Days 46 to 60.

Wednesday 28th June - Day 60

Market Lavington Km 25 Miles 16

The day dawned clear and bright and Westy seemed to have a very settled night. When I came down in the morning, I caught him leaning over the fence stealing Cow Parsley!

Westy at East Kennet

We said goodbye to the family and wished Peter luck on his trip to Ulan Bator! Rather him than me I think.

Leaving East Kennet

We then had the most glorious ride up on to the hills south of East Kennet. The bridleway gradually climbed uphill through large arable fields with a variety of crops including one with a beautiful blue flower which I did not recognise. The combination of these “blue” fields, various tones of “green” fields as well as splashes of yellow rape and red poppy made a spectacular setting. From the top we crossed the Wansdyke, admired the view toward Salisbury Plain and set off down the steep descent passed Clifford’s Hill.

North from Wansdyke

From the top of the hill the larks and various helicopters provided the sound effects. Particularly striking was a Chinook helicopter , the “whomph whopmh” of which could be clearly heard from behind a hill but was it never seen. We also had one fly low overhead yesterday but Westy ignored. How wise.

South to Salisbury Plain from Wansdyke

After that we passed through a few small villages and climbed up again onto Salisbury Plain at the wonderfully named Chirton Maggot! We were then on track around the edge of the Plain. The odd boom of exploding ordnance could be heard from time to time and we passed groups of soldiers looking busy under camouflage netting.

The view was again spectacular. In one direction back towards the hills we had crossed that morning and in the other across the Plain to faint hills in the west. We were pushed off the track slightly earlier than intended as it was closed for repairs and a call to Peter established that he was not yet in situ at the base for that night. I called Gail Worthy whose yard we were camping in and she met me in Easterton village and escorted me to her yard.

From Salisbury Plain

It really is a five star base. A choice of perfect fenced paddocks and/or a stable, lots of room for the lorry plus easy access water and power, a great view not to mention perfect mobile phone and TV reception so am watching Wimbledon while writing this!

To cap it all Gail then drove me back up onto Salisbury Plain so we could establish how much of the road was closed for repairs and plan tomorrow’s route accordingly and has lent us a vehicle for the evening.

What more could we want!

Tuesday 27th June - Day 59

East Kennet Avebury (as in the Rings)
Km 42 miles 26

We managed to leave Oliver House Stud at 7.30 despite a late night after a great dinner with Nicky and Charles together with Peter Cross who had arrived to take over from Robin and Abbey and Kim and another guest Penny Reid who is the BHS bridleway representative for Berkshire and a very good endurance rider. For those who have been at Ashurst long enough to remember Richard James, Penny and Richard were once an item and according to Penny Richard used to name deals after her!

Me with Nicky, Kim, Martin, Freddie, Plum and Daphs

Anyway after photos and goodbyes we set of for Westy's first day. I was pleased to see him in very good form spooking and snorting through Chedglow on our way out.

We headed south through north Wiltshire on a mixture of tracks roads and bridleways with the usual minor problems of tied up gates, finding the route, electric fencing and curious cows.

We passed under the M4 near Wooton Bassett and on to a section where you could see all the military aircraft taking off and landing at RAF Lyneham.

For once the bridleway was down the edge of mown fields and we even had some lovely canters though restrained Westy who was up for a gallop. I told him he needed to save his energy!

Finally to Avebury with stones, traffic and tourists which Westy decided were more scary that the Glasgow commuter traffic.

We were staying with Jill and Philip Loveday who were friends of the Barlings from a couple of nights ago. Peter and Jill had walked out to meet us so there was no possibility of us getting lost.!

Westy had a huge field with lots of grass so after letting him relax in it all for a couple of hours, penned him in a sheltered corner under a tree.

We had a great dinner with the family. Jill and Philip's son Peter is about to drive to Ulan Bator with a bunch of other people. The only rule for joining in seems to be that your car must be less than 1000cc and old!

Monday 26th June - Day 58

Chedglow Rest Day

Today we are swapping the horses. We are close enough to home for Drew to get there and back in one day. We are staying with Nicky and Charles Schrager and their three fantastic daughters, Vittoria (Plum) Frederika (Freddie) and Daphne (Daphs) . It is very generous of Nicky and Charles to have us to stay as Charles has just broken his leg very badly in a riding accident. We will try and be as little trouble as possible.! Plum has very kindly allowed Robin and I to sleep in her bedroom which has a view out on to the stable yard so I can keep an eye on Monty/Westy, and Freddie has kept us well entertained.

We have also discovered that Daphs was born premature and with a rare lung problem and was successfully treated at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital which is being supported by the Ride. She is now five and full of fun and energy. All of the family have said how wonderful the hospital was and they are all convinced the Hospital saved Daphs life.

It seems a real coincidence that the night after we stayed with a family so closely associated with the Fortune Centre, we are now staying with a family so closely associated with Great Ormond Street. It also reinforces for the me the purpose of the Ride and makes me more determined to reach our total of £40,000. I am quite worried about this as there does not seem to be so much money coming in at the moment and we still have a long way to go to reach the target.

Sunday 25th June - Day 57

Chedglow Km 38 Miles 24

The next morning, after breakfast we set off before it got too hot. Caroline cycled to the main road with me and her father David also escorted us in his car!!

The next couple of miles were very social as friends of Caroline and Lawn that we passed on the route stopped to ask about the ride and kindly made donations. The ride itself was lovely. Gentle hills and Cotswold villages with summer gardens. A good part of the ride was on bridleways. One was quite tricky to find the start of but we had a bigger problem on another. ( William, it was on a section between Woodlands and Shawswell, just north of Rendcombe). The first part of the bridleway was easy to find across a field. On the other side of the (large) field, although there was no sign the bridleway clearly went through gate. The only problem was that there was electric fencing , which went around the whole field in front of the gate! A quick look at the map indicated that there was no obvious alternative. A closer look at the fence established that there was in fact a join in the wire in front of the gate where the two ends of the wire were twisted together. I could easily deal with this with my trusty Leatherman but only if the electric fence was not switched on!! There was no stock in the field so I took a deep breath and touched the wire with some grass and when there was no reaction, with my finger. Hurrah! It was not switched on!! Ten minutes later we were on our way!

Monty, Lawn and Judy

Further on we passed through the corner of Cirencester Park which, along with the lanes around my Sister’s home is I think the only section of the route I have ridded on before so that was a strange feeling. We passed through all the polo pitches just as people and ponies were arriving. On then to the next village Coates to the home of Sue and Andrew Bowden where Sarah Barling rides every week. Monty and I stopped there for lunch. Monty with a haynet and me a delicious lunch under the apple trees. The Barlings came along and other friends who help Sarah with her riding.

Lunch with Sue and Andrew Bowden and friends

After lunch Sue, Grace and, wonderfully, Sarah joined me for some of the ride on. Sarah was riding a pretty black Fell pony called Greta. Other friends came with us on bikes and on foot , and then Robin arrived on his bike having, coincidently stopped for lunch at a nearby pub!

Sarah rode with us all the way through the next two villages, Tarlton and Rodmarton which was brilliant. We walked and trotted and Sarah even went to the front on the “forward going “ Greta!!

Sarah and Greta with Judy and Monty

Just after Rodmarton we met up with Andrew and a trailer, so Sue and Sarah went home but Grace, who swapped on to Greta, came on with me a Robin to Chedglow where we were spending the night, part of the route being down the Fosse Way.

I was so pleased that we managed to organise things so that Sarah could ride with me and I think she did wonderfully well to come so far!! Thanks as well to Sue Bowden for making it possible.

Saturday 24th June - Day 56

Hazleton Km 16 Miles 10

A very interesting day. Thanks first to Cathy and David at Longwood Farm for letting us stay there. We have had some spectaculars views from the lorry along the way but I think the view to Cheltenham was definitely one of the best!! Also thanks to David for letting me have temporary “hacking rights” over Cleeve Common!

I had planned a short day to give Monty a break so it worked perfectly with the offer of accommodation from Caroline and Lawn Barling, whose daughter Sarah was a student at the Fortune Centre. I then discovered that Williams’s route took me through Salperton Park and that the horse trials were on there that weekend. I immediate called Peter Griffiths and though his contacts the organisers agreed that we could go along and see if we could raise some funds!!

