Just to finish yesterday-within 500 m of the Iron Age Fort I was crossing the M5
and then walking alongside it for a mile. It seemed appropriate that I spent the night at a motorway services.
Today was a long day so it began at 8. Walking across the car park I wondered whether to explain to the motorway police collecting their breakfasts that I was not going to JOG via the motorway but the map did show a public footpath, it fitted with the lie of the land, and I was confident so just walked off the car park into thr bushes-and there was a little track. Over towards a church, down towards the river and I picked up the Avon Cycleway. First bridge of the day was the M5 bridge over the Avon
The subsequent walk through woodland was a delight-a nice quiet moist fresh air under the trees. With bluebells.
The Severn Way has several characters. The wooded hill in the middle of the suburbs was lovely but then became frustrating as the path became overgrown even though it was still signed. It was then dismal as it ran for over a kilometre between industrial units and Bristol’s sewage works. Then it was grim-running between a railway line and a road. Overgrown, poorly signed, blighted by rubbish wherever access from the road allowed. It was a miserable 2 km and I was running an hour behind schedule. Then for the last km before Severn Beach it improved dramatically. Clean, open, obviously used and valued by the community.
At 12 I stopped for “a pot of tea for two” and vegetable soup. After that my next 6 km to Aust took only 70 min. There were lovely views across the estuary, interest as I passed under the M4 bridge, views of the M48 bridge I was going to use.
and an extensive saltmarsh though with not many birds.
Rehydrating at a pub in Aust and then 45 min to cross the bridge
I got to Chepstow before 5 then in the morning I feared well after 6.
Tomorrow is another long day to Monmouth.
