Day 40 - Glastonbury to Taunton - 25 Miles

If ever a day felt like a filler,  this was it.  Ever since Inverness,  we have had the luxury of being able to follow long distance footpaths or canals,  linking up nicely all the way to Somerset, but today this ran out,  leaving the option of either following direct A roads, or weave a path through minor roads and footpaths.  The day started well enough,  with paths alongside the main road out of Glastonbury and on to Street, where it promptly ran out.   Continuing along it without a footpath or verge would have been suicidal,  so we rerouted onto Kings Sedge Moor, zig zagging along quieter lanes in more or less a Westerly direction.
It seems that every day we meet more people interested in what we are doing and it was whilst we were weaving our way through Kings Sedge Moor that we met a nice couple who informed us that we were very close to a H4H rehabilitation centre.   If we had had more time,  we could have popped in, but as usual we were desperately trying to reach our destination,  with the mileage getting higher with every detour to avoid the main roads.
Eventually we picked up on a direct route following some drainage canals called the East Deane Way which was a bit overgrown in places,  but better than being on the roads. This linked into the largely disused Taunton to Bridgewater Canal which brought us to our final destination for the day.  The final mileage was 6 Miles more than if we had followed the A road out of Glastonbury. A frustrating addition, but all part of ensuring we get there in one piece.

The East Deane Way.

Statistics

Distance: 25.2 Miles

Moving Time: 7 Hours 49 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 942.24 Miles

View the route for day 40 here.

Day 39 - Bath to Glastonbury - 33 Miles

We gained another day today.   The planned stopping point had been the quaintly named 'Midsomer Norton', but at just 11 Miles, there was no way we could pass off the opportunity to do a double day and try to get to Glastonbury.   It wasn't easy though,  anything over 20 Miles gets hard, but we pushed on through the persistent rain and made pretty good going along Sustrans routes, disused railway lines and fairly quiet country lanes. At one point along the way,  a cyclist who was linterested in what we were doing pointed out that we were passing a 6000 year old Long Barrow burial chamber and a car driver slowed for a chat near Glastonbury and told us that the road on which we were walking at Queens Sedge Moor was 2 Miles long and completely straight and flat.  We had actually noticed this.
Glastonbury Tor can be seen from at least 10 Miles away as you approach and looks rather like a child's sand castle with a flag stuck in the top.  Glastonbury itself lived up to expectations as a hippy magnet, with lots of people stranger than us walking around and the high street full of shops catering for their attire. It is a shame we don't have more time to spend here, I would have liked to have gone up the Tor, or visited the church that was offering 'Healing by appointment', to fix my feet, tired after our longest day so far.

Approaching Glastonbury with the Tor visible in the distance.

Statistics

Distance: 30.5 Miles

Moving Time: 10 Hours 13 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 917.04 Miles

View the route for day 39 here.

Day 38 - Chipping Sodbury to Bath - 21 Miles

Aside from the first day at John o'Groats, we have not met anyone else doing the end to end walk, be it North South, or South North.  We have spoken to lots of other people who have met other people doing it.   One chap we met in the Saloon in Stonehaugh said that he had met five people already doing it whilst walking the Pennine Way, including one person doing it with a banjo in his back!  I think that a banjo would be the last thing I would want strapped to the back of my rucksack. I did see on the news that a man had just finished at Land's End after having danced all the way whilst wearing a tutu! And I thought that we stood out as odd.
I think that we finished with the Cotswold Way today as we completed the relatively short leg into Bath. I quite liked the Cotswold Way, despite it being pretty hard going and getting caught in some torrential downpours. Bath is also a nice place and we visited the town centre to get some new waterproofs,  before heading off to the Youth Hostel which is slightly out of town,  hidden away in the hillside.   I wonder if anyone else staying here is doing the end to end.

Heading off on the Cotswold Way for the last time.

Statistics

Distance: 19.5 Miles

Moving Time: 6 Hours 47 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 886.54 Miles

View the route for day 38 here.

