Day 34 – Monday, July 4, 2011 -- Much Wenlock to Shifnal 13 miles

Much Wenlock is a pretty little village, and its High Street has many commercial establishments run out of buildings that are centuries old. The businesses are for locals – butcher, hardware store, pharmacy, etc., so the village doesn’t have the feel of a tourist trap. Believe it or not, Much Wenlock is where the modern Olympics were first started around 1850.

Citizens of Much Wenlock

Today’s walk took me out of town past the old priory, and almost immediately into farm pastures. While crossing a pasture, I heard a loud commotion as at least 3 dozen people were passing through the gate which I had used only moments before. I was quite sure that I had paid my B&B bill so I couldn’t imagine why a local posse would be chasing me. But they weren’t carrying clubs or flaming torches, so I quickly dismissed the thought of a gang of vigilantes.

A Royal Sendoff

As they approached closer, I noticed that they were smiling and some were carrying walking sticks. It was a group of residents of Much Wenlock who came out to walk with me a bit and give me a grand send off!! Others tried to downplay the community’s showing of friendship by telling me they were a “walk for health” group that meets every week, and today they just happened to be walking on my route. Well, I’m certainly a believer in walking for health (see my postings of June – August 2010), but there is no doubt in my mind that the citizens of Much Wenlock were showing their great friendship to an American who visited their village. Or maybe they were just making sure I was leaving. In any event, I doubt that any other End to Ender ever got such a sendoff.

After that, I literally floated along the trail, and my hat was two sizes too small for my head.

David and Glenis

A bit later, I encountered two other walkers, David and Glenis, from Yorkshire. We had a good long chat, and took pictures of each other, but I suppressed my local celebrity status, lest they be disappointed that the community didn’t turn out to welcome them.

Ironbridge's iron bridge

I arrived at Ironbridge around lunchtime, and took a quick break on a warm day. Ironbridge is a bit touristy, but in good taste – kind of like Carmel, California. Knowing I had a short day, I lingered perhaps more than I should have, because as the day wore on, the temperature continued to rise.

Sheila and Rob

As I was leaving Ironbridge, I walked through a car park, where I encountered Rob and Sheila having a tailgate lunch. My attention was quickly seized when Rob mentioned that he restores old cars and that he had driven a classic Triumph from John O’Groats to Land’s End for charity. He said they raised £150,000.



That got me to thinking: I should start a charity for temporarily homeless, semi-retired lawyers. You know, the ones who live out of backpacks, and move from city to city because they can’t maintain long-term relationships. If you think that’s a good idea, just send your contributions to this address. I’ll use the initial seed money to brainstorm in a local pub. This idea has real possibilities. Honest.


© 2011 Ken Klug