John O'Groats to Land's End - Day 041 - Ashbourne to Uttoxeter

Day: 041

Date: Monday, 11 July 2022

Start:  Ashbourne

Finish:  Uttoxeter

Daily Kilometres:  21

GPX Track:  Click here for Julie’s Strava & Photos

Total Kilometres:  1181

Weather:  Warm and sunny

Accommodation:  Hotel

Nutrition:

  Breakfast:  Pastries

  Lunch:  Tuna & sweetcorn sandwich/Coronation chicken sandwich

  Dinner:  Pizza. icecream

Aches:  Dave - a few niggles.  Julie - nothing.

Highlight:  We found a great spot for our breakfast stop in the morning in a peaceful shady little woodland along a rarely used path.  It was tempting to spend the day there.

Lowlight:  Wasting 30 minutes trying to find an invisible path across fields after lunch.  Our GPS told us we were on the path, but there was no way to get through the hedgerows the path apparently crossed.  In the end, we gave up and followed a slightly longer route along country lanes.

Pictures: Click here

Map and Position: Click here for Google Map

Journal:

We had a short day planned, as a consequence of limited accommodation options, so Julie had time to go for a run before we left our hotel soon after 8:00am.  We stopped at a supermarket on our way out of Ashbourne and bought supplies for the day, then followed a road out of town for a while before turning onto some field paths.

As usual, the paths were a mixed bag, sometimes clear and easy to follow and at other times overgrown with nettles and brambles.  We both ended up with a few cuts by the end of the day.  And, there were endless stiles of endless styles to climb over.  We are amazed at the ingenuity of some of the designers, but they are often high and sometimes a tight fit with a pack.

Around 9:30am, we found a great spot for breakfast in a little wood, then continued on across more fields for a while before joining a very quiet and shaded country lane which was pleasant walking on a warm morning.  Further on, other lanes we followed were more exposed but there was a light breeze to take the edge off the heat.

We found a shady spot under a tree by the road to have lunch after passing through the attractive old village of Marston, then wasted some time trying to pick up a field path (see above) before backtracking and following roads and a bike path into Uttoxeter and our hotel, arriving at 2:30pm.

Although our journey today was through pleasant rolling rural countryside, we have left the more spectacular Peak District and will now be crossing the English Midlands towards Wales where we will join the well-known Offa’s Dyke Path.  Until we get there, the walking paths will be fewer and harder to follow, so we will be improvising and often following lanes and back roads instead.