Having trekked the beautiful Hanbury circuit the previous day, I decided to follow on from this by getting Esta to drop me off in the countryside and making my own way back along some footpaths.

My OS map showed me that if I got dropped off in Flyford Flavell, I should be able to pick up the 'Millenium Bridleway' for the majority of my trek home.

As mentioned in my Hanbury Circuit blog, when I walked that route with Will I undertook it in flip flops and shorts.  The route had been well marked, and as the weather had been so good lately the going underfoot had not presented an issue with such basic footwear.  I had very much been lulled into a false sense of security.

The Millennium Bridleway (at least at the point at which I picked it up) appears seldom-used, overgrown, and poorly maintained.  Though there are signposts indicating the way across roads, detecting the trail is generally a detailed map-reading exercise.  It appears to be a route that must have been established back in Shakespearean times, and though it 'legally' remains a bridleway, it often cuts directly across fields.  Sometimes, as in the image to the left, there is a trace of a trail to follow, but I often had to skirt around fields of purple sprouting or other crops in order to get to the other side.  And even then, detecting the trail again was tricky, as the style might be rotted and overgrown with brambles and stinging nettles.  My bare legs were shredded and stung to pieces.

The necessity to continually stop and check my position on the map added a great deal of time to the walk, and I was averaging just 1km per 15 minutes.  I changed my plan and arranged for Esta to collect me from Spechley Hall, but eventually, after being unable to get out of field at all due to poor maintenance of the track (which was completely un-passable due to brambles), I even had to cut the final part of the walk too.  With no option, I had to ask a kindly couple if I could cut through their house in order to get to the road.  I popped out just down from the Nightingale pub on Evesham Road, so that quickly became the new pick-up point.

The bridleway could be a very pleasant walk if a bit of attention was paid to it. I learned a few lessons, not to mention some good practice on my map-reading skills, and on my next walk I'll ensure I wear my hiking boots again.  Once all the cuts on my feet heal, that is.

On Saturday 26th August I decided to go for a hike around Worcestershire.  There are some excellent circular routes listed on the council website, and the one I chose first was the Hanbury Circular Walk.

I decided to get Will off the settee and away from Minecraft too, so told him we were off 'exploring' - he's wary of me saying we're off for a 'walk', so this made things sound more exciting.  I'm not sure I'll get away with that trick again though.

I put an extra 5kg into my backpack, making it up to 15kg to compensate for his little legs, and we set off in the car to the start point:  Gateway Park on the Droitwich canal.

It's an 11km hike, initially going past a series of three deep locks, before joining the Worcester/Birmingham canal for a few km.  The route is very well marked and equally well trodden (which led to a false sense of security on my subsequent trek), and I managed it in flip-flops and a pair of shorts.  I took my OS map, but aside from a bit of map-reading practice to brush up, there was really no requirement for it.  The leaflet on the council website has a small map and instructions which are more than adequate.

​The views over the countryside are stunning.  The photo opposite shows the view North, but there are equally good ones South, with the Malvern Hills in the background.

The terrain is generally easy-going (certainly in the dry weather), though there is a fairly steep hill up towards a church at one point which got me puffing.  Then there is a gentle downward slope towards Hanbury Hall, which certainly looked impressive from outside.

You don't go through any villages or past any shops/pubs during the walk, so arriving back at the Eagle pub (400 meters away from the start point) was a good excuse for a beer and ice cream for me and Will respectively.

In March 2018, I'm heading to the Annapurna region of Nepal to trek around the hills for five days.  Unfortunately, given that it takes around 10-14 days to do the full Annapurna circuit (plus two days to get to Kathmandu, and a further day to get to the start location), I won't be able to do that particular trek.  But there are plenty of others that take around five days, which is still going to mean a trip away from home for 10 days.

The plan at this point is to land at Kathmandu (found a flight with Turkish Airways from Birmingham for just £363 return!) and make my way to Pokhara.  There are various options for this journey, from the most basic, native-style, (taking 10+ hours), to a short flight (25 minutes).  What the latter option lacks is the opportunity to really mix with the locals.

Once in Pokhara, I need to arrange a guide.  I could theoretically trek alone (many do), but:
a) How would I know what I was actually looking at?  I could miss out on plenty of facts/history
b) It would be great to give something to the local community by hiring a guide
c) I'm sure I'll get to know these people a lot better as a result of chatting/hiking with a guide for five days than by being on my own

I've no idea how long arranging a guide will take, or how soon he will be ready to head off into the wilderness for five days - and it's this that makes the travel options to Pokhara questionable.  Should I just get there quickly and get the guide and our route arranged, or do I risk an adventurous journey at the potential cost of a day's trekking?

Having done a little research, potential routes include:
Everest View Trek
Langtang Trek
Poon Hill Trek (I'm currently leaning towards this one)
Mardi Himal Trek

If anyone has any suggestions/advice, please let me know.  I am limited to a five-six day trek, but I am planning on moving at a greater-than-average pace.

In physical preparation, I've started upping the distance I put in my legs each week.  I'll blog some of my treks and adventures between now and March 2018 - see the Trekking Masca blog I've already done as an example.

The audio book recording of Harry's Favourite Thing is coming along very nicely.  Estimated completion date is early November.  More details to follow.