It was a very hot day, and after a few navigational difficulties and swarms of murderous horse flies we arrived at the horse trials, suitable attired in with pink rug of Hexham fame!! Monty was convinced he in for something exciting and bounced around in a way that belied the many miles of the last couple of weeks. We then met up with the Barlings and spent a pleasant couple of hours in the middle of civilisation. A slightly strange feeling!! Monty had by this time decided that whole thing as a prime opportunity to graze and was not as co operative as he might have been but who can blame him!

We then left to go the short distance to Hazleton and the Barlings beautiful old farmhouse home. We corralled Monty in a field with lots of grass and had a lovely relaxed evening with Caroline, Lawn and Sarah. Robin is an architect and completely fell in love with the house and I could see things ticking over madly in his architects brain!

Friday 23rd June - Day 55

Woodmancote near Cheltenham Km38 Miles 24

Yesterday, from the Malvern Hills I could see the hills around Cheltenham and today we are on those hills and can see back to the Malvern Hills. The lorry is parked with the most stunning view into Cheltenham over the racecourse, quite appropriate a watching Royal Ascot on the telly in the lorry!

Hills at Cheltenham

A very pleasant ride today lovely weather, no great dramas, no pigs. It is quite odd being so close to Cheltenham. I was last here in March for the Festival and it is the first place on the Ride where we have crossed tracks with somewhere I have visited so recently. The last stretch of the ride today was up Cleeve Hill where I was met by William who walked the last track with me and helped me settle Monty into the Yard where he keeps his horse at Longwood Farm. Thanks so much to William for all the help and support he has given me over the last few months .

View from Cleeve Hill to the Malverns

Diane has made a bolt for civilisation at the first possible opportunity and will be back in London by now. It has been brilliant having some female company. All crew to date have been men other than Honor and Jane for a couple of days last weekend.

Longwood Farm - Cleeve Hill

Robin is arriving this evening. I think I will sit and look at the view for an hour or so before getting o with all the other things I need to do!

Thursday 22nd June - Day 54

Druggers End (!!) Nr Malvern Km 26 Miles 17

Day started badly with Monty rolling with his saddle on!! My fault for not tying him up but only left him for five minutes and he had already had a roll that morning! Anyway no damage done!! Felt much better after Sandy’s B&B breakfast and a good look at the views from their garden. Thanks to Alan for the taxi service to the pub last night for supper and to Sandy for looking after us above and beyond the call of duty!!

The day got even better as the ride progressed along some pretty lanes, and woods punctuated with some tricky sections . The first was an unrideable steep down hill section where I had the usual trouble stopping Monty from Knocking me over!. The second was a narrow gate which opened inward onto a small platform of oak tree roots. I suspect the soil had been eroded around the roots creating the platform. The tricky bit was that I could not open the gate inward with Monty on the platform, but could not reach the gate to open it if Monty was not on the platform!! Anyway we muddled through.

We then hit the Malvern Hills and the stunning views forever across the region. Navigation was quite tricky on the Hills not aided by forgetting to look at the map because of the views! A really beautiful section of the ride with wonderful blustery weather (positively windy higher up the hills).

View from the Malverns 1

View from the Malverns 2

The down to the completely flat Castlemorton Common and the wonderfully named Druggers End. The village does not have a name sign any more because every time on was put up it got stolen!!

Home tonight is with Sarah Limbrick together with innumerable horses, dogs, cats, peacocks (lots of displaying going on!!) and chickens of several different varieties!!

Sarah is the BHS Press officer for Gloucestershire and by the time I arrived a photographer was booked for 4pm!! Monty is rather dismissive of the Press and uncooperative in staying where the photographers want him. Have developed a technique of holding small quantities of pony nuts/polos on one hand which seems to focus his attention!!

We than had a visit from William Reddaway the BSH Access officer for Gloucestershire who has been fantastically helpful with the route and places to stay . He pointed put a few tricky bits on the route tomorrow and gave Diane detailed instruction as to where to park the lorry tomorrow night.

The resident goat

A longer day tomorrow to Cleve Hill outside Cheltenham.

Wednesday 21st June - Day 53

Alfrick near Worcester km 28 miles 17

A pretty uneventful day by yesterday' standards. Monty was a bit jaded to start with, not surprisingly, but perked up as the day went on, and by the end was sufficiently switched on to put in a major spook at some inoffensive metalwork in a field.

The high points of the day were definitely the views. Early on the lane tracked a ridge with great views along a valley of the really pretty Worcestershire countryside.

