Skip to navigation

Walking Land's End to John o'Groats with Mark Moxon

Taunton to Street

The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal

Normally I try to have a rest between two long walking days, but with the bank holiday approaching and Peta coming to visit for a couple of days, I figured I might as well press on to Street and recuperate over the weekend. Not surprisingly, doing a 22-mile day straight after a 24-mile one proved to be a bit of an effort, but yet again there were no hills, at least until the very end, and this helped.

Through the Wetlands

A stook of withies by the River Tone
A stook of withies by the River Tone (a 'stook' being a cone-shaped bundle of harvested corn waiting to be carted off to the thresher, and a 'withy' being a willow stalk used for basket making)

It didn't take long before people started saying hello; a mile along the towpath out of Taunton, and people were jauntily waving 'good morning' as their dogs dribbled happily on my feet. Despite passing through the eastern suburbs of Taunton, which are full of industrial parks, factories and concrete, it didn't take long for the fields to take over, creating a pleasant if unremarkable environment in which to tick off the miles.

Burrow Mump, Burrowbridge
Burrow Mump dominates the little village of Burrowbridge
The River Tone
The River Tone

Burrow Mump

Burrow Mump, Burrowbridge
Burrow Mump, Burrowbridge

Luckily there were two lovely little highlights in the long slog across the wetlands: Burrowbridge and Middlezoy.

A sign saying 'Dog in Horror Attack'
Worrying news on the middle sign outside the Post Office in Middlezoy

The Long Haul to Street

King's Sedgemoor Drain
King's Sedgemoor Drain

The rest of the walk was long, boring and painful. I've already mentioned the tiring grass of King's Sedgemoor Drain, but I also had to contend with a busy mile walking along the edge of the A361, two miles along a completely straight stretch of track called Butleigh Drove that seemed to stretch on forever, and a hike uphill to Walton Hill, which has fantastic views over the wetlands on one side and Glastonbury on the other, but which is a hell of an effort to climb at the end of two long days on the road.

Community Healing Day

Edington Village Hall

On the Day:

Silent Auction, Complementary Therapies, Healing,

Demonstrations, Psychics, Tarot, Stalls and Much More

10.30am to 5pm

I'm intrigued by the thought of psychics running a silent auction, and I dread to think what 'much more' entailed, but not only was the whole event for charity, it fitted the groovy vibe of the local scene so perfectly. How could I complain about aching feet when the earth below me was pulsing with such resonant vitality? All I needed to do was to tune my psychic antennae into the local energy lines, and I'd be there in no time... so I did, and I was.