Day Severn – walking @ piers.rocks

The River Severn featured frequently today, with my route following the river quite closely, and crossing over it a number of times. For me today started at 04:15 as the rain commenced outside my hotel room. The forecast was for rain until 15:00 and then thunderstorms. As it was, it only rained constantly until 08:00, and then drizzled off and on until I got to Shrewsbury at lunchtime. In the afternoon the sun even came out from time to time. I spent my time walking soaked from head to toe, and didn’t stop to rest until I arrived at Shrewsbury (probably not a very good plan, as I didn’t eat or drink very much).

I had been expecting a fairly uneventful day. My planned route had only two off-road footpaths planned, one of which was a bridleway (being the holy grail of a farm track without head high undergrowth to push through) and the other being the Severn Way. The Severn Way sounds posh doesn’t it. Nope, it was heavy going and it was nearly my undoing. Shortly after this:

I found the path taking me through even denser undergrowth and I fell twice – once on back (no big deal, as my rucksack both reduces the height I fall, and cushions the landing) and the other only my front, as I struggled to climb a muddy bank. In the end I managed to scramble up on hands and knees, stinging my hands in the process. I wish I’d taken the slightly longer way around on the road, but little did I know it was available. See the map below – the circle highlights the hideous path I took, and the arrow shows a track (not strictly a public right of way) I could have taken instead.

Another incident occurred when I was daydreaming, and took the wrong turn. In all fairness Homer and Wig Wig did sound like places I wanted to visit:

A signpost pointing towards Homer and Wig Wig. There's also a 50mph sign in the distance

Alas no. See the 50mph sign in the distance? My turning was there. I’d gone half a mile out of my way before I realised my mistake, and this prompted an unscheduled third footpath of the day. Mercifully this wasn’t too bad (but did soak my boots through completely). I imagined crocodiles snapping at my swollen feet as I took this footbridge: