End of Walk, Day 7 Revisited

Yesterday, not surprisingly after walking 19.5 miles, I was a tad 'Cream Crackered'!! So here is the Day revisited in words and pictures.

You've already seen the picture of me starting from home very early in the morning. I walked via my normal backstreet route to Diglis Bridge over the River Severn.

Then, because I didn't think that I would cover the required mileage just walking around the outskirts, I started by taking the reverse route of the usual Worcester 10k Race.

I was heading eventually towards Worcester Bridge, bathed in early morning golden sunshine. 

I weaved back & fore around the Diglis area before walking along Kleve Walk, past all the flocks of swans and the lovely swan statue presented to the city and residents of Worcester by the citizens of the city of Kleve. 

It's actually the second casting of the sculpture as the first one was wrecked by vandals! 

I continued vaguely following the previous years 10k route but took a slight detour to take a photo of the High Street deserted partly because of 'lockdown' and partly because it was early on a Sunday morning. 

I crossed the road at Worcester Bridge and continued on to the racecourse and from there northwards through Gheluvelt Park towards Claines. 

As I walked across the racecourse I noticed an "Open Air Art Gallery", somewhat unofficial I would guess, where pictures, poems and 'objects' had been attached to trees. Some I thought quite uplifting and some a bit 'litter-ish'! It made me smile and I suppose that's why it was there.

It was when I headed away from the river towards Perdiswell and the canal that I noticed more 'Tree Art'. Some kids toys firmly attached to the tree. I realised that bits of 'Stuff' had been attached to or placed in and on trees and railings all over the city in the past week or so. Presumably to cheer people up as well as to give others something to do. 

The canal towpath had a few people out for their daily exercise, all of us keeping a safe distance whilst cheerily greeting each other, but I was now trying to find somewhere where I could take my mid-morning snack. 

I needed somewhere to cwtch down out of the wind but in the sun and a suitable distance from any passers bye. 

I found a semi-redundant stile half a dozen metres from the pathway 'kissing-gate' leading to a nature area. It was still a bit breezy and the sun kept coming and going so I didn't hang about.

I was now close to Sixways, home of the Worcester Warriors Rugby Club but I chose not to visit. 

Instead I headed to the nearby St Nicholas Church, Warndon, a Grade 1 listed building that is virtually untouched by Victorian restoration. 

From there I almost lost myself in the myriad of paths in and around Wardon Villages housing estates before emerging in the Worcester Woods area near County Hall where I stopped in a bit of shelter to eat my Elevenses. 

Again it was too cool to sit for too long so I headed towards the old government site (now another housing estate) at Whittington. 

I found another bit of history that I wasn't aware of. I came across an old WW2 'pill-box' thoughtfully (but not aesthetically) protected by Mowden House Builders together with an explanatory notice. 

I had now been walking for around 4 hours and my feet were starting to complain. I'd passed the requisite mileage  somewhere before Whittington so just wanted to get home as quickly and people-free as possible. I decided that the safest route was beside the main Southern Link road. The road was quieter than a normal Sunday but still not pleasant to walk beside.

The views of the Malverns as I walked downhill were brilliant. 

The sun on the steepest west facing slope was warming and, for the first part at least, the banking protected me from the wind. 

I had messaged Denise at County Hall to let her know how far I'd got but I was nearing The Ketch roundabout near Carrington Bridge when she rang me.

She had walked to Powick roundabout (the next one down) and decided to continue walking to meet me. 

We met half way along Temeside Way which had to be the most exposed section of walk that I had been on all week. 

The wind, which had started the day as a cold breeze, had turned into a freezing, gusty, blustery gale. It buffeted us precariously towards the traffic. 

Poor Denise was almost as exhausted as I having walked towards me with the wind full in her face.

We made it back home via the back roads again admiring the blossom in the gardens as we passed. 


I had completed my walk without major incident and both of us were relieved to be back in the warm and out of the wind. 

My first port of call, having taken my outdoor clothes and my boots off and washed my hands thoroughly, was sustenance!!

Two soft boiled eggs, soldiers (of course!! ) and, as a homage to my friend Wendy Hooton, a beer from Bury St Edmunds Greene King Brewery, an East Coast IPA. 


My walk is completed, all 104 miles of it, but my fundraising continues via my Virgin Money Giving website page:  https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MargaretDaviesWRAC

I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me by donating to my fundraising. 104 Miles Done. THANK YOU xx

Also I would like to thank all my supporters for the continued kind comments on Facebook (not sure why this won't let you comment). 

I do these walks for a number of reasons: to keep fit; to challenge myself; but, most importantly, to raise awareness and funds for my charities. 

Your charity in supporting me this year means a lot - rest assured the money you donate goes straight to Cancer Research and WRAC Association. 

Thank you.

I'm also considering continuing with my Blog if and when there is something vaguely interesting to report. I'm certainly hoping to have something to report tomorrow so watch this space. . . . . . .