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Off I went at 7:30, showered, socks washed tied on my pack to dry in the sun. I walked across green fields, shaded lanes and minor roads towards Cheddar. I stopped at a butchers in the pretty little village of Wedmore. They were still making up the pasties they advertised so I settled for a very good pork pie and a can of Fanta orange and sat on a bench next to the pretty little Bluebird Cafe eating breakfast number one. My second breakfast would be in Cheddar, with not many places to stop for a while after that.

As I had a mobile signal, I gave Helen a quick call to discuss where we would meet the following afternoon . She had booked us in to swanky hotel in the Cotswolds and I was going to have another rest day. Explaining yesterday’s issues with the bull the dog and so on and that I was now just over a day behind I got the impression she thought that I was shirking. “Get moving” she said. I think she believes I spend most of my day sitting in the pub. 

I do spend quite some time in pubs but they are important places. This is why pubs are important to me. Obviously, pubs provide much needed sustenance. They also have Wi-Fi so I can catch up with messages and update my blog. They’re a really good place to meet people (sometimes I go hours without meeting anyone on the trail). Pubs are good places to shelter from heavy rain. You can refill your water bottles at pubs. I’m sure there are even more vital and unique things, which I’ll mention when I think of them.

The walk towards Cheddar was incident free and very pleasant, the latter parts spent walking along the side of the river Yeo. I arrived at Cheddar, had my second breakfast, published day 8 of my blog and headed off up the steep hill towards Beacon Batch to join the Limestone Link.

I took the same path up the southern side of the gorge that I walked four years ago with good friends from Clapham. There were great views at the top, although it was very rocky climbing down the other side. Where the path crossed the road and the path around the northern part of the gorge began, I went straight on past Black Rock and then with easy walking gradually up the hill over grassy meadows to Beacon  Batch.

I was still making pretty good time today, free of navigational incidents. I’d had to stop for a while before the summit though, to dry my tent, deal with a couple of hot spots on my feet and transfer money to daughter number 1 for her birthday.

At Beacon Batch I joined the Limestone Link which did not begin well. It took me down off the ridge around quite a nice wood and then marched me straight back up to the top of the ridge again on a long straight road, describing three sides of a square for a total distance of about a mile. Walking a  quarter of a mile along the ridge would’ve been preferable. However, the link then began to redeem itself taking me straight as a die down a cart track with beautiful views to my left of the valleys below. I was making rapid progress towards my next destination, Compton Martin and the Ring O Bells pub. My plan was to eat and then catch up lost mileage so Helen might stop calling me a slacker.

The Ring O’Bells was a great pub. I had a pint of cider (had to be done, I was in Somerset after all), a fabulous pulled pork with anchovies starter and a Kofta grain bowl. I was craving vegetables, pulses and more variety in my diet!

I left the pub at 6:30 and the rest did me good. Before long. I came to Whistley lane, a candidate for my list of best place names I’ve walked past. I may post a page with place names and try and rank them in some way. Sadly, Whistley Lane was a bit boring, a rutted old track with massive hedgerows on both sides and nothing to see. I walked until 8:45, lots of grassy meadows. At one point a herd of cows followed me across an enormous field. They were no more than a couple of metres behind me. Very friendly cows! I wonder what type of animal will follow me tomorrow. 

I pitched my tent on the edge of a field, saw another sunset and fell asleep quickly. 

Day Summary:

Walked 26 miles. Ate well. Met more animals. Didn’t slack.