Total miles: 20
Elevation gain: 1,958 ft
Time walking: 10am – 7pm
Miles to date: 82.3
Today was a long, hot slog! It was one of the days I was least looking forward to, and I have to say I’m glad it’s over!
Today was the day of cursing inconsiderate farmers, retracing my steps, scrambles up overgrown banks, bramble scratches, nettle stings and long long long stretches of road walking, without much of interest other than the stories which will probably make me laugh tomorrow but were frustrating today!
It wasn’t all bad, but 20 miles is a long way on any day, and in the heat it was tough. I made good progress for the first 4-5 miles and the paths I’d chosen were good – clear, well-marked and fairly flat. Then I seemed to slow down – I blame the four fields of barley I had to walk along (very grateful it has been dry recently otherwise I would have got soaked!) and the slow uphill walk to the only pub on my day’s route in order to refill my water bottle and use the loo.
On leaving the pub I had about 6 miles of country lanes to tackle, so it was head down and march on, and I made good time. Road walking, especially fairly flat road walking, is much easier on the legs but harder on the feet and they soon began to feel the constant pounding. At one point two cyclists passed me and I saw from their t-shirts that they were cycling LEJOG – they called out “see you at the top!” to me and I replied “sure, race you!”. It was great to see some other people on the same route, albeit for a couple of seconds!
Not long after that a guy slows down in his car next to me and asks me about the charities I’m supporting – he gives me some coins to add to the pot! I love how open and generous people are. I am wondering whether I should get that sign made that says “notes only please, they’re much lighter” 😉
Having made up some time it’s time to get off the road and back to some footpaths and to start with all seemed well; a nice wide track through farmland, until, suddenly, the path disappears. Laiterally stops dead in the corner of a field, with an impenetrable hedge and a stream, with boggy ground in front. Confused, I check my map, check my gps. Yup, definitely where I think I am and there’s definitely supposed to be a path right there. But no. Nothing. Nadda. I wander along the fence a bit, maybe it’s a bit further along, or at least there might be another gap I can squeeze through. Nope! I reach the far corner of the field and spy a potential way through to the field beyond, only problem is it’s under an electric fence, down into an overgrown ditch, up a head-height wall/bank and along the a bit. Reluctant to retrace my steps (half a mile back to the road) I give it a go. Aside from a few scratches, I make it to the top of the bank. Whoop, go Jen! I triumphantly walk down to the corner only to be faced with a steep drop and more boggy ground the other side. Argh! It was a no go. Problem was, I wasn’t sure I could get back down the way I came up, safely. Hmm. Tip: always check you can get back down before you go up! Cue a scramble down the other side of the bank and across some slightly less boggy ground, into another field completely. And the long trudge back to the road to reassess my route. Oh look, more road walking! I was cursing farmers for not putting better signage up and keeping paths clear, which fuelled me on for a couple more miles until I realised I really needed to rest my feet and eat some food. I found a not particularly glamorous spot on the edge of the road and decided that although it was earlier than planned I’d air my feet for a bit and change my socks. Oh how lovely it is to have a fresh pair of socks on! It’s an amazing morale booster!
A few more miles and it was time to cross fields again. When I found the footpath I eyed it dubiously – the inconspicuous opening in the hedge was at the top of an overgrown bank. Not again! I took a deep breath and up I went. I surveyed the fields ahead. This one was clear, but there were cows in the one beyond. That’s ok, I can cope with cows. As I get closer though, the cows start taking a LOT more interest in me. And I’m not talking like 10, I’m talking more like 50 cows, young male cows in fact, and they are all jostling to get a closer look at me. They follow me up and down the fence and stick their heads through the gate at me while I look forlornly at the stile in the hedge no more than 100 metres away. I look at the young bullocks, I look at the stile. I look back at the bullocks jostling against the gate, sigh, say a few choice words, hike my bag up and turn back for the road. Again!
On the plus side, only another 4-5 miles to go now, and at least along the road it will be straightforward.
Turns out the B-road I now have to walk along is a pretty fast road and I’m constantly having to jump up on the verge as cars whizz past. Not fun walking! It was even worse when the verge disappeared from time to time! I had to walk about a mile and a half along that road and it was a bit hairy at points. I was grateful for my high viz jacket!
Eventually I reach the turn off for the one bit of the walk I was looking forward to – the walk up and over Castle-an-Dinas, an Iron Age hill fort with amazing views in all directions. It was beautiful, and refreshingly cool. I could see all the way to St. Agnes Beacon where I had been yesterday afternoon, and out to the sea at Newquay, then looking east I got my first view of Bodmin moor which I’ll be tackling in 4 days’ time. It looked moody! After a quick Facebook live to show everyone the view and to give myself a lift from seeing everyone say hello, it was time for the last easy-looking mile and a half into Tregonetha. I should know by now that easy-looking on the map does not translate into easy in reality. The first bit downhill was great, a clear obvious path, but then I had a missed turn (third time retracing steps) , more fighting through brambles and nettles, horse flies and lots of prickly gorse.
My oh my was I glad to make it to my accommodation for the night! And Sharon, my host, was cooking a massive roast dinner for all of her guests. Now that was worth walking for! Time for a quick shower, lots of amazing food, and a very pleasant evening swapping stories with the other guests. It had been a challenging day, so it was lovely to end it laughing and joking with some great people. Every day I am meeting amazing people, it’s fantastic!
So, a long day over, and one that resulted in a surprisingly high elevation gain (only 500ft less than yesterday!), and sore (but thankfully not blistered) feet. I’m satisfied as that is a good chunk of miles crossed off, and for the next week or so my days are mostly shorter, whoop!
But for now, sleep!
