Rainy Days And Mondays

The Ridgeway: Day 1 – Overton Hill to Ogbourne St George (12.4 miles)

Monday 13 November 2023

An early and very wet start greeted me today. The first day of any remote multi-day walk necessarily entails travel to the start point, and (along with the weather) a couple of train delays this morning certainly dampened some of the excitement of my rail trip down to Wiltshire. Nevertheless, alighting in the small market town of Pewsey an hour or so later than planned, for my taxi to the start of my Ridgeway trek, rekindled some spirit of adventure within at the prospect of my excursion over the next few days.

I decided to begin my trek a mile or so south of the official Ridgeway trail, from East Kennett village, for no other reason than familiarity: I parked here last April before climbing Milk Hill, the top of Wiltshire. Rather than southward as before, today I set off to the north, and in place of spring flowers I found autumn floods, with the Kennet river in spate and inundating the adjoining meadows.

My delayed lunchtime start meant that my five-hour ramble finished in the darkness by the light of my head-torch, and I was grateful, as ever, to have my nordic poles to hand for some additional propulsion over the undulating Marlborough Downs. Most of my brisk walk today was above the 200-metre contour, reaching a high-point of nearly 270 metres on Hackpen Hill and again later near Upper Herdswick Farm, and so the route was indeed as exposed as the name Ridgeway would suggest. Accordingly I encountered a strong tailwind, several squally showers, and some spectacularly-lit landscapes. I hope that you enjoy these pictures of my day.

Arriving in the dark, I was most grateful for the large pot of tea offered to me at The Sanctuary in Ogbourne St George where I stayed this evening. This comfortable B&B certainly lived up to its name, and I was provided, exceptionally, with a fine evening meal – which was very much appreciated as the village’s only pub (where I had stayed with my then very young son Chris whilst walking The Ridgeway some 19 years ago) is closed on a Monday and Tuesday. Many thanks indeed to Rebecca and family for their fine hospitality!

Today’s heading ‘Rainy Days And Mondays’ is of course taken from a 1971 song by that title from The Carpenters. The recording features instrumental backing from members of The Wrecking Crew, who were a loose collective of talented US session musicians variously employed by numerous leading artists on literally hundreds of Top 40 hits across the 1960s and 1970s. As for the song itself, ‘Rainy Days And Mondays’ was penned by Paul Williams to music by Roger Nichols, a pair who had previously collaborated on ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’, another hit for the sibling duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter released the previous year.