| Day: | 025 |
| Date: | Thursday, 27 May 2010 |
| Start: | Penkridge |
| Finish: | Uttoxeter |
| Daily Kilometres: | 37.4 |
| Total Kilometres: | 770.3 |
| Weather: | Mix of sun and cloud and breezy. Warm when sunny and cool when cloudy. |
| Accommodation: | Guesthouse B&B (£35) |
| Nutrition: | English breakfast; cheese and chutney baguette for lunch; chicken vindaloo and sticky toffee pudding for dinner. |
| Aches: | Left ankle sore occasionally. Feet tired but improving. |
| Pictures: | Here |
| GPS Track: | Here |
| Journal: | I woke up to find, happily, that the rain had cleared overnight and it was clear and sunny outside. I left the hotel at 7:45am after breakfast and, after spending 15 minutes in the small supermarket in town getting some supplies, started walking seriously at 8am, with the goal of maintaining a good pace (without racing!). Penkridge was just waking up as I walked through the high street on my way to the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal which passed through the eastern fringes of the town. I was now predominantly following another long-distance footpath, the Staffordshire Way which, like the Shropshire Way, wasn't heavily used and spent a lot of time following the overgrown edges of fields. The guidebook wasn't too positive about the day's walking to Abbotts Bromley, but it turned out better than I expected. The initial kilometres along the Canal were very pleasant and there was a lot to look at. A mix of long barges ranging from those looking very lived in, to the sparkling well-equipped ones which were hired out to holiday-makers. The locks, lock-keepers cottages and bridges were all very historic and well-kept and, on the side opposite to the towpath where I walked, houses with immaculate gardens and barge landing docks were also interesting. All too soon, the route left the Canal and I spent an hour slogging across sodden grass fields and nettle patches where the footing was difficult and the walking hard. However, that soon passed and the route crossed Cannock Chase, a large area of undulating forests and heathland criss-crossed with many grassy walking paths and bridleways. It looked like a great place to run a classic English cross-country race, and I'm sure many of my friends will have done so. I met quite a lot of walkers, riders and mountain-bike riders enjoying a pleasant spring day on the Chase. Then it was back to canal towpath walking, this time along the Trent & Mersey Canal, with the same kinds of barges, locks and bridges. Nearby was also a main rail-line along which high-speed, aero-dynamic, and flashily-painted Virgin trains seem to pass every fifteen minutes or so. Around noon, the path left the Canal and headed north-east to the village of Colton, where I found a pub and had lunch. Checking the map, I could see that I was making good time, and would easily reach the guide-book target, Abbotts Bromley, in the early afternoon. This put me on track to cover the extra 10km to Uttoxeter, where I had much more chance of getting accommodation for the night. I left the pub around 1:15pm and, after some more field walking and crossing the long Blithfield Reservoir wall, reached Abbotts Bromley at 2:30pm. Here I had the choice of following the guide-book (Staffordshire Way) route across 10km of field margin footpaths, or walking the same distance along the main road. I decided the latter would be faster and no less scenic, although I would have to deal with traffic on a road with narrow verges for a couple of hours. I travelled cautiously, getting off the road into the bordering hedges, for oncoming vehicles, but still made good time and reached the centre of Uttoxeter soon after 4:30pm. I tried a hotel in the middle of the small historic market town, but the barmaid told me it was £50 just for a room (no breakfast). I said it was a bit high for my budget and could she suggest anywhere else. She named one other hotel, but said she thought their rates were the same, and then she thought of a guesthouse a few minutes walk away, which might have lower prices. I thanked her and said I would come back if they were no better. She then insisted that she would ring them on my behalf to save me the walk, and did so, telling them I would be right down when she heard the price was £35 B&B and they had a room. How nice was that! I found the guesthouse and checked in, having noted a cheap and cheerful pub on the way down that would do for dinner. I texted my 2004 Three Peaks team-mate, Stephen, to tell him I had arrived and the name of the pub, so that he could meet me there for dinner, which he duly did. The only time Stephen and I have spent together over the years was that Three Peaks event, but our shared near-death seasick experience on the yacht ferry trip down to Barmouth had forged a great bond and we had a very pleasant evening, during which he pretty much sold me on his new sport of para-gliding. To top off a very nice day, my feet were the best they have been for weeks, touch wood! |
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