Introducing the B2B, Part Two

Finally! 

Four years after winding up our Barnstaple to the Bay, Part One walk at Stroud Rail Station, Sara and I are ready to pick up where we left off with Part Two: a very long* winding road of a walk from Stroud, Gloucester to Church Stretton, Shropshire. Two occasions make this B2B Part Two walk extra special: First and foremost, 2023 is our 25th Anniversary year, and what a wonderful adventure it has been! And second, ten years after she joined us in 2013, my sister and kidney donor Susan will again join us to walk the last 16 days of this walk. 

Part Two mixes old and new. We'll begin by looping around the Cotswolds for the first two weeks, so much of this part of the walk will be revisiting favourite places like Kelmscott and Farmcote (a tiny hamlet near Winchcombe). We'll visit Farmcote just a bit before the halfway point of our walk and stay at our favourite B&B, North Farmcote for a three day "anniversary special" stay. After that we'll head north and then westwards towards territories unknown to us: Susan will join us on our way to Tewkesbury and we will then walk most of the Malvern hill ridge, then head further west to the beautiful countryside and "black and "white villages" of Herefordshire. The last leg of our journey will turn north along the Welsh border on Offa's Dike for a couple of days, with a final couple of days walking to Clun, Lydbury North, and then a final, hopefully lovely day along the high moorland plateau of the Long Mynd to All Stretton and Church Stretton.

For an Ordnance Survey map of the entire route of our Barnstaple to the Bay walk, Part Two from Stroud to Church Stretton (253 miles; 407 km; 23,606 feet total ascent), click here. Once at the linked OS map, take note that if you tick the "Add key waypoint labels to route" box lower down in the left hand margin, you will be able to see our stopping points for each day of Part Two of our walk; namely, days 27 to 61.

Here is a detailed itinerary

Day 27: Stroud to Frampton Mansell (6.03 miles; 9.70 km)

Day 28: Frampton Mansell to Chedworth (12.22 miles; 19.67 km)

Day 29: Rest day in & around Chedworth: A Walk to Chedworth Roman Villa (3.2 miles; 5.15 km)

Day 30: Chedworth to Bibury (7.81 miles; 12.57 km)

Day 31: Bibury to Whelford (8.21 miles; 13.21 km)

Day 32: Whelford to Kelmscott (8.53 miles; 13.73 km)

Day 33: Rest day in Kelmscott

Day 34: Kelmscott to Burford via the Eastleaches (12.64 miles; 20.34 km)

Day 35: Rest day in & around Burford

Day 36: Burford to Bledington (9.67 miles; 15.56 km)

Day 37: Bledington to Longborough via Chastleton (10.41 miles; 16.74 km)

Day 38: Longborough to Bourton on the Water (8.01 miles; 12.89 km)

Day 39: Bourton on the Water to Ford (Farmcote) via the Windrush Valley (10.18 miles; 16.38 km)

Day 40: Rest day in & around Farmcote

Day 41: Rest day in & around Farmcote: a loop walk via Winchcombe

Day 42: Rest day in & around Farmcote

Day 43: Farmcote to Stanton via Snowshill (7.50 miles; 12.07 km)

Day 44: Stanton to Mount Pleasant via Broadway (8.04 miles; 12.94 km)

Day 45: Mount Pleasant to Eckington via Bredon Hill (12.0 miles; 19.31 km)

Day 46: Eckington to Tewkesbury (6.83 miles; 10.99 km)

Day 47: Rest day in Tewkesbury

Day 48: Tewkesbury to Birtsmorton/Malverns South (9.5 miles; 15.29 km)

Day 49: Malverns South to Great Malvern (7.45 miles; 11.99 km)

Day 50: Great Malvern to Bromyard (11.87 miles; 19.10 km)

Day 51: Bromyard to Rowden Abbey via Brockhampton (6.77 miles; 10.89 km)

Day 52: Rowden Abbey to Kimbolton (9.91 miles; 15.95 km)

Day 53: Kimbolton to Luston via Berrington Hall (5.50 miles; 8.85 km)

Day 54: Rest day in Luston: A Tour of Croft Castle

Day 55: Luston to Pembridge (9.60 miles; 15.45 km)

Day 56: Pembridge to Kingon (9.65 miles; 15.53 km)

Day 57: Kington to Knighton (13.39 miles; 21.55 km)

Day 58: Knighton to Clun (9.45 miles; 15.21 km)

Day 59: Clun to Lydbury North (8.02 miles; 12.91 km)

Day 60: Lydbury North (Plowden) to All Stretton (9.25 miles; 14.89 km)

Day 61: All Stretton to Church Stretton (1.4 miles; 2.25 km)

(After we finish, Sara and I will take our final weekend of the trip—a second little 25th Anniversary celebration—in Eyam, Derbyshire, where we finished the Peak Pilgrimage [link] in 2018 and stayed in our first shepherd's hut, a lovely experience hosted by lovely people. In the years since, Eyam and especially Eyam Church have become a very special place of blessing for us, especially through the church's online presence during the pandemic.) 

 

*I want to thank Caroline Ahn & Darcy Gullacher at Trinity Western University Library, and the HR department at TWU for granting me two weeks leave beyond my usual vacation days to do this a long walk with Sara to celebrate our 25th Anniversary year.