Category: Home from Home 2017

The morning started sombrely with the dreadful news from London, though when discussed with the other couple at breakfast it became clear that we would never be in agreement about causes (and yes he was a bald bearded tattooed ageing biker, with a Christian t-shirt and no, I don’t think his friend should be given The List to go and sort out the worst of Them).

We knew today would be a less interesting walk as we zigzagged west and north around Swindon. One of the delights of this sort of trip is finding the unexpected, and having thought there would be nowhere for refreshments, we walked into the back of Roves Farm Visitor Centre when a couple of miles from the nearest public road. So we had tea and cake in the cafe, with the joyful sounds of Soft Play stopping us from lingering too long (if you have a young child/grandchild you’ll know what I mean!).

We had no difficulty with navigation until a couple of miles from our destination, where the footpath signs vanished and we couldn’t locate the footbridge over a stream. The B road on the other side, up which we were going to have to walk to the hotel, was obviously busy, so I proposed an alternative route. Distracted by this, we didn’t notice it was about to start raining, so got quite damp while trying to get the backpack covers on and deciding whether or not to go for the waterproof trousers. The alternative route seemed to take for ever, through some nice long wet grass, and though the rain eased off for a while, it tipped it down for the last few minutes before we reached the delights of tonight’s accommodation – Swindon North Premier Inn.

Distance 14.7 miles. So much for the first day being the longest! I’m adding the daily totals to the Route page.

We were delighted that friends and neighbours were there to wave us off on the start of our long walk. It was a beautiful morning, blue skies and a refreshing and not-too-strong westerly breeze.

We headed due west along the paths we have walked so many times, through West Hendred and Ardington, and on to Wantage along the Icknield Way.  Some medieval writers thought that the Icknield Way was a Roman road from Southampton to St Davids, which is a pleasing thought as St Davids is our final destination, but doesn’t tie in with the more accepted route down through Cambs, Herts, Bucks, Oxon and Wiltshire.

In Wantage, the Big Issue lady was delighted to see us again. Then after tea and tea cake at the museum, we walked up through Letcombe and onto the Ridgeway, probably the oldest of the old westward tracks on the chalk ridge, along which the drovers brought the sheep and cattle from Wales and the south-west. Lovely views northwards, and as we reached the ancient hill fort at Uffington, and glimpsed the White Horse cut into the chalk, we could see westwards too, over the vale where we will be walking for the next couple of days.

14.3 miles so far.

Ardington

Devil’s Punchbowl

The White Horse and Dragon Hill

At last the bags are packed and we are on our way. After a taxi to Fishguard, three trains and a digression in Didcot, we caught the bus to East Hendred, via Chilton and the distant reaches of the Harwell Business Park.  Little has changed in Hendred apart from the new building sites to the north of the A417, but after just 9 months away it feels slightly distant, in spite of us having lived here for most of our lives.

We caught up with a few old friends, inspected the improvements made to our old home by the new owners – glad to see so many of our plants and garden features have been kept or reused – and had a quick half at the Eyston before being picked up by Debbie and Alan who are kindly looking after us tonight.

So tomorrow the walk starts – setting off from Horn Lane at 9:15, with a head wind forecast – we always seem to have a head wind regardless of the direction we go.

The bags are out of the cupboard and the heaps are growing but we’re not exactly ready, and I’m not feeling particularly fit. We walked 12 miles of coast path last Thursday when it was hot, and it was hard work. But most of our route won’t be quite as up and down as the coast path.

We spent the end of this afternoon trying to get the grass cut – everything is growing incredibly quickly, except new plants which are immediately mown down by slugs. Hate to think what it will be like by the time we get back.

Anyway, time to start thinking positive thoughts (and have a glass of wine)

A couple of people have already asked whether we are seeking sponsorship of the walk. Our view is that we are doing it because we want to, daft as we are, and not as a fundraising exercise. However if you think that what we are doing deserves some input from you, then please please please make a donation to your favourite charity, and, if you like, add a comment here to let us know what you have supported and why.

The photos shows the new RNLI station and lifeboat at St Justinian’s, a mile from the end of our walk – one of many good causes that could be supported.

For the last 40 years, we have driven several times a year from our home in East Hendred, Oxfordshire to our caravan near St Davids, Pembrokeshire. At some point in the last few years, and especially after we completed the Coast to Coast walk across the north of England, I wondered whether we could walk from Oxfordshire to Pembrokeshire, and it transpired that Ian was thinking the same. So now, having retired and relocated to Pembrokeshire permanently, and no longer having the excuse of cats to complicate long trips away, we are actually going to do it!

The route is plotted and a variety of accommodation booked. It should be around 250 miles, though there are bound to be diversions and wrong turns along the way, and will take 22 days. We start from East Hendred on Saturday June 3rd 2017 and, if all goes to plan, will reach St Davids on Saturday June 24th.