We then crossed to the other side of the valley from where we could see the Malvern Hills and finally as we crossed over a ridge towards Alfrick where we are staying a whole new vista opened with views for miles to the north toward Birmingham.

The Cherry Trees - Alfrick

We also passed through some lovely villages with chocolate box cottages and typical English country gardens. Also lots of old Tudor style cottages and houses.

Tonight we have a comfortable bed in a B and B and Monty has a field with the inevitable stunning view!

Tuesday 20th June - Day 52

Abberley km 47 29 miles

The day dawned bright and clear and I was on my way before 7.30.

Not long before we hit a problem in the shape of a large pink pig with black spots (what breed is that?) Monty really does not like them at all and it took 5 minutes of coaxing and, after I had decided he was not that scared, serious vocal encouragement, before he snorted his way past.

We then progressed to some beautiful tracks on another bridle route called the Jack Mytton Way. Not sure who Jack Mytton was but the logo on the very good signage suggested he might have been a jockey.

The next section was Wyre Forest which did remind me of the New Forest though horses are restricted to a very limited number of tracks.

As we were leaving the Forest the track was narrow and led into the back of some closely packed out buildings. Monty's pig detector was working overtime and he suddenly started backwards at speed down the path!

Recognising the now familiar signs I got off into waist deep stinging nettles and employed the same tactics as before. As we scuttled past, it became apparent that the buildings were deserted but there was an old faded overgrown sign saying "Pig Breeding Unit"!

The final excitement of the Ride was at "Joan's Hole". The route was through a nice field and then dipped down towards a tree lined river. There was an awkward gate and immediately after a foot bridge across the river and a sign (which I did not see at first) indicating that the bridleway followed the riverbed. To paint the picture, it was very dark and dank under the trees and the river looked muddy and uninviting. We started down the river and Monty immediately fell in a hole. We moved on with care but it was a pretty horrible route. We staggered on for about 50 yards with no sign of an exit route. Eventually Monty took matters into his own hands ( hoofs) and stumbled up a steep bank. This made matters worse as the path we joined only led to another un crossable footbridge back across the river.

The only option was to go back down the bank into the river! Not surprisingly Monty was not impressed with this idea but, bless him, he eventually plucked up courage to slide down the muddy bank (again much vocal encouragement) and through an equally uninviting muddy pool in the river up to his stomach narrowly avoiding wiping me off on a tree!!

Fortunately at that point our exit route materialised and we both thankfully escaped into a nice safe grassy field!

We were "home" shortly after that. Phew. A lovely farm full of beautiful show horses. Thanks so much to Margaret and Brian for putting us up. A long day today a shorter one tomorrow.

Bridle way approach to Abberley

Diane has done a great job with the lorry and supper and is sleeping in Margaret and Brian's lorry tonight. We are currently watching England Sweden on the telly in the lorry which has remarkably good reception today.

Monday 19th June - Day 51

Morville

It might be a day off but a long list of things to do ! The priority was to find somewhere to stay tomorrow which we have now done but it took all morning and in the end a chain of about five phone calls!!

Diane has been busily chasing down press contact s and secured an interview with Telford FM Radio and we had a photographer from the Shropshire Star has been out to photograph us as well!!

Have also been doing some route and accommodation planning for the next few days so all in all not much of a day off.

The weather is much cooler with intermittent slight showers. I gather we can expect more rain over the next few days!

Longish day tomorrow as we head for Warwickshire.

Sunday 18th June - Day 50

Morville (near Bridge north) 33KM 21 Miles

It was a shorter day today. It is amazing how much shorter riding 20 miles feels that 25!!

It was another great morning and I left the deserted yard about 8am. Thanks so much to Margaret Winnard for putting us up.

The first landmark was Lizard Hill which begs the question (in fact two) whether the village was named after the Hill, or if the Hill was named after the village. In either case why “lizard”? Anyway there were some very nice grassy bridleways around the Hill making a pleasant start to the day. The weather had by this stage clouded over and cooled which, together with a slight breeze to keep the flies off made for almost perfect riding conditions though it was necessary to supplement the T shirt with a fleece.

