9 April 2013: 43km. Started 09:15. Arrived 19:00
My mother-in-law was convinced that this would be a shorter day and once she’s decided something then no amount of reasoning will lead to her changing her mind. The route I had planned was to keep as much off road (or at least on minor roads) as possible. In view of her insistence that it wasn’t as far to walk, an early start was out of the question. However it had been a “free” night, warm and comfortable in the guest room of her retirement apartment flats and I did have a set of fresh clothes with my previous clothes, including dog bitten and repaired trousers, left there.
The initial part of my route went south to where I had left the Heart of England Way the previous day. I was offered a lift by car there – permissible, I guess – but I declined it. My mother-in-law accompanied me to the main door of her apartment complex and we met her neighbour, her neighbour’s friend and the House Manager before I left – at least it gave them all something different to talk about later.
I retraced my steps along the canal towpath and turned off near Drayton Manor theme park. At that stage I was mainly walking on small country lanes. There were lots of signs up protesting about HS2 – seven years on it looks as though it will be happening but emotions still run high over the right thing to do. Certainly the land I was walking through was pleasantly rural and dotted with attractive looking villages.
I had a chance encounter with “Pete the long distance walker” walking towards me and promised to look at his blog in the future. So I have – but seven years on. I have even found his post for the same date which reminds me that he was walking the Heart of England Way. Indeed I am mentioned – “At Buck’s Head Farm, just after the A5 footbridge, I met a lone woman doing the end to end walk…….I wished her luck and we went our opposite ways”. Having looked at his blog I see that he completed his own end to end with a friend in June 2017. I have also discovered that he was continuing to walk and write his blog in October last year. Indeed he was walking Glyndwr’s Way then and I walked that way only weeks later!
I reached Lichfield. I was a bit disappointed as I had expected to enjoy walking through this city with its interesting cathedral – the only medieval three-spired cathedral in the UK. I don’t really know why but it just didn’t have a friendly feel. I did stop for coffee and cake at one of the multiple cafes, but that was all.
I was pleased to be in the countryside again along a few minor roads and good tracks on to Cannock Chase. From Castle Ring, I enjoyed a pleasant early evening walk along Marquis Drive and across stepping stones and past some lakes. The rays of sunlight between the trees and penetrating to the forest floor were very scenic. There was a well constructed and clearly popular new path for both pedestrians and cyclists all the way to Rugeley. I was staying in a budget “motel” and my fellow guests seemed to be mountain bikers trying their skills on the various trails on Cannock Chase. Yet again it had been dry all day – the last time I had used my waterproofs was in Cornwall.
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