Day 31 Part 2 - Into Bristol

(Continued from Part One)

After lunch I walked along the west shore of Chew Valley Lake and up into Chew Stoke. One fork in the road offered me a Bunyanesque choice of "Pilgrim Road" and "Pagan's Hill". The former would have taken me well off my route, so I plumped for the latter. I didn't spot any pagans but I guess you can't tell, can you?

Up Chew Hill and then steeper calf-burning climbs to Maiden Head at the top of Dundry Hill. The heat had intensified but there was no haze to hide the spectacular panorama. The Welsh hills lay clearly beyond the two Severn suspension bridges. And Bristol lay directly before me. I know the city well enough to pick out a dozen landmarks.

The road led down to Withywood, where crowds of drinkers stood in the sunshine outside the pubs.

Into Bishopsworth and then east to Hartcliffe. Hartcliffe is a strange 'outer estate', practically in the countryside but very disadvantaged. It was built on the south side of a dual carriageway and at one time many jobs were available on the north side at the Imperial Tobacco factory and others. The factories have long closed or become 'distribution centres' employing handfuls.

I walked up through the Novers Park estate and into Knowle West. Crossing a green a group of young men shouted out to their friend, "Kieran!"

Kieran responded with a song, bellowed at the top of his voice, "Let's get f-----g hammered!" And with that he danced past me into Costcutter, whose shelves were piled high with super-strength brews.

Along the road I found St Barnabas Vicarage, the home of my friends Alister and Sally.

My walking verse for the day was Jeremiah 10.23: "I know, O Lord, that the way of human beings is not their control, that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps."