Tim’s Steps: 17,754Miles walked: 7.8Elevation: 744Pints: 3.5Churches: noneStiles: 15Benches: 4 A solo walk for Tim today

Jeri’s Steps: 14,645Miles walked: 6.3Elevation: 223Pints: none (wine)Churches: noneStiles: noneBenches: 2 More canal walking today, between the ancient town of Tamworth and the ancient city of Lichfield. This time it was the Birmingham and Fazeley, built in 1789 to carry traffic between the Coventry and Oxford canals. It took about

Jeri’s Steps: 15,638Miles walked: 7.5Elevation: 350Pints: Two CobrasChurches: noneStiles: 12Benches: 1 Last night we stayed in Meriden, historically thought to be the geographical center of England until some people at the Ordnance Survey did some clever maths. This morning an Uber took us to our jumping off point; the Bubble

Jeri’s Steps: 29,419Miles walked: 11.9Elevation: 380Pints: oneChurches: noneStiles: 30Benches: 3 Although we wore our rain gear yesterday and it failed to rain, today we decided to test the rain gods and wear our normal hiking clothes. We were lucky as although it was overcast in the morning, most of the

Jeri’s Steps: 41,036Miles walked: 16.7Elevation: 259Pints: noneChurches: noneStiles: 5Benches: 5 and a lock The first walking day of the 2022 season! After a break of 10 months we are back in England to fill in some bits that we missed last year. After a simple breakfast of crumpets and coffee,

Jeri’s Steps: 39,389Miles walked: 15.9Elevation: 3,215 (max!)Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 2Benches: 2 Into Scotland! Yesterday’s march down the hill from Windy Gyle to meet our B&B host meant that today we had to do it in reverse. It was a grueling hour long climb back up. Not the best way to

Jeri’s Steps: 36,422Miles walked: 14.9Elevation: 2,263Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 1Benches: none The day started with a tough steep climb up from Byrness to Saughy Crag. The final 50ft involved scrambling amongst knee high boulders and ferns. ‘Scramble’ is the term used by one of the guidebooks; for us old folks it

Jeri’s Steps: 39,332Miles walked: 16.7Elevation: 2,076Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 5Benches: none 600 miles! Moors! Forests! Today was unremarkable. Nothing too scenic, nothing too wet. The day started with some excitement because the butcher in the village had a Morris Minor van and we had a good chat with him whilst we

Jeri’s Steps: 38,414Miles walked: 15.4Elevation: 1,735Pints: none (wine)Churches: noneStiles: 17Benches: 1 Our last mile on Hadrian’s wall….. We had an early breakfast at the Bowes Hotel in Bardon Mill. According to our chatty waitress, the pub was remodeled about 4 years ago and as a result this little  place at the

Jeri’s Steps: 20,312Miles walked: 8.3Elevation: 1,440Pints: 5Churches: noneStiles: 16Benches: 1 After a day or rest during which we didn’t even leave our hotel, we stepped out to a bright sunny morning and headed towards Hadrian’s Wall.  We briefly visited the Roman Army Museum to see if we could buy some hats

Jeri’s Steps: 28,701Miles walked: 11.8Elevation: 1,161Pints: none (wine)Churches: noneStiles: 19Benches: 3 Today was a day of bright sunshine but wet boots, but more of that later. From Slaggyford we again walked the River Tyne Trail north until Lambley, in preference to the Pennine Way and for this section the rail

Jeri’s Steps: 14,100Miles walked: 4.9Elevation: none!Pints: 2Churches: noneStiles: none Benches: 2 After yesterday’s soaking up in the clouds we let our boots dry out a bit and did some much needed chores this morning; buying shoelaces, ibuprofen and the Sunday Times. The last item was bought mainly to use in

Jeri’s Steps: 36,942Miles walked: 13.7Elevation: 2,749Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 1Benches: 1 Highest, Coldest, Wettest After an early breakfast we started uphill at 8:20. In the rain. We took the road route to Great Dun Fell and it was a steady, grinding wet haul upwards into the clouds. At no point in

Jeri’s Steps: 34,440Miles walked: 13.4Elevation: 1,312Pints: 2Churches: none Stiles: 9Benches: 1 The view from the breakfast room at the Langdon Beck Hotel today was magnificent and was a preview of the scenery to come. When walking down to Intake Farm we noticed a chicken at the side of the road.

