Chester

As the town of Church Stretton awoke this morning, the surrounding mountains reminded us of the Rhone Alpes region in France. On top of one of the nearby mountains, a lone tooth of rock stood in the early morning light.

After breakfast we took a walk to Carding Mill Valley, a return walk that should have taken an hour. 2 hours 45 minutes later we returned. Once we reached the valley we decided to walk to the waterfall, upon reaching it, we climbed a steep precarious rocky incline. So precarious, a descent did not seem safe. According to the National Trust member of staff at the entrance to Carding Mill, this was the 'easy route'! A lack of signage meant we walked up onto the heathland without a clue of how to return back to Marge. Four other women, as ill equipped as ourselves had no idea either of the return path. The only thing we all agreed on, was that they probably wouldn't send out a rescue helicopter for less than six clueless people.

We did remember to bring sustenance though, a delicious scotch egg from the local butchers and flapjack from the bakers. Sorry other lost walkers, they're not for sharing.

After much walking through a carpet of bracken, and following of others who looked like they knew the way, but turned out not to, we asked a couple of professional walkers, equipped with all the right gear, for directions. Result, we were now on the right road, enjoying the beautiful scenery of England's green and pleasant landscape. For anyone interested, by the time we were reunited with Marge, we had walked about 13,000 steps.

Our overnight stop tonight is Chester, adjacent to the river Dee, Chester racecourse, (first racecourse in England), and the Covid Test Centre! There are many other vans, it's almost like being on a French aire. After dinner, we left Marge in the company of the other vans and walked alongside the river, marvelling at the Georgian riverside properties.

At the Queens Park suspension bridge, built in 1923, we turned back on ourselves and walked into the historic city. Chester has extensive Roman walls made from local red sandstone, a two-level arcade and Tudor style half-timbered buildings, all well worth a visit if you find yourself in the area.

Today has been a long day, but so far, we have achieved what we wanted to from our trip, to spend more time exploring and less time travelling.