that the pub does not provide food mid-week. So even though we were very tired and ready to call it a day, we were faced by an extra four miles into Weedon. But with one last concerted effort, we pressed on passed the lovely church at Church Stowe down towards the railway line; busy with Virgin trains all heading to and from Cheshire, our home. The canal was right beside the railway and this was the end of the official route for the day but not the end of our walking. We still had nearly a mile up the towpath into Weedon and our hotel for the night.
We staggered out onto the A45 not knowing where the hotel was was. A local pointed down to the lights at the A5 junction and in minutes we were checking in to the Globe Hotel and being shown our room overlooking Watling Street. The hotel was run by an Indian couple, although they were actually from Tanzania, Arusha in fact. After showers we went down for a pint but there was no beer, just lager. So we went over the road to the Wheatsheaf and wished we hadn’t. One of those places where all conversation stops when you open the door and five male faces stare at you through a curtain of cigarette smoke. Anyway we got a drink of beer and shot back across the road tempted by the Indian menu chalked on the board. Mike went up to order the curries, only to be told that the Indian food chef had not turned in tonight. So we were back on the bar snacks and I ended up, much later than intended, with Beef and Guinness pie backed up once more with bread and butter pudding.
We stayed in the Globe Hotel, High Street, Weedon, Northants., NN7 4QD
Total distance (GPS), 29.99 miles
Moving time, 9 hrs 8m 45s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 17s per mile
Total ascent, 2244 ft, Total descent, 2504 ft
Thursday 19th April 2007: The B&A Pie Day
Globe at Weedon, dep. 9.00am
Creaton, arr. 1.00pm
Creaton, dep. 1.45pm
George at Great Oxendon, arr. 4.30pm
This was going to be our easy day after the efforts of the day before. So we had a leisurely breakfast and made a 9am start, late for us on these warm days. Back along the canal and passed a family of new borne ducks, we were soon back on route. A careful crossing of the A5 brought us to Flore. The village shop sold sandwiches so we stocked up for later and then set out over a long set of flat fields. We lost the route near Vicarage Farm and ended up climbing some fences to get back to the signs. A long stretch of road took us through the Bringtons and passed Althorp Park. It was getting hot again as the sun blazed down on the shade-less tarmac. Surviving a rather nasty main road, we then got our first view of Holdenby Church, splendid up above us on its hill. I was getting quite ready for lunch as we climbed up the steep road towards Teeton and then steeply down and up into Creaton. We sat on the grass outside the school to eat our sandwiches and then walked to the Post Office to beg a cup of tea. What lovely people ran the shop. They did not normally supply cups of tea but in no time we were sitting on the wall outside drinking tea from proper cups and eating lumps of bread pudding.
This gave us the energy and incentive to brave the afternoon heat and complete a relatively straight-forward section of the walk. This took us passed Cottesbrooke Hall and its splendid parkland all the while on a good track. Then at Maidwell and the road works around the church, we dropped down the fields and onto the old railway line, now the Brampton Valley Way. It was 4 ½ miles along this old line to Great Oxendon with the only features being the two dark and dank tunnels. This has obviously bothered some people because our host for the evening was later telling us that many go over the first tunnel and the second might be taken out of the official route if it is diverted at some time in the future. I thought they were great fun but I would not like to have been alone inside them.
We arrived very early at the George which was locked. However the owner responded to a ring of the bell and we were shown to a lovely newly decorated room in an adjacent building to the pub. We then had the luxury of a leisurely shower and a rest before we wandered down for a few pints and a marvellous meal cooked by a good chef, the owner.
Total distance (GPS), 21.99 miles
Moving time, 6 hrs 46m 32s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 28s per mile
Total ascent, 1396 ft, Total descent, 1187 ft
We stayed at the George, Great Oxendon, Market Harborough, LE16 8NA. We ate at George; I had superb meal of Lamb Shank in a honey sauce followed by Bread and Butter Pudding. Mike went for the B&A option, beef and ale pie followed by blackberry and apple pie. The beer was Batemans XXXB.
