An Epic Walk!

Bristol Harbour with St Mary Redcliff in the background

My intention to write a monthly blog seems to be slipping! I hadn’t realised that it is six weeks since I last wrote something, and I really don’t have a good excuse. I sometimes find it very difficult to get into the right frame of mind to commit something to paper (or screen in this case) and can fully appreciate why professional writers experience a block occasionally. Telling myself that I really ought to write something just seems to make the situation worse and, if I try, there is no flow to the words.

After the brief disruption caused by winter weather in March, I managed to get to a couple of my clients the following week and start on the Spring tasks in their gardens. One client needed her raspberry canes moving to new beds and, first of all, I had to clear the new area which involved digging up some rogue ash saplings, a briar rose and a lot of deep-rooted nettles and then I could dig up the raspberry canes and hope that they wouldn’t notice that they’d been moved! I had a good look at them this morning and they all seem to be thriving – nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Buoyed up by my successful rambles whilst at Mum’s, I rashly suggested that my brother, Richard, and I should walk along a stretch of the Kennet and Avon Canal, as he enjoys walking. He took me up on this suggestion and Jeni agreed to come part of the way, too, so on Saturday, 18^th March we set off. Jeni came to my house, and we caught the bus from Glastonbury to Bristol sitting in the front seat upstairs so we could see the view. Rich had travelled down from London the night before and stayed in a Premier Inn close to the Bus Station so that’s where we met up.

The start of our epic walk!

From there we walked to the Floating Harbour and the ‘official’ start of our walk at the statue of Neptune. We were staying away for two nights in two separate hotels, so had to carry overnight requirements, clean clothes and wet weather gear, so my rucksack was quite bulky. The weather, contrary to our expectations, turned out to be unseasonably warm and sunny and we were soon as stripped down as far as we could be, without being indecent, and were still too hot!

The first part of the walk took us along the River Avon, through the heart of Bristol which looked so different from this perspective that it was difficult to get our bearings, and then out into the Conham River Park, which is a beautiful area and totally unexpected. By this time we could have murdered a sit down with a cold drink and an ice cream and got quite excited when one of the information boards promised a café ‘just around the corner’. What it failed to mention was that it was located on the opposite bank of the river and was only accessible by a small ferry which didn’t run until later in the year! We had bottles of water with us, but it wasn’t the same somehow.

An old brass mill

The whole of the valley at this point had been the site of major industrial mills, smelting copper and zinc ores from Cornwall, brought up the river on barges, and using coal from the Somerset Coal Field situated around Radstock and Midsomer Norton. It was very difficult to imagine that this beautiful, peaceful and green valley could ever have been filled with smoke, noxious fumes and the constant noise of brass foundries, but there were a few reminders in old mill buildings, some derelict and others converted to dwellings, that we saw along the way.

An abandoned chapel in the middle of a field

I had hoped that long-distance walking might be my ‘thing’ to build up my fitness levels into my more senior years, but I hadn’t factored in my dodgy back which began to play up after only a few miles of carrying my backpack. I found myself lagging behind the other two and wondering how I was going to make it to our first overnight stop at Saltford, midway between Bristol and Bath. My lovely brother then insisted on carrying my pack as well as his own huge one, by slinging it across his chest like a giant baby sling. My back was still painful but at least it wasn’t getting any worse.

My hero!

We’d started walking just after 11.00am and at just gone 2.00pm we had walked as far as The Old Lock and Weir pub at Hanham Mills, on the outskirts of Bristol. Luckily, they served food until 2.30, so we stopped for lunch and an ice-cold cider, sitting outside in the hot sunshine. 

Lunch stop Day 1

Suitably replenished we set off again and soon saw the old Fry’s Chocolate Factory at Keynsham. At first it appeared in front of us, slightly to the left, but the river does a large loop round at this point so, half an hour later it appeared on our right hand side! A bit further on we met up with the cycle track that has been created along the old railway line from Bath to Bristol and, as it cut off another huge loop in the river, we decided to follow that to Saltford and the end of Day 1. At this point the cycle path runs alongside the Avon Valley Railway, a preserved stretch of track, so as we had heard the engine whistle a little way up the track we just had to wait for it to come chuffing past!

Obligatory steam engine shot!

My sister had suggested that a hot water bottle might be a good idea to take with me, if my back got painful, so not only did my backpack have nightwear, a complete change of clothes (for when we got soaked to the skin in the rain that we’d anticipated), waterproof outer layer (including over trousers), a book to read before settling down to sleep (otherwise my head doesn’t switch off), and a bottle of water, but a hot water bottle as well! I thought I was travelling light! Imagine my surprise when we were shown into our room at The Riverside Inn to find that hot water bottles were provided! Jeni looked after her decrepit old mum by filling the hot water bottle for me and making a much-needed cup of tea while I clambered, thankfully, onto the (very comfortable) bed and sat there until dinnertime with wonderful warmth at the base of my spine.

End of Day 1 - that cider tasted so good!

We met up with Rich at 7pm for dinner and then decided we were all so tired that we’d just go back to our rooms and meet up for breakfast the next morning. I think we’d put the light off by 9.30!

The next morning we were greeted by another warm and sunny day and the hot water bottle had done the trick (I’d slept with it on my back most of the night!) also Rich insisted on carrying my backpack from the start, so I felt much better physically but mentally very guilty! It wasn’t very far from Saltford to Bath and we were soon on the outskirts of the city. Jeni had originally planned to leave us at Bath and travel home by bus, but she was enjoying herself so much that she decided to come the rest of the way with us, which was wonderful.

The canal proper starts at Bath

Up until now we had been following the River Avon which, although it had a few locks on it, was still not completely canalised but, in Bath, the Canal becomes a separate entity and rises up from the river level by a short series of locks. At this point the canal architecture becomes very flamboyant in style to fit in with Regency Bath. 

The old pumping station chimney

At the top of the locks was all that remained of a pumping station – a very ornate chimney, and there were some beautiful stone bridges arching gracefully over the canal as it passed through the Sydney Gardens. The views over Bath at this point were stunning as tier upon tier of regency houses, in mellow Bath stone, climbed up the hillsides. However, the large hill at Bathampton meant that we walked a huge distance around it as the canal follows the contours rather than goes up and over, making a big loop round it to the north.

Beautiful, elegant Sydney Gardens

The day got hotter and hotter and my feet in my waterproof walking boots felt as if they were on fire plus I could feel a blister forming on my little toe. By the time we reached the beautiful Dundas Aqueduct at Monkton Combe (another triumph of architecture designed by the canal architect, John Rennie) I was again lagging behind and limping. However, I couldn’t fail to be uplifted by the sight of colourful narrow boats moored almost nose-to-tail at this point and a heron catching his lunch on the far bank. We also saw a cormorant and a buzzard sitting side-by-side in a canal side tree.

The Dundas Aqueduct

We finally limped in to Limpley Stoke where we were staying at the Hotel of the same name and trudged up the driveway. What I hadn’t realised when I’d booked it, was that it was a rather grand place albeit slightly faded in its grandeur, and we were dressed in very casual clothes and extremely muddy boots! We took our boots off at the front door and padded to Reception in our stockinged feet, but the chap on reception was completely unphased and readily changed my double room to a twin-bedded one as Jeni was extra to my initial booking. Again Jeni looked after me, making a cup of tea and running a bath in which I wallowed for quite some time. We reconvened in the hotel bar where we decided to stay and eat as it was quite comfortable and had a cosy atmosphere. Again, we were so tired that we ate, drank and went straight to bed.

Initially, I’d planned a Day 3 walking with my brother to Trowbridge via Bradford-on-Avon and crossing the Avoncliff Aqueduct. From there he was going to catch the train back to London and I was going to get Jeni to pick me up or spend several hours travelling a tortuous route from Trowbridge to Glastonbury, by bus. However, the blisters on my feet meant that walking anywhere was out of the question so, after a hearty Full English breakfast we parted company – Rich to continue on alone and Jeni and I to catch the bus home. The bus route from Limpley Stoke to Bath Bus Station more or less followed the route we had walked the day before and it was quite galling to realise that what had taken us several hours to negotiate took just over ten minutes by bus!

It began raining as we travelled homewards and the weather deteriorated quite dramatically over the next few days which made our slightly sunburned faces look quite incongruous. Apart from feeling a bit of a physical wreck, I also felt quite proud of myself for completing 34 kilometres (approximately 22 miles) in 2 days and would still like to continue the walk from where we left off, at some point, but with little or no luggage and cooler footwear!

Journey's End - the view at Limpley Stoke