Day 1 - Chepstow

Beer drunk: 1 (and a bit) pints
Distance walked: no idea, Time taken: who cares

I didn't sleep well last night as the back of my legs were aching.  While being short means you don't have to worry about your kneecaps when sitting in cattle class on a plane, it also means you can't put your feet flat on the floor.  After 7+ hours of sitting this way your hamstrings make it quite clear they are not happy.  I was OK if I kept still, but if I moved I got a shot of pain up the back of my legs.  I was so tired I feel asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow but at 1am I rolled over and the pain woke me up.   I got back to sleep until 2am when I moved in my sleep again.  This process repeated hourly until I finally gave up at 5am and got up.  Dr Google suggested ibuprofen (which I had neglected to pack) and stretching (which I did).

I headed off to breakfast at 8am expecting to be the first to show up but I was one of the last. The tiny basement breakfast room was full to bursting but I wedged myself in at one end of table with a pair of women from Sweden (I think).  I only had a Half English breakfast, rather than a Full as I haven't started walking yet.  This meant just bacon & eggs plus toast & marmalade with several cups of surprisingly drinkable coffee.

Next on the agenda, after buying some ibuprofen, was to catch the train to Chepstow in Wales near the start of the walk.  The train was punctual which apparently was a pleasant surprise.  My hotel here let me check in early which was decent of them.  The room here is easily twice the size of the one I had in London and at a fraction of the cost.  I even have a bath in the bathroom rather than just a shower.  Bliss.  The bathroom has a frieze of decorative tiles with fish swimming amongst plants and a rather startled looking duck - as well it might be given it is underwater. Although on closer inspection it might be sea horse.

After settling in, I went for a walk around the town.  There seemed to be a surprising number of shops selling knick-knacks.  How do they all survive?  Even more impressive was the number of pubs.  I counted around 10 and the town's population is only about 15,000.  I also visited the castle (superb) and the local museum.  This was housed in a very fine house, which had originally belonged to a prosperous doctor.  It then became a posh girls school before becoming the local hospital.  I always like local museums, as they are often more interesting than grander ones.  Instead of famous thises and priceless thats, they tend to have exhibits showing the lives of local people, which are far easier to relate to.  I hate housework at the best of times.  After looking at the displays of kitchen and laundry equipment over the years I can only give thanks I wasn't born in a earlier time.

I also encountered a local cat on my wanderings.  He was sunning himself on a wall and demanding tribute from any and all passersby.  He did an excellent impression of a cat that was half-starved, unloved and neglected - only slightly hampered by the fact that he was very fat and clearly pampered. After a full 5 minutes of attention I was permitted to carry on with my walk.

I picked one of the many pubs for dinner - the Boat Inn down by the river in what had once been a shipbuilders yard I suspect.  They let me sample all 4 of the local ales they had on tap before I settled on a pint of the Rev James.  This is from Cardiff and is a pleasant malty and nutty brown ale.  For dinner I had faggots with onion gravy, mashed potatoes and peas.  Not fine dining by any means but tasty.  The landlady seemed rather startled by my order, but I'd never had them before so I was interested in giving them a try.  I have since googled the recipe and understand her surprise.  Faggots (the food that is) are rissoles made of pig's hearts, liver and pork belly minced together and flavoured with herbs.

The pub was definitely a small locally run place, not part of a chain.  There was only one menu as the printer had run out of ink.  In any case, given that it was Tuesday and the Monday had been a holiday, half the dishes weren't available any way, so the menu was just a suggestion. The service was friendly and definitely provided with a smile but not as efficient as it might have been. You ordered your food from the bar, but they didn't bother giving you a number. They just remembered who had ordered what.  A system which worked well until the place started to get busy and fill up.  It was also very dog friendly, as several people came in with theirs.  However, I suspect the landlady would have been mildly appalled if someone brought in a child.  In short, I liked it a lot.

Tomorrow my holiday starts in earnest as I have to start walking.  Officially tomorrow's walk it 9 miles but I'm going to add on 3-4 miles for some extra sightseeing.  I'm curious to know how long this will take me.  I'm thinking 5 to 6 hours.