Friday 20th April 2007: Saving a Family of Ducks
George, Great Oxendon, dep. 8.45am
Hallaton, arr. 12.45pm
Hallaton, dep. 1.30pm
Oakham Station, arr. 4.40pm
We tried for an early start but a long chat with the hotel owner/chef over breakfast, and then a blister treatment session on my feet meant we were not as quickly away as planned. A few clouds were around for the first time in the week but these soon burnt off and we were backed once more to warm sunshine. We crossed the A6 at the western end of the new Kettering by-pass and the diversions were well signposted around the new roundabout. There was a grand high section leading over towards Weston by Welland with a final descent straight into the village. A long road section was made more interesting when we met Phil Bagshaw, a local LDWA member setting up an event for the following Sunday, an alternative to the London Marathon. He was very chatty but time was pressing, we had a train to catch, so off we set again passed Slawston Hill and over to our lunch stop. The last half mile into Hallaton was not well signed and we were off course to the west before realising our mistake.
However we were soon standing outside the pub wondering were this ‘next door’ tea shop was. It turned out to be next door, in the pub car park no less. What a splendid café. I had a gorgeous brie and bacon sandwich and Mike had a jacket potato; very expensive but we had no other food with us. Leaving the café and reaching the northern edge of the village, we stood entranced by a mother duck and her ball-of-fluff ducklings crossing the road to the village pond. Then along came a car travelling alarmingly fast. Mike, the old softy, stood in the road waving the car to a halt and shepherding the ducks safely to the pond. The driver was not amused; not a smile passed his lips as he slowly drove off.
The next section was along a wide tarmac byway. I felt the end in sight and jogged a bit of downhill; this was easier on my sore feet. We still could not see Oakham as we came through Brooke and onto our final climb. Eventually we crested the ridge and saw the famous church spire. Charlie, a Dalmatian would not leave us as we got toward the final bit of road. Then as we entered Oakham, another dog walker stopped us to enquire about our progress. He had seen us in Brooke a few minutes earlier and was surprised by our rapid arrival. A train halted our progress momentarily at the level crossing, and then we were into the town centre and admiring the parish church. This signified the end of this year’s route and all that remained was to find the station, get the train times and change our clothes. A 30-minute wait for the train was made more bearable by the presence of a micro-brewery next to the station. A pint of Rutland Rouser (4.5%) was quickly dispatched before limping back to the platform and the Birmingham train. Our connection involved a 40 minute stop-over at Nuneaton. The coffee bar was closed but Mike had the brilliant idea of trying the Azda supermarket and sure enough their coffee shop was open. Mugs of cappuccino, with refills, for £1 each.
Felicity met us at Macclesfield Station; Jill fed us with fish pie and thus ended another great week of walking.
Total distance (GPS), 23.25 miles
Moving time, 7 hrs 10m 36s
Average speed, 3.2 mph, Average pace, 18m 30s per mile
Total ascent, 2160 ft, Total descent, 2176 ft
Mid-shires Way (Part 1)
3-6th September 2007
Introduction
Jill was going away so I tried to fix up with Mike to finish off the Macmillan Way. He was not available so I took the opportunity of a few days on my own on the Mid-shires Way, the guide book for which I had bought in preparation for next year’s April march north. I could just about manage to get from the start in Princes Risborough to somewhere near Market Harborough in four days. Next year, I could take up again with Mike from where I left off.
Monday 3rd September: Start for a Prince
Princes Risborough dep. 11.10
Waddesdon, arr. 17.00
I was up by 6am and had a quick breakfast before my first miles of the day, to the station for the 08.16 to Banbury. A quick change took me onto the 10.29 to Princes Risborough and, by 11.06, I was standing outside the station waiting for my GPS to click in. It had been such an easy trip down. The town seemed very quiet as I made my way to a road named Upper Icknield Way, a very appropriate designation. At the top of this track, where it became tarmac for a short while, I met a man walking his dog, who was obviously keen for a chat. He worked as a volunteer on the Ridgeway and spent most days walking and working on the route. He knew little of my route and was interested to know my plans. As we parted I made a small navigational error and came to the golf course at the wrong point. A quick trip down a lane to the left brought me to the cricket pavilion and the correct line.
I thought I was to be eaten by a pack of dogs, but the lady explained in a foreign accent that ‘they are good but bark a lot’. It was now a warm and sunny day and because I had lots of time, I had a leisurely lunch near Bishopstone and afterwards lay in the sun. I eventually came into Eythrope Park and found the poorly marked exit path up the hill towards Waddeston Stud. The route description seemed to differ markedly from the sketch maps and from the ordnance survey maps but I followed the sketch map and used that as the definitive version. However the sketch map and the ordnance survey map then differ just beyond the Stud farm. I should have followed the latter down the field to the right but instead followed the sketch map straight on and into the wrong field. A couple of fence climbs got me back on route. Then the most overgrown and nettled paths brought me into the village. I spent a few minutes walking round but eventually found the B&B right opposite the path I had come out of. Helen, my landlady was a lovely person, a single mother running a guest house business on her own. She recommended a couple of local pubs and left me to look after myself and recover from a tiring day.
I stayed at the Old Dairy, 4 High Street, Waddesdon, Aylesbury, Bucks., HP18 0JA,
I ate Steak and Kidney Suet Pudding in the Lion but could only manage one pint of St Austell.
Total distance (GPS), 15.71 miles
Average speed, 3.1 mph
Total ascent, 1133 ft
Moving time, 5.00.49 hrs
Average pace, 19m 08s per ml
Total descent, 1224 ft
Tuesday 4th September 2007; Concrete Cows and All That
Waddesdon, dep. 08.42
Whaddon, arr. 13.41
Whaddon, dep. 13.45
Spinney Lodge Farm, arr. 18.30
I had not slept particularly well. I think the uncertainty and enormity of what I was planning today was worrying me. But it was a delightful morning. Clear, cool and with dew on the grass which wet my walking shoes. In no time at all I was over the railway and passing through the peaceful village of Quinton. The next few miles were to be the finest on the whole route with a long easy climb to the top of Quainton Hill with its metal tower and trig point inside a secure compound. A wonderful vista faced me as I dropped steeply down the north side through ancient earthworks.
After Verney Junction, the church and hall at Addington were the next targets. It was too early to stop at the Crown in Great Horwood and I pushed on through Nash until I called it a morning at the top of Church Hill near Whaddon. I sat on the grass in the sunshine and ate my last butty. I had had a cracking session, with 15 miles under my belt in 5 hours. The guide book indicated a relatively easy afternoon even though the diagrams made it look long and complicated. Nash to Salcey Forest was 13 miles, said the guide book. So I had only 11 or 12 miles to go. Dream on!
The afternoon soon took me into the Milton Keynes footpath system, a bridle path that runs through the entire city without crossing roads or even seeing traffic. On and on it went, hour after hour. I began to realise that all was not as the guidebook as the time drifted away and the miles accumulated on the GPS. The path looped round an old abbey, passed the concrete cows
and near to a Roman Villa. Finally I got a glimpse of the windmill before getting onto an everlasting cycle route back to the canal. There were several more mistakes in the guidebook but I eventually reached the left turn onto the towpath and then over the main road into open country. However the mileage was already passed the day’s schedule and I was miles from the end, in Haversham in fact. The miles went on, but at least it was a lovely field path up to the GMCQ buildings that dominate the landscape. The last bit of road and tracks across the M1 were much longer than expected and I recorded 31 miles before I left the path and recrossed the M1 to find my farm. I was pretty well exhausted when I arrived, with over 32 miles under my shoes. The lady owner, Mrs Payne, was a great help to me. She rang both pubs to find who was providing food. The only one that was, the globe in Long Street, was at least a mile down the road, a walk I was too tired to contemplate. So the farmer, Richard, offered most kindly to run me down. He then joined me later for a pint and brought me home. I was most grateful for their kindness.
