Great English Walk Day 8 - 24 March 2018

Dorrington to Ebury Hill Camping nr Shrewsbury
Walking 7am to 4.15pm
Distance walked today 12 miles
Distance walked so far 133 miles 
Distance left 450 miles

It rained very lightly most of the night. What also happened in the night was my Thermarest mattress deflated. I think it punctured from a thorn on the ground. I was under thorny trees and I think they had been cut back. I should have been more careful in my choice of site. It will need repairing.

My first village was Stapleton. The churchyard would have been OK for camping. Also, the entrance being into the tower, the unlocked door led into a lobby area and the door into the body of the church was locked so the lobby would have provided under cover accommodation with no tarp needed. The church was unusual in that it had originally been constructed with two floors.

Through the hamlet of Chatford, and on to Westley Farm where Liz (a Jilly Cooper lookalike!) and son Charles allowed me to fill water bottles, and gave me one that had been used for lambs as I appeared to have lost one en route this morning. Liz would have given me a cooked breakfast but had to get on with lambing. Nice thought. Thanks Liz.

On to Lyth Hill Country Park where every local dog owner seemed to come for the morning walk. I chatted with one and we got on to the subject of technology rendering much of the human race unnecessary in the world of work and he recommended a film called The Purge which I'd never heard of. I had to take a path off the way he was going so had no chance to talk more.

The view from Lyth Hill

At Bayston Hill I resupplied at a Spar and then made my way into and through Shrewsbury, the Great English Walk book being invaluable as it gave precise directions which I wouldn't have managed with the map alone. The route took me to the River Severn which winds through and round the city. Lists of families and dog walkers, it being Saturday.

The toll bridge into Shrewsbury

I followed the Shropshire Way out of the city to Uffington and am at Ebury Hill Campsite, not open till 29 March but a working party was getting it ready and, for insurance purposes, I am one of them. No charge and I have sole use of a loo intended for backpackers (all other units required to have own sanitation).

A short day today. I have to pace myself as my friend Mike is coming over from Germany to join me for three days on 29 March and I don't want us to miss each other.

I have made use of the wash basin here to locate the Thermarest leak and marked it ready to repair when dry. Fortunately I have a spare plastic groundsheet to cover it with so I don't have to sleep on a wet mattress.