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| ELIZA & WILL - THEIR OTHER TWO CHILDREN ARE HUMAN |
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| FESTIVAL BANNER IN EAST HARPTREE |
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| WELLS CATHEDRAL |
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| THIS ONE WASN'T TAKING ANY BULL FROM ME |
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| ST MICHAEL'S TOWER ON GLASTONBURY TOR |
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| KATIE, DONNA, ROB, SUSAN, PAUL & ME IN TAUNTON |
On Monday evening,
just as I'd finished erecting my tent in the Wessex Water compound, I got
chatting to a young lady who was passing with her dog. I must have a
non-threatening, trustworthy look about me, because I ended up joining her in
the walk back to the family home for a cup of tea. Eliza and her husband, Will,
are a delightful couple who left London to find a better place to live and
bring up children. As their happy household attests, they have succeeded
admirably.
It was dark when I
left so Eliza and Will lent me a torch to help me find my way back to the tent.
I was able to bring it back next morning because I had accepted their
invitation to return for a shower and some breakfast. I found myself wishing
they lived closer to Southampton as I would love to have them as close friends,
especially as we had a common interest in hill walking.
I continued my
westward trek, roughly following the route of the Limestone Link, until I
reached Hinton Blewett. Shortly after, I diverted south to join the Monarch's
Way by passing through East Harptree. Ribbons were hanging all over the place
as I entered the pretty village. They were having a festival. I needed
batteries, so I called in at the community shop and quickly found myself the
subject of considerable interest. The ladies in the shop were clearly pleased
that I had chosen to pass through their village on my charity walk and I
received significant donations from several of them. I left behind some cards
and a poster before moving on.
My continuation
south involved a steep climb as I was on the eastern end of the Mendip Hills.
The eventual descent into Wookey Hole was equally steep. With such a name puns
abound, but I will do my best to avoid falling into that trap as I will only
have to dig myself out again.
It rained a little
in the afternoon; the first rain I had seen in two and a half weeks. However,
it was a gentle refreshing spray on a warm day, not the relentless downpours
accompanied by an all-penetrating wet fog that I had to tolerate almost daily
on the Pennines.
The kind lady
running the camp site in Wookey Hole let me stay for free. Sadly the only
restaurant in town, the Wookey Hole Inn, was prohibitively expensive, so I just
ate what I had in my rucksack and walked into the tiny city of Wells next
morning to have a substantial breakfast. Naturally, I could not possibly visit
Wells without taking a look at the magnificent Cathedral.
Most
inconveniently, it had showered in the morning so I had to carry a wet tent,
but the rest of the day was generally dry.
My next destination
was Glastonbury. As I approached from the north, the dominant feature on the
skyline was Glastonbury Tor with St. Michael's Tower sitting like a candle on
the top. Although it wasn't really on my route, I just had to climb it. The
views from the top made the climb well worthwhile. As expected, Glastonbury
itself had a hippy-ish feel about it and I enjoyed moseying around the town for
a while before continuing west.
Next morning I joined a path with the rather long-winded name of 'Samaritans Way South West' which took me to Bridgewater. From there I followed the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal south into Taunton. The walk was pleasant but uneventful and the weather dry and sunny again.
Once I got to Taunton I had the usual problem of finding a suitable camping ground and a place to eat. I asked for advice from a local, Susan, and she invited me to pitch my tent in her garden. She and her husband, Paul, later took me out to a local venue to enjoy supper with their friends. It was a great way to celebrate the fact that I had now walked over 1,000 miles.