14/01/17 - Millennium Way Stage 44 and Grand Finale

Distance - 8.25 Miles
Geocaches - 0
Walk Inspiration
Pub - George and Dragon, Chacombe, Everards Tiger
Surprisingly, the official route of the final stage of the Millennium Way doesn't finish at a pub.

After 3.5 years, 44 monthly trips out, 268 Miles, 244 Geocaches and Mrs Mappiman muscling in on the glory, we need somewhere suitable to celebrate the final leg of this epic walk.

The George and Dragon at Chacombe will more than suffice and we make this our starting point for the day.

George and Dragon, Chacombe

The walking is typically Northamptonshire - easy, flat, agricultural.  We head North on the Jurassic Way.  The weather is the only thing that can threaten our good spirits.  After a week of promising glorious sunshine, we are left with sleet.  There are few complaints until we pick up a lane near Upper Wardington and the smell hits us.

My fair weather walking partner finally loses it and mutters "what am I doing out in this weather, walking next to a pile of cow sh*te"?

Its a fair question - but when you have booked a Super Saver Advance No Refund Premier Inn so that you can celebrate in the fleshpots of Banbury, there can be no going back.

Jurassic Way - Agricultural Northamptonshire

Entertaining Women Mappiman Style - 2 Degree walking next to a mountain of cow sh*te

We are making great progress.  The lack of gradient and geocaches mean we can just plod on with the miles.  Northamptonshire doesn't really do hills.  There's one gentle climb on this walk.  And they have named it "The Hill" on the OS Map.  No need for greater descriptions.

View from the Hill

The church spire of Middleton Cheney marks the end of the Millennium Way and we can see it in the distance.  Plod our way across sheep fields until we hit the village.  Pretty little place, but we fail to find a cafe and the pub is on the opposite side to where we need to be.

Packed lunch is taken in the only place to offer shelter.  The bus stop - eventually shared with Banbury bound pensioner shoppers.

Lunch done, we tour the Church, looking for the bunting that proclaims the end of this great adventure.  We make do with finding the last Millennium Way Sign post.

Middleton Cheney Church

The End (or Start of the Millennium Way)

A mile left to get us to where we can really celebrate.  We head back along the Jurassic Way, through the grounds of Chacombe House.

The Pub is down there, somewhere

We find the George and Dragon.  The packed lunch was possibly the best decision that we could have made, as the kitchen is closed for refurbishment.  Fortunately, the beer was in top condition.

Don't see Everards brews too frequently and it was a pleasure to be re-acquainted with their Tiger Copper Ale in a busy pub.

Wi-Fi made use of to share the news that the journey was over.

Mrs Mappiman uploading Facebook Photos and forgetting the Sleet

The Millennium Way proved perfect walking inspiration and is perfectly maintained.  A full summary of all 44 stages can be found here.

08/01/17 - The Bell at Avening and Roundabout Geocaching

Distance - 6 Miles
Geocaches - 34
First Geocache

Play Misty for Me

You would think that the weather conditions portrayed in the above photograph would be perfect for the clandestine hobby of Geocaching.

Think on.  In the course of this decent Geocaching round in the Cotswolds, I was muggled by the following;

• Jogging ladies in dayglo lycra
• Cyclists
• Kamikaze farmers in battered Land Rovers
• More sedate farmers hand feeding two sheep
• Various dog walkers, including the one with a cross between a husky, staffordshire bull terrier and a border collie.  This was one dog.  No, I'm not sure how it was created either.  It did have odd coloured eyes.  I asked if it was named Bowie. It wasn't.
• Americans.  On Horseback.
• Another family of Geocachers  (Nice to meet you, Carylr and Otterholic)

There is no need for the CO to panic.  With the exception of the last category, no-one else quite saw what I was up to.

The conditions didn't really lend itself to the walk.  I saw little.  I photographed less.  The Geocache trail is perfectly executed - all nice and easy to find and a satisfying bonus to solve by paying particular attention to caches #5 and #23.

Bet its lovely in the Sunshine

The walk is a figure of 8 and named after a circular group of trees that are represented on the OS Map as the Roundabout.  The trail takes us past them twice.  The first time, I couldn't even see them but the mist had cleared as I made the 2nd pass and made my way to the suitably apt bonus.

The Roundabout

Thanks to the Haiselden family for a  well thought out trail.

I'm delivered back into Avening at 12:15pm and with a change of footwear, I can investigate post walk refreshment.

There may be two pubs in Avening.  The Queen Matilda is named after the William the Conqueror's wife, who stole the land from a previous suitor, who spurned her advances.  In a previous life, it used to be a pub - with the Cross Inn proudly adorned on its flanks.  It now appears to be a luxury Bed and Breakfast, although the large number of barrels outside suggest all is not lost.

The B&B formerly known as the Cross Inn

No questioning the pedigree of the other establishment.  The Bell is a classic looking village pub.  Its that full of regulars that the bar staff are berating the elderly chap at the bar for his attempts at yesterday's crossword.  I am assuming he went home in-between.

Four real ales on - and as I am in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, I maintained loyalty with a Wickwar Bob.  The brewery is near by.  I found it on a walk last year.