I stayed at Spinney Lodge Farm, Hanslope, Milton Keynes, MK19 7DE, Tel: 01908 510267 and ate at the Globe in Long Street, Hanslope. I had a lovely chicken curry and washed it down with Marston’s Sweet Chariot (4.2%).
Total distance (GPS), 32.17 miles
31.24 on path
Average speed, 3.3 mph
Total ascent, 1891 ft
Moving time, 9.31.35 hrs
Average pace, 17m 46s per ml
Total descent, 1932 ft
Wednesday 5th September 2007: Suzie, Queen of the Canal
Spinney Lodge Farm, dep. 08.52
Blisworth, arr. 13.15
Blisworth, dep. 13.45
Little Brington, arr. 17.15
I was not in so much of a hurry today so I had a more leisurely breakfast and chatted to some of the business men that stayed on the farm. I was given a business card by a guy who lived in Leek and was down working at Nissan, Northampton. At 8.52am I was in the farmyard setting my GPS. Back over the motorway I was soon on the route again and into Salcey Forest. It looked lovely but I was very disappointed to find that the official route takes in almost two miles of road before taking to forest tracks again for the last section. It was a very strange route choice when there looks to be a perfectly good track through the centre of the forest.
The left-hand turn at Church Farm led to a flat but pleasant crossing of huge fields. The last field had been ploughed so I diverted into the farmyard. This was fortuitous as the farmer, still on his 4-wheel bike, was able to warn me of the closure ahead. Work on the next motorway crossing had closed the footbridge and I would have to seek an alternative. The road alternatives looked very long and arduous but the farmer recommended that I use a farmer’s tunnel two fields to the left. I was stopped by a workman on the track up to the motorway bridge. He again reiterated the closure notice but promised to get me across by stopping the work if I failed with the alternative.
One of the hedge crossings was rather fun, splayed out across some old metal drinking troughs. I would not have found the tunnel if I had not met that farmer. It was not indicated on the map. But once under the M1 and over another ploughed field, I was able to pick up the course of a dismantled railway which led me back onto the official path. Some road walking took me through Roade and onto the tracks to Blisworth. The final drop onto the towpath is not signposted and would be difficult to find without the guidebook. I diverted into the town centre to find some lunch but the Royal Oak was not doing food so it was a predominantly liquid meal.
Back onto the towpath I walked with a couple of old guys who were great fun. One had diabetes and his mate took him on seven-mile canal walks to lower his blood sugar? He was even back on ice-cream as long as it was in the middle of his walk. They suggested I looked out for a lady in a
canal boat who had offered them drinks. I was soon to find her; it would have been difficult to miss her. Suzie was sitting on the tow-path by her boat about 2 miles up the canal. She was surrounded by her dogs and their accoutrements. She offered me a couple of ice lollies, took my picture and saw me on my way. I was to text her later when I had finished the walk to thank her for her kindness.
At Nether Heyford I finished my stint of canal-walking and turned through the village with its huge village green and then on easy tracks to the point where the Macmillan Way comes in near Vicarage farm. But whereas last April I went straight up to Little Brington, this time my route took me right and up to Nobottle. Here the day’s walking was done yet I still had ¾ mile along a busy road to get to the village and its rather expensive hotel.
I stayed at the Saracens Head, Main Street, Little Brington, Northants, NN7 4HS. I ate a beautiful meal of duck in a parcel wrapping, and even managed a stack of pancakes for pudding. The beer was Woods and Timothy Taylors (Landlords).
