One of the biggest pleasures of this walk is having the good fortune to meet so many kind-hearted people. I can now add Mary to that list after I was so well looked after during my stay in her home.
Fantastic news reached me from Wigan overnight. Lorna who walked with me on Day 25 has managed to raise a total of £174.05 for MacMillan Cancer Support. Thank-you so much to her and her sponsors for such a brilliant effort.
Surprisingly my legs felt very fresh this morning, no sign of any aches, pains, fatigue or stiffness after yesterdays 31 miles. After working my way through some housing estates I joined the A38 and headed south. Walking along a busy road for 12 miles isn't the best of fun, but I always had a footpath or cycle lane to use and it took me in a dead straight line exactly the way I needed to go.
After a short break for a cold drink and a bite to eat I was able to leave the A38 near Berkeley and take country lanes. The going was much more pleasant now, passing through rural areas with the roads mainly being used by tractors and the occasional horse rider. I went through some charming hamlets and villages like Tortworth.
At Michaelwood I went under the M5. It was strange passing by on foot when I have stopped so often at the Michaelwood Motorway Services during car journeys. Not far from there I was surprised to come across HMP Leyhill in it's rural setting. There are no high walls or barbed wire fences at this low security prison.
By mid-afternoon I fancied another cold drink in the warm sunshine. I had water in my pack, but nothing beats a cold one straight from the fridge. At Cromhall there were several signs directing passers by to the local shop, proudly 'run by the community'. Well, the community must have been having the day off, the shop was shut despite my arrival being right in the middle of it's advertised opening hours. I decided to keep going until I saw the next shop or open pub. Amazingly this wouldn't be until I reached Yate. Over the last couple of weeks it's been very easy for me to buy provisions whenever I like with shops seemingly everywhere. This afternoon was a reminder that I should never take the availability of food and drink for granted.
My final route towards Yate was along the B4058, busier than the lanes before it. When I arrived I finally found and enjoyed my cold drink, by this time my feet were telling me that they don't like a day on Tarmac as much as yesterdays grassy fields.
So, it's been another day and another marathon. Merle, sister of my partner Lea, and her husband Dave are very kindly putting me up in their Bristol home tonight. Dave has also gone to the trouble of picking me up from the Yate Milk & More depot in the rush hour traffic. I'm lucky enough to be getting the VIP treatment again and being provided with everything a weary traveller could possibly ask. Tomorrow, after resuming from Yate I will pass through central Bristol and over The Clifton Suspension Bridge as I make my way to Clevedon on the North Somerset coast.
GPS data click here
Mileage today; 26.67 miles, walking time 6 hrs 31 mins, average walking speed 4.1 mph
Weather; hazy sunshine, max 20C
Cumulative mileage; 722.43 miles
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| Gloucester Cathedral |
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| As I passed through the countryside I spotted this MacMillan sign |
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| One of the many Gloucestershire chocolate box cottages |
It was lovely having you here Gary,you know your always welcome.Best wishes for the rest of the walk.Love Merle and Dave xx
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