Day 29: The Island of Sodor

Distance: 19.0 miles
Our walk today was all along the Severn River, with the river just to our left all day.




But on our right there were train tracks paralleling our course, and all day long we heard the shug-a-shug-a-shug of steam engines coming and going. It was like we were strolling the countryside of the Island of Sodor!




Look at the green engine pulling all those cars! And here is a black engine, running backwards.




We were next to the tracks of the Severn Valley Railway, which maintains sixteen miles of track where steam engines happily shuttle passenger cars full of tourists back and forth from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster. Old people come for the nostalgia of the steam age; young people come to see real versions of Thomas and his friends at work! And on a beautiful sunny weekend like this one, there were plenty of people around. All the engines were working hard to move them from one place to another. We didn't see Sir Topham Hat, the Fat Controller, but he must have been proud. We did see his skinny kid brother.




We passed this green engine stopped on the tracks. We found out that these old engines break down quite often; skilled steam engine mechanics aren't as common as they used to be.




I hope they get the green engine fixed soon! Broken down engines cause confusion and delay!




Today was supposed to be our longest day, but it wasn't. As has become clear, our estimated distances were just that, estimates. We knew today would be long and hot in the afternoon sun, so we decided yesterday that we'd skip breakfast at our B&B and get an early start. We left just after 7am (which really is early, since most of our B&B breakfasts start at 7:30) and put in 3 miles to Bewdley, then stopped for breakfast. Our progress was good even with all the stopping to watch the trains and the cute animals.




So we made it to Bridgnorth with enough time to wander around a bit. The oldest part of Bridgnorth sits high up on a promontory that used to be the location of the castle. It must have been a pretty big castle, but all that's left is one corner of one tower. They blowed it up during the civil war.




Tomorrow is a nice stroll, only 10 miles, to Ironbridge, the birthplace of the industrial revolution.
Thanks Severn Valley Railway - it was fun walking beside your tracks all day, and it was great to see how many people are so happy to watch and ride your trains!

Location:E Castle St,Bridgnorth,United Kingdom

Day 28: Worcester to Stourport on Severn

Distance: 13.4 miles
Skies: blue

Our luck with the weather on this trip has been really unbelievable, and it looks like our lucky streak will continue. My biggest weather related problem is that I didn't bring any sunscreen, so I've got a bit of sunburn on my neck where some rays snuck in past the brim of my hat. It just never occurred to me that sunscreen belongs in your pack for a March walk in England. Along the same lines, the first thing we did after arriving at our B&B today was head to the high street to buy Dawn some shorts - it's just too warm for her black leggings. In the meantime, we're carrying packs full of long underwear and wool layers and rainproof shells that we've barely used. The ten day forecast is for more of the same: day after day of eighteen degrees and sunshine. Every morning I must remember to reflect on our good fortune and remind myself not to become complacent.



That's a picture of a building we saw coming out of Worcester - can you read the sign and see what it is? A little more fancy than I'm used to seeing at home - it really would be fun to stay there!


Worcester was a great city to spend our second rest day. Most important, it has a laundromat. Also, it's really beautiful. The Severn cuts a stately path, and on the water are swans, canal boats, and people rowing. On the shores are streets and buildings made from the reddish stones they quarry here, including the spectacular cathedral - they claim it is the most interesting in England, and who am I to argue? We spent an hour or two walking around and through it.


The cathedral was founded in 680, but that building is now dust. The oldest part of the current building is the crypt, built in 1084 - we walked through it; they still worship there every day. There's lots of famous dudes buried in the church, including this coffin which contains the bones of King John.


The only things I know about him are that he signed the Magna Carta (in 1215) and that Robin Hood didn't like him. I've read a little more, and now I know that he was also kind of a dick. His effigy has two little King Johns on either side of his head - no idea what that's all about, but it looks cool.


The son of Henry the seventh, Prince Arthur, is also buried here. Arthur was married at age 15 to a redhead, Catherine of Aragon, and he was supposed to become King. Pretty sweet! But he got sick and died during the honeymoon. So instead Arthur's kid brother Henry ended up with the red headed wife and became the next king - and you all know how that worked out.


Lots of the plaques for the dead are in Latin, so I couldn't really figure out who they were. Like this awesome looking knight.


The place is just filled with all kinds of amazing detail in the stone work, and the stuff on the walls, the windows. Really cool. Here's one more, of a guy named Edes, who was chaplain to Elizabeth the first back in the 1500s, and who apparently had no eyes.


If you look close (at the stone not the picture) you can see that they eyes have been worn down. I thought it was interesting that a lot of the effigies had been vandalized over the centuries, apparently to smear the reputation of the dead dudes.

