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I woke to very light rain and headed off at six looking forward to meeting Bondy and Anna late in the afternoon. I walked down the hill in grassy fields full of sheep, the rain not bothering me a bit. After a mile or so I met a lovely man called Joe.  He was just starting out to walk the Cotswolds way but had completed the Pacific Crest Trail last year in the western US, a walk which makes my very long walk seem like rather a short walk at over 2,400 miles through snow and desert whilst keeping an eye out for bears.

Soon afterwards, Chipping Camden, the village at the end of the Cotswold Way, hove into view in the valley below me. And there was a cafe open, Victors, perfect. Refueled I set off along the next part of my journey on the Heart of England way.

The first section was a short walk to Mickleton. The best bit was walking through the woods full of wildflowers and giant toadstools. In no time at all I arrived in Mickleton itself. I was pleased to note that The Heart of England Way was very well way marked.

Leaving Mickleton it seemed I was back in Gloucestershire again, having left Worcestershire sometime earlier in the morning. A dog walker told me I’d be in Warwickshire in the next mile or so and for a good while, unless I really got a shift on and made it as far as Leicestershire.

The walking on the Heart of England way so far could only be described as easy. The path approached a few hills on the route but skirted diplomatically around the side of them, never ascending even as high as 100 metres above sea level. Where the path did climb, so slowly and gradually did it climb that  I barely noticed. I walked through Quinton, another pretty village with a very nice green in the middle of it and kept on going. I was well ahead of time for my rendezvous with Bondy, but rain was forecast and it would be nice to be in the shelter when it came. On top of that, I was walking really easily and enjoying the walking.

Just after 11 o’clock, the sun came out for the first time today, which was an unexpected surprise, brightening up the landscape and the wildflowers in the hedgerows and field edges. I then slowed up a bit, navigating through a lengthy overgrown section with stinging nettles. Tomorrow my calves would have their revenge as my walking poles had arrived at Bondy’s. 

Walking past the village of Long Marston I noticed that the Masons arms was open and no more than 50 metres from the path. I couldn’t help myself, but it would have to be a quick pitstop. I didn’t want to be late for Alcester and still had about 9 to 10 miles to walk.

I arrived at the pretty village of Dorsington with its thatched cottages and continued on towards Bidford. I spotted an opportunity to take an alternative route across fields rather than using a road, and a very beautiful alternative it was, across a glorious meadow and then through Dorsington Woods, missing out the road entirely. As there were several benches marked Heart of England forest project I wondered whether my digital map had plotted the wrong route as the Heart of England people clearly knew about this fabulous place.

As I was walking up the hill through long grass, I was amazed to come across two very young fawns, lying in the grass no more than 2 feet from me. I took a photo and moved on not wanting to scare them. I’ve never been so close to a wild animal in my life. It’s extraordinary that they didn’t run off . They would’ve heard me coming. No one ever described me as stealthy. And then just as a bonus as I was coming to the end of this section of the walk it took me along a shady tree lined path beside the river Avon.

I stopped briefly in Bidford as it looked as if it was about to rain finally and grabbed some cheesy chips to give me the energy for I needed for the rest of the walk. I then arrived at the village of Broom with more lovely little cottages  and then out onto the lush green fields.

About two hours later, I walked down the hill to Alcester, past several more thatched cottages and approached the bridge over the river Arrow. In the middle of the stream there was a kingfisher. Certainly my day for seeing wildlife. All that now remained was to navigate to the Alcester Inn and wait for Bondy. I was going to be 20 minutes early.

Arriving in Alcester, I walked up a charming street bedecked with bunting. I asked a man who lived there what it was for. ‘I don’t know, mate”, he said. “They put it up for VE day, and they never took it down.”

Day Summary:

Fawns, kingfishers and thatched cottages. An easy and pleasant start to the Heart of England Way.