Day 20 Compton Valence to Chesil Beach

Compton Valence to Chesil Beach

8 Miles

Setting Off On The Last Day

Peter Lindfield, Jim Young, Keith Pauling, Peter Jones, Shirley Duff, Peter Duff

It turned out fortuitous that I had knocked off the extra miles during the week to leave only eight for this final day. Otherwise I would probably still be flogging my way along the path.

There were two major reasons for delays today. Firstly the way marking which has been somewhat erratic over much of the way descended to new depths over this last stage. This was augmented by there being several different pathways criss-crossing my own route, each one inviting the unwary to venture along its welcoming carpet and away from the true line. To the cynically minded (who me?) it may have appeared that the way marks were overcrowded where the path was obvious and at every junction that they would have been useful there was a complete absence of them.

The second cause was the assistance I had from the Weyland Mafia from Bicester. Peter and Shirley Duff, Peter Lindfield, Jim Young and Peter Jones all turned up at Weymouth on Saturday night to keep me company over the final leg. Over the course of the walk my body has subconsciously developed an even-paced steady plod to enable me to complete my quest. This meant that the fresh new walkers led by Jim and Peter Jones strode off into the distance. Guess who had the only guide book, OS map and compass?

Eight miles could have been 9, 10, 12 or more as we went up the wrong tracks, over the wrong stiles, through the wrong fields, wrong gates, wrong beds of nettles and in one case down the wrong very long and steep slope. On one occassion they were so far along the wrong track that Shirley had to use her mobile to phone them to get them to come back! The only time that Indiana Jones showed the slightest doubt that he knew the exact route (despite never having been within miles of this place in his life) was when we ended up in somebody’s back garden. It was also one of the very few times that we were exactly where we should have been! It was with some relief that we managed to arrive at Abbotsbury before nightfall.

The last mile of any walk always seems the longest and this was no exception. It was only meant to be a mile from Abbotsbury to Chesil Beach but it felt like much more. Particularly when we reached the shingle and the going became very hard as our boots sank into the stones.

Eventually we were there and at 2.30pm I arrived at the finishing point on Chesil Beach to be greeted by the welcoming party, all four of them.

All that was left was to leap into the car and travel back to Abbotsbury in order to grab a few celebration pints.
To prove that I finished, here are two photos of me at Chesil Beach.

Donations are still being accepted on www.justgiving.com/macway

Day 19 Yetminster to Compton Valence

Yetminster to Compton Valence

16 Miles

As you go through life it never ceases to amaze me how many people turn up several times. If you retain contact you never know when they may come in handy. Thus it was that Norina and I spent a happy evening with Paul and Pauline Chesterman, one-time migrants to North Oxfordshire but now returned back home to their beloved Dorset. Paul is a great ambassador for all things West Country and introduced us to the “best chip shop in Dorset”. This was followed by several excellent ales in his local pub in Nether Compton. Fortunately my good lady was on hand to drive us afterwards.

So Paul joined me this morning and we made good time to Melbury. I had been looking forward to the walk through the Melbury Estate. Afficionados of “Fawlty Towers” will recall that “Lord Melbury” was the upper class confidence trickster who Basil fawned over. The chances that there was a genuine Lord Melbury was a source of delight! Unfortunately my later research showed that there was no genuine Lord Melbury.

The walk through the estate was nonetheless very enjoyable. Melbury is designated as a deer park and the path through the estate was an extensive avenue of mature trees, with others spread across the grassland. Although there were plenty of signs warning us not to feed the deer the creatures themselves were staying out of sight.

Melbury Park

After the managed parkland estate the Macmillan Way reverted to the natural Dorset Hills and it was up hill and down dale until finally reaching the tiny village of Compton Valence. There was nothing to note at Compton Valence. The name is longer than the village!

My plan to get ahead of the game over the last few days has really paid off. Compton Valence is 282 miles from Boston Stump, leaving only eight miles to complete.

There are three large hill climbs to tackle during the final section so that will slow me down anyway. I will also have plenty of company for this last leg of my journey. A group of friends from Bicester are waiting in the hotel bar and it could be a long night.

Day 18 North Cadbury to Yetminster

North Cadbury to Yetminster

16 Miles

I expect that you are waiting for a reference to North and South Cadbury being “chocolate box” villages. That  would be too easy and although attractive in themselves the Cadburys are not of that special a note.  Their main attraction is the 18 acre hill fort that was built at the junction of the several track ways that meet here. The fort is one of the possible locations for Camelot, the legendary Headquarters of King Arthur. Excavations to date have failed to establish any proof, but on the other hand have not been able to disprove anything either. Arthur will always be a legend among the British, so perhaps it is best if things stay a mystery.