The windows around the cloister show off periods in the history of England. Here's the one from 1615-1714, with the important people from that period: kings, queens, bishops, writers.


Check out the detail in the pane just lower left of center.


It's a fisherman! Isaac Walton. According to the church, a fisherman is one of the most important people in the seventeenth century. Dad, I guess you were right about the importance of fishing!

So yesterday, we visited the big church at Worcester. Today, we visited two small country churches. Church yards have become a favorite stopping place for us. They are a predictable, constant feature of the landscape: the countryside is dotted with villages, footpaths go through the villages, every village has a church, and every church has a bench where you can sit and eat, or rest, or just enjoy the setting. And if there happen to be people about, they welcome you.


This is St Bartholomew's church in Grimley. We stopped there to drop our packs, and take a little rest. I was walking around taking some pictures when a weathered man with a nearly impenetrable accent came by and asked me something. I nodded and smiled. He asked if we'd like to go in and look around, and took out a big keying, and opened the door (based on our unscientific sampling, about half the churches lock their doors, which I think is kind of sad, but I understand).


The man kept saying how we two must be educated, and how we've probably seen a lot of churches. Finally I figured out that he was asking me if I was an archeologist. We had an interesting, surreal conversation ranging from the times (kids these days!) to politics (the current lot are all corrupt!) to other bits where I couldn't figure out a word he was saying.


Larry pointed out in the last post that we could have just taken 100 pictures of a church on the first day, and then been using them every day. And that would fool a lot of people, including me, and Larry. But I'm slowly learning the differences between these places. It's like watching Antiques Roadshow. Every old chair looks exactly the same. Until some old dude with a mustache shows what makes this one special, and that one a pile of kindling. An obvious difference that I like is seeing how the color changes from church to church, matching the color of the local soil. But other differences I don't understand. Like, here is the second church of our day, St Martin's, a few miles up the road in Holt.


It has a lot in common with St Bartholomew's, but there are differences - and I wish I knew what they meant. For example, why does the tower on this one have pinnacles, and the other one doesn't? I'm sure it means something.

We also saw sheep today. Here's one looking right at you!


She was a nice sheep, though not Dawn's favorite kind. Dawn prefers the sheep with the black heads. And look, here's a baby sheep!


I think that tomorrow will be our longest day yet - along the Severn to Bridgnorth. We don't really know how long it will be, since my planning numbers have been not so accurate, but we're guessing about 20 miles.

Location:Stourport-on-Severn,United Kingdom

Day 27: (almost) 20 miles along the Severn

Distance: 19.6 miles
Naps: 1

One question we get asked a lot is "Why are you doing this?". It's a hard question to answer. I'm not sure I can really put my motivation into words. By I can list a few factors. One is that we both like to walk, and we both like walking here, in a country with footpaths, and B&Bs, and a walking culture. Another is that our youngest started university this year, and we wanted something big that the two of us could do. Another is that Dawn and I really enjoy spending time together, and this is a nice way to do that. There's the physical challenge of walking ten to twenty miles per day.

Of course, there's an ego element to it. The idea that for the rest of time, we'll know that we have walked the length of Britain. We've only ever met, in the flesh, one person that's done this walk before. It was a couple of weeks ago, in Bridgwater. We were walking through town, carrying our packs, when a fast walking man crossed over to our side of the street to say hello, and ask where we were off to. We told him, and he told us that he'd walked LEJOG in1986. One of the things he told us is that when we get within a quarter mile of the John O'Groats sign, the entire British Army will not be able to keep us from that last goal. And I think that's true, but I don't think of John O Groats much - yet - and I don't believe Dawn does either.

For me the reason comes down to this: it just seems like the right thing to do for me right now. I just want to be here doing this. Here's an example of what I mean. Around noon today, after walking about ten miles, we made it to the Rose and Crown, in Severn Stoke, in need of a break and some food. We set our packs outside, at a picnic table, and planned to eat the bread, cheese, and apples we'd packed, washing it down with a pot of tea from the pub. We went in to get the tea, and what we found was a warm wood fire, three talkative locals at the bar, a beautiful space, and a barkeeper as master of ceremonies. We felt so welcome and loved the whole feeling so much, that we couldn't leave: we ordered sandwiches from the bar menu, and I ordered a pint of the local cider, and we joined in. Once they heard we were Canadians, we heard connections. The bartender's older sister, over 70 now, has lived, since her twenties, in Kitchener. She'd done missionary stints around the world, and teaches mentally challenged kids. The tall guy at the bar had relatives in Toronto, and talked about driving the 403 through Hamilton. (all these places are part of the background that Dawn and I have). They talked with us, and amongst themselves, about the great flood of 2007, when the Severn, a half mile away, came in down the lane, and flooded the pub. The building was 400 years old, built from hand hewn beams for people closer to Dawn's height than mine.


