Shakespeare's Way: Chipping Norton to Stratford-upon-Avon; 9th April 2014

Wow, yet another marathon of 41km! I must be insane. I think on future walks, I need to be more careful in my planning. Truth be told though, I've so little time/money/options in when and how I do this end2end that this kinda slog will probably be the norm...

Checked out of the hotel after a nice breakfast and head off through Chipping Norton to pick up the Shakespeare's Way again. But after searching for the way markers, ended up taking the main road out of town and up to Salford village. In a way, it was probably a good thing as I got to see the unusual Bliss Mill, a former tweed mill.

Casualties of yesterday's trip over the gate...

Chipping Norton town hall

Bliss Mill

On passing Salford, headed up through woods and farms to hunt for the Rollright Stones. I've been fascinated by these stones and various others since they appeared in the Duncton Chronicles, a series of books by William Horwood. It's a fascinating place, although hard to get to! 

A stile in a stream

doe, a deer, a female deer...

Brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni)

The Whispering Knights

The King Stone

Looking northwards to Stratford

The King's Men stone circle

From Little Rollright, head on down some country roads to Long Compton, a pretty little Cotswolds village with all the houses and other buildings being made of the local stone. Head on out of this village and through Whichford Woods, which partners the Macmillan Way for a short while, before splitting off and head towards Cherington, Willington and Barcheston, three small nondescript villages before stopping for a short while in Shipston-on-Stour.

Daffodils

Thatched cottage

Millennium Chronolog, Long Compton

St Peter and St Paul, Long Compton

St John the Baptist, Cherington

Bridge near Shipston on Stour

Church at Shipston on Stour

At this point, I decided I wanted to get to Stratford-upon-Avon as quickly as possible, so followed the A3400 all the way! It was a mixture of overgrown grassy verges and paths, so ended up not being too bad a march and I head off to my hotel for the night after a quick explore around the RSC.

Lady MacBeth

Shakespeare Memorial

RSC

The hotel is situated just outside the main centre of Stratford, so after showering, I went and had another explore! The problem with these long days of walking is that it gives you very little time to look around the towns, villages, monuments, fields that I pass through. As I said at the beginning of this post, this is probably something I will have to rectify next time around...

The Shakespeare's Way: Oxford to Chipping Norton; 8th April 2014

Well, after a very wet winter, I've decided the time's right to begin Phase 2 of this periodic end2end I'm taking on for charity. Today sees me returning to Oxford to take on a part of the Shakespeare's Way to Stratford Upon Avon via Chipping Norton. I will then circle around Birmingham on the Shakespeare's Avon Way and the Severn Way via a number of towns to Stafford. This will then set me on a more northern path and closer to the Pennine Way.

My constant companions on this end2end

Today sees a marathon 40-42km from Oxford to Chipping Norton, well, it should have been around 33-35km but I digress! I was lucky enough to get trains a little earlier due to a great connection at Paddington and so I leave from the station I had left behind in October and make my way back down to the Thames Path, on which I shall travel on for a couple of miles before heading past Wolvercote village on the Shakespeare's Way.

Leaving Oxford

Cow - didn't stop staring! 

Rabbit

Godstow Abbey

Godstow Abbey

Somehow though, probably because I'm so used to the clear signage of the Thames Path and not concentrating fully on where I was heading, I missed the turn off to Wolvercote, and in fact was on my way pass Kings Lock to Eynsham! I asked the friendly lock keeper if there was any way of crossing the fields and getting over/under the A40 and the A34 at Duke's Cut where it was stated in the SW guide I should be going! He umm'ed and ahhh'ed, let me through the garden and pointed in a general direction...

I ruddy well wish I'd just retraced my steps back as I plodded through boggy fields and found I was unable to cross the river where the A40 crossed! So headed back towards Wolvercote by following the river, being stared at by farmers going through their newly ploughed fields and ripping my trousers on a 2 metre high gate, which had barbed wire all over it, in order to access the road to Wolvercote! Ahhh, man...

The way markers don't get much better the further we go, but with reasoned(!) deductions and lots of comparisons of maps, I'm finally on track for Yarnton, Begbroke and Bladon, where Churchill's Memorial is.

Way marker for the Shakespeare's Way

Bridge near the Duke's Cut

Yarnton Church

MUD! 

St Martin parish church, Bladon

Churchill's memorial

 After Bladon, the plan was to follow the Shakespeare's Way around Blenheim Palace and through the woods to Chipping Norton where my hotel for the night is. But by this time, it's getting late in the day and I decide to risk walking on the A44 for 9 miles all the way directly to Chipping Norton. So I get my head down, tune out everything and just march! This does mean I don't take in very much of my surrounds so am sure Woodstock was a lovely village(!)

Airfield near Blenheim Palace

Eventually, I arrive at my destination, just as the evening draws in! My hotel for the evening is the Crown & Cushion, once owned by Keith Moon, the drummer of the Who and a personal hero of mine! It's a nice old hotel with a little bar at the back and after a meal of a sandwich and a large chips, I raise a few glasses of the local beer to "Moon the Loon"! And no, I didn't cherry bomb the toilet...

Selfies and Cancer Research Month...

Hi all! 

Hope this post finds you well! Recently on Facebook, there's been a spate of selfies in order to raise money for Cancer Research in all its forms. In lieu of a selfie from me (seriously, you do not want a picture of me in make up, I will give you nightmares for the rest of your life...), I thought I'd post a little note on my blog! 

First of all, let me catch you up on what's going to be happening in the next month. The date of the next leg of my journey northwards will be the 8th April. This trip will take in Chipping Norton, Stratford Upon Avon, Worcester, Bewdley, Ironbridge and finally, Stafford. If I feel fit enough after that arduous trek, I may carry on to Edale, either via Burton Upon Trent and Derby, or via Stoke. I'm looking forwards to it, especially visiting Ironbridge again and also the Severn Vintage Steam Railway in Bewdley.

So, that's the trip sorted. But let's go back and just talk a little about why I am doing this End2End. 

It's been over a year since my Grandparents on my mother's side died. My father's father died in 1995 of bowel cancer and several of my relatives in recent years have died or are suffering from some form of Cancer. This plays a huge reason why I'm doing this walk and I have a justgiving.com site where people can donate money. Please, please donate, every penny will help in ridding us of this scourge. http://www.justgiving.com/Mark-Franks1

Thanks for being with me on my journey! 

Plans for the End2End in 2014

Hi all,

I trust you all had a very good Xmas and I wish you all a prosperous New Year. Right now, I am planning the next stages of the end2end I have been walking. Once more, I have signed up to the 5X50 challenge (http://www.5x50.org), which will be my third time! I find it helps with motivation and keeping my fitness levels up, but this year, I will be tying it in with my trekking. 

As I get further away from home, things start getting a little more expensive and time consuming, especially with travel and hotels/B&Bs. This will probably mean, unless I get a job in the next few months, that the trips will be fewer than last year. 

However, my goal this year is to get to the start of the Pennine Way, Edale. I'm hoping to do this via a route that will take me from Oxford, through Chipping Norton and Stratford Upon Avon, across to Worcester, then up to Ironbridge and Stafford before loping over the Derbyshire Dales to Edale. A circuitous route, yes, but one with a lot of memories and history! And a cathedral or two... 

The planned route

Will obviously keep you all posted! 

TTFN!