From: Long Sutton to Castle Cary
Distance: 14m / 22.4km
Cumulated distance: 288.2m / 464km
Completed percentage: 28.03
I made a mistake today. The morning was beautiful .. I made my way using various footpaths to get to the Charltons. It meant walking through woods, across fields and along quiet tracks. From there I was supposed to pick up the Macmillan Way West but the difficulty I’d had a couple of days ago in following the signs, made me plump for a B road instead. Big mistake .. BIG mistake, as Julia Roberts said in ‘Pretty Woman’. An endless stream of thundering trucks and white vans passed within inches of me, with no verge to jump into. I hated it and there was a good five miles of it to get through. I think that’s why I’m so weary this evening. So, gentle reader .. it’ll be a short blog tonight.
But the morning had been good. I set off from Long Sutton, a very pretty village .. will definitely return there.
Great place to stay .. The Devonshire Arms in Long Sutton
There was a real strength in the sun and made it feel that spring was definitely on its way. Even if the Christmas Roses were still much in evidence ..
Hellebores
Grape Hyacinth visited by bumble bees
Sculptural trees
Footpaths through the woods
I stopped for a bowl of soup in The Fox and Hounds at Charlton Adam, one of the Charlton villages. Both the new owners and Rick, Dee with Monty and Millie were wonderfully warm and welcoming .. even posing for Walking The Black Dog! Thank you so much for your donations to SANE.
Sweet Millie
At Castle Cary, my stop for tonight, I’ll say goodbye to the Macmillan Way West and head northwards on the Macmillan Way proper. Both walks were created to raise public awareness of the MacMillan Cancer Charity. Castle Cary is particularly significant as it is the birthplace of Douglas MacMillan (1884-1969), the founder of the charity. As with so many good causes, Douglas himself had been affected by cancer, losing his father to the illness. Ironically, he himself also died of cancer, years later.
Castle Cary’s Town Hall
For now, I have the most stylish, most comfortable bed to retire to at Cary Place.
Black Dog Tails
Millie the dachschu-chihuahua mix is Delene Crist’s little heroine. When she fell and broke her hip in the middle of the night, Millie ran upstairs to wake up Mr Crist, jumping up and down on his chest, knocking the sleep apnea mask off his face to alert him. She’d seldom been upstairs before.
Nice going! Just be nice to people working on commission…
I’m always nice!!
Glad you survived the white vans !!! And the Big Mistake didn’t result in an accident
Spring flowers are beautiful and hope those little grape hyacinths give you energy again tomorrow xx.
Thank you Sioned. Spring is definitely in the air! x
Sent you a long comment on yesterday’s page. So sorry you had to walk along a busy road. If it was the A37 up to the Lydford traffic lights, I was worried about you and wished I had been able to give you a lift to Castle Cary, but that is probably against the rules! Hope tomorrow will be better. 🎇🌺💐
Thank you Anthea .. but as you realised, completely against the rules!! Long day today and I’m more than ready for my bed. Thank you for your well wishes.
Jules is the distance for the day the planned mileage or what you actually do? With the little detours you sometimes do I wondered? Do you look at your phone to see how far you’ve walked? Love the dog stories they really are Mans best friend and a whole lot more.
Yes, it’s interesting .. it’s the planned mileage and often I do more. However, I have no idea how to alter the blog to reflect this! x
Thankfully it was a clear day and you were visible on that awful road. Photos are great and very evocative of the scenes you walk through. It is amazing how though bone weary at night, the following morning the body and mind are full of enthusiasm for the day ahead. xx
You’re so right, Marilyn .. although this morning it was difficult getting out of bed! x
another clever sausage, well part sausage. I loved your description of a mump yesterday. The kids call me Mump – know idea how we got there, but at least now we know the official meaning!
How funny is that! Never thought of you as much of a hill, Linda .. but sure it’s meant very affectionately! x
I walked the Macmillan Way Boston/Abbotsbury in June 2015 and passed through Castle Cary where that Macmillan Way coincides with Macmillan Way West. Castle Cary was also my intended finishing point for my walk last year from Berwick upon Tweed until I fell and broke my arm in Weardale, then, after resuming, had my knee failure at Hellifield and subsequent knee replacement op in November. I hope I will be able to resume that walk at sometime.
You say you are “heading northwards on the Macmillan Way proper’ but the Macmillan Way goes generally east from Castle Cary. I will watch with interest.
Oh no! Poor you .. fantastic that you are planning to resume the walk, hopefully not too far in the distance. The compass did indeed point east for a lot of today but then there was some northerly progress as well! Isn’t Castle Cary pretty?
Great to see our Millie featuring with you on yesterday’s blog. I hope today’s damp start isn’t making your trek too uncomfortable x
Millie’s a bit of a star! The day ended with sunshine so I really can’t complain. x
Despite having walked stretches of the way never knew that history behind the Macmillan family. Thanks.
Hope the waymarking improves for you – but I know you will cope.
Thank you so much, John! Means a lot on the first day I found really testing.
It was wonderful meeting you yesterday at the Devonshire Hotel where I work, such a wonderful charity to raise public awareness for. I will be following your blogs over the coming days and weeks. Both Macmillan Cancer & Mental Health are both charities close to my heart as I have histories of many people within my families suffering cruel blows due to these diseases. Walk on ‘Jules’, I will be there in my heart walking every step with you!
Linda, I was very touched by our conversation yesterday .. I have a feeling you’ve had a very tough time of it. Stay strong and thank you so much for following the blog. I’ll be thinking of you. Jx
Hey there Jules – I hope it’s ok to talk logistics on the blog but not sure you’re checking in on email.
We are booked and coming your way Tuesday 1st May -Saturday 5th and just chasing down accom which is proving quite tricky. We have accom Wed 2nd at the Greenhead and Friday 4th at the Cheviot and Saturday 5th Forest view. Just looking for Tuesday 1st we will try to get as close as poss to Greenhead and Thursday 3rd when you’re at Beggar Bog (all booked out) so we have enquired at Hadrians lodge. Any thoughts Jules?
Hi Beck, you can email me, no problem .. just that I’m finding it quite difficult to keep abreast of everything on top of the walking. So, there’s often a delay. Will be good to see you .. sure you saw from the itinerary there will be others with me at that stage. I seem to recall there was a place called Twice Brewed which you could try on Thursday 3rd. I don’t have the maps with me for that stage, so sorry not to be more help. xx
Jules , this very busy road you walked along sounded very stressful and dangerous … no doubt you wanted to be taken back to those paths where you didn’t see a soul , far more relaxing . I love your photos of quaint B&B , churches and Spring flowers …so many memories and dreams I have had about when we used to live in UK xox
Yes, the busy roads are totally at odds with the country tracks and footpaths .. to be avoided if humanly possible. But just occasionally, there is no alternative. So glad the pics are bringing back good memories for you! xxx
How far did you walk yesterday (the 27th?). I see no entry and really hope you are alright. Perhaps you had a rest day? What a great pity the weather is going to be wet and colder for a few days. Thinking of you every single day. I drove to Castle Cary yesterday and realised how really awful that walk along the road must have been. There is a short cut soon after the railway bridge but the road is narrow and the hill on the last stretch is fairly steep. I was not quick thinking enough to direct you that way. 🎇🐾👏🏿❤️