Bath

Today has been a good day on the way, despite the claggy mud. The weather held out and didn’t rain until 1700ish, giving me almost two hours spare.

I fuelled up with an omelette for breakfast before hitting the trail at 0830hrs. The route went to Tormarton and over the M4 before cutting across farmland.

It remained flat until 10 miles in, where the route dipped down into a valley and back up. There was a message box halfway up a steep section. I paused to have a read and add my own; it gave me an excuse to have a rest.

Once out of the valley I arrived at the site of the Battle of Lansdown. Where Sir William Waller for the parliamentary fought against Sir Ralph Hopton for the Royalists. They were childhood friends but ended on opposite sides of the war.

As I was making my way around the empty field, I met a walking group who were being led by two volunteers for the Cotswold Way Association. They spied my backpack and stopped for a chat. Apparently I can upload a picture of me at the abbey on their website’s “hall of fame” for completing the whole way.

It remained level from here until I skirted around Bath racecourse where I got my first glimpse of the end point. Still two hours of walk ahead of me; I pressed on.

I still had one more hill to tackle before the finish line; Primrose Hill. This sits between Weston and Bath. After cresting this it was a leisurely descent to the finish line.

Outside the abbey it was very crowded so I couldn’t get to the end point plaque; I returned later once the rain had chased everyone away.

Inside the abbey, it reminded me of Leon cathedral, with the high ceilings and stained glass windows. After a walk around Bath, I got some food and retired to my hotel to rest my weary legs.