Alone on the Ridgeway by Holly Worton

Author:Holly Worton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tribal Publishing
Published: 2017-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Day 6

Watlington to Princes Risborough

11 miles (18 km)

I was anxious to get on the trail by 8:30 at the latest, since I wanted to reach Chinnor early enough to catch the heritage train to Princes Risborough at 11:30. I had booked breakfast for eight, but it was slow in coming, and the sandwich I had ordered for the trail was even slower in the making. I ate quickly once my food arrived, then returned to my room to put my things together after breakfast. I checked out of the hotel, and waited a few minutes longer for my BLT sandwich to be ready. This was the first place I had stayed along the Ridgeway that didn’t offer a full packed lunch for walkers, but rather just a sandwich...for the same price as a full lunch had cost on the previous days. It was clear that I had left the world of B&Bs that catered to walkers and entered the real world once again. The eastern half of the Ridgeway was much more urban, with larger villages.

It was 8:45 by the time I was able to leave the Fat Fox, and I was concerned about arriving in Chinnor with enough time to catch the train. I had decided to return via Hill Road, which was the more direct route back to the Ridgeway, though it would mean bypassing a short section of the trail between the street I had taken the afternoon prior and Hill Road. I couldn’t bear the thought of facing that busy road once again, and I wanted to get going to catch the train at Chinnor. I knew the timing was tight.

Hill Road was fantastic. This was the road I had originally wanted to walk down to access Watlington on the previous day, and the road was quiet and peaceful, with a paved sidewalk all the way up to the Ridgeway. It was the perfect access road between the trail and the village.

Few people were out on this Saturday morning. As I crossed the street to start on the trail, I saw a couple walking with a dog behind me. I was disappointed to be starting the trail so close to other people, but they were walking slowly and I soon lost them behind me, never to be seen again.

The Ridgeway headed straight down a path that was bordered by trees on both sides, and I was able to walk quickly, faster than on previous days. The morning was cool, and it drizzled a bit at the start of my walk. The path was easy going, and climbed gently toward Shirburn Hill. I passed a couple of people out for a stroll near the start of my walk and first one man, then another, passed me jogging down the trail. Further on down the trail, the second man passed me once again, now headed in the opposite direction.

The path opened up, becoming a broad, grassy track bordered by trees on both sides with a dirt path running down the middle of it.

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