Pershore to Tewkesbury - the final lap


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Europe » United Kingdom » England » Gloucestershire » Tewkesbury
October 12th 2010
Published: October 17th 2010
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The readers of this travelblog will have noticed that over a period of time I have been walking Shakespeare's Avon Way. The walk follows the River Avon from its source in Naseby in Northamptonshire to where it joins the River Severn at Tewkesbury, a distance of 88 miles. Today is the last lap from Pershore to Tewkesbury. The weather was cloudy and overcast but the rain held off. The walk, as you can well imagine, is pretty flat with very few inclines encountered. After leaving Pershore it is not long before one reaches the pretty village of Great Comberton which has its fair share of attractive thatched cottages.
On this 12 mile walk there are some wonderful long stretches where the walking is along the riverbank and the only companions are the occasional fisherman and the wildlife. One of the longest stretches of riverbank walking is just before Strensham Lock, which has a lock-keeper's cottage standing guard over it. The route here is very confusing as it not only entails climbing over lock gates but also going through the rear garden of a house overlooking the river.
The route goes underneath the M5 near to the Strensham Service Centre and this made me realise how far I had come for near the beginning of the Avon Walk I crossed the M1 in Northamptonshire
The approach into Tewkesbury is a bit like playing hide and seek with it's Abbey appearing every now and again behind a tree or hill. The Abbey is my destination but first I must see the spot where the Avon joins the Severn (this was a bit of an anti-climax as it is nothing spectacular) What a fine building the Abbey is and for years it was the focal point of the town. It claims to be one of the finest Norman buildings in the country.
I am at journey's end and now feel that having lived near the Avon for 30 years of my life I know more about it's ins and outs!!!!


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17th October 2010

Oh to be in England!!
Your travel blogs have made me more determined than ever to get back to the UK and see more of what we experienced in 2008. Tewesbury Abbey looks absolutely "so English". I've heard about the Abbey and it lives up to my expectations. Thanks for the experience.

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