{"id":1340,"date":"2018-03-29T00:01:36","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T13:01:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/?p=1340"},"modified":"2018-03-31T08:34:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-30T21:34:41","slug":"day-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/julesforth.com\/walkingtheblackdog\/day-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From:\u00a0<\/strong>Box to Sherston
\nDistance:\u00a0<\/strong>15m \/ 24km
\nCumulated distance: <\/strong>335m \/ 539km
\nPercentage completed:<\/strong>\u00a032.6\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I woke up in Revd Awdry’s bed this morning. And I’d spent the night with Henry .. and Toby .. and Gordon .. and Thomas\u00a0 .. and of course, the Fat Controller. Lorne House in Box, my B&B for the night, was once home to the author of all the Thomas the Tank Engine books. How jealous would my boy have been, when he went through his train phase, several years ago.<\/p>\n

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Thomas et al<\/p><\/div>\n

Lorne House is just a couple of doors away from the railway line and apparently the young Wilbert Awdry would lie awake at night, listening to the steam trains whistling past, his imagination running wild. Little did he realise just where it would take him.<\/p>\n

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Box station<\/p><\/div>\n

The curiously named Box originates to Roman times. Limestone, called \u2018Box Ground\u2019 locally, has been quarried here since the 8th century and a lot of it was used in the construction of beautiful Bath, which is only five miles away. Legend has it that St Aldheim threw down his glove on Box Hill and pronounced \u2018dig here and you will find treasure\u2019! And indeed they did. However, it’s thought the name \u2018Box\u2019 actually comes from a corruption of the word beech, of which there are many in the area. <\/span><\/p>\n

Box is probably better known for the Isambard Kingdom Brunel railway tunnel, which runs beneath Box Hill. It is 1.83 miles long and was built between 1838 and 1841 to carry trains from London to Bristol on the Great Western Main Line railway. At the time of construction it was the longest in the world! 4000 men were employed to build the tunnel.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brunel’s tunnel<\/p><\/div>\n

It was a long, long climb out of Box this morning but wow, were the views worth the effort. Had the day been clear there would have been good views of Bath. As it was I loved the misty, veiled scenes that were gradually revealed as I got higher up the hill.<\/p>\n

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Veiw across the vale<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Looking westwards<\/p><\/div>\n

Down in the valley the mist hung low. It made for very beautiful, mystical scenes. I had the countryside all to myself which added to the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

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Farmhouse with Canada Geese<\/p><\/div>\n

And then the rain arrived. And it stayed put for the rest of the day, lashing down, getting into just about every corner and crevice of me and my pack. It forced me to take refuge a couple of times. The first time in the village of Ford, where there was an inviting hostelry called The White Hart. It is most definitely a place to return to in the future. They served great coffee but the gin menu also looked very enticing.<\/p>\n

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The White Hart at Ford<\/p><\/div>\n

As I squealched along, extremely slowly and guardedly, I decided I would rename the Macmillan Way the Mudmillan Way. Maybe in the summer months it is drier and easier to negotiate but today it forced me to look for alternate routes, along farm tracks and byways.<\/p>\n

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Narrow mud trenches on the Mudmillan Way ..<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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.. extremely wide, unnegotiable avenues on the Mudmillan Way<\/p><\/div>\n

But to be fair, there were warnings of what lay ahead.<\/p>\n

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No sh*t Sherlock<\/p><\/div>\n

Along the way nature still revealed its beautiful self ..<\/p>\n

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Fabulous fungi<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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Taurus<\/p><\/div>\n

In time for a tea-break I arrived in Castle Combe, the achingly beautiful Cotswold village, sadly best known for its race track. Dr Dolittle, Warhorse and episodes of Downton have been filmed in the village. My chosen tearoom served the best Victoria Sandwich cake.<\/p>\n

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Castle Combe<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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The church in Castle Combe<\/p><\/div>\n

And now a question for those green-fingered readers among you. What is this plant, which grew lavishly everywhere I walked today ..<\/p>\n

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Garlic or lily of the valley?<\/p><\/div>\n

Answers on a postcard, please ..<\/p>\n

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Flooding everywhere ..<\/p><\/div>\n

I’ll apologise for the fact that there are few .. well, let’s be honest, NO photos from the afternoon. The rain poured so heavily that I became afraid for the survival of my phone and decided to keep it parcelled up inside my jacket. Not that there was much that would have tempted me to take it out either.<\/p>\n

I was very happy to reach Sherston around 5 o’clock and to check into the comfortable, very clean and dry looking Angel Hotel. I’m not sure they were so delirious about welcoming me as I walked in, looking like the proverbial drowned rat, dripping muddy water.<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong. Despite the rain I had a great day today, loving the green, green countryside and the mellow-stoned Cotswold villages which sat within it. I felt very at home.<\/p>\n

Black Dog Tails<\/strong>
\nBradley was the very definition of a little hero dog, punching well above his weight. He protected his master and mate from a bear in Canada, by charging full steam ahead towards the beast.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I woke up in Revd Awdry’s bed this morning.<\/p>\n

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