| Britain End-to-End Walk Phase 2 | |
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2; SOUTH OF TAUNTON TO ROOKS BRIDGE, 26 miles. I walk north on A38 from yesterday's stop to Rooks Bridge. I go through Taunton, the largest city we've seen so far (we stayed at a B & B here last night), North Petherston, Bridgwater and several smaller places. Showers in the a.m. Traffic on the A38 is backed up for miles from Bridgwater north because of yesterday's bad accident on the M5 in Bristol. At least one lane has to be repaved. At times I move almost as fast as the northbound traffic. We cross the M5 once and see brake lights on the northbound traffic. A38 has a walking path most of the way, which makes it easier to contend with the heavy traffic.
We stay at a hotel in downtown Axbridge, an old village. We eat dinner in the hotel bar and befriend two men, both of whom have traveled in the US. One was a professional soccer (football) player. I leave our camera in the hotel bar, but some kind soul turns it in and it is there is the morning.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 3; ROOKS BRIDGE TO NORTH OF BRISTOL; 26 miles. I walk north on A38 from Rooks Bridge, through several villages and then the city of Bristol, and continuing on A38 to Filton, south of Patchway.
Bonny and I become separated upon entering Bristol, a major city for which we don't have a street map (not recommended). I try to get information at a police station, but it is closed. Bristol has no crime on Sunday. I find a fire station and look at its street map. A fireman shows me where I am on the map and then has to dash off to a fire. I try to memorize the map and use my memory and the position of the sun to navigate by, as well as a sketchy map from a recreation center.
Meanwhile, Bonny, who is driving the car, buys a street map at a gas station, but because the route signs in Bristol are almost nonexistent and the street signs are problematic, it takes her 1 hours to get to the north side, after many false starts. We finally meet on A38 north of Bristol. The populated area continues north on A38 for miles.
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4; NORTH OF BRISTOL TO NORTH OF NEWPORT; 15 miles. I walk north on A38 to just north of Newport, an intersection with signs pointing east to Hogsdown, 1 mile; Lower Wick, 1-miles; Upper Wick, 2-miles. This is several miles north of the B4509 intersection with access to the M5. We take the M5 south to the M4 and back to Heathrow (and home).
The day starts out as the coolest so far, 52 degrees F., but quickly warms up to T-shirt weather as the sun comes out. Walking is easy, with footpaths all the way. We eat lunch at a pub that features a good dish of chili.
COMMENTS
In 8 days I walked a total of 215 miles, maintaining my average of 25 miles/day for Phases 1 and 2. Total on the End-to-End so far: 489 miles with approx 400 to go.
The UK has many official footpaths, covering thousands of miles, and signs for these line the roads I walked. In spite of the footpaths, it is not a walker-friendly country for people who want to walk on the roads. Roundabouts are very walker-unfriendly and many narrow roads are lined with stone walls and high hedges, with no escape route for walkers. Bicyclists face an even greater peril since they take up more room and ride with the traffic. However, there are many miles of footpaths along the roads, also, and the lesser roads without footpaths have the advantage of less traffic.
Bonny provided wonderful support and became very competent at left-side driving. We stayed in a series of nice B & Bs and hotels, even with the spiders in one of the hotel rooms. The full English breakfast is suspiciously like the Scottish breakfast: eggs, bacon (our ham), sausage, beans, mushrooms, tomatoes, toast, juice, coffee or tea. Only the name has been changed. We became accustomed to having our pint of lager at dinner. The English have learned how to prepare vegetables without overcooking them and celebrated by giving us enormous helpings of cauliflower, carrots and broccoli. They know how to put ice in a glass of water, also. Nothing beats English chips (French fries).
Photos © Alan Cook, used with permission
