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

Bath to Old Sodbury

Bath Abbey
Bath Abbey

Today is a momentous day, because at last I've reached the Midlands. I was born in the Midlands, brought up in the Midlands, educated in the Midlands and, like all good middle-class Midlands boys, I left for London at the first opportunity. But here I am at last, able to explore the Midlands properly for the first time in my life.

Up and Down

The trig point on Penn Hill
The trig point on Penn Hill

Unfortunately coming home hasn't helped solve my problems. I expected the walk from Land's End to John o'Groats to be physically demanding and I thought the sheer length of it would be a mental challenge, but I never thought it would swing me through so many emotions in one day. Today I woke up grumpy, forced myself to cheer up, wore myself down to self-pity and ended the day hopping mad. I'm still hopping mad, even after a long, hot bath and a pint of Bob (the local Gloucestershire ale here in Old Sodbury). I'll try to explain why.

A memorial saying 'Sarah Louise Gray Died Here 17.11.95 Aged 17'
A memorial by the Cotswold Way on Kelston Round Hill
A Cotswold Way marker
A Cotswold Way marker

Anger Management

The view west from the Cotswold Way, looking towards Bristol
The view west from the Cotswold Way, looking towards Bristol

From that minute on, things took a downhill dive. My attempts to cheer myself up took a back seat to the searing pain in my heels, and the walk changed from a moody jaunt through the countryside into the kind of physical ordeal that I'm all too familiar with after 250 miles of it. However, there was one positive outcome; my self-pity turned to anger.

Dyrham Park
Dyrham Park
A field with a path through the crops
Walking through the fields on the Cotswold Way
Strip lynchets near Dyrham
Strip lynchets near Dyrham
Barley near Dyrham
Barley near Dyrham
Cold Ashton Church
Cold Ashton Church

The Walk

Blisters on Mark's right foot after the first day of the Cotswold Way
Blisters on my right foot after the first day of the Cotswold Way

So I had a bad day, but what about the walk itself? Ah hell, I wasn't paying much attention, what with my itching legs, searing heels and short temper, but it was mostly gorgeous English countryside, with great but hazy views over the plains to the west and some classic Cotswold villages with their distinctive oolite limestone buildings and picture-perfect settings. It was exactly what I was expecting the Cotswold Way to be like, and I can't complain.