Jeri’s Steps: 40,265Miles walked: 15.5Elevation: 1,692Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 35Benches: 1 We avoided the weapons storage site at Tute Hill and started today at Clove Lodge. A black farm cat, who we later discovered was called ‘Mr Nibbles’ followed us across two fields down to the stream near Blackton resevoir, demanding

Jeri’s Steps: 28,642Miles walked: 11.2Elevation: 912Pints: 4Churches: noneStiles: 6Benches: none A milestone-500 to be exact… We took our time over breakfast as this was not a particularly long day and we enjoyed chatting with our co-walkers from last night. Frith Lodge was a great place to stay; thank you Karen

Jeri’s Steps: 37,235Miles walked: 13.9Elevation: 2,923Pints: 2Churches: 1Stiles: 12Benches: 3 After a great stay at Wensleydale House in Hawes, Jan and Wayne wished us good luck and at 8:30am we headed into Hawes to buy lunch at the bakers. After an easy walk across fields to Hardraw we started the

Jeri’s Steps: 30,260Miles walked: 11.5Elevation: 1,243Pints: 2Churches: noneStiles: noneBenches: 1 A certain weariness has set in. This first week of the Pennine Way has been tough, with some big climbs and long days and although biblically there should be a rest day on the seventh, ours is a walking day;

Jeri’s Steps: 33,095Miles walked: 12.7Elevation: 2,214Pints: 2Churches: 1Stiles: 8Benches: 1 Quoting from Wainwright; “Malham is the threshold of the best part of the Pennine Way, the starting point of an exciting journey over limestone uplands of great geological interest.” The limestone ‘pavement’ above Malham Cove will be familiar to Harry

Jeri’s Steps: 27,320Miles walked: 11.0Elevation: 849Pints: 4Churches: 1Stiles: 22Benches: 3 Today we left the South Pennines behind and crossed the ‘Aire Gap’, the natural east west path formed by the Aire River between Yorkshire and Lancashire. We moved away from moors as the landscape changed to one of smaller fields

Jeri’s Steps: 41,097Miles walked: 16.1Elevation: 2,519Pints: 2Churches: noneStiles: 13Benches: 1 We started Day Four of the Pennine Way walking up a cobbled street in Heptonstall northwest towards Slack and High Gate. We had to visit May’s shop; a place where you can pretty much get everything you need and a

Jeri’s Steps: 38,647Miles walked: 15.1Elevation: 984Pints: 3.5Churches: noneStiles: 4Benches: 2 We had an early breakfast today because our walk was scheduled to be a long one. The taxi took us back to the car park on the A62 next to Brun Clough reservoir where we ended last night. Although it

Jeri’s Steps: 35,128Miles walked: 13.5Elevation: 2,641Pints: 3Churches: noneStiles: 6Benches: 1 We had a lovely send-off from The Old House after a generous Full English breakfast. We crossed the dam at Torside then after a couple of miles of shaded pine woods we turned toward the moors and, you guessed it,

Jeri’s Steps: 43,614Miles walked: 16.5Elevation: 2,972Pints: 5Churches: noneStiles: 1Benches: none 400 miles walked! And now the big one. The Pennine Way, Britain’s first national trail, suggested in 1935 and finally established in 1965. Reading Wainwright can leave you shocked that anyone would attempt it, having read his vivid sentences cataloging

Jeri’s Steps: 25,567Miles walked: 9.45Elevation: 1,391Pints: 5Churches: 1Stiles: 20Benches: 1 Our support van (thank you Deans) dropped us off just after 9:30 and we headed north.  Hay Dale and Dam Dale were both smaller than the valleys we passed through yesterday but were delightful – very few trees, solid drystone walls

Jeri’s Steps: 23,067Miles walked: 7.9Elevation: 534Pints: 4Churches: noneStiles:16Benches:3 After a lackluster breakfast at the faded glory that is the Palace in Buxton we shopped for lunch in town and had a coffee before taking a taxi to our start point. Nigel, our driver, was quite talkative and we chatted about

Jeri’s Steps: 28,496Miles walked: 11.6Elevation: 1,410Pints: none (wine)Churches: noneStiles: 6Benches: 2 We returned to the trail today after over a week of recuperation.  The Izaak Walton hotel in Thorpe was very special; a country house hotel providing really good service.  Last night we had dinner in the hotel with views across to

Jeri’s Steps: 27,113Miles walked: 10.9Elevation: 715Pints: 3Churches: 2Stiles: 21Benches: 3 Into Warwickshire… The alarm went off at 6:00am which was painful, but we packed efficiently and were on the road just after 7:00.  Dave dropped us back near the Bakers Arms in Broad Campden and we were on the trail at

Jeri’s Steps: 23,524Miles walked: 9.6Elevation: 1,213Pints: 2Churches: 1Stiles: 10Benches: 3 After a very good cooked breakfast at Mole End, we headed north out of Stow and soon joined the Heart of England Way through Donnington, Longborough, Bourton-on-the-Hill and Blockley to Broad Campden. The landscape was again fairly open with a