Total distance (GPS), 25.03 miles
Average speed, 3.0 mph
Total ascent, 1299 ft
Moving time, 8.13.11 hrs
Average pace, 19m 41s per ml
Total descent, 1330 ft
Thursday 6th Sept 2007: A Blistering Pace
Little Brington, dep. 08.37
Lodge Farm, Sutton Bassett, arr. 17.00
This was the day. This was going to decide whether I could get round Market Harborough into a position to continue with Mike next year. All the previous planning was with this end in mind, but to achieve this I had to cover 11 miles up an old railway and then go a further ten miles round into town to catch a train home. So I was up early and had my bag packed before breakfast. I was thus on the road by soon after 8.30am and got a fast start through the deserted village streets. The main road back to Nobottle was not as busy as last night and I had few worries about traffic. The first gate was not obvious but I was soon off towards Harlestone, pausing only to correct my line across a ploughed field. There was a delightful paved footpath round the village, over its golf course and passed its beautiful church. It was another lovely morning and I was quite glad to get into the forest and back to shade. It was a lovely piece of woodland and a great line of footpaths before a gravelled track took me down under a railway line and then on and up across an endless golf course. After an age, I was in Church Brampton and turning right down towards the main road and the old railway,
The start of the railway was of great interest. There is a private railway still operating to the south which terminates at the station where one joins. Lots of rail stock, wagons, carriages and engines littered the sidings all standing in eerie silence. Then I was off into the wilderness, 11 miles of nothing, no villages, no farms, just the occasional road crossing. The only interest was in time and speed. I maintained a real effort to ensure a pace in excess of four miles an hour. This got me to Great Oxendon in about 2 ½ hrs. The only real features to look forward to were the two railway tunnels which were pitch black and rather cold and wet.
Eventually I was able to swing off and back over the tunnel exit on the route that Mike and I had covered earlier this year on our last day on the Macmillan Way. I then noticed that my feet were rather sore and the problem quickly got worse when I had to cross a ploughed field near Waterloo Lodge. My left foot was killing me on the next ploughed field and I had to jog down into Braybrooke just to take some of the weight off my left heel. I was sweating now with the oppressive heat and the pain. More plough fields up to the A6 did not help and I was wondering whether I would be able to get passed Brampton Ash, so near to success but so far.
I got the map out to see whether I could shorten the day without ruining the plan. And I could! If I was to finish at the B654 near Sutton Bassett, I would only be two miles from the railway station. So I made the supreme effort of climbing the last hill onto the ridge where the Macmillan and Mid-shire Ways divide. It was a blessed relief to come to the finger post that marked this separation, and I was able to raise a jog down to Lodge Farm and the road beyond. My foot was now excruciatingly painful and I could hardly get my head round a two mile road walk so I stuck my thumb out into the traffic and within five minutes, a lad who worked at Lodge Farm pulled over and offered to take me to the station.
I was now much earlier than I had expected and so caught an earlier train than planned which gave me the option of a different route home. So I changed at Leicester and was soon at Nuneaton and waiting for that one train a day that we had used in April on our way home from Oakham. I was even able to down a couple of pints in a nearby pub and have a conversation about Tolkien before limping back to the station and on to the Macclesfield Train. Another limp up to the bus station got me onto the local bus and I was home by 8.20pm. I had a shower and inspected my foot. The blister under my left heel looked awful and it felt worse. I had to get up in the middle of the night and pierce it with a needle. It was several days before I could walk and run properly again. That will teach me to push the pace as I did up that railway track!
Total distance (GPS), 27.28 miles
Average speed, 3.2 mph
Total ascent, 2624 ft
Moving time, 8.23.58 hrs
Average pace, 18m 28s per ml
Total descent, 2750 ft
Introduction
Jill was going away so I tried to fix up with Mike to finish off the Macmillan Way. He was not available so I took the opportunity of a few days on my own on the Mid-shires Way, the guide book for which I had bought in preparation for next year’s April march north. I could just about manage to get from the start in Princes Risborough to somewhere near Market Harborough in four days. Next year, I could take up again with Mike from where I left off.