Day 37 - Stroud to Chipping Sodbury - 25 Miles

Our B&B for the night had been an interesting place, with walls completely covered with pictures of 60's rock stars, I half expected the owner to be playing Hendrix as we departed this morning.   He was a nice chap and we said goodbye and headed off down the same two miles of road that we had already walked twice yesterday.
We were soon back onto the Cotswold Way, which was very hard going,  but a nice change from the holiday home populated banks of the Severn Way.  As we stopped at one of the many hilltop monuments that the Cotswold Way takes you up, we were ambushed by an over friendly horse that took a close interest in our rucksacks and nearly made off with Tim's socks hanging from the back of his rucksack!
Having survived the horse attack,  our final days destination was a choice of either Little Sodbury, Chipping Sodbury or Old Sodbury.  The choice was made for us as we could only get accommodation in Chipping Sodbury,  or Sodding Chipbury as the locals call it.  Jokes aside,  The Bell turned out to be a great place to stay and the Cotswold Way hasn't been half as bad as I was expecting.

Tim had to fend off the affections if this horse, which nearly made off with his socks!

Statistics

Distance: 24.8 Miles

Moving Time: 8 Hours 29 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 867.04 Miles

View the route for day 37 here.

Day 36 - Tewkesbury to Stroud - 30 Miles

I finally lost patience with my phone today and bought a new one as we passed through Gloucester.  I now look forward to being able to take photos again and I will make extra sure not to get it wet.
Glocester was a lively place, there was a wedding going on in the town centre with lots if music and dancing.   However,  we couldn't stay around for long as we needed to cover a lot of miles.  We had previously left behind the river Severn which had been our companion for the last few days and we have now picked up the Cotswold Way. The Cotswold Way has a bad reputation as a long distance footpath because it is designed to take in every hill and point of interest, rather than just getting from A to B, so we will need to check the route very carefully to make sure that we don't go on any unnecessary detours.
We didn't quite miss the rain today,  it quickly blew in as we arrived at Kings Stanley and by the time we had walked back two miles in the direction we had just come to get to the only available B&B, we were drenched.   Thankfully my new phone was dry, still boxed and bagged inside my rucksack.
I won't mention my phone again...unless it breaks.

One walker for sale, high mileage, needs attention. 

Statistics

Distance: 29.9 Miles

Moving Time: 9 Hours 21 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 842.24 Miles

View the route for day 36 here.

Day 35 - Holt Fleet to Tewksbury - 28 Miles

My phone was on thin ice today.  It refused to turn on all the way to Worcester as we attempted to follow the Severn Way, before realising that the path had mysteriously switched to the other side of the river, with no bridges for miles, causing us some navigation stress and a hasty reroute into Worcester.  When we got to Worcester (which seems like really nice place), I popped into Phones 4 U to sort a replacement, but the model I wanted was out of stock, so I tried my phone again and it miraculously worked.  Will it make it to Land's End I wonder before I lose patience with it and put my size 12 boot on it.
The rest of the walk today was pretty simple, follow the river, stay cool, keep drinking and make it to Tewksbury to gain another day.  Simple, except that the Severn Way is occasionally blocked by private land which neccessitates big detours and the way is regularly overgrown with thistles and nettles , adding further sting to sunburnt legs.
Eventually we reached Tewkesbury and thus gained a fourth day.  This is significant because it now means we only need to stick to the remaining schedule to ensure reaching Land's End on the glorious 12th August. Then back to work the following day!

First sight of Tewksbury from the Severn Way.

Statistics

Distance: 26.5 Miles

Moving Time: 8 Hours 40 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 812.34 Miles

View the route for day 35 here.

Day 34 - Bobbington to Holt Fleet - 24 Miles

I have just discovered something worse than a wet phone, a wet sleeping bag.  It has been sat in the bottom of my rucksack for two days unnoticed and now that I need to use it, it is damp and not likely to dry very quickly. The thing has been rubbish from day one as it has been leaking duck feathers into my tent at an alarming rate, but it has at least been warm and comfortable, when dry.
Today's walk turned out to be a nice one, the first ten miles were on quiet country lanes, before we picked up the Severn Way, following the banks of the river Severn, with the Severn Valley steam railway to our left.  We followed this to Bewdley, which felt like a seaside town, then continued along the river passing lots of holiday homes on the river front, some immaculately maintained, some in total disrepair.  Our final destination was one of the many campsites along the way, making a convenient stopping point, well ahead of our planned stop.
A quick addition of our mileage shows that we have covered around 785 Miles, averaging 23 Miles a day.  That puts us 75% of the way to Land's End.

Strimmer anyone?

Statistics

Distance: 24.1 Miles

Moving Time: 7 Hours 37 Mins

Cumulative Distance: 785.84 Miles

View the route for day 34 here.