LEJOG
Distance walked – 26.7km (16.7miles)
Total Distance – 739.3km (462.1miles)
Sun is shining, weather is sweet
Make you wanna move your dancing feet
To the rescue, here I am
Want you to know, y’all, can you understand
Bob Marley – Sun is Shining
What a great day we just had. Sun was shining, the walking was pleasant and varied, and we had fantastic company as we were joined by guest walkers Fi and Eric, old university friends of Louisa’s, for the day.
We briefly joined the chaotic morning drop-off as we left Penkridge past the bustling primary school, a lollipop man thankfully assisting our passage. We found the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal which we followed north out of the town, under the M6, escaping the Sturm und Drang as we emerged into open countryside.
This was our first section of canal-side walking on our LEJOG and it instantly made us feel relaxed as we imbibed the gentler pace of life of the inland waterways.
There are over 500 miles of navigable canals and rivers in the UK, with 2700 miles connected up to form a waterways network. Previously used for the transport of industrial goods, they are now used primarily for recreational boating.
We walked along the well-formed and level towpath beside the canal. Occasionally a narrow boat slowly passed us, its pace barely faster than we were walking. The occupants would greet us and we would have a short conversation before the boat slowly drew ahead. We admired the traditional painting and decoration of the boats, most of them immaculately presented. We laughed at some of the pun names – Knot so Fast, and Ship Happens. We also saw the predominantly black Iron Maiden, and the Disney inspired Bear Necessities.
We arrived at Parkgate Lock where a boat was navigating the lock. We watched it slowly rise as the water filled the chamber. The owner travels all year on the canals and was slowly making her way up to Lancaster. We chatted about canal life and told her about our LEJOG, discussing the similarities of our long, slow journeys across the country.
As she set off, she asked us to close the lock doors after she departed, which we did with relish, enjoying our use of the lock by proxy.
We left the canal, heading off cross country, briefly spying a small herd of deer on a field edge, before arriving in the village of Bednall. Although not the prettiest of villages, they had gone to town on community spaces, with beautiful roadside gardens, benches, and a striking war memorial.
We left the village via a farm lane that someone found very amusing -well to be fair, ordering things on the phone must be challenging. . . .
From there, we entered the amazing open woodlands of Cannock Chase. Cannock Chase is a former Royal Forest, and now an enormous public mixed-landscape Area of Natural Beauty. Our path took us up through some woodlands and across a maze of paths to a high ridge, with great views all round, before descending along a stream. This was the high point of the day and a magical place to walk through.
Our passage through Cannock Chase was far too short, as we arrived at the River Trent and commenced following the Trent and Merseyside Canal. We followed the Staffordshire Way all day today, and perversely, for our LEJOG goal, this section of the path took us southwards. It was strange heading in the wrong direction as our journey for the past 28 days has been unrelentingly north and north-east.
Luckily it was not long, before we left the canal to head north again, but not before passing some more locks, canal-side cottages, and spying some interesting birdlife.
The last part of the walk took us past a large reservoir before we arrived in the pretty village of Abbots Bromley. We had a celebratory drink in the Goat’s Head pub before farewelling Fi and Eric, our excellent companions for today.
