Day 7: Bishopstone to Ogbourne St George - 9.7 miles
We had breakfast with our fellow walkers - and what a breakfast it turned out to
be. The best homemade muesli I have ever tasted, loads of fresh fruit, traditional
English breakfast served on enormous oval dishes - I did try but was defeated early
on! We were regaled with stories of past walkers, and were thoroughly entertained.
And then Mrs Boot brought on the packed lunches ordered by our new friends, Chris
& Derek. Martyn & I were making do with our leftovers and 'emergency supplies' so
we felt a bit sorry we hadn't ordered a Mrs Boot special! I heard they were still
eating it a week later............I was just grateful I didn't have to carry it all.
We walked with Chris & Derek, which made a change. They had started the same day
as us, but this was the only time we were staying in the same place. Mrs Boot showed
us a more pleasant way to rejoin the path and off we went. We'd walked some of this
section (Liddington Hill) a few weeks earlier - and it was just as windy this time,
making it difficult for us to stay upright. Once in more wooded area, it was a lot
warmer and easier. We had our lunch sitting on an old water tank, which was rather
cold but better than sitting on the wet grass.
Our destination was Ogbourne St George, near Marlborough, so back into our own territory,
and at under 10 miles, a stroll in the park! We arrived as the rain started - we
were staying in Parklands Hotel. The owner said he had taken one look at our cases
and had to upgrade us to a bigger room! Which was nice as we had a huge bed which
meant we could stretch out our aching limbs in comfort. We ate in the hotel's restaurant,
which was excellent - and even more so since it was raining very hard all evening
and night.
Day 8: Ogbourne St George to Overton Hill (then Avebury) - 11.5 miles
Slept extremely well, which was of some consolation when we looked out the window.
The rain was still bucketing down so we put our heads down and got on with it. It
wasn't a very good day for a walk. We met up with Chris & Derek at Barbury Castle,
where the rain was torrential, and again at the end of the walk at Overton Hill.
The walk wasn't much fun. The sun did come out a few times but it wasn't reliable,
and a couple of minutes later, it would be dark and pouring with rain again. It was
so wet it was impossible to rest anywhere and so we walked the whole 11.5 miles without
a rest - certainly something I couldn't have done a few weeks earlier. We discovered
what was and what wasn't waterproof. I'm glad to say my very expensive Berghaus coat
was worth every penny, it kept me completely dry, but Martyn's cheaper one, which
had been fine on all our other wet walks, let him down. And our boots leaked - one
of Martyn's had done so the day before, hence the 'bandage' in the photo left. But
it didn't stand a chance against that rain. We did consider walking directly to Avebury
instead of the 'actual' end of the walk, the same distance away at Overton Hill,
but I felt it was cheating, which is silly really, But I wanted a 'finish' photo.
The rain held off just long enough for a photo and then started again but we had
some lovely sunshine as we walked on to Avebury, along the Avenue of stones. We walked
with our friends to the Red Lion pub, where we found multiple celebrations going
on - morris dancing, a wedding and a childrens' party. We had a couple of beers and
then our daughter came to pick us up and took Chris and Derek on to their final night's
accommodation - they live near the other end of the walk. We'd planned to eat at
the pub but were too wet and it was all so chaotic that we came home for a Chinese
meal and champagne.
Strangely, it felt a bit of an anti-climax. I think we were expecting to be physically
wrecked but we weren't. My blisters had virtually gone and we didn't ache, either
then or the next day. We had to keep reminding ourselves that this really was a great
achievement for such sloths as us! So it was a very different sort of holiday, a
challenge undertaken and achieved. I didn't lose any weight (grrr!) but I felt fit
and well and would happily undertake something similar in the future.
