The “highlight” of the day was another walk to The Griffin. On my last two walks to the watering hole, I have miscalculated and arrived late, keeping Sue waiting and me walking more than I had planned.
Erring on the side of caution, I calculated my walk time based on a paces of 20:00 per mile and chose a route which didn’t involve unknown fields or navigating in the dark.
I was going to arrive at seven but Sue, perhaps thinking of me, persuaded me to leave earlier so I’d spend less time walking in the dark.
I left home at three, meaning that I should cover the planned nine miles within three hours.
As with most of my walks from home, I crossed the motorways heading for Water Orton. The M6 was quieter than usual and the M6/M42 slip empty due to a section of the M42 being closed for the weekend. Although the local motorways were quieter than usual the other roads we anything but.
As I approached Gypsy Lane, I noticed that the number of ponies had increased having risen to five.
Coming out of Water Orton, a car stopped beside me and asked for directions to the airport. Obviously someone who was hoping to travel on the closed section of the M42.
The last time I walked this bit of road, I had to be escorted through the HS2 roadworks. However, today the road had reopened but was chockablock with diverted traffic which did make crossing slightly easier.
Once over the A446, the next section, on the footpath alongside the lay-by, was fenced off and I had to walk around a new loop to accommodate a column for the overhead HS2. Regaining the footpath after the diversion, I carried on to Coleshill Parkway at three miles.
After the station, I walked through Hams Hall distribution park, passing a new battery assembly site for Jaguar Land Rover before taking a footpath towards Lea Marston.
At the church of St. John the Baptist, in Lea Marston, I passed the remains of a stone cross which has stood since the nineteenth century as was erected to commemorate a visit by the then PM Gladstone. It had stood until August when a vehicle crashed into it and, apparently, drove off with the cross.
I continued through the actual village there out towards Whitacre Heath.
It was just starting to get dark, well dark enough for the head-torch, as I approached The Gate then up to Hoggrills End. This marked the end of the tarmac for this evening but before crossing into the fields where I knew that my pace would drop
It was just starting to get dark, well dark enough for the head-torch, as I approached The Gate then up to Hoggrills End. This marked the end of the tarmac for this evening but before crossing into the fields where I knew that my pace would drop I took a snapshot of my watch showing a half decent (recently at least) of under 18:00.
The walk down the field to cross under the railway was somewhat painful but with only about a mile left, I pushed on.
Once across the railway, I walked alongside of it before cutting back towards Shustoke and the final (uphill) section to the Griffin’s car park.
The last bit I took nice and easy treating it as a cool down and ensuring that I wouldn’t be all hot and sweaty when I entered the boozer.
The pub was busy but I ordered an orange juice and lemonade and sat at the table of an elderly couple.
Spotting my head-torch, thehols
gent asked me if I’d walked, then how far, why I’d walked, how long I’d been walking … in fact the third degree.
Part way through my interrogation, Sue turned up to rescue me.
After another couple of pints (beer this time) we made out excuses and made our way home via The Rice Bowl for dinner.
Post-walk and my legs are protesting but it feels more like achy legs than knackered knees. On the flat, I managed a pace of under 18:00 per mile but the hills, both up and down, are still slowing me down with the occasional stabbing pain.