WILTSHIRE: Avebury to Chiseldon

I'm just jotting down a few thoughts on the day before I go to get cheap pizzza. 

I was pretty anxious before today began. Could I actually do a long-distance walk over 10 days with a 12 kilo backpack? I had never done anything like this before, and, you can prepare all you like, but you don't really know until you get out there and do it, do you?

I had to walk from Dorwyn Manor, north of Avebury, to Chiseldon House Hotel, and I don't know exactly how long that was, but it took me from 9.30 til 3pm, with a few 5 minute stops, but otherwise it was all go. My sciatica kicked in early, before I even got to the Ridgeway proper, but when I was on it, suddenly everything seemed quite manageable and my leg problems subsided. It's a pretty nice, easy path, with a few steep bits, but basically, once you are up on the ridge, it's mostly quite flat. In this section, anyway. So far so good.

I didn't take many photographs. The highlight was definitely Barbury Castle, a smaller version of Maiden Castle, which I had seen the day before. The Ridgeway goes right through it. It's very much intact, and one of the best examples of an Iron Age Hill Fort I have seen so far - and I have really seen quite a few in the last two weeks!

After that I deviated onto the Old Ridgeway, which I think is more like the route that the ancients used to use, where as the new one goes south again to a town called Ogden St George, where Rick Stein has a restaurant, and I suspect foodie culture and a general desire to keep walkers and tourists in the area a bit longer may have led to the choice of the new route. But maybe that's too cynical. I rejoin the main Ridgeway tomorrow morning. It's about 300 meters away. 

The only bit I didn't like was the motorbikes and cars on parts of the Ridgeway. I don't think they are supposed to do that at this time of year, but I saw quite a few. Apart from that, it was great up there. My back and legs coped fine; they only started complaining when I sat down at the hotel. Then, all of a sudden, I got very footsore and achey. A bath has sorted me out. I'm off to eat now, will upload pics in a bit.