The next two miles of the walk was due south along Corton Ridge. This provided excellent views to both east and west before making a gradual descent into Sherborne.

Sherborne Abbey

Sherborne Abbey was founded in AD705 by King Ine of Wessex. The present buildings date back to the church built by Bishop Roger of Caen in 1120 and the rebuilding programme of 1437. The honey coloured stone gives a wonderful mellow tone.

Sherborne has two castles. The first was also the work of Bishop Roger but was largely destroyed during the Civil War. The second castle was built by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1594 and is now a museum.

The walk out of Sherbourne was a mixture of country roads and fields that took me to the very attractive village of Yetminster. Piece of trivia for today. Benjamin Jesty lived in Yetminster. Jesty was the first person to use cowpox as a vaccine. It is amazing what you can learn!

Good progress today. Yetminster is 265 miles from Boston. Only 25 miles left to go before Chesil Beach.

Day 17 Alfred's Tower to North Cadbury

Alfred’s Tower to North Cadbury

17 Miles

Mist hung over this part of Dorset when I set off this morning and this made very good walking conditions. I was able to keep up a good place through the woodlands from Alfred’s Tower. The tower is 160ft high (work out your own metric) and is three-sided. It was erected in 1772 to mark the place where Alfred had apparently raised his standard to repel the Danes in 878. With the trouble I have had with directions in this area I don’t know how they can have been so sure this was the right spot after 900 years.

Once I had left the woodlands above Stourhead it was much the same as yesterday, a succession of farm fields (and no rapeseed again!) There were however two places worthy of note.

First, and I kid you not, I came across the Sexey School! This genuinely exists in the village of Bruton, and to complete the Carry On scenario it is a Church of England Boarding School. You may now be expecting a whole set of cheap jokes about Sexey Schoolgirls but I have my standards to uphold.

The second place of note was Castle Carey. This is a lovely little town full of old buildings and small shops. The town was the home of Douglas Macmillan who founded the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, the very reason for the walk I am undertaking. Don’t forget, all donations to www.justgiving.com/macway

The walk out of Castle Carey followed along a ridge giving me excellent views of the surrounding countryside. The ridge eventually descended to North Cadbury which was the end point for the day.

I am slightly ahead of the game now. 249 miles completed, 41 remaining.

Day 16 Beckington to Alfred's Tower

Beckington to Alfred’s Tower

17 Miles

The weather is really taking the proverbial.

I have suffered sleet, hail, rain, winds and arctic temperatures. Now there is this big orange thing in a clear blue sky and it has been very hot work.

One mile in to the walk today and there were navigation problems again.  My crystal ball was not working. Turn downhill at end of trees I should have obviously realised meant turn downhill after the original line of trees in 2000, not the extra half a mile that the farmer has since grown. Also I should have appreciated that that “descend to clearly visible bridge” required superman vision in order to see through the entire plantation that had sprung up since the book was first compiled. All in all a happy hour of running up, down, up, down etc etc until I was able to cross the River Frome for the last time.

Farmhouse on Bank of River Frome

By the time I got under way again the sweat was pouring off. Never mind, its after 11am and the pub will be open in the next village. Except it had now ceased trading. Damn the recession. The next village, found the pub boarded up. This is getting silly. As I approached the next village 3 miles later and tongue dragging the ground I could clearly see a “Rising Sun” sign displayed from a good distance away. When I finally reached this solar haven I saw that as far as this establishment was concerned the sun had finally set some months ago.  Bloody bankers!

Two miles further on and the village of Nunney provided both a pub and a shop. Two bottles of Orange Lucozade never touched the sides!

The rest of the day was a fairly non-descript succession of fields and it was not until I was waiting for the Dearly Beloved to pick me up that I realised that today had been the first day since Spalding that I had not had to wade through a field of rapeseed. Thank Heaven for small mercies!

Day 15 Box to Beckington

Box to Beckington

14 Miles

Today was very varied. Steep climbs, canal towpaths, town streets and newly ploughed fields all featured strongly.

The day started with a very steep climb out of Box for nearly a mile, followed by a slow descent along a track towards Bradford upon Avon.

