Last night, as I lay in bed, whenever I moved, my muscles on my left side went into a painful spasm. The source of the pain seemed to be just below my ribs. Annoying, especially as I had not fallen or injured myself in any way. My usual exercises did not improve it so I eventually took a couple of pleasantly lemony Ibuprofen tablets which helped me get to sleep. My left knee was also stiff and painful so I felt a bit of a wreck.
Nevertheless I enjoyed my walk out of Lichfield, through the town with its pedestrianised centre and old buildings. On the outskirts, where a new housing estate was being built, I walked by the Lichfield canal for a short distance. A short length was all there now was of it, and much of that was being restored. After that I walked along straight tracks and paths by green fields, some freshly planted, all saturated with water. There were a few fields of pigs and one of donkeys to add interest.
In a number of places I came across work on the new HS2 Railway. I did not realise it ran this far east. Although I say "work", as in many British construction sites (and roadworks) there was no evidence of anyone doing anything, only large expanses of red earth. There were a lot of construction vehicles parked up in one area, all idle. I wondered if they were being hired, with costs rising daily. There were large puddles, possibly the wet weather and it being the weekend was not conducive to completing what ever the next stage was.
After a bit of road walking I reached Drayton Basset, the only village on my trip today. It had no café I was aware of but I found a bench in a wooden shelter to eat my last piece of fruit cake and a banana.
After the village I walked south on a stretch of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. To reach the towpath I climbed up a curious footbridge. On each side there was a tower with a spiral staircase inside, at the top the stairs connected with the deck of the bridge crossing the brown waters of the canal.
To the left of my canal walk the fields were flooded, and being surveyed by a few swans. A group of horses waded through the water. Later, there were old gravel pits filled with water, some of these formed a bird reserve with geese and mallards, others were part of the Kingsbury Water Park. I followed the Heart of England Way around the expanses of water in the park, but my way was eventually blocked by extensive standing water on the path. In my notes I had recorded this as a possibility, with all the rain perhaps it should have been a certainty, and I was mentally prepared to retrace my steps amd continue along the canal to my hotel for the night.
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