Perfect Village Pub

Wickwar Bob

07/01/17 - Caer Caradoc and the Green Dragon

Distance - 6 Miles
Geocaches - 3
Walk Inspiration - Country Walking Magazine - Walk 11, May 2016
Pub - The Green Dragon, Little Stretton, Ludlow Gold

Much debate was had on the drive up to Church Stretton about how its best to tackle the hills.  Mrs Mappiman prefers a quick steep ascent.  I think she is mental - slow and steady is my mantra.

I've walked Caer Caradoc before.  I know who's going to going to get the most satisfaction from today's walking - its a real lung burster of a hill.

We start by lane walking along the Roman Road of North Watling Street, delivering us into the countryside and the first of three Geocaches - hidden in a little dell.  The Southern Flanks of Caer Caradoc await... Mrs Mappiman sets the pace, losing layers as she climbs.  Is it possible to be hill walking in January with no Jacket?

I'm bringing up the rear... not lagging behind, you understand, just taking many photographs and ensuring we are heading in the right direction.

Halfway Up to Three Fingers Rock

Caer Caradoc is a real roller coaster of a hill, with ups and downs aplenty.  The first summit is Three Fingers Rock and home to the 2nd Cache of the day.

Geocache 2 of the day - looking over most of the Shtopshire Hills

A drop and then a climb to the true summit, with its iron age ramparts.  Wonderful views over most of Northern Shropshire and if anything, an even steeper descent down to Little Caradoc.

Views over Northern Shropshire

Looking Down on Little Caradoc - white blobs, sheep.

The Gradient

Its a shame to lose the height - especially when we have an ascent of Hope Bowdler to come.  I take point, walking much faster than my partner on the flat.  I get to test the ground first, determining its on the wrong side of boggy and having the dilemma of passing on a warning.  Its always more fun just to wait, catching the swearing on the breeze.

Hope Bowdler is a doddle in comparison and provides some views over the Southern Shropshire hills and the mist shrouded Titterstone Clee Hill.  We drop down into the village, in the vain hope of finding a cafe.   A sign for bed and breakfast is even misread as just "Breakfast".  No need to panic, Hazler Lane takes us back to the car in less than 10 minutes.

South Shropshire Hills from Bowdler Hill

Just time for the "Welcome to Church Stretton" Cache, where I get talking with an elderly rambler in Plus Fours tucked into knee length socks and a flat cap.

I ask "are you on your way out?"

He laughs that hard he has to hold on to me to stop himself from collapsing.  When he regains his composure he states "I'm 94, I think I am on my bloody way out"!

This makes my day and I hope to be doing the same at that age.  We are slightly concerned he is going the way we went and hope he knows what he's in for.  Still, maybe the way to live to 94 is to regularly climb big steep hills.

All that remains is post walk refreshment.  The Good Beer Guide has one entry in the area - a couple of miles away in Little Stretton.   The Green Dragon is an example of how pubs can be a success, even in the most remote of locations.

It's packed at 12:30pm, but they squeeze us in.  Perfect service, superb sandwiches and the Ludlow Gold is Pint of the Year.

Right to be proud of their GBG Status

Ludlow Gold - Early contender in Pint of the Year

31/12/16 - The Griffin, Chipping Warden - Millennium Way Stage 43

Distance - 10 Miles
Geocaches - 6
Walk Inspiration

A weather warning for fog on the last day of the year.  There is no choice but to head out.  I am committed to doing a walk per month on the Millennium Way, as I work my way through the 44 stages.  I cannot afford to fail on the penultimate leg and tomorrow will be too late.  A new month.  A new year.

Like many legs before it, this starts at a pub.  I spied the Griffin at Chipping Warden on Stage 42 and it looked a fine example of a great countryside pub.  I am sure it will provide suitable  refreshment after this ten mile monster - the longest of all the stages.

The walk is a figure of 8 in the largely flat Northamptonshire countryside.  The early stages share the route with a Battefield trail.  You have to love this country.  To the untrained eye, this may look like a pretty ordinary field but 500 years before I was born, it was the scene of a major battle in the War of the Roses.  There are information boards and signage to link this site with other battlesites (Egdehill, Cropredy) in the area.

Edgecote Battlefield.

There's also a handful of geocaches in the area.  In Northamptonshire, they don't like to give hints.  At the end of the walk, I am quite pleased with my haul of 6 found, 1xDNF.

If I had set off later, there could have been three pubs to visit.  Its a shame that I have to miss out on the three conies at Thorpe Mandeville.  It was a fine enough looking pub on its own, but the date on the sundial showed just how old the building could be.

Drovers Inn - The Three Conies

1622 - Hardly seems credible.

After the Church Micro Geocache, its over fields (given over to the production of electricity) to Culworth.  Another fine Church (alas, the Church Micro was the DNF) and the promise of another pub.  At 11am, I knew it would be too early and I head back onto the paths.

Little to report as I make my way to the apex of the figure of 8 on a long stretch of countryside.

The Centre of the Figure of 8

The walk does have one last surprise, the C18th Edgecote House and Church.  If it looks familiar, its because it was used in the 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice on the BBC.

Sweeping into Edgcote

Pride and Prejudice

I arrive back at Chipping Warden at the pub friendly time of 12:15.  Change of boots and I am in for a first ever Marstons Bitter.  My hopes for the pub were met - a nice village boozer.  One couple eating, one bloke at the bar with the paper and another getting excited by the horse racing.

Marstons Bitter.  Paper Reader.

Fog permitting, the Millennium Way will be completed, on track, in Jan 2017.