Old Sodbury

P was staying at different accommodation, so we met up at the Dog Inn in Old Sodbury to recommence the trail. The first part was a wander through the very neat and pristine Dodington Park. It is the extensive residence of a wealthy business owner who, it is rumoured, does not appreciate the walkers and if it wasn't for hundreds of years of convention and law he might have blocked the path. Allegedly. We were very respectful and stayed between the many "private property - do not enter" signs.
While avoiding any interactions with his sheep, I was startled by seeing the undercarriage of a Hercules as it flew low and turned beside the hill we were passing. I may have sworn. B was less surprised, having seen them in action in the past.
Leaving the private park, we went through a wheat field - the walking path was lined with a row of poppies and daisies for the walkers to follow. It was as if there was a welcome mat rolled out in red and white.
All three of us are, thankfully, suckers for an old church, so we stopped again - this time in St Mary Magdalene's Church in Tormarton. It's old - a pre-Norman congregation, with Norman architectural features and a 15th century brass memorial hidden under a rug.
We later crossed a bridge over the M4, on which we spied a turn off to Bath - suddenly the end was feeling close!
On the trail was the beautiful National Trust museum Dyrham Park - also beautiful because it had a cafe and toilets. B went on without us to Pennsylvania but P and I stayed on to tour the house and gardens. The home was largely built under one owner, William Blathwayt in the late 1600s, using an inheritance gained through his wife, and some investment in coffee and other newish products being grown with enslaved labour. We've noted a number of museums and galleries acknowledging any funding or foundation built from enslaved labour, but not apologising. It seems there is a movement of sorts but I'm not inside that industry so not sure where it's heading.
On our way out, P and I wandered back past the adjacent church, which had on display over half a dozen funeral hatchments, presumably depicting the crests of members of the Blathwayt or Wynter families.
We arrived in Pennsylvania half an hour before a pre-booked private dinner party. P was able to join us even though she was staying at different accommodation, again. We were able to get to know a couple of Norwegian women whom we had seen briefly along the way - lots of belly laughs over their travel adventures.
P's landlady came and collected her and drove her home via the sights she would miss in the morning.
End of day 9 - bit of an easy day: 15.0km, 24,993 steps, 66 floors (3 in Dyrham Park)Read more