LEJOG
Distance walked – 33.4km (20.9miles)
Total Distance – 450.1km (281.3miles)
Because your gorgeous
I’d do anything for you
Because your gorgeous
I know you’ll get me through
Babybird – You’re Gorgeous
Last night was difficult after we arrived at Cheddar as we were both struggling to walk. I have developed quite severe foot pain due to pressure areas on the balls of my feet and Louisa has pain in her Achilles tendons. We don’t have any blisters, which are a problem we have suffered on previous walks, so we are happy about that, but our feet and ankles just seem to be sore from the cumulative high miles of the past few days, particularly the monster day into Bridgewater. We are also concerned that our shoes may be contributing, as mine have already become very worn with multiple holes and insoles that have almost worn through. Louisa has zero drop shoes and she thinks this is aggravating her ankles. Our shoes also have no water resistance at all, which has been a problem with the constant wet conditions. So we have both made the decision to invest in some new shoes.
Luckily our route today was to take us into Bristol which has a large outdoor store with a good range of shoes. When we planned the route, we deliberately chose a route that finished in Bristol as we thought that by this stage we might need to purchase or replace items. (This differs from the guidebook which deliberately avoids Bristol and ends the stage in an odd place with little accommodation options). We also don’t mind the occasional city-break on this walk and we hadn’t been to Bristol before, so after a good night’s sleep, with our feet up on pillows, it was off to Bristol City.
The Gorge coming into view
We left the excellent youth hostel at 06:00 and strode out through the deserted streets of Cheddar. A weather change had come through overnight, and we had woken to the windows rattling with a fierce wind. It was much colder than it has been, and we were rugged up with multiple layers, as we started the climb up the eastern edge of the gorge out of Cheddar.
Cheddar gorge is one of Britain’s most spectacular natural landmarks, 400 feet (121m) deep and 3 miles long, a dramatic cleft through the otherwise rolling Mendip Hills. A road winds through it, giving the best views: our route, however, took us up one of the edges and out the other side as this is quicker and we have done the drive before.
View back to Cheddar
As we climbed, a view slowly opened up to the gorge and we could turn back and see Cheddar, and the Somerset levels that we had crossed yesterday. We eventually descended back down to the road, which we crossed to continue through the areas of Blackrock and Velvet Bottom
Blackrock and Velvet Bottom
This first portion of the walk was absolutely amazing and reminded us of the similar limestone dales of the south Peak District which we will cross later in the walk. (We used to walk there a lot when we lived in the UK).
By this stage the wind had died off, the sun had come out, and the rain we had expected had not eventuated. Our feet felt the best they had for days, probably helped by the ibupofen we had just taken. We both felt back on top of the walk after our worries and concerns yesterday evening. (We also both agreed at this point that we were only allowed to mention our feet once per day, as it was becoming a boring topic of conversation).
Appropriately scary Scarecrow
We then joined a bridleway which took us out of the spectacular limestone country, across more typical agricultural fields, (where we spied a spooky scarecrow), down the drive of an old manor house, before descending down the other side of the Mendip Hills into the village of Compton Martin.
Wild garlic
We have noticed that the wild garlic has come into blossom over the past few days, and in many of the shady areas, the side of the path was a mass of their small white flowers and broad green leaves, and the air was filled with a gentle, heady garlic aroma.
Monarch’s Way signs
From Compton Martin we had decided to follow the Monarchs Way which is long distance path that loosely approximates the escape route King Charles II took in 1651 after his defeat at the battle of Worcester. His escape included hiding in an oak tree disguised as a labourer at Boscobel (which we will visit later on our trip), a circuitous route across England disguised first as a servant and then as an eloping lover, before eventual escape to France from the South Coast. Luckily his course from Bristol to Wells was a relatively straight line which we will follow today (in the reverse direction).
We thought it amusing also that we were following the route of the escape of the last King Charles as we are subjected to the build-up to the coronation of the next one in a few day’s time.
Coronation bunting
The rest of the day was an easy ramble across rolling countryside, the Monarch’s Way being well signed and maintained. Just outside of Bristol we joined another path, the Forest Community Path, which took us via fields beside busy A-roads all the way to Long Ashton, on the edge of Bristol.
Deer in country park
We then crossed the beautiful Ashton Court Country Park an enormous deer park right on the edge of Bristol, where we were lucky enough to spot some red deer, before a short road walk took us to the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Clifton suspension bridge meeting
Waiting for us at the bridge was Sue, an old friend of Louisa. She had travelled down especially to meet up with us, and it was wonderful to see her. After hugs and greetings we triumphantly crossed the bridge into Bristol together. A good day after the past few difficult ones.
Dinner
4 Responses
It was so fabulous to be able to meet you both at Bristol Suspension Bridge. I am so glad to have seen you both for a snippet of time during your amazing adventure.
I hope the new footwear was good!
Good luck with the rest of your walking days.
Love Sue x
Absolutely wonderful to see you waiting for us, brought tears to my eyes. So lovely to see Ruby too. New footwear is great, thanks for tolerating our shopping spree! Hope to see you again before we leave xxx
I fell in love with Bristol when I was there just the weekend before you guys! Hope you enjoyed it too xx
It is a great town. Wonderful to see Sue and Ruby Too!