Day 24

A very straightforward 18 miles to Ashbourne much of it following the Staffordshire Way. A cold wind for much of the day, however.
Thanks to Richard M (whoever you are) I've now found the brackets [on my Nokia E71] including {as you can see} square ones and squiggly ones. Thank you Richard M.
But to change the subject (as one does] I realised today that one of the first things I do when I get to my room in the b&b is to eye up where I can dry the clothes I am about to wash. Such is life on the road....
Many (at least 3) people have asked about my feet (and, I assume, Andrew's feet as well). I will compile a report for viewing some time next week.
Tomorrow is a rest day - and no blog.

Day 23

We have reached a place called Abbots Bromley and, like last night, we are somewhere in Staffordshire.
A good indication that we are now well on our way to the frozen north is that we saw lots of signs to a Sled Dog Training Centre when we were crossing the tundra known by the local eskimos as Cannock Chase.

Day 22 - One Third Now Done!

Yes - in terms of time - we are now exactly one third of the way through our journey having completed 20 walking days plus 2 rest days. In terms of distance, we've done 355 miles.
Today was an easy day - only 10 miles - to Penkridge which is best described as somewhere in Staffordshire.
Now, on a completely unrelated note, let me tell you these blogs have nearly all been submitted using my Nokia E71 - a 'phone of incredible sophistication but one or two drawbacks - which might explain a few things to readers of this blog. One drawback is the tiny screen and keys - which explains my spelling mistakes. Another is the absence of brackets which I have manged to overcome by throwing commas and dashes into the text instead.

Day 21

We are staying 1.5 miles NW of the centre of Wolverhampton which, in spite of the strong clue given by the somewhat distinctive local accent, is amazing because we have been walking in open countryside nearly all day. We've walked over 23 miles from Bewdley, first alongside the River Severn but the last 10 have been along the Shropshire and Worcester canal. Open countryside - apart from lines of electicity pylons marching across the country in all directions. My feet ache. I suppose this is to be expected after walking 345 miles.

Day 20

We are now in Bewdley after a 16 mile walk from Worcester. Andrew and I both enjoyed yesterday's rest day in Worcester with both our families. As of lunch time today we are back to being on our own.
The walk up the Severn has been very good - shorts and T-shirts weather but, and I apologise now to anybody brave enough to admit coming from Stourport, but the place really is a dump. At least it is on a Bank Holiday Monday. Fields full of parked cars and thousands of people milling around eating ice cream and, it would seem, not actually enjoying themselves. Bewdley seems quite nice though and should be quite quiet by the time we go out to find somewhere to eat.