A Walkers Tale

Today is our second day walking the Oxford Canal , having walked from Oxford to Kidlington on the previous day. One of the unplanned benefits of having stayed overnight in the Premier Inn by the Technology Centre is that I can stop off at the Greggs on my way back to the canal to get a bacon roll - and from here we turn to head north, and leave behind everyone heading off to work, and start to focus on the quiet canal that lies ahead. From here we have a short walk to Thrupp, where we find a pretty marina - and here we also feel the need to keep the noise down, as we make our way past the boaters in the early morning. Through this section it is best to just go with the flow, as the path meanders quite a bit, and doesn't quite follow the route laid out on the map - but it is an easy path to follow, so long as you trust wherever any arrows are pointing you. Trupp boat house Trusting these arrows eventually leads us through an unusual sight on a canal towpath, in the form of a church...

Today the plan is to make a start on the Oxford Canal , which will be the first in a series of walks that will join up the walking I have done in the south of England with the walking I have done in the north of England. When walking my main focus is ticking off as many sections of the National Trails as possible, but in the colder half of the year I tend to do most of my walking along the canals (which does also add some contrast to the walking), and I also walk any Named Trails that look particularly good.

I had planned to complete the remaining length of the Ridgeway National Trail in August - having already done the eastern end of the trail from Goring to Ivanhoe Beacon earlier in the year. In the end I got as far as booking that walk, just to postpone it after picking up a minor injury. But now a month on, I am heading back to walk the same trail, but with the less ambitious goal of just walking the stretch west of Marlborough.

Today is the second day of walking, having walked from Hurstwood to Tonacliffe on the previous day - and today is a shorter day of walking, after which we will have completed the Pennine Bridleway . To start the day we head by train to Rochdale, and then make use of the regular bus service between Rochdale and Accrington that drops us almost exactly on the trail at Tonacliffe.

Today we are setting out for the first of two days that will be spent completing the western half of the Mary Towneley loop of the  Pennine Bridleway  - after which we will have completed the  Pennine Bridleway  in full. The Mary Towneley referenced here was the inspiration behind this trail, and a campaigner for long-distance equestrian trails - and this loop was one of the first sections of the  Pennine Bridleway  to open - providing a rare opportunity for horses to have a long-distance stroll across the countryside.

Today we are out to complete the length of the Pennine Bridleway  - walking a missing section of the trail, that until recently had been closed due to fire fighting operations on Tintwistle Moor. As before (whilst walking from Broadbottom to Edale ) we have to deal today with the added complication of this section not actually existing in full - with the  Pennine Bridleway  having never actually been completed through this part of the country (despite the trail having officially opened twelve years go). But on this occasion we don't have all that far to go before we will reach an officially existing section of the trail - and since we are starting in Broadbottom, we will easily be able to navigate around the section that doesn't actually exist.