Journal:
There's
nothing worse than needing to get up to go to the
loo when you're snug in your sleeping bag on a cold
night in the woods. Doesn't happen too often,
but happened last night. Apart from that I
slept well and wasn't disturbed by anybody apart
from the sound of cars on the nearby road in the
morning. Not much breeze last night, so a fair
bit of condensation inside the tent when I packed up
at 7:45am.
I left about 8:10am and,
after a couple of kilometres at the junction with a
main road, passed a little store where I bought some
breakfast and sat at a picnic table outside watching
the world go by. Then, conscious that I had a
long way to go, walked steadily for the next two
hours passing initially through some pretty rural
country and tiny old stone villages along country
lanes and footpaths. Then I emerged into
civilization at Easton-in-Gordano where there was a
lot of settlement and industry and I joined a bike
path attached to the M5 Motorway to cross the
industrialised Avon.
After crossing the River,
the route followed a pleasant path along a thin park
and woodland with suburbs either side. It was
easy walking on a lovely sunny day through woods and
across parkland. Lots of locals were out too.
I passed Blaise Castle, a folly built in 1766 by
some noble and later briefly visited Blaise Hamlet,
a little group of historic thatched cottage around a
green designed by John Nash in 1809. They were
like something out of a fairy tale.
I soldiered on, feet
hurting, following the route that crossed a number
of low rural hills and gave me my first view of the
Severn Bridge that I was aiming for. I reached
the village of Easter Compton just before 2pm and
ordered some lunch (they stopped serving food at
2pm, so I was lucky). After lunch the route
was mostly flat and across farmland via country
lanes, bridleways and some difficult field paths.
In one paddock, I encountered some feisty young
bulls who weren't disposed to let me pass and, at
one point, one of them began pawing the ground with
its head lowered. I did a lot of yelling and
waving of a trekking pole qande escaped unscathed.
I eventually reached the
Severn Bridge at 5pm and began the long haul across.
By this time my feet were very sore and it was a bit
of a trudge across the 3km span, although there were
some excellent views. At the end of the bridge
I entered the outer parts of Chepstow, having
resolved to take the first lodging I could find.
Unfortunately, I didn't find anything for another
few kilometres, but then got a nice room at a pub
serving cheap meals in the heart of the old town and
just 50m from the Post Office where I collect my
next set of maps and my on-mailed boots. I
think I will start wearing the latter again, but
with two pairs of socks. It seems my feet get
more tired in the running shoes than they did in the
boots. Although it adds the the weight of my
pack, I think I'll carry both for a while.
Occasional swapping may also help the feet.
I'm now in Wales and
tomorrow will start following the Offa's Dyke Path
north from Chepstow. If I had been able to
book my room for two nights here, I would have had a
day off, but they're fully booked tomorrow night.