Jeri’s Steps: 28,148Miles walked: 10.2Elevation: 1,030Pints: 2Churches: 2Stiles: 17Benches: 3 After a light cooked breakfast at the Broadlands Hotel (smoked salmon and scrambled eggs), we were driven back to Northleach, actually the nearby village of Farmington, to start our walk. We appreciated the fact the first half mile descended a

Jeri’s Steps: 37,437Miles walked: 15Elevation: 1,167Pints: 3Churches: 2Stiles: 4Benches: 3 Last night’s Indian meal was great. Even better than the food was the air conditioned restaurant! Tim took two Benadryls before his two pints of King Cobra so his walk back to the B&B was a bit wobbly. Cirencester is

Jeri’s Steps: 33,010Miles walked: 13.8Elevation: 629Pints: 3Churches: 2Stiles: 6Benches: 2 300 mile mark reached!! Another hot day. We started at 8:30 and visited the Co-op in Tetbury for supplies. The morning started off quite fast with small roads and good tracks and none of that getting lost nonsense from yesterday.

Jeri’s Steps: 34,836Miles walked: 15.3Elevation: 1,420Pints: 4Churches: 3Stiles: 21Benches: 3 Into Gloucestershire… After an early breakfast (we skipped the cooked English) we were walking by 8:30am. After a couple of wrong turns we hit three villages in succession; Littleton Drew, Luckington and Sherston. Littleton Drew had the best bench, carved

Jeri’s Steps: 37,998Miles walked: 16.1Elevation: 1,230Pints: 2Churches: 1Stiles: 25Benches: 2 From Somerset into Wiltshire… Today we walked into our fourth county, Wiltshire, although it will be a brief stay as Gloucestershire appears on the horizon sometime tomorrow.  We left the Albany guest house at 9.00am and walked through the center of

Jeri’s Steps: 30,629Miles walked: 12.5Elevation: 905Pints: 3Churches: 1Stiles: 7Benches: 2 Well we made it to Bath, a milestone for sure.  The day was hot and sunny and the paths mostly followed the Wellow Brook river north east. After a few miles we came across an ice cream stand outside a

Jeri’s Steps: 27,818Miles walked: 11.4Elevation: 1,322Pints: none (wine)Churches: 3Stiles: 38Benches:3 After a generous cooked breakfast at the Ring O Bells we set off at a somewhat late 9:45am in bright sunshine. The first mile was road walking to West Harptree where we visited the church and then shopped at the

Jeri’s Steps: 28,221Miles walked: 11.3Elevation: 1,945Pints: 5Churches: 1Stiles: 21Benches: 1 After two day’s rest the foot felt a lot better so today we got back on the trail. We shopped early at Waitrose for food and had breakfast in the nearby skatepark, which was conveniently empty. But, based on our

Pints: 2Cathedrals: 1 Well we knew this might happen at some point. Tim’s right foot was getting more painful so first thing on Tuesday morning we took a taxi to the minor injuries unit at Bridgwater Community Hospital. He was seen quickly, prescribed antibiotics and rest. So Tuesday and Wednesday

Jeri’s Steps: 36,091Miles walked: 14.8Elevation: 1,561Pints: 2Churches: 2Stiles: 9Benches: 1 Woke 7:00, left at 9:30 after cooking scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon. Got lost in the first mile. Not lost as such, just confused by a footbridge over the canal which was not there. This caused us to

Jeri’s Steps: 46,960Miles walked: 19.1Elevation: 1,381Pints: 2Churches: 2Stiles: 19Benches: 3 From Devon into Somerset… Well, that was hard. Took the 7:31 train from Taunton to Tiverton Parkway. The journey there took 10 minutes but it took 10 hours to walk back. The first 6 miles were along the Grand Western

Jeri’s Steps: 31,349Miles walked: 12.2Elevation: 1,538Pints: 2Churches: 1Stiles: noneBenches: 2 Today started with a climb on roads and across arable fields and morphed into the familiar Devon routine of roller coaster ups and downs as our way dipped down for each stream, but after only a few hours we were

Jeri’s Steps: 35,833Miles walked: 14.8Elevation: 1,427Pints: 3Churches: 3Stiles: 3Benches: 1 The New Inn in Coleford was very comfortable; a spacious room, a bright modern bathroom and a great dinner and breakfast; smoked haddock for Tim and eggs florentine for Jeri. The parrot was cheerful. The route was similar to yesterday; a

