Day 27 – Warrington to Crewe

July 31, 2017 By F-SUB

OMG! Truly, it has to be said, this has been the hardest stretch of the journey I have yet encountered. Gone were the polite footpaths and cordial traffic, due in part by the fact there was simply no room to maneuver no matter which route I took after I passed Northwich, especially the A530 (King’s Street), a dead straight road into hell! Traffic was insane in both directions and I’m sure I was cursed more than a few times for slowing the flow of traffic due to barely an inch of shoulder to step onto. There were a few moments where I thought I was going to bite the biscuit and become part of the tarmac under an HGV. I can honestly say I was this (👌🏻) close to giving up. Thankfully, in the late afternoon the traffic died down, but confronting so many angry motorists along the way dampened my mood to a point of wondering if this is truly what I signed up for. I opted to join country roads rather than a more direct route, but I was still horribly reminded of the A99 in Scotland. Once I got it in my head that I had survived that road I could survive anything, I became a defensive walker. Even with highway code regulations in my mind, it was still a massive struggle.

After a few scotches tonight in the ultra-glam Holiday Inn Express @ Crewe, I began to remember that the day hadn’t been a total loss altogether, despite my present downward spiraling mood. It had actually begun with nice paths and scenic areas so I shouldn’t completely downplay the whole journey.

The River Mersey. I was born in Birkenhead, but this is as close as I’ll get to it this trip

London Road again (yay) and, lo and behold, London Bridge!?

A late 19 century marker. Not made of stone like other ye olde mileage markers, this one I believe is made of iron – could be wrong. It’s dated 1896