The primary purposes of this trip were to meet up with our relatives and (having so done) to spend a few days on our own to mark our 49th wedding anniversary. But in between all those relatives and our anniversary I got to do some exploring:
(1) to revisit the Grand Western Canal Country Park tow-path
J kindly loaned me her bike and so I set out for Tiverton where the canal ends (or begins). Counter-intuitively there is a steep incline up to the canal basin here. But once beside the canal the route is of course level (there are no locks) for the 11 miles to the Waytown Tunnel. You can (but I did not on this occasion) re-join the canal after this short tunnel for the last 1/4 mile. Thereafter what is left of the canal degenerates into at best a narrow footpath.
(2) to revisit my favourite footpath that descends to Broadhembury
Unashamedly more walking than jogging, from our airbnb in Kerswell up to North Hill and thence along the Blackdown Hills escarpment beside the gliding airfield before descending to Broadhembury.
(3) to revisit the Ruislip Lido
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| my track |
Ruislip Lido is an artificial lake near Northwood Hills where my nephew-in-law lives. It boasts a 12" gauge railway that runs around a good 75% of the perimeter. It was not running during my visit.
(4) around St Mary's Island
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| St Mary's Island, Chatham |
When I first heard about this place I knew I had to circumnavigate it: what else of such importance is there to do on an island? Apart from, in this case, visiting my sister of course.
(5) Lugg Meadow hike
Hereford has many secrets of which Lugg Meadow is one. It is one of the most important surviving Lammas Meadows in the UK, a Lammas meadow being a common meadow opened for communal grazing on Lammas Day, the 1st August. I knew I had to at least visit this place, even if I only explored a small part of it. Much of it was flooded anyway as you can see from my photos.
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| Lugg Meadow: I entered at the bottom and exited half way up on the left |
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| my track 12.4km |
(6) Railways and bridges in Hereford
Whilst studying the map I discovered the Great Western Way which is now a pedestrian footpath and cycleway, built over the culminating section of the Newport, Abergavenny & Hereford Railway Line. So of course I had to check it out, starting at the north (Sainsbury's) end, over the Hunderton railway bridge, and jogging the whole length of the way, down to and past what was Redhill junction.
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| When it was still a railway, in1966 |
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| Barton station 1966 - now the location of Sainsbury's |
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| my track 15.1km |
After which I explored the footpaths and bridges along the river Wye, including the new Canary bridge, returning via the cathedral.
