The perfect walkway

Wednesday 9 May – Sampford Peverell to Bathpool, Taunton

Oh bliss! Oh Joy! No packs today!

After our marathon effort yesterday we decided to see if there was a way to have our packs ferried through to Bathpool. We’d experienced the pleasure of walking without packs at the end of the previous stage, going up to Boscastle, and wanted to treat ourselves. So we asked the landlord at the Globe Inn, where we were staying,  if he knew anyone, and much to our amazement and gratitude, he said he would be driving today past Taunton and would be happy to drop off our packs. (Alex, you’re a legend!)

We set off feeling surprisingly sprightly and continued along the Grand Western Canal.

The canal system is one of Britain’s great achievements of the industrial revolution. While it no longer carries freight, it is incredibly popular for recreation, including canal boating and of course walkers and cyclists using the towpaths. Large stretches are managed by conservation groups or environmentally-minded councils, who not only maintain the network but have created some significant areas for wildlife.

Today we found many interpretative signs about not only the locks and lifts that would have been in place 150 years ago, but also about the wildlife that you can now see. One board was entirely devoted to dragonflies and their relatives!

At one point the canal was paralleled by a railway and the M5 motorway – in succession, the successive dominant transport network of Britain over the past two hundred years..

Canal walking has to be just about the most perfect form of walking – level, peaceful, no vehicles, always interesting. So we very much enjoyed  the fact that the first part of today, and the last, were along canals.

When it fell into disuse some parts were left but others were filled in or drained. Today the Tiverton section is isolated from the Taunton section but there were connecting walks and minor roads, so it was easy to traverse the whole day. We caught a brief glimpse of an A road and were astounded by the traffic and noise – must be getting used to the rural peace and quiet!

Another long day but an enjoyable and satisfying one.

We have now covered 348km, some 19% of the total journey.

Distance today: 30km