Distance 14.76 miles, cumulative 848.27 miles, time 5 hrs, walking time 4hrs 40 mins, pace 3.2 mph, stayed with Steve’s Dad.
Steve’s Dad dropped us back to Ivetsey Bank and after a wash in the flooded field yesterday, Lynn’s new boots soon got muddy again as we followed the Monarch’s Way along green lanes, minor roads and footpaths. The Monarch’s Way follows the escape route taken by Charles II after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
The scenery changed from grazing and cereal crops to more fruit, vegetables and salad crops. We watched a white cabbage picking operation crawling over the crop – picking and packing on the go.
The smells changed to strawberries and soft fruit as we passed acres of poly tunnels, far more pleasant aromas than those created by sheep which we had mostly encountered to date.
The Footpath signage had logos celebrating 50 years of public footpaths in Shropshire 1958 to 2008. Most of the footpaths looked like they had not been used since 2008. We hacked our way through the jungle and Lynn used lots of very unladylike language which Steve found quite educational.
We passed near Weston Park which was hosting a ‘Camper Jam’ weekend so the roads nearby were full of VW camper vans of varying vintages en-route to the Park.
We passed through a couple of pretty villages including Tong and in the distance we could hear aircraft and helicopters flying into and out of RAF Cosford.
Yesterday the photo of the poppies was appreciated and appropriate given the Battle of the Somme commemorations, so we have included another photo of a field we passed today.
Tomorrow we start our journey down the Severn Way and with three weeks left it feels like we will be on the final stretch and in more familiar territory.
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