This was it. Some two years after I started officially walking the Severn Way, I was due to complete my personal journey from Bristol to Tewkesbury.
I left my car outside of the village hall in Apperley and set off walking in search of the River Severn.
It feels like only last week that I was writing about August, with thoughts of the summer waving goodbye for another year. October has arrived very suddenly. I’ve had quite a busy month, as you’ll see below.
Coming to the end of the second month of this relatively new year, I decided to head out and tackle my next section of the Severn Way. On the previous day, I’d attended a fairly ‘undemanding’ group walk around Somerset. While it had been be nice to meet with people and experience the unseasonal shine of the sun, I was craving a bit of alone time and at least one hill, before returning to work the next day.
I like to think that a great proportion of the British public are already aware that the infamous toll charges for crossing the River Severn in to Wales have now been scrapped. Where a car would’ve recently had to pay £5.60 for the privilege of a day’s walk in the Brecon Beacons, we can all now make that journey without that added expense.
On the day before this significant event, I drove up to South Gloucestershire for a familiar walk along the Severn Way and above the active toll booths for one final time.
Following on from a recent post in which I shared with you seven of my hiking mistakes, I’m now going to reveal some of my personal successes that have made this year a memorable. Even though it’s not quite over yet and there is still time for more.
Three weeks after leaving the trail near Elmore, I returned to my journey along the Severn Way, having started the day in Gloucester and followed the canal towpath to the point at which I previously left off.
My previous walk of making progress in my walk along the Severn Way was all the way back in April, would you believe! I’d never intended to leave it this long in between. A ‘busy’ summer played its part in that.
So far, I’ve followed the trail north from Bristol and, at the time of writing, I’m about to enter Gloucester in my next walk. Beyond that, I’m only looking to trek as far as Tewkesbury, while the Severn Way continues for another 150 miles or more.
