March to Peterborough
After eating my amazing bacon butty, I was ready and raring for the day’s walking. I was so grateful for the bacon butty, it tasted amazing and was a brilliant pick me up after yesterday. Spoiler alert: today was a much better day!
I set off back along the Hereward Way, which followed the River Nene. I was walking up stream as the river slowly moved past me. It was calming, and a lovely start to the day.
The morning cloud soon burnt off and the sun came out. I stopped for my morning snack and enjoyed my time sitting amongst the green surroundings.
As I finished my break, my sister rang, so we spoke as I walked along. I was enjoying chatting so much, that I missed the turning for the next footpath. I had even told myself this morning, “you’ll need to concentrate at that bit”. Maybe, I tempted fate! I realised that I’d passed it, and retraced my steps to find the track. The track passed a series of fields. In one field the farmer had used his tractor to make troughs in the ground. They were so pristine, I always dreamed of edges like that on my sandcastles!
The track took me to Turves, where I joined a lane along the Twenty Foot river. The roads were so straight and the ground so flat, that I could see where I was turning off, even when I was over a mile away!
Over the next week, I’ll make my way home, I hope that the hills aren’t too much of a shock to the system after all of this flat country!
The lane soon became a Bridleway and I was back walking along the embankment at the side of the river. It was really lovely. I waved at some barges as they passed and saw a swan and a cormorant. It was nice to watch the cormorant dive under the water and guess where it might come up next.
Along the way, I met a chap with his two dogs. He was throwing the ball in for the dogs to catch or swim after. It was funny watching them, as one dog gracefully jumped into the water, and the other belly-flopped! It was nice to chat with him about my walk and the surroundings.
The river took me all the way into Whittlesey, where I stopped at the cafe for a lemonade and some ice cream. I’ve not found much ice cream over the past few weeks, so it felt good to set that record straight!
I followed the roads out of Whittlesey, and found another cycle network mile marker. Seeing another one did make me wonder if anyone has ever cycled between them all? My balance on a bike leaves room to be desired, so don’t worry, that won’t be my next adventure!
The Hereward way joined cycle route 63 and followed it all the way to Peterborough. The cycle path was flat and tarmacked, which made for easy walking, but my feet did get a little tired towards the end.
The cycle trail was accompanied by the river on the right, with a mixture of hedgerows and fields. As I walked between the hedgerows, I made an effort to tune into the birdsong – closing my eyes for a moment. The birdsong was beautiful, there were so many different birds all at once. It felt like nature’s own orchestra.
The river took me right into the city, where I found my B&B. Tomorrow I have a rest day in Peterborough, so it will be nice to sort my kit and have an explore of the city.
Today has been a really lovely day. After having a tougher day yesterday, it made me really appreciate the experience and the time that I’m having. I’m so grateful to be able to do this, and experience my country on foot! Everywhere has been so beautiful and I’m really looking forward to the miles to come!
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