No Discouragement

Walking the St Swithun's Way - Day 2

The bird of the day was sorted before we even set out. We watched a green woodpecker on the lawn as we ate our breakfast.

There was a great Saturday atmosphere in Alton this morning and the station, where we parked, was bustling. People were arriving for the Folk Festival, (which we went to the start of at the Queen's Head last night), assembling for the steam train, going shopping in London, or meeting for the Classic Bus and Country Pubs Day, with their lapel badges, cameras, and CAMRA membership cards.

Because of train schedules we walked the other way today - Alresford to Alton. It wasn't just any train though for we caught the 10.50am Watercress Line steam train to Alresford. The voluntary staff who work this line are wonderful, cheerful, polite, immaculately uniformed, and have discovered the secret of happiness. It was clear that they loved every minute of their work. "Working here means we never grow old", said our 'ticket inspector'.

It was a nice trip but at Alresford we had to get out and walk, and the rain, which lasted all day, began. It was a more twisting route than the permanent way, but lovely, passing through woods, fields, crops, and the villages of Four Marks and Ripley. The yellowhammers accompanied us again, as did swallows unaware that the bird of the day had already been chosen. The waymarks were not as good in this section and more than once we lost our way, especially near Gilbert Street. In Old Down Wood we had to keep our spirits up singing Mrs Mover's old school song, To Be a Pilgrim (even ordinary schools used to have one). As the rain dripped from the trees, and the mud thickened we shouted out the relevant section - 'There's no discouragement shall make him once relent, His first avowed intent to be a pilgrim' It was taking longer than anticipated and as we passed through Chawton Jane Austen's House was shut, but the Jane Austen Trail, an underpass under the A31 showed us the way to Alton. From there we drove to Winchester and a nice hotel, looking forward to the final section tomorrow and better weather. Due to wrong turns we covered 16 miles.