And all of it - the history, the tired legs, the people, being with Dawn, the food, the drink - that's why we're here.



The weather was great again today. Partly sunny, with light afternoon breezes eventually building up to a pretty stiff wind. The path was flat, mostly along grassland on the shore of the slow moving, wide, Severn River. Peaceful and relaxing. After having a pint and a big sandwich at lunch, it felt really peaceful and relaxing - I suggested we lie down for a while, and enjoy a nice snooze. Dawn wisely pointed out that Worcester was still many miles upriver. But she did let me lie down for a few minutes.


Dawn sat patiently on a stile munching raisins and gave me a minute. Usually I have coffee or tea with lunch instead of beer or cider - maybe that's a better plan on long days.


The final push into Worcester was a little tough. It's our first day over 18 miles and we both had pretty sore feet. But nothing major. No blisters, and my weird toe nerve pain seems to have subsided for now. It was pretty nice to walk past the big cathedral knowing we'd soon be dropping our packs and showering. It was nice to see that the cathedral gets higher billing here than the sauce.


Had a nice dinner at an Italian place, Puccini. It was only a half mile away, but we took a cab. Both ways. Had a surprising and odd experience after our meal. The bill came to just over forty three pounds, which has not bad for starters, mains, dessert, and some drinks. It was all great, so we gave our waitress a fifty pound note, and said to keep the rest. She said thank you, and we gathered up our stuff and made for the door. Out of nowhere someone comes out of the back and stops us, telling us that the don't accept fifties. It was honestly kind of insulting and embarrassing, to be stopped on the way out of a crowded restaurant as if we'd done an eat and run. Since we had no smaller bills, we ended up stuck blocking the door where they ran our credit card. For forty five pounds. I still don't understand how they can not accept some currency - doesn't the picture of the Queen make it legal tender in this country? Can any of you from here explain the rules to us on when we can use cash, and what cash is ok?

Tomorrow is a rest day for us! We'll be doing laundry and checking out the cathedral. Not sure if we will blog or not. Feels like we have so much to say, but I'm sure our readers need a rest day as well!

Location:Worcester, UK

Day 26: Tewkesbury

Distance: 16.8 miles
Brutal climbs: 0

Today we left the climbs and descents of the Cotswold Way firmly behind us. It took us a while to get out of Cheltenham, as its a fair sized city. The fun of walking is that you come across the strangest things as you weave around on your way to a particular footpath. Today it was on a small street right at the edge of town.


Once we got out of the city, we meandered along a series of footpaths and lanes to reach


We're going to be on the Severn Way for the next week almost.
We discovered that the flat land around the Severn River had some of the most amazing trees. Gnarly deciduous trees that look absolutely ancient. Some of the trunks were massive. I have no idea what kind of trees they are, or how old they are, but I imagine that they all could be the Whomping Willow.


The Severn Way led us right into Tewkesbury, home of an amazing Abbey, which is right across the street from our B&B.


It was consecrated in 1121 and the Abbey church was saved from destruction during the dissolution of the Abbeys in 1540 by its parishioners. They bought it from Henry VIII for £453, which was the value of the metal from its bells and roof. Most of the other buildings of the Abbey were quarried for their stone.





There were headstones in the floor that dated to the late 1600s, and those were only the ones we noticed and could read. It is awe inspiring to stand in this soaring space and take in all the incredible craftsmanship and feats of engineering that went into it. And tonight when we were walking back to the B&B from dinner, the bells were pealing. It was absolutely beautiful!

Got to wrap this up now, since I've got to sleep. We expect tomorrow will be our longest day yet. But then we have a rest day!

Day 25: Cheltenham

Distance: 13.4 miles
Cheese weight: 8 lbs

We're now well into Gloucestershire, our fourth county. Each has its own character, and we've come to appreciate the subtle differences between them. Here's our guide to English counties so far:

Cornwall: steep hills, brown mud
Devon: big hills, red mud
Somerset: mud often mixed with pony poo, and very deep
Gloucestershire: honey coloured, sticky, heavy, slippery mud

One more day and we'll be in our fifth county: Worcestershire. Can't wait to see what it has to offer!



Most of today's walk was a trip down memory lane, revisiting some of the best parts of the Cotswold Way walk we did with our children back in 2006. A highlight was walking out onto the top of Cooper's Hill, which has no relation to Cooper the cat.


That's Cooper the cat. And see here, how it looks like Dawn is about to walk off the end of the earth? That's Cooper's Hill.


