Today we would leave Devon and head into Cornwall – the last county in our epic walk. We are joined by Lynn, Ant, Gordon and Liz for our walk to Menheniot (Liskeard). Mike is back as driver/walker now until the very end.

We left Oakhampton, with the promise of a sunny but cool day (and no rain), and headed around the edge of Dartmoor towards Menheniot. Okehampton was founded by the Saxons and the earliest written record of the settlement is from 980 AD as Ocmundtune, meaning settlement by the Ockment, a river which runs through the town. It was recorded as a place for slaves to be freed at cross roads.

Quite a long and steep hill up out of Okehampton and then some good views of Dartmoor as we made our way onto a cycle/foot path on a disused railway line.

We walked into Sourton, home of thatched houses and The Highwayman Inn – originally built as an inn in 1282 and later became dual purpose as an inn and a farm making use of the 20 acres at the rear.   In the 17th century it was called the Golden Fleece.  Plymouth Breweries later renamed it the New Inn to give it a more contemporary image.  The the old Launceston to Tavistock coach is the entrance porchin it’s original colour of maroon/purple.

We rejoined the old railway path (via a detour down a wet grassy path as google maps would have us jump down from the main road) and enjoyed the chat and scenery as we continued southwest.

Lydford was next and we walked down the hill to the bottom of the Lydford Gorge – the deepest river gorge in the South West, with a 30m high waterfall with the whole area now managed by the National Trust. At the top of the hill, climbing up from the gorge, was Brent Tor (330m) which is is surmounted by the Church of St Michael, the parish church of the village of  Brentor, which lies below the TorChurch.

Finally another big moment – we crossed the River Tamar in Horsebridge and entered Cornwall. Horsebridge grew up around the bridge over the River Tamar, also known as the Horse Bridge, which was built in 1437. Until the completion of the New Bridge at Gunnislake around 1520 the Horse Bridge was the lowest bridge on the Tamar, and after the New Bridge was built still no road bridge was built downstream of these two until 1961. Horsebridge has one pub, the Royal Inn, so named since King Charles I stopped here during the Civil War.

Onwards and upwards (and upwards again it seemed) through a lovely afternoon until we passed the 800 mile mark at St. Ive and then the last few miles always seems to take for ever – but we eventually arrived in Menheniot – tired and sore but nowhere near as wet and miserable as yesterday! Still, it was another long day, 53km, 982m of climbing and 67,000 steps.

Thanks again to Lynn, Ant, Gordon and Liz for taking time to be with us and providing great company and chat.

Tomorrow is a much needed rest day and then we start the week with only 74 miles to go.

Today we would be walking to Okehampton on the edge of Dartmoor. Harpal is still with us and we are joined by Jonathon. No official driver today but Mike will pick up our bags later on.

We left Sampford Peverell in the bright sunshine for our long trek to Okehampton. Sampford Peverell is an old Saxon settlement, called Sanforda in the 1086 Doomsday Book. Its current name reflects its inclusion in the Honour of Peverel, the lands of William Peverel and his family. In 1810 it was reported that the house of a John Chave in the village was experiencing dramatic poltergeist activity. The case was discussed in the national press of the time, and Chave’s house gained such notoriety that in 1811 it was besieged by a mob of rowdy workmen known as Navies. The paranormal activity turned out to be noises made by smugglers behind a false wall.

A lovely start to the day, weather wise, as we walked towards Tiverton, quite a bit of “rush hour” and school traffic to contend with.

As we walked into Tiverton we passed by Blundell’s School – an independent school founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and moved to its present site on the outskirts of the town in 1882. While the full boarding fees are £36,960 per year, the school offers several scholarships and bursaries, and provides flexi-boarding. The school has 350 boys and 225 girls. Tiverton’s name is conjectured to derive from “Twy-ford-ton” or “Twyverton”, meaning “the town on two fords”, and was historically referred to as “Twyford”. The town stands at the confluence of the rivers Exe and Lowman. Lord Palmerston (1784–1865) was MP for Tiverton (1835–65) and twice prime minister .

We passed the HSBC branch so took the obligatory photo and then crossed over the River Exe on the way out of town. Chris had joined us with Sasha (her dog) for the walkthrough Tiverton and a while further out of town.

As we meandered through the Devon countryside we passed through several small villages, all pretty and quaintly named, especially Puddington with its churches and thatched houses. Then our route took us down a steep hill, described as unmetalled, luckily the hill on the way up was properly “metalled”.

