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Bewdley to Pattingham

Victoria Bridge
Victoria Bridge

If there's one thing you don't expect from a publication like McCloy's guidebook, it's the kind of fundamental error I spotted the other night. Don't get me wrong – overall it's a great book, and without it this walk would be a hell of a lot harder – but between Bewdley and Penkridge it comes off the rails totally.

Staffordshire, Not

A sign saying 'No Fly Zone'
This sign was on display everywhere in Shropshire

This morning I spent the first couple of hours wandering along the Severn again, dodging drops of rain that soaked the grass but brought the temperature down to a perfect walking level. I finally waved goodbye to the river at Upper Arley, just after the impressive Victoria Bridge, the largest iron bridge of its day; it was quite a sad event saying goodbye to my travelling companion of the last few days, but we both took it on the chin, him with his usual calmness and me with the Zen-like quality of someone who's been happily meditating for the last few days.

A field in Shropshire
Walking through Shropshire farmland

Staffordshire Knot

The Staffordshire border
Entering Staffordshire

After stopping in the pretty Shropshire village of Claverley for a lunchtime pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord, a refreshingly bitter brew that quite knocked me for six after the long hike along the roads of Shropshire, I finally reached the genuine Staffordshire border. This time I knew I'd got the right place, for a big blue sign by the roadside proclaimed that, at last, I really am home. I was also intrigued to see the Staffordshire coat of arms on the sign; I couldn't quite work out what the animals were, although they seemed happy enough doing whatever it is that heraldic animals do, but at least I understood the motto. 'The knot unites,' it said underneath the flowery design, and although I thought for a minute it was leading up to a tasteless joke about dyslexia, it was, of course, referring to the Staffordshire knot. To Staffs people the knot is up there with pottery kilns and Robbie Williams as symbols of county pride, and I entered Staffordshire happy in the knowledge that this time I'd got the right place.

The Staffordshire coat of arms
The Staffordshire coat of arms
Claverley
Claverley
Claverley
Claverley

Unkempt Layabout

A sandstone cutting by the side of the road
Sandstone north of Claverley

On the other hand, when I woke up in the morning and went down to breakfast, Terry told me a story.

A sandstone cutting by the side of the road
Sandstone north of Claverley