Yes, Depeche Mode again, from Violator, and very appropriate. I said hello to a couple of people aboard canal boats at Shackerstone and to a chap walking his dog when I got back to Nailstone, but other than that, I didn’t speak to a soul.
It’s odd – it was only 13.25 miles today, one of the shortest days so far, but it still felt tough.I was in fairly good spirits, and I knew the route like the back of my hand, so I can’t really understand why it felt so tough. I suppose it’s just the cumulative thing.
Anyway, so I set off from Nailstone, slightly later than usual due to another lie in (I’m liking those), and journeyed across the fields to Odstone. From here, there is a mile’s worth of rutted track, and a short hop across a couple of fields to the canal at Shackerstone. A very pleasant little village, although I’ve never actually been into the centre of it – I only know of it because of the Leicestershire Round and it being the northern-most terminus of the Battlefield Line.
Due to the footbridge that carries the Round across the railway being unsafe, there has been a diversion in place for some years now. The original diversion followed the canal south, and then relied on Barton Lane to link up with the Round again to the east. The new diversion is far better, using an existing bridlepath east from the canal, and then a permissive path south to link up with the Round.
Aside from the brief, and welcome, interruption that is Carlton, the Round is very much just field after field until yet another golf course on the way into Market Bosworth. As per tradition, I had lunch in Market Bosworth, and against my own advice, sat for a while to rest my legs.
There are now only 66.4 miles to go, and 5 days. That’s just over 13 miles a day, but the way it works out, I still have a 16 mile day from Fosse Meadows to Dunton Bassett, if I’m to save myself a short walk on the final day.
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