Monday 3rd September: Start for a Prince
Princes Risborough dep. 11.10
Waddesdon, arr. 17.00
I was up by 6am and had a quick breakfast before my first miles of the day, to the station for the 08.16 to Banbury. A quick change took me onto the 10.29 to Princes Risborough and, by 11.06, I was standing outside the station waiting for my GPS to click in. It had been such an easy trip down. The town seemed very quiet as I made my way to a road named Upper Icknield Way, a very appropriate designation. At the top of this track, where it became tarmac for a short while, I met a man walking his dog, who was obviously keen for a chat. He worked as a volunteer on the Ridgeway and spent most days walking and working on the route. He knew little of my route and was interested to know my plans. As we parted I made a small navigational error and came to the golf course at the wrong point. A quick trip down a lane to the left brought me to the cricket pavilion and the correct line.
I thought I was to be eaten by a pack of dogs, but the lady explained in a foreign accent that ‘they are good but bark a lot’. It was now a warm and sunny day and because I had lots of time, I had a leisurely lunch near Bishopstone and afterwards lay in the sun. I eventually came into Eythrope Park and found the poorly marked exit path up the hill towards Waddeston Stud. The route description seemed to differ markedly from the sketch maps and from the ordnance survey maps but I followed the sketch map and used that as the definitive version. However the sketch map and the ordnance survey map then differ just beyond the Stud farm. I should have followed the latter down the field to the right but instead followed the sketch map straight on and into the wrong field. A couple of fence climbs got me back on route. Then the most overgrown and nettled paths brought me into the village. I spent a few minutes walking round but eventually found the B&B right opposite the path I had come out of. Helen, my landlady was a lovely person, a single mother running a guest house business on her own. She recommended a couple of local pubs and left me to look after myself and recover from a tiring day.
I stayed at the Old Dairy, 4 High Street, Waddesdon, Aylesbury, Bucks., HP18 0JA,
I ate Steak and Kidney Suet Pudding in the Lion but could only manage one pint of St Austell.
Total distance (GPS), 15.71 miles
Average speed, 3.1 mph
Total ascent, 1133 ft
Moving time, 5.00.49 hrs
Average pace, 19m 08s per ml
Total descent, 1224 ft
Tuesday 4th September 2007; Concrete Cows and All That
Waddesdon, dep. 08.42
Whaddon, arr. 13.41
Whaddon, dep. 13.45
Spinney Lodge Farm, arr. 18.30
I had not slept particularly well. I think the uncertainty and enormity of what I was planning today was worrying me. But it was a delightful morning. Clear, cool and with dew on the grass which wet my walking shoes. In no time at all I was over the railway and passing through the peaceful village of Quinton. The next few miles were to be the finest on the whole route with a long easy climb to the top of Quainton Hill with its metal tower and trig point inside a secure compound. A wonderful vista faced me as I dropped steeply down the north side through ancient earthworks.
After Verney Junction, the church and hall at Addington were the next targets. It was too early to stop at the Crown in Great Horwood and I pushed on through Nash until I called it a morning at the top of Church Hill near Whaddon. I sat on the grass in the sunshine and ate my last butty. I had had a cracking session, with 15 miles under my belt in 5 hours. The guide book indicated a relatively easy afternoon even though the diagrams made it look long and complicated. Nash to Salcey Forest was 13 miles, said the guide book. So I had only 11 or 12 miles to go. Dream on!