Lizard Hill

We then had to cross over the top of the M54 and then follow a bridleway back down the side of it. I am glad it was 9am Sunday morning!! More decent bridleways and minor roads to Coalport south of Telford where there is a small bridge across the River Severn. The only snag was that there was some sort of paddle boat race on the Severn, complete with much vocal encouragement from the bridge and neighbouring pub! The bridge was single file traffic with a queue on both sides so Monty and I had to wait and take our turn to cross!! There was also a 6’6’’ height restrictions so I had to duck under that to the amusement of the crowds on the bridge watching the race. Monty of course took it all in his stride.

Crossing the M54

The track continued parallel to (but without sight of) the River so there was a constant melody of shouts and screams as we made or way. We left that track for a series of intermittently signed and heavily gated bridleways. My PDA/GPS system is invaluable in finding the start and course of some of these bridleways. I have no idea how people find them without!!

River Severn at Coalport

The Sabrina Way passes through the Croft at Morville our home for the night. Annabel Wadlow has kindly agreed we can stay here even though she is away this weekend. Many thanks for this hospitality.
Jane and Guido had already set up the lorry when I arrived and done some shopping and had lunch ready and waiting!!

We showed Monty his field and gave him a feed. He never eats his feed with so much enthusiasm in a field, principally I think because of the competing distraction of grass, the (inevitable) sheep and things to look at generally. Still he ate most of it!

Jane Guido and Alessando had not been able to find any local B&B accommodation so relinquished their crewing duties and headed back to London. Diane, crew for the week arrived about 9pm and we managed to get the tent up for her before it got dark, a triumph.

A day off tomorrow.

Saturday 17th June - Day 49

Weston under Lizard (Telford) - Km 42 Miles 26

A much nicer Ride today! Left Ingestre at 7.30 with Trigger holed up under the ramp of the lorry til Jane and Guido arrived.

We retraced our steps to Great Heywood then into Cannock Chase. The uncluttered space in the cool morning was a great contrast from the hot roads of the previous day and reminded me just a tad of home and the New Forest. After that Teddesley Park where the land owner had kindly opened a gate for us then under the M6, just below junction 13.

Leaving Cannock Chase

Most of the rest of the ride was a series of bridleways across farm land. All more or less accessible and with the usual mixture of gates, going animals crops and farmyards. A special feature were a number of bridges with a step on and off and gates at both ends. They were generally quite awkward and it was necessary to dismount but Monty crossed all without hesitation Peter (Cross) will be pleased to note.

Staffordshire bridleway

As we approached Weston under Lizard (where did it get its name from?) word reached that Jane and Guido had picked up the lorry from Ingestre and it was duly installed at Weston Mill Stables just outside Weston Park.

Guido, Jane and Alessandro had walked a little way to meet me which was great!! We washed off Monty and he attacked his feed with gusto ( I feared for the structure of the stable at one point) in sharp contrast to his indifference to food of earlier in the ride. Its a great relief that he is eating and one less thing to worry about. He is chipper, and seems to be coping very well at the moment.

Finally a bath (hurrah, small things like a bath take on great importance in circumstances such as these) and pub supper outside in the garden with Alessandro (age 18 months) demonstrating exceptional skill with a football wearing his pyjamas (Jane had fondly imagined he might go to sleep!) The question is will he play for England, Wales or Italy!!

A shorter day tomorrow and then a day off!

Friday 16th June - Day 48

Injestre Km 45 Miles 28

To be honest today was a bit boring. It was nice warm day but most of the long 45 km was roads (initially past two large noisy cement works with lots of large lorries even at 7.30 in the morning!) and the off road element was smelly farms with tricky gates or so overgrown and boggy I could have been in the Amazon! On one narrow verdant section, I had to tie Monty up while I manhandled a branch from the track fighting off nettles and brambles in the process. Still at least I could get through so better than yesterday from that point of view.

Still the place we are staying tonight has made it all worthwhile! We are at Ingestre Stables which is an Equestrian College with style!! It is the stable quadrangle of the Ingestre Estate and very impressive it is too. You enter the quadrangle through an arch three stories high and the stables student accommodation and other necessary elements of the College are around the square. The lorry is parked directly opposite the archway and Monty is in a
stable with friends all around though when I looked at him a few minutes ago he was lying flat out in his stable snoring!! I hope he has sweet dreams. Thanks to everyone here for making us feel so welcome and looking after us.