Jeri’s Steps: 42,873Miles walked: 18.4Elevation: 1,755Pints: none (wine)Churches: 2Stiles: 4Benches: 3 Today was always going to be tough; 18 miles of Devon countryside with rain a certainty and so it proved. We started early at 7.30 and Pam at Northlake B&B provided a generous packed lunch in lieu of a

Jeri’s Steps: 32,194Miles walked: 14.8Elevation: 1,417Pints: 6Churches: 1Stiles: 0Benches: 4 Left Lobhill at 9.15 after a lovely breakfast cooked by Jane. We dressed for rain and were not disappointed. Our first mile was on a level road east towards Dartmoor then we used a bridleway to link up with the

Jeri’s Steps: 30,168Miles walked: 12.3Elevation: 1,174Pints: 4Churches: 2Stiles: 4Benches: 2 From Cornwall to Devon… After a great rest day in our Airbnb in Launceston we awoke early. After a hearty breakfast were on the trail by 7.30am. We joined the Two Castles trail and crossed our first county border from

Jeri’s Steps: 35,353Miles walked: 13.15Elevation: 1077Pints: 2Churches: 0Stiles: 1Benches: 2 Not all days are the same. Today was not our best. The day started and ended in a downpour, Tim fell into a stream and we argued with a Cornish farmer. On leaving the Jamaica Inn in Bolventor, we headed

Jeri’s Steps: 36,210Miles walked: 14.9Elevation: 1,246Pints: 4Churches: 2Stiles: 3Benches: 1 Due to complications involving Royal Mail parcels and taxis, this section was actually walked in reverse, from Jamaica Inn back to Bodmin where we stayed for a second night at the Westberry hotel. The first four miles was road walking

Jeri’s Steps: 33,760Miles walked: 15.6Elevation: 393Pints: 2Churches: 0Stiles: 0Benches: 3 Today we peel away from the coast and head inland along the estuary. This is one of those times where, counterintuitively, we head in the wrong direction, south. This is because we are following the Camel river as it bends

Jeri’s Steps: 26,070Miles walked: 11.7Elevation: 606Pints: none (wine)Churches: 1Stiles: 6Benches: 1 A shorter day today as we took the direct route across the peninsula to Padstow. The first section was over crop fields and cow pastures; the wheat was more compliant than the cows who were understandably nervous of us

Jeri’s Steps: 32,506Miles walked: 12.4Elevation: 1,610Pints: 4Churches: noneStiles: 6Benches: 5 The weather forecast was for cloudy conditions but no rain so we packed the rain gear away. The tent and rain fly were nice and dry after a rest day spent hanging in the shower so the rest of the

Jeri’s Steps: 20,947Miles walked: 8.03Elevation: 816Pints: 7Churches: 2Stiles: 3Benches: 1 It rained all night. Our REI tent stood up to it though and remained dry and comfortable. But the dilemma was how to pack everything up and take the tent down in the pouring rain? Well the weather gods smiled

Jeri’s Steps: 37,308Miles walked: 13.9Elevation: 2,089Pints: 0 (wine)Churches: noneStiles: 1Benches: 4 An earlier start this morning. Our hostess at the Cliff House B&B gave us bacon sandwiches in lieu of breakfast so we hit the trail at 8:15. Today there were 6 major descents which of course meant 6 major

Jeri’s Steps: 18,565Miles walked: 6.73Elevation: 662Pints: 4Churches: NoneStiles: 5Benches:1 Wow it rained all night! About 5.30am the rain stopped so we were able to pack up in dry but misty conditions. The tent was very dry and warm and cozy. Today’s walk was largely on top of the cliffs, on

Jeri’s Steps: 26,398Miles walked: 9.42Elevation: 580Walking Time: 3 hrs 43 minPints: 3Churches: 1Stiles: 3Benches: 4 A shorter walk today so we were able to linger over a ‘full English’ breakfast at the Mustard Tree. The day started off cloudy but mercifully dry. The path to Hayle ran along the clifftop

Jeri’s Steps: 26,147Miles walked: 7.25Elevation: 1,205Walking Time: 3 hrs 45 minPints: 2Churches: 2Stiles: 12Benches: 3 ‘One does not simply walk into Morvah’ Today was a tough one. We left the North Inn in Pendeen after a quick cup of coffee and a stop at the Spar then headed across country

Jeri’s Steps: 29,854Miles walked: 9.96Elevation: 1,377Walking Time: 4hrs 32 minPints: 2Churches: NoneStiles:6Benches:4 “A meal without wine is breakfast.” And so we set off. Years of planning and finally we get to start doing what is in fact a pretty basic activity. Walking. Best not to think of Scotland as the