After having lunch with some old high school buddies of Bonny's, we take a room at a Bed and Breakfast on the A38, two miles north of where I stopped last year at Newport (north of Bristol). It seems logical to walk the two miles because then tomorrow I can walk out the door of the B & B and head north. This is the only B & B we stay at that doesn't have a toilet in the room (room toilets are called en suite in the advertising). 

Canal Boat on Trent and Mersey Canal
Photo copyright 2001 Alan Cook, used by permission

More of this Feature • Part 1: About the Walk • Part 2: Sept. 4-10 • Part 3: Sept. 11-13 • Part 4: Sept. 14-18

Related Resources • Phase 1 UK End to End Walk: 1999 • Phase 2 UK End to End Walk: 2000 • Phase 4 UK End to End Walk: 2002

From Other Guides • UK for Visitors

Elsewhere on the Web • Alan Cook

Wednesday, September 5-I walk 26 miles south to north on the A38. During the day I pass 500 miles of the total End-to-End walk, out of nearly 900, altogether. 

I leave the A38 to walk through the center of Gloucester, where the old Roman roads, North-, South- East- and Westgate Streets meet in a pedestrian-only area. This is refreshing in a country where there are no Stop signs and traffic tends to move continuously, with drivers yielding to pedestrians only grudgingly. 

We eat lunch in Gloucester in a café near the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. There are several rain showers in the a.m., but in spite of an overcast sky it warms up to T-shirt weather in the p.m. Miles of blackberry bushes line the roads. Some of the berries are ripe and delicious so I pick and eat a handful whenever I can. 

I leave the A38 again to walk into Tewksbury, where we stay at the Jessop House Hotel, built about 1600. There are walking paths and/or bike paths almost all the way. Traffic is moderately heavy, but not troublesome. This year I am wearing reflective spots all the time, at the urging of Bonny. I notice that almost all truck drivers and road workers wear reflective vests (called waistcoats here), apparently by law.

Thursday, September 6-I walk 25 miles south to north on the A38 and then on the A449 to a roundabout north of Worcester. There are walking paths all the way. The A449 is a divided highway, but not limited access. It doesn't warm up to T-shirt weather until the late p.m., when a significant headwind appears. 

The UK is much like the US in many ways, but at about ¾ scale-in cars, roads, driveways, garages and houses. This can make driving and parking tricky. But the restaurant servings tend to be large, like those in the US. 

Friday, September 7-I walk 25 miles, first north to south on the A449 from Kidderminster (where we stayed) to yesterday's finish, then south to north on the A449 through Wolverhampton. There are walking paths most of the way, with a few exceptions. Walking through Wolverhampton is a trick since the downtown roundabouts exclude pedestrians. At first encounter, the subways for walkers to get across these intersections appear to either go nowhere or everywhere. One branches in at least six directions, with minimal signs. In some populated areas badly needed pedestrian crosswalks have been created, with stoplights for vehicle traffic. 

The weather stays cloudy and becomes windy-mostly a tailwind. I have seen several warning signs at the entrances to farms, urging people to stay out because they may be carrying Foot and Mouth Disease on their shoes or car tires. 

Saturday, September 8-I walk 25 miles, mostly south to north, on the A449, through Penkridge, where we stayed last night, and then Stafford. I walk a short distance north to south right after lunch, primarily to get some relief from the headwind. 

I switch to the A34 and walk to a Michelin plant in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. There are walking paths all the way, but getting through Stafford is a challenge. It is cool and breezy-a headwind, gusty at times. The traffic is heavy and loud. The terrain so far on this trip has been mostly flat, with occasional rolls. Much of the countryside is the English green, inhabited by cows and sheep. Farmers drive big, green, air-conditioned John Deere tractors and slow up traffic when they drive on the roads. 

Sunday, September 9-I walk 26 miles. Before breakfast I walk two miles south to north to Kings Road in downtown Newcastle, where we stayed last night because breakfast is late on Sundays. My hands get cold. After breakfast I continue north on the A34, the A533 through Sandbach, the A530 at Middlewich, to the A559, east of Northwich. The weather is clear but blustery, with a significant headwind at times. 

The route follows the Trent and Mersey Canal for quite a way. Canal boats are often used as houseboats. I have what we used to call a "shin splint" on my left leg. I treat it with ice and a hot bath and it is gone by morning.
 
Bonny on the canal viaduct
Photo copyright 2001 Alan Cook, used by permission

There are no walking paths for several miles on the A530 and A533. Walking paths are asphalt (no concrete), sometimes with a grass strip between them and the road. Occasionally, when there is no asphalt path there is a grass strip that is walkable. I encountered a few walking paths that were overgrown with bushes or had crumbled to gravel. Many of the roads have curbs, which add a degree of security if you can walk on a path and not on the road. When there is no path I walk on the right side of the road, facing traffic. 

Monday, September 10-Planned day off for working on genealogy in Manchester. 

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