1200 kilometers walked by now as we passed though more villages with large churches and thatched houses as we found a sheltered spot out of the wind to have our lunch.

Getting closer now to Okehampton, and a slowly setting sun, we had our first views of Dartmoor in the distance.

The heavens opened and the temperature dropped making the last few km into Okehampton a bit of struggle. The first picture above is stark evidence of Devon and Cornwall planning policy – thousands of identikit houses crammed together – these are cropping up everywhere with no underlying infrastructure to support (sorry – rant over). Finally, wet, tired and sore we made it into Okehampton – 55km walked, 1,129m climbed and over 11.5 hours walking – but importantly one day closer to the end.

Big thanks to Harpal and Jonathon, as mentioned previously we really do appreciate the company, chat and commitment in joining us for parts of our walk.

Tomorrow we finally make it to Cornwall with a rest day in sight.

Today we would walk southwest to Sampford Peverell. Andrew is still with us and we are joined by Harpal for the next two days. Mark finished his stint as our driver today.

We left Stawell early as today (they all are this week) was going to be a long one. The Church of St Francis (see yesterdays last photo) dates from the 13th century and has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. The raised stone “Coffin Walk” alongside part of Ford Lane next to the church is thought to be one of only three Coffin Walks left in the country. It is believed to have originally stretched from the old Roman Road above the village, partly following a still existing Public Footpath.

The forecast of rain all day didn’t look so accurate at the outset as we walked towards Bridgewater through the village of Chedzoy.

We rambled up plenty of hills and through some lovely villages that all have huge churches, going past Durleigh Resevoir and enjoying the quiet roads and the very nice weather.

Through the village of Bishops Lydeard and into Halse for lunch – the name of the village derives from the Old English  heals meaning a neck of land. The village was full of nice thatched houses and the road in to the village is so twisty that no HGV could make it round any of the corners.

Passing yet more villages with large churches we eventually joined the footpath of the eastern end of the Grand Western Canal. A lovely walk along this path was much improved when we met Chris who bought freshly baked scones, jam and clotted cream. Of course there were the usual Cornwall/Devon discussions re jam or cream first – but either way the scones were delicious.

At the end of a long day we finally reached our B&B and said goodbye to Andrew (Mark had left at lunch time) – again huge thanks for the company and support, it really is appreciated.

Tomorrow we “only” have 5 more walking days to go (and a rest day!) as we head to Okehampton

Today was the day that we would really start the final chapter of our journey by heading south to Stawell in Devon. We are joined today by Andrew, Matt and Jen with Mark being our driver for the next two days.

We left Clifton and headed south to Stawell in Devon. Clifton is one of the oldest and most affluent areas of Bristol, much of it having been built with profits from tobacco and the slave trade. Situated to the west of Bristol City Centre, it was at one time a separate settlement but became attached to Bristol by continuous development during the Georgian era and was formally incorporated into the city in the 1830s.

We crossed the River Avon via the Plimsoll Swing Bidge with views of Brunel’s swing bridge and a good view of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the distance. We also passed within a stone’s throw of Ashton Gate (home of Bristol City).

We walked (upwards as ever) with good views of Bristol behind us and through a few small villages to get to Blagdon which was called Blachedon in the 1086 Domesday Book – the name comes from the Old English bloec and dun meaning ‘the black or bleak down’.

We decided that the quickest way to Cheddar was over the Mendip Hills – despite the rain and the rocky paths we made the top safely to Beacon Batch – the highest point of the Mendip Hills at 325m. Of course there was a downhill section of slippery rocky path (not enjoyable) as we made our way down into Cheddar and a local deli for sandwiches and cake.

We try and have our lunch each day after the half way point so that we have “less” walking to conclude our day. The rest of the walk from Cheddar to Stawell was mostly flat, well irrigated farmlands. We passed Chilton Priory (also known as Stradling’s Folly) which was originally built as a folly, and subsequently enlarged to become a country house. By the time we arrived in Stawell it was quite dark and we were all pretty tired after 11.5 hours on the road.

Tomorrow we continue south through Devon to Sampford Peverell.

Today was the day we would leave Wales and start down the Somerset / Devon / Cornwall peninsula. We are joined today by Jen, Claire, Sophie and Mick. Darren continued as our driver for the day.

We left Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy meaning “town on the Monnow”) and headed towards Chepstow and the Severn Bridge. Monmouth was the site of a small Roman fort, Blestium, and became established after the Normans  built a castle c. 1067. The medieval stone gated bridge is the only one of its type remaining in Britain.