Ingestre

Peter has now left which is a shame as he and Monty have really hit it off and Monty seems to behave better for Peter than anyone else!! Perhaps is the name “Peter” that Monty likes! Peter has gone to see his daughter Lara competing at an international dressage competition in France. Drew and Alex’s daughter Emily is also competing there as well.! Good luck to Lara and Emily!!

Friends Jane and Guido (and godson Alessandro age 18 months) are coming to crew till Diane arrives on Sunday. They thought they were coming to say hello to me for the weekend but seem to been roped in for rather more. It will be great to see them.

A longish day tomorrow as well so I hope Monty is still sleeping soundly!

Thursday 15th June - Day 47

Waterhouse km 34 miles 21.

Better weather today but navigational difficulties spoilt what would have been a very pretty ride.

Not long after hitting the road (actually a disused railway) we left the Pennine Bridleway for the Sabrina Way ("SW"). Whilst the SW is way marked it is not as comprehensive as that on the PB.

Pennine Bridleway from Royal Oak

It was fine to start with provided you kept your eyes open for the small signs and paid close attention to the map. The GPS was not operational as, for complicated reasons the kit had not been recharged the night before but in fact that was never the problem.

Sabrina Way, Staffordshire

The route was through little "dales" i,e. steep sided grassy valleys and small lanes. A few hills but Monty was pleased to note nothing like the last few days.

The first problem was a fallen tree, comprehensively blocking a steep narrow cobbled hill, causing a detour of about 30 minutes.

Blocked bridleway

Back on track we came to the start of a path off the road which I am sure was part of the rote but un marked. We started down it but soon came to an unopenable gate causing a 45 minute excursion.

Where we rejoined the route, I was unable to find any SB signs or to find the next bridleway in a farm. All the signs were for footpaths and the way to the farm where the map indicated the bridleway to start was blocked by an un gated cattle grid.

Things took a turn for the worse when Monty convinced himself that there were pigs in the vicinity ( though could not see any) and dived into a field, started snorting and refused to leave the field. After some time he was persuaded to lead back past the dreaded barns but snorting and leaping at any small distraction.

At this point I decided discretion was the better part of valour and settled for another significant detour. Fortunately we were not far from home at this point.

The trials and tribulations of a long distance rider!

Monty at Waterhouses

I do hope this is not typical of days to come on the SB which we will now be on for more than a week!

Wednesday 14th June - Day 46

Hurdlow near Buxton 41Km 25 miles.

With lots of good byes to Rachel Thomas and Lottie we set off from Rock farm before 8am. A huge thank you to Rachel for looking after us so well for two days at a great place to stay on the Pennine Bridleway.

Rachel, Lottie and Thomas at Rock Farm

The first section of the ride was through the edge of the Peak District. We passed over the flanks of Lantern Peak and along pretty wooded valleys. The tracks were generally very good with only short rocky sections. Rachel had promised it would be a good ride and she was right.

We met four riders on the Bridleway who were on their way to Rock Farm so stopped for a good chat with them.

The weather which was overcast and pleasantly cool when we started the ride gradually began to close. We came through a smelly farm and descended steeply on a zig zag path into a narrow gorge with steep limestone walls. There was a river at the bottom with a long narrow wooden bridge which Monty, bless him, crossed no problem. The. PB signage the other side was a bit confusing and initially we went the wrong way. I tried to fire up the GPS to check the way but the gorge was deep and woody so no signal. Matters were not helped by it starting to rain in earnest and Monty prancing around as there were pigs in the vicinity. Still we found the way and Monty calmed down so no problem.

Fortunately, as I had not brought a raincoat, were not far from home. On the last section we were met by my friend Sarah and Grace (age 3) and Edward ( age 15 months). I met Sarah riding in Africa though her riding activities and holidays in Africa have been somewhat curtailed by the arrival of Grace and Edward.

We reached the lorry soon after, parked at the Royal Oak pub at Hurdlow. It is now in the charge of Peter Griffiths from Ashurst who did the handover with Robin at Buxton Station!

We created a sheltered coral for Monty under a tree in the corner of a field next to the pub and then we all (me, Peter and Sarah plus two) squashed into the "living" area of the lorry for tea and chocolate cake!

Tomorrow we have a small section of PB left then on to the Sabrina Way!