Everything was going swimmingly until the track ended and the footpath allegedly crossed a few large fields. The farmer had obviously heard that I was coming and deliberately ploughed all his fields just to cause the most annoyance. The general rule in the countryside is that you must try to follow the path, even if that involves walking through crops, or in this case a recently ploughed field. The trusty map and compass saw me across four fields to the right place, but it was so exhausting treading through the ploughing. My boots sank up to the ankles with every step.

A good while and a good many naughty words later I reached the streets of Bradford on Avon. Bradford is a smaller version of its neighbour, Bath, and a lot quieter. I follow the streets to the Kennet and Avon Canal, which the path follows for the next two miles. I was looking forward to a tranquil walk along the towpath but it was not to be. The reason was that my timing was unfortunate. As I walked westwards, the competitors in the Bradford on Avon triathlon were running eastwards on the same towpath. I spent most of the time playing “dodge the athlete” although most of them looked as though they were at their limits of exhaustion. Huh! Try crossing newly ploughed fields pal!

At the end of the canal section another very steep climb presented itself up to the village of Westwood. This was followed by a more gentle stroll down the lane to Iford where I encountered the River Frome. The stone bridge at Iford has a statue of Britannia on the parapet, facing downstream.

Bridge at Iford

The Macmillan Way then took me up the Frome valley towards Beckington. At Farleigh Hungerford there is the ruin of an old castle, which seemed a strange place for such fortifications. I need to make further investigations at to its history. Close to the small village of Tellisford there is yet another fortification which is even more mysterious. What is a World War II pill box doing here in the middle of nowhere? What on earth was it meant to be defending? More investigations required.

My cunning plan was to get to Beckington early and find a pub showing the Conference Play-off. I found a pub but no footie. Plan B was to get my brother to text the score to my mobile every time the Hatters hit the net, which obviously would be often. Two minutes gone; one – nil! League here we come, COYH! (Which if David Cameron is reading this stands for Come On You Hatters). Twenty minutes later; 1-1. Minor setback, we must believe. Just after half time York scored again making it 1-2. Then a long silence. I checked for a signal but all the lights were on. Where was the text for the equalizer? We must have scored again by now. By the time Norina arrived to take me home there were only a few minutes left and it did not sound good on Five Live. It was not to be. Still, it’s only a game.

216 miles completed and I am now in Somerset. Two rest days now and then on Wednesday the big push through Somerset and Dorset to Chesil Beach.

Day 14 Sherston to Box

Sherston to Box

15 Miles

I take it all back. Breakfast was magnificent. Starting with apple juice mad locally by the Sherston Cider Company I worked my way through locally produced muesli, freshly baked bread and a giant platter of hams, salamis and cheeses (note the intentional plurals). All served in a conservatory with a view across the farm. Carriers Farm; check it on the web and notice the very high scoring from the Tourist Board.

The walk started with a couple of miles of following the River Avon in its very early stages before moving across open country to pick up the By Brook which I will track for the remainder of the day.

When the guidebook says “follow these directions with care” in big red letters it is time to take the compass out. Off the beaten track there are some poor quality patches of land in the Cotswolds with fields full of limestone chippings and poorly drained soil. The resulting terrain is sparse scrubland with a few scraggy trees and bushes. The pathways become virtually indistinguishable and way markers non-existent. The area between Luckington and Littleton Drew is one such place and progress was slow as I navigated my way over the next three miles. Arriving at exactly the right place on the road at Littleton Drew gave me a great feeling of accomplishment. The map and compass always wins in the end.

Onwards to Castle Coombe, which must rank as one of the prettiest villages in England. Well preserved old buildings adorned with baskets of flowers, an old market cross, stone bridges over the By Brook, Castle Coombe has it all. Today is rather gloomy and I only have a snapshot camera with me. I definitely must come back here in a better light with all of the lenses to take some proper pictures.

Castle Combe

 

The rest of the day followed the By Brook all the way to Box. On a couple of occasions this entailed some very boggy pathways. One particular section through Tilley Wood took an absolute age as I had to pick my way extremely carefully along about half a mile of gunge. One false step and I would have been either face-down in the ooze or have been stuck there still.

The small town of Box was eventually reached and to my delight the Bear Inn was on the Macmillan route so I did not have to go looking for it. I am glad to say that the Bear served up another ginormous dinner and even had the football on as well. Drogba managed to stay on his feet all of the time which was a miracle. I wonder if he would have been able to do the same through Tilley Wood?