Day 37 Part 2 - Into Gloucester

On towards Gloucester, counting down the mileposts.

At about six-thirty I approached the city up past disused wharfs and then newly-built offices, a Sainsbury store (not yet finished) and waterside apartments. Big money is being invested in Gloucester and it was good to see the docks being improved. On the east bank, opposite my path, factories had given way to old dock buildings, huge warehouses in dull red brick.

The dockside development in the city centre is still in full swing, even in the midst of a recession. Trish, landlady at the Spalite Hotel, told me that the new shopping centre is being opened this weekend "by that naked Chinese man."

"Gok Wan?", I offered.

"That's 'im!"

She told me in her wonderfully broad Gloucester accent that when the centre opened for the very first time last Saturday it was chaos. "People were stuck in the queue to get out of the car park for two hours."

It was seven o'clock when I'd completed the day's fifteen miles and reached Spalite Hotel. It's in a perfect location but at £25 a night including breakfast, very much at the budget end of my accomodation, so my expectations were low. The drunks on the street didn't encourage me either. But the hotel was fine - clean, neat and tidy.

I was just too tired to go out to eat, so I washed and changed and ate a flapjack for dinner in bed, listening to the radio. It was great to talk with Jennifer and to plan to meet in Tewkesbury on Sunday.

My walking verse for the day was Zechariah 10.12, "I will make them strong in the Lord and they shall walk in his name, says the Lord."

Strength is certainly something I'm praying for at the moment.