Another earworm title thanks to Christopher Evans on the drive to the start point. Again, it doesn’t really relate to anything that happened today, or at least, I didn’t think it did at the time.
I knew today was going to be at least sixteen miles – the furthest yet – so I’d prepared myself for a bit of a trial. Things were fine as I set off from Thorpe Satchville, other than not being able to find the path, that is. I took a circuitous route along another footpath to meet up with the Round just outside the church, which I’d walked past, and which it transpires, contained the end of the path I’d been searching for. The map didn’t have the detail to show that it went through the churchyard, and there was no waymark post outside the churchyard from the direction I was coming from.
So, the Round passed by Ashby Folville and Gaddesby just as a person might wave from a distance to someone who didn’t want to talk to them. Both seem perfectly pleasant villages, in fact we stopped for lunch at Ashby Folville when I walked the Round with the Scouts, and we temporarily adopted a cat. I think it’s just an unfortunate case of where the footpaths lie. I also encountered some sheep who attempted to follow me through the kissing gate on the way out of Ashby Folville.
The two and three quarter miles from Gaddesby to Frisby on the Wreake were as featureless and relatively soul destroying as I remember. Don’t get me wrong – it’s very pleasant countryside, the paths are well marked, and there is a variety of field contents – but it’s just two and three quarter miles of going in one direction, one field after the other, along relatively the same contour.
Crossing over the A607 into Frisby was something of the challenge, as a walker only has a thin verge on either side on which to wait for traffic to pass, and it was here that (regrettably) the soles of my feet started to complain. With the absence of an easily locatable bench in Hoby, I decided to stop off at the pub for a drink. I also took the opportunity to have a chat with the barman about what I was up to, and he invited me to park in their carpark the following day, which was nice. The journey back to Thorpe Satchville, through Frisby, Gaddesby and Ashby Folville was, I’ll admit, a struggle. I don’t know whether I’ve already had my day with long distance walking, or whether I can make some adjustments to my footwear, but the soles of my feet were really shouting at me.
So, the east side of the Round is now behind me, and I now head west into the slightly more populated section of the walk, into Mountsorrel.
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