I continued to hack my way along the Severn Way for a while (am I the first person to use this path?) but eventually got lost. My own fault I readily admit. I refused to believe a sign saying 'no entry - no right of way' all that sort of thing, and started climbing over fences and padlocked gates and committing all sorts of outrages against private property. At last I got my comeupance when I was stopped by a tributary flowing into the river right in my path. Oops!
I couldn't get across the water in an undrowned state so I had to backtrack along this new river arm looking for a bridge. Nothing doing and I was soon good and lost. Now the route has been pretty civilised for the last couple of days. No lack of shops and things since Kidderminster. So I just stood still and listened for the traffic. When I heard the cars and trucks I walked in that direction and pretty soon I was on a road which took me the last few miles into Worcester. And in the meantime the rain had cleared and the sun had come out.
Spotted on the outskirts of Worcester: an Edward VIII pillar box. You don't see many of those around.
Nearer the centre I stopped for lunch at a Poppins restaurant. Being Sunday most other places were closed.
I had one of those moments while I sat there looking out of the window when, despite my still soggy and stinking feet, everything was just perfect. And everything was, including the lasagne and baked potato and the chocolate fudge cake and ice cream.
On the way out of Worcester to the south I bumped into the Severn Way again and decided to give it another go. I had some more scrappy fun with it without making much mileage. At one point there was a diversion because of a collapsed river bank. Now I'm not actually sure I took the diversion but I survived anyway, although the bank did feel a bit insecure at times.
Then there was another big diversion around a wood where there was no right of way. I took their word for it this time.
Hours and hours later though, I had only reached Upton upon Severn, about seven miles further on. I stopped by the riverbank there at about 6.30 and had supper of a tin of sausage and beans with some wholemeal rolls.
Just outside Upton I lost my way again and found myself in some kind of quarry with danger signs all around. So I scarpered out of there sharpish and took to the road once more.
About nine o'clock I was still two miles short of Tewkesbury (and fourteen short of Gloucester) when I saw the sign for the Sunset View Caravan Site and decided to pitch up for the night.
The Sunset View charged me ten quid to pitch my little one man tent. Jeepers. I remember being outraged at a fiver for the night back in Bellingham. Remember Bellingham? One day into the Pennine Way?
Anyway, the Sunset View had the builders in and by the time they were starting up their engines at about eight this morning I was already packing up.
Then Paul arrived from a nearby caravan with the offer of 'a brew before you get off'. This act of kindness was a cracking start to the day. By the time I was all packed my mug of tea was ready. We chatted outside Paul's caravan. He's from Skelmersdale but is working down here at the moment. He had just done a nightshift on the M5 organising lane closures in support of maintenance/repair work. We had a good old chat before I had to get going.
I jogged the two miles down to Tewkesbury. Tewkesbury is one of those mediaeval timewarp towns and cute enough in a timberframed kind of a way. There were lots of references to King John as well. When I asked the woman in Tourist Information if King John had thrown the
Great Seal of England in the river she didn't know what I was talking about. And then I remembered, AESK (As Every Schoolboy Knows), King John threw the Great Seal in the Wash. I think that's right.
Anyway, Tewkesbury looked like the perfect place to have breakfast. In fact I spotted the perfect cafe, then decided I could do better, then I had walked all the way through Tewkesbury.
So I just kept going. I ignored the sign for the Severn Way (I was all done with that) and kept on the A38.
And that's what I've been doing all day. I've done about 30 miles jogging and walking with a break in Gloucester.
I had sausages and mash in a pub for supper and now I'm at a campsite about 18 miles north of Bristol. I'm very excited at being so close to Bristol. It means I'm really in the South West and just about on the home straight.
There was a bit of rain on and off today and it looked as if it was going to erupt just before I got camped. So far it hasn't though.
I'm tired and I just want to get my head down so I'll sign off for now.
By the way, this campsite was eight quid. I'm gonna have to go illegal again.
£8-10 for a soggy campsite?? absolutely outrageous!! Do tell me which one it is as we are planning to go camping that way at some point in the "summer" and I'll avoid it like the plague LOL!
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