Day 28- Monk's Woods to Brocton 20 miles

I woke today at five and was packed and gone by six. It looked like a long day and the weather forcast said that by five there would not only be rain but forty to fifty mile winds. I wanted to get to camp before hand and since it was yet another day without a campsite I felt anxious. Leaving the field lessened a lot of these anxieties but with no food for breakfast or lunch I felt myself tune into my primal hunter gather instincts. With luck more than skill I tracked down 24 hour petrol station which willingly supplied me with sugary substances.

Belvide Reservoirs

  From here I crossed the A464, went through Tongs Village and towards Belvide Reservoir. I'd planned to camp here but it would not have worked since it's surrounded by houses and green house. It was well I'd settled for the field and not forged on.
   You're still following Staffordshire way, sometimes diverting onto the Monarchs way so the paths are relatively easy to follow and stiles maintained. It was passing through Bishops woods that I got a call from Judith, my aunt, who joined me in Penkridge for lunch. These meetings with people help so much and Judith was wonderful. Not only was I treated to good company and a lunch but she'd bought fresh socks and a packed lunch with snacks.

Lunch with Judith in Penkridge

  Once over the M6 you follow the Staffordshire to Worcestershire canal for a few flat miles before turning East up into Brocton. I met a lady cycling the canal path and we talked a while, she was a veteran traveller and wrote for walking magazines as well as being an artist.

  Although I reached Brocton well before five I decided to be naughty and camp early. The weather would crash in soon and I didn't want to end up wet. I found a lovely patch just off the path but hopefully hidden enough by trees. I did question the wisdom of camping among a bunch of trees just before the winds came crashing in but

Brocton Moors

without a handy campsite there was little choice. In the end I chose better than I thought, I must have been on the right side of the hill and I passed a lovely and peaceful night sheltered from the worst of the weather. The rain wasn't even that hard and warm in my tent I enjoyed the certainty it gave that few would be afield in such conditions.