Every year for the past two hundred years, somebody tosses an eight pound wheel of Double Gloucester over the brink, and a few dozen maniacs race after the cheese. First one down gets to keep it. There's ambulance crews at the bottom to cart off the injured; one year they took 33 participants to hospital. Here is an article about the event including YouTube videos.

We walked along familiar forest paths, and around every turn it seemed there was a familiar vista that we remembered. It was really great. Some of the animals were familiar, like these sheep. Fortunately, they seemed to be the normal kind of sheep. The ones that just go about their business, eating grass. Not the crazy sheep of Somerset, the ones that we're pretty sure
long for the taste of human flesh.


We also saw animals that were new to us, like these Oreo cows, grazing at the outskirts of the Painswick golf club.


The scariest event today came just after lunch, when we had to cross two A roads that came together at a traffic circle.


Crossing an A road is hard enough. Crossing at a traffic circle, with no lights, is hard too. Combining both into one is a real challenge. You start by looking into the circle, and then looking down the road, and trying to figure out which drivers will be coming your way and attempting to mow you down. It's tough to figure out, since the cars here all drive really fast, on the wrong side of the road, and seem to care less about pedestrians. I mostly just waited for Dawn's yell, "go!"', and then we ran for our lives.

A few miles after our successful crossing, we left the Cotwold Way. We will miss the great signs that direct you along the national trail; now it's back to map reading and, sometimes, getting lost and confused.


Tomorrow we head west, away from the hills of the Cotswolds and into the flat Severn valley. Our luck with the weather continues; should be another partly sunny and cool day - perfect for walking!

Location:Shurdington Rd,Cheltenham,United Kingdom

Day 24: a sunny walk to Painswick

Distance: 17.1 miles
Yews: 99

As we left North Nibley, near to nine, it was nippy! There was frost on the grass. But the sun was shining, and within minutes we removed our jackets, and our gloves. By ten, I was walking in shorts and bear arms. The day was sunny, but not hot (maybe ten degrees), and with a light breeze. It could not have been a more beautiful day for a walk through the Cotswolds.


For the most part we followed the Cotswold Way, except for three diversions where we cut off some of the excessive wandering the Way puts you through so that you can take in every possible scenic vista. For example, instead of going up and over this hill, Cam Long Down, we just walked in front of it, saving a half mile of distance and a few hundred feet of climbing.


We did exactly the same detour in 2006 with our kids. Or daughter will remember that the bright green field above looked a little different then. It was covered in big piles of fresh manure - Erin, I thought you might never forgive me for dragging you through that. Here's Mom reenacting the part where Ian used a walking stick to fling manure through the sky. Ah, memories!



One of the vistas we did take in was Coaley Peak. In 2006, We remembered seeing gliders there, turning tight circles, chasing thermals. They were still there! This time there were also a couple of paragliders, launching from the steep hillside and catching lift off the 500 foot escarpment.


They launched from near the top, then quickly got up made another hundred feet, and seemed to mostly cruise around in a narrow band from the top of the hill to one or two hundred feet higher. Even though they weren't that high above us, it seemed safe; if they lost the lift they could just turn west where there were nice green pastures at the bottom, hundreds of feet down.


One of the paragliders ranged beyond the ridge and got into thermals and was up a few thousand feet with the sailplanes. One sailplane was a motor glider, we could hear his two stroke engine kick in from time to time. We saw another getting towed up by a Pawnee, though the landing strip was hidden behind trees. We spent a really pleasant half hour watching all the flying. It would have been easy to stay longer, but it was getting close to noon, and we were less than half way to Painswick, so we got ourselves moving.


By early afternoon, we were hungry, and running down, and worried that all pubs would be closed (on Monday many pubs close for lunch). But fortunately, the Kings Head in Kings Stanley was serving. Their board mentioned free wifi; the iPad told me I needed a password. I asked the barmaid for it, and she said, sneering, "personally, I don't care". After a beat she did offer to find out, but she'd already scared me off. The worst service we've had yet in the UK, but the sandwich and coffee was good, so I can live with that.


The afternoon was two more Cotswold Way shortcuts. But even skipping those vistas, there were plenty of exceptional views, all day long.


A few more hours of walking, and we finally had the Painswick steeple in sight. The day could not have been nicer, but after 15 miles and 3000 feet climbing, it was a pretty sight. The final couple of miles took us off of the escarpment and into town. Painswick is known by many for the 99 yew trees in its churchyard, cut to look like something from Super Mario World.


But for us, Painswick is the place where we discovered Banoffee Pie! Six year later, it's still on the specials board, and it still really hits the spot after a long walk.


Tomorrow the BBC is telling us that we'll have the same weather as today for our walk to Cheltenham. We've got ourselves lined up to stay at a super swanky inn - Beaumont House. Always fun to show up at these places with our packs!

Location:The Falcon, Painswick