To Guthram Gowt and Beyond

Surfleet Seas End

Well after my chafing experience yesterday, cycling shorts (under walking trousers, you'll be pleased to know) were the order of the day, I felt pretty good, but Oscar looked a broken spirit when I woke him up. Gradually as the morning progressed he started to fire on all cylinders, and by the time we were ready to set off from The Ship Inn at Surfleet Seas End, he was back to his usual self.

Today we started to follow the River Glen, as we headed more in land away from the Wash and salt marshes. The countryside changed, passing more villages and towns, fertile agricultural land and the scenery along the river was more picturesque.

There were lots of instructions to follow in my Macmillan Way guide book, these were spread over three pages, but in essence this could have been simplified as follows 'stay on the bank and follow the river Glen'. Having said that the book is packed with so much information - did you know that Guthram takes its name from a Danish chief who in Ad 879 tried to occupy all of England, and a gowt is a Saxon term for a sluce. Also the word 'eau' as in Bourne Eau pumping station, is not connected to the French word for water, but derives from the old Norse word for water Aa, pronounced Ea. There you go, stick with me, not only will you be entertained but educated as well!

The Leaning Tower, Surfleet

Part of the walk follows a golf course, where I had visions of Oscar picking up any balls that came near him, so it was lead on time, and although I rarely play golf these days, I was quite reassured that everyone I saw playing was pretty much as bad as I am.

The walking was good and with the sun shining again it was a great day to be out.  I didn't have to worry about salt water, as the sea had ended at Seas End, so Oscar could jump in and out the river to his hearts content. We passed through Surfleet and saw the leaning tower, its not quite to Pisa standard but you can definitely see that the church  tower and spire are not straight. Apparently the church tower leans 6ft 4.5" out of perpendicular. I assume there must have been a good pub near by when they were building it.

As we headed towards Pinchbeck, we passed the Ship Inn, it had just opened and I was tempted to call in for one, but I resisted, making a mental note to call back, and we continued on. It was at this point that things took a bit of a downward turn.

The guidebook said that we had to follow the road for a couple of miles. Now Oscar is a stubborn dog, and although he is trained pretty well, we have not been able to sort out the pulling and weaving he does when he is on the lead. The thought of walking down a road for 2 miles, with him following his nose and weaving around, didn't fill my heart with joy.

Glen Mill

North Glenside is the quieter of the two roads that run parallel to each other, with the river Glen in between, but in the fens a long, straight, flat road with no traffic equals speed. So as cars whizzed past, I got Oscar on a short lead, and every time he pulled we stopped and he had to sit down, wait and then start again. It became a battle of wills, he was having none of it, and in the heat of the day - yes it was hot and in mid battle I was sweating and getting more and more agitated!

It was at this point I got a text from my wife to ask how the chafing was? - sod the chafing, I've got bigger problems on my hands here! If I'd persevered with the stopping and starting, I'd still have been completing this section of the walk at midnight. So I think its fair to say Oscar won the battle, I was just so relieved to get to the end of the road, it was the longest two miles so far. We will be having a chat soon about who is the master and who is the dog. He's a stubborn little bugger when he wants to be, don't be fooled by that gorgeous face and 'love me' eyes!

River Glen

The next section of the walk, followed an altogether much more pleasant path, tempers cooled and we were back to normal. Lunch break, sausage for Oscar and the standard shared packet of hula hoops.

The walk continued along the river all the way to Baston. Plenty of ducks and swans on the river, and we passed fields of sheep with lambs and cattle, and in the skies Kingfishers, darting around, it really was lovely. As we made it onto the final stretch, my wife came and joined me and it was a lovely end to the days walking.

A couple of pints in the White Horse, then a bath and that was me done. Oscar looks a broken spirit, but I'm not going to be fooled by that again! Next section heads off to Stamford, Rutland Water and Oakham, as we start to leave the fens behind us.

You can find out more about my walk here and I am raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, so if you are able to, please sponsor me through Just Giving here.

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