It was a misty start to the day as we started climbing right from the outset (would feel like we wouldn’t stop climbing for most of the morning) but soon the sun burned the mist off.

We passed through Trellech and the Lost City of Trellech Archeological dig site (the largest settlement in medieval Wales).

As we continued to climb and then descend into Chepstow, we passed a rainbow trout fishery with multiple “ponds” and then walked alongside the famous Chepstow Racecourse.

We then had the obligatory HSBC branch photo with today’s HSBC team and then a spot of lunch before heading to the bridge.

We left Wales via the old Severn Bridge – opened on 8 September 1966, by Queen Elizabeth II, who suggested that it marked the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales. For thirty years, the bridge carried the M4 motorway. The bridge was granted Grade I listed status on 26 November 1999. Following the completion of theSecond Severn Crossing, now styled the Prince of Wales Bridge, the section of motorway from Olveston in England to Magor in Wales was designated the M48. Bit of a panic when we discovered the pathway was closed – luckily a quick dash under the road and the pathway was open on the other side. Plenty of gunfire as we crossed the bridge from the army firing range underneath.

As is ever with a long day walking, other than a church in Bristol and some Belted Galloway cows, there is not much to photograph as we are tired and just focused on completing the walk and getting to Clifton.

Mick, Claire and Sophie left us, as did Darren – again huge thanks to them for taking the time and joining us on our adventure – we really value the company and support.

Tomorrow we head for Stawell in Somerset and another day of hills.

After a much needed, and very relaxing, rest day we were ready to start our last full week of walking by heading down to Monmouth. Today we were joined by Gareth, Jackie, Chris T, Sasha, Chris M, Dal, Gemma and Simon – yes we would form two socially distanced groups as we walked. Darren will be our concierge for the next two days.

We left Leominster and headed south towards Hereford. Leominster (pronounced “lemster”) takes its name from the English word minster, meaning a community of clergy and the original Celtic name for the district Leon or Lene, probably in turn from an Old Welsh root lei to flow. During the 8th and 9th Century, Danes (or Vikings) frequently raided the area and a large amount of treasure was unearthed in 2015 that “experts” believe was buried by Vikings

The day started slightly misty with the sun looking like it would burn its way through quite soon. As we wandered towards Hereford we passed the 600 mile milestone and then a lovely dog decided that walking with us for a couple of km was much more interesting than going back to its owner. As we had reached a busy main road luckily we could reacquaint the dog with its, by now, frantic owner.

We found the HSBC branch in Hereford and posed for the obligatory photograph. The Welsh name for Hereford is Henffordd, meaning “old road”, and probably refers to the Roman road and Roman settlement at nearby Stretton Segway’s. An early town charter from 1189 granted by Richard I of England describes it as “Hereford in Wales”. Nell Gwynne, actress and mistress of King Charles II, is said to have been born in Hereford in 1650.

Blessed by beautiful weather and wide open countryside we kept on walking down (and definitely up) relatively quiet roads.

In Saint Weonards we passed the magical 1,000km walked and there was an opportune signpost for the photo.

The sun was setting as we entered wales – no Welcome to Wales sign though, just the Monmouth county sign. A long descent into the town of Monmouth meant it was completely dark by the time we reached the hotel. Nearly 60km of walking today meant for a very demanding day so huge thanks to all that joined us – the company and all the different chats makes such a difference. Tomorrow we do it all again with a different group of friends.

Today is a needed rest day. Yesterday we found the Leominster HSBC Branch to add the photo to our collection

Today we were joined by Daniel and Barney (who left his rucksack at home!) for our walk to Leominster.

Today was the last “shorter” day of the adventure (apart from the very last day) so we left Church Stretton after a more leisurely breakfast. Church Stretton was nicknamed Little Switzerland in the late Victorian and Edwardian period for its landscape and the way houses hugged the hills, and became a health resort. The local geology includes some of the oldest rocks in England and a notable fault is named after the town.

The next few hours were a lovely walk down quiet roads as we made our way towards Ludlow. A few steepish hills to walk up (and down) but nothing too strenuous – we even met a couple of lads on a tandem were riding up to John O’Groats.

We walked into Ludlow and our lunch break. Ludlow has nearly 500 listed buildings including examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings. The town was described by Sir John Betjeman as “probably the loveliest town in England”. The placename “Lodelowe” was in use for this site before 1138 and comes from the Old English “hlud-hlǣw”. At the time this section of the River Teme contained rapids, and so the hlud of Ludlow came from “the loud waters”, while hlǣw meant “hill” or tumulus – thus the name Ludlow describes a place on a hill by the loud waters.

As we continued our way to Leominster (pronounced Lemster) the sun continued to shine and we moved from Shropshire into Herefordshire.

Our route took us through Liston and some more lovely old houses – on the way up the hill out of town, Paul managed to flag down a passing Mr Whippy van – the ice creams were very welcome. Not too long after we arrived in Leominster.

This was a long week – we have walked for 7 days straight, covered nearly 210 miles (333 km) in a journey from Carlisle to Leominster. Thankfully tomorrow is a rest day and then we have a mega week before our final rest day.

Huge thanks to Daniel and Barney for their company and for taking the time out to join us on our walk.

And finally, thanks to Utilize_Plc for sponsoring todays leg.

Today David joined us for our walk to Church Stratton, while Toby and Will were still with us.

As usual for an upcoming 50+km day, we had an earlier start and left Whictchurch heading for Church Stretton. Whitchurch is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire, although there is evidence from various discovered artifacts that people lived in this area about 3,000 BC. Flakes of flint from the Neolithic era were found in nearby Dearnford Farm.

Shrewsbury was to be our lunch stop so we headed off down a “quiet” B-road that turned out to be not so quiet at all. Fairly flat farmlands were the main view of the day, and as usual the fields of cows were much more interested in us than we were in them.

We walked through the lovely town of Wem – the name of the town is derived from the Old English wamm, meaning a marsh, as marshy land exists in the area of the town. Over time, this was corrupted to form “Wem”. This area is believed to have been settled prior to the Roman Conquest of Britain, by the Cornovii – Celtic Iron Age settlers.

As we walked into Shrewsbury, we walked along our first sighting of the River Severn (longest river in Great Britain) – we will see it again next week as we cross back from Wales. Its later Welsh name Amwythig means “fortified place”. The town centre has a largely-unspoilt medieval street plan and over 660 listed buildings  including several examples of timber framing from the 15th and 16th centuries. Shrewsbury is the birthplace of Charles Darwin where he lived for 27 years.

Never ones to miss an opportunity, we passed the Shrewsbury HSBC Branch and stopped for a photo, the local team even joining in safely from behind their barrier.

Just as we left Shrewsbury we passed yet another milestone – 900 km walked so far. We then started our walk down the A49 – it was so busy that there was no opportunity for photographs – and we eventually arrived in Church Stretton safe and sound. We said goodbye to Toby and Will – huge thanks to them for joining us for a couple of days – it is much appreciated

Tomorrow we head for Leominster and a day off!

Today we were joined by Toby & Will, so together with Greg, Nick and Helena we were quite a crowd as we headed down the road to Whitchurch.

We left Warrington slightly earlier today as we had a 53km route ahead of us. Warrington was founded by the Romans at an important crossing place on the River Mersey. A new settlement was then established by the Saxons. By the Middle Ages, Warrington had emerged as a market town at the lowest bridging point of the river. The local tradition of textile and tool production dates from this time.

The local branch of HSBC was on our route so we took the opportunity for another photo of us in front of the branch.

We walked past the Warrington Wolves Halliwell Jones stadium (They are nicknamed the Wire after the wire-drawing industry in the town) and then crossed over the Mersey (forgot to take a photo) and the Manchester Ship Canal, of which Construction began in 1887, took six years and cost £15 million (equivalent to about £1.65 billion in 2011).

We walked over the Bridgewater Canal – which is described as the first great achievement of the canal age, although the Sankey Canal opened earlier. Bridgewater captured the public imagination because of its engineering feats; it required the construction of an aqueduct to cross the River Irwell, and a tunnel at Worsley. We then crossed the Acton Swing Bridge across the River Weaver.

An important milestone. – we both have now walked more then one million steps so far – with two weeks walking still to go.

A bit more walking past some nice houses and open countryside and then a nice setting in a pub garden for lunch (no beer unfortunately)

A long walk down the A49 (and dodging a good amount of traffic) in the lovely sunshine and then Greg was there in a layby with Teas and Coffees.

Another long stretch of the A49 (more to come tomorrow) and finally we reached the hotel – a long day indeed – 53.65km. We now say goodbye to Helena, Greg (outstanding chaperone) and Nick – we really do appreciate them taking time out to walk with us.