The afternoon soon took me into the Milton Keynes footpath system, a bridle path that runs through the entire city without crossing roads or even seeing traffic. On and on it went, hour after hour. I began to realise that all was not as the guidebook as the time drifted away and the miles accumulated on the GPS. The path looped round an old abbey, passed the concrete cows
and near to a Roman Villa. Finally I got a glimpse of the windmill before getting onto an everlasting cycle route back to the canal. There were several more mistakes in the guidebook but I eventually reached the left turn onto the towpath and then over the main road into open country. However the mileage was already passed the day’s schedule and I was miles from the end, in Haversham in fact. The miles went on, but at least it was a lovely field path up to the GMCQ buildings that dominate the landscape. The last bit of road and tracks across the M1 were much longer than expected and I recorded 31 miles before I left the path and recrossed the M1 to find my farm. I was pretty well exhausted when I arrived, with over 32 miles under my shoes. The lady owner, Mrs Payne, was a great help to me. She rang both pubs to find who was providing food. The only one that was, the globe in Long Street, was at least a mile down the road, a walk I was too tired to contemplate. So the farmer, Richard, offered most kindly to run me down. He then joined me later for a pint and brought me home. I was most grateful for their kindness.I stayed at Spinney Lodge Farm, Hanslope, Milton Keynes, MK19 7DE, Tel: 01908 510267 and ate at the Globe in Long Street, Hanslope. I had a lovely chicken curry and washed it down with Marston’s Sweet Chariot (4.2%).
Total distance (GPS), 32.17 miles
31.24 on path
Average speed, 3.3 mph
Total ascent, 1891 ft
Moving time, 9.31.35 hrs
Average pace, 17m 46s per ml
Total descent, 1932 ft
Wednesday 5th September 2007: Suzie, Queen of the Canal
Spinney Lodge Farm, dep. 08.52
Blisworth, arr. 13.15
Blisworth, dep. 13.45
Little Brington, arr. 17.15
I was not in so much of a hurry today so I had a more leisurely breakfast and chatted to some of the business men that stayed on the farm. I was given a business card by a guy who lived in Leek and was down working at Nissan, Northampton. At 8.52am I was in the farmyard setting my GPS. Back over the motorway I was soon on the route again and into Salcey Forest. It looked lovely but I was very disappointed to find that the official route takes in almost two miles of road before taking to forest tracks again for the last section. It was a very strange route choice when there looks to be a perfectly good track through the centre of the forest.
The left-hand turn at Church Farm led to a flat but pleasant crossing of huge fields. The last field had been ploughed so I diverted into the farmyard. This was fortuitous as the farmer, still on his 4-wheel bike, was able to warn me of the closure ahead. Work on the next motorway crossing had closed the footbridge and I would have to seek an alternative. The road alternatives looked very long and arduous but the farmer recommended that I use a farmer’s tunnel two fields to the left. I was stopped by a workman on the track up to the motorway bridge. He again reiterated the closure notice but promised to get me across by stopping the work if I failed with the alternative.
One of the hedge crossings was rather fun, splayed out across some old metal drinking troughs. I would not have found the tunnel if I had not met that farmer. It was not indicated on the map. But once under the M1 and over another ploughed field, I was able to pick up the course of a dismantled railway which led me back onto the official path. Some road walking took me through Roade and onto the tracks to Blisworth. The final drop onto the towpath is not signposted and would be difficult to find without the guidebook. I diverted into the town centre to find some lunch but the Royal Oak was not doing food so it was a predominantly liquid meal.
Back onto the towpath I walked with a couple of old guys who were great fun. One had diabetes and his mate took him on seven-mile canal walks to lower his blood sugar? He was even back on ice-cream as long as it was in the middle of his walk. They suggested I looked out for a lady in a
canal boat who had offered them drinks. I was soon to find her; it would have been difficult to miss her. Suzie was sitting on the tow-path by her boat about 2 miles up the canal. She was surrounded by her dogs and their accoutrements. She offered me a couple of ice lollies, took my picture and saw me on my way. I was to text her later when I had finished the walk to thank her for her kindness.At Nether Heyford I finished my stint of canal-walking and turned through the village with its huge village green and then on easy tracks to the point where the Macmillan Way comes in near Vicarage farm. But whereas last April I went straight up to Little Brington, this time my route took me right and up to Nobottle. Here the day’s walking was done yet I still had ¾ mile along a busy road to get to the village and its rather expensive hotel.
