An odd title but basically I walked from work on Wednesday then back to work on the following day.
Let me elaborate.
After walking the dogs for a couple of miles, I drove into work on Wednesday, taking in two day’s worth of dinners for work and my walking gear. After work, I changed then took the almost direct and not very scenic route to meet the other half from work at half five.
I did start a little project a few years back to walk every street in Birmingham. I no idea as to how many streets I’ve walk or how many miles of streets I’ve walk but alongside is a map of my progress so far.
I’d been looking at this map earlier in the day and noticed that I could make a slight diversion and add a new line or two. I have now added another 443 metres !
The walk was nothing special navigating through the city streets and clocking up 5.3 miles. It should have been more but I’d stopped my watch while I took some photos and forgot to restart it until I’d covered an, unrecorded, half a mile or so.
The following morning, I was up bright (?) and early, leaving the house at around twenty to six.
I tried to pick a route that wasn’t all round the houses so started by heading towards Kingshurst and Yorks Wood. Walking through the wood, I had the feeling that I was being watched and looking through a fence spotted my stalker – a fox.
From the wood, I skirted Babbs Mill Lake to get onto the River Cole Walkway. I followed this footway for a couple of miles, edging around Shard End and Buckland End to reach Stetchford Lane.
On this latter stretch I passed a chap who looked as though he was serious about his walking and we exchange brief greeting before I overtook him.
From the roundabout joining Stetchford Lane, Station Road and Cotterills Lane, I continued along the Cole towards Bordesley Green until I was stopped in my tracks.
The footpath was blocked by a steel fence, warning signs and a surveillance camera. Bugger !
I had to backtrack a way then cut around the back of some house to emerge on Cotterills Lane.
One of the last houses I walked past had about ten floodlights in the back garden set to illuminate a mesh covered area. It looked a bit like an aviary except that there were some rather large gaps in the fence. It did look a little like a cricket practice net but if it is, then the owner must be a really massive cricket fan !
From Lords, I was forced to stay away from the scenic route that I had planned so made my way to Bordesley Green then straight along that road to work.
The chap that I passed approaching Stetchford, earlier, was in my sights again and I soon caught up with him.
“You don’t hang about!” he said. I explained about the blocked footpath before we wished each other a good day and went our separate ways. Technically our ways were the same, I was just a little quicker.
By the time I’d reached work, I’d managed to walk nine miles – one more than the plan called for.