Every Mile a Memory

THE LONG WALK - DAY FOUR

 Mile after Mile, Stile after Stile

Another great day for walking over the fields, and a long walk from Great Haywood to Uttoxeter. But what a lot of stiles!

The same five walkers met again on the bridge at Great Haywood

and set off on the Staffs and Worcester Canal towpath,

alongside the Shugborough estate.

We soon overtook a boat we had seen the evening before, whose owner told Anne about Oscar, his stressed parrot. (You can see the cage in the photo.)

passing Colwich Lock

We soon reached Wolseley Bridge,

and as we continued along the towpath towards Colton,

Rugeley B Power Station came into view.

Sheep or goats?

swan family

Leaving the canal, we arrived at the bench by Colton School just in time for our elevenses.

There are many interesting old buildings in Colton; this one is Colton House.
 

The next section of the Way was quite difficult to follow. It was only because Sarah had walked this section S to N before that we found the way out of the village past the Reading Room and set off through the fields and over the stiles. The Power Station still loomed over the landscape.

Much more pasture land here than we had seen on previous days.

 
This is a gate?

We just couldn't seem to find the way out of one field, until through the hedge we spotted a helpful Dog Rescue walker who told us where the stile was.

It even had a waymark!

a green pond at picturesque Stockwell Heath

As we climbed up the hillside, we could still see the Power Station,

but once over the brow of the hill we had wide views over Blithfield Reservoir.

Along a track, turning off over a stile ... as soon as we saw the nettles and brambles, most of us decided we needed our waterproofs.

Eventually we came in sight of Abbots Bromley

and made for the churchyard to eat our lunch.

Abbots Bromley is another picturesque Staffordshire village, famous for its Horn Dance.

Although it was already 2 o'clock, and we had started the day 2 miles further away than we had planned, we decided to make for Uttoxeter, which is just over 7 miles. This section of the Way is all farmland, without any villages, and crosses only a couple of minor roads, so there aren't many escape routes!

The Way passes through Bagot Park, skirting Bagot Forest, an ancient woodland, once owned by this very old Staffordshire family.

At first, the fields were vast and seemed endless to walk through, but, of course, once they became smaller, there were a great many stiles, which became harder and harder to negotiate as the day wore on. At this one, over-enthusiastic nettle-bashing necessitated pole repairs.

We had thought we might finish at Hobbs Lane, but luckily we had decided to press on - as the navigator never found Hobbs Lane, and never understood why we had missed it! After what seemed like fifty more stiles, we finally reached Tinkers Lane, which leads down into Uttoxeter, and caught a first glimpse of the town.

As we came down the last field, the skies were darkening.

We had hardly had any rain all day, but as we came into the town, it began to fall.

We have now passed the halfway mark - both time and distance-wise! Tomorrow we set off again from Uttoxeter towards more northerly parts, and we hope to finish the day at the Ramblers' Retreat in Dimmingsdale. This contributor will be maintaining radio silence for a while, as I'll be away from home, but we'll still be walkng. Watch this space for a final report from Mow Cop!


Submitted by Sarah