I stayed at the Saracens Head, Main Street, Little Brington, Northants, NN7 4HS. I ate a beautiful meal of duck in a parcel wrapping, and even managed a stack of pancakes for pudding. The beer was Woods and Timothy Taylors (Landlords).
Total distance (GPS), 25.03 miles
Average speed, 3.0 mph
Total ascent, 1299 ft
Moving time, 8.13.11 hrs
Average pace, 19m 41s per ml
Total descent, 1330 ft
Thursday 6th Sept 2007: A Blistering Pace
Little Brington, dep. 08.37
Lodge Farm, Sutton Bassett, arr. 17.00
This was the day. This was going to decide whether I could get round Market Harborough into a position to continue with Mike next year. All the previous planning was with this end in mind, but to achieve this I had to cover 11 miles up an old railway and then go a further ten miles round into town to catch a train home. So I was up early and had my bag packed before breakfast. I was thus on the road by soon after 8.30am and got a fast start through the deserted village streets. The main road back to Nobottle was not as busy as last night and I had few worries about traffic. The first gate was not obvious but I was soon off towards Harlestone, pausing only to correct my line across a ploughed field. There was a delightful paved footpath round the village, over its golf course and passed its beautiful church. It was another lovely morning and I was quite glad to get into the forest and back to shade. It was a lovely piece of woodland and a great line of footpaths before a gravelled track took me down under a railway line and then on and up across an endless golf course. After an age, I was in Church Brampton and turning right down towards the main road and the old railway,
The start of the railway was of great interest. There is a private railway still operating to the south which terminates at the station where one joins. Lots of rail stock, wagons, carriages and engines littered the sidings all standing in eerie silence. Then I was off into the wilderness, 11 miles of nothing, no villages, no farms, just the occasional road crossing. The only interest was in time and speed. I maintained a real effort to ensure a pace in excess of four miles an hour. This got me to Great Oxendon in about 2 ½ hrs. The only real features to look forward to were the two railway tunnels which were pitch black and rather cold and wet.
Eventually I was able to swing off and back over the tunnel exit on the route that Mike and I had covered earlier this year on our last day on the Macmillan Way. I then noticed that my feet were rather sore and the problem quickly got worse when I had to cross a ploughed field near Waterloo Lodge. My left foot was killing me on the next ploughed field and I had to jog down into Braybrooke just to take some of the weight off my left heel. I was sweating now with the oppressive heat and the pain. More plough fields up to the A6 did not help and I was wondering whether I would be able to get passed Brampton Ash, so near to success but so far.
I got the map out to see whether I could shorten the day without ruining the plan. And I could! If I was to finish at the B654 near Sutton Bassett, I would only be two miles from the railway station. So I made the supreme effort of climbing the last hill onto the ridge where the Macmillan and Mid-shire Ways divide. It was a blessed relief to come to the finger post that marked this separation, and I was able to raise a jog down to Lodge Farm and the road beyond. My foot was now excruciatingly painful and I could hardly get my head round a two mile road walk so I stuck my thumb out into the traffic and within five minutes, a lad who worked at Lodge Farm pulled over and offered to take me to the station.
I was now much earlier than I had expected and so caught an earlier train than planned which gave me the option of a different route home. So I changed at Leicester and was soon at Nuneaton and waiting for that one train a day that we had used in April on our way home from Oakham. I was even able to down a couple of pints in a nearby pub and have a conversation about Tolkien before limping back to the station and on to the Macclesfield Train. Another limp up to the bus station got me onto the local bus and I was home by 8.20pm. I had a shower and inspected my foot. The blister under my left heel looked awful and it felt worse. I had to get up in the middle of the night and pierce it with a needle. It was several days before I could walk and run properly again. That will teach me to push the pace as I did up that railway track!
Total distance (GPS), 27.28 miles
Average speed, 3.2 mph
Total ascent, 2624 ft
Moving time, 8.23.58 hrs
Average pace, 18m 28s per ml
Total descent, 2750 ft
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