I had been suffering from sore shoulders and David finally gave in to my request to use a courier service to carry rucksacks for the next three days. It certainly made walking easier and more enjoyable. When we left Warren Farm it was in dense fog, but after a while this cleared and the sun shone! Walking up high on the moors was tricky, as the paths were not obvious and it was still pretty boggy. The open moorland later became farmland, which made for easier walking, although still very hilly.

We had planned a pub stop in Wheddon Cross, but our gps route bypassed the village and by the time we realised, we didn’t want to turn back as it was going to be a long day. Instead we decided to stop for snacks on a grassy bank. David sat down, telling me that the long grass was dry – I plonked myself down beside him, only to discover that I was sitting in dog poo! Fortunately my waterproof trousers were in his rucksack, so I was able to change clothes and avoid a very smelly afternoon!

As we continued walking at altitude, we were able to see the coast once again, in fact it was clear enough to see across the Bristol Channel to Wales! We finally descended to a pretty village and our accommodation in Luxborough, glad to have a room with a bath!

A Backward Glance

We left Warren Farm having spent a restless night trying to sleep on non-matching bedsheets, which our host had made a lame apology for. The agonies we travellers have to bear you can’t imagine. Up on the moor the menacing mist was claustrophobic company which we were pleased to see leave. Carol had an unfamiliar bounce in her step and I had a job keeping up as she hopped about all over the white tufts of grass hiding the sucking mud below. We followed what we imagined to be narrow paths which turned into muddy baths, the going was grim. Out of nowhere we crossed a road climbed up out of a car park and were suddenly on firm ground with ponies grazing all around us, then onto a stony path through open wooded landscape where we heard a cuckoo practicing for a 24 hour clock appointment. By the end of the day we were walking across wide flat open fields covered in my favourite flowers, the kind of places that Julie Andrews would find difficult to keep quiet in. A long but very pleasant day’s walk.