Day 2/5 🥾 The Two Saints Way, Staffordshire and Cheshire

The Two Saints Way continues through Staffordshire and Cheshire as I settle into life on the trail. Day 2 brought curious cows, long stretches of canal walking, soaring temperatures and a reminder that this trip is all about preparing for the GR5, not chasing mileage at any cost.

ℹ️ Stats

Weather: hot & sunny 25° ☀️ (weather warning in place)

From: past Milford

Start time: 8am

To: Kings Woods

End time: 7pm

Accommodation: wild camped 🏕️

Terrain: rocky, forests, roads, canal paths

🥾 Km: 36

🥾 Miles: 18.94

🦶 Steps: 47,023

Total Distance: 60.8 / 149km | 41% Done ✅

💰 Costs

£4.34 – water, Ribena and jelly

Subjective Feeling Out of 10

Enjoyment: 8/10

Fatigue: 4/10

Ease of terrain: 3/10 – one slight climb, lots of flat canal paths.

⭐️ Highlights: A really balanced day. Pleased with what I've done. Body and mind are feeling good.

🏔️ Challenges: Cows 🐮, climbing over a barbed wire fence to escape them. Diversion by St Rufin's with no alternative route, so I had to backtrack and follow the river instead. There were also some nasty road crossings with very fast traffic 🚗.

💭 Thoughts: Just keep wandering along and see how it goes. I wanted to do it in four days, but I think it will end up being five, and that's okay. It's a training hike for the GR5.

Two Saints Way: Day 2 – Cows, Canals and Keeping Things Sensible

A Slow Start to the Morning

I had an okay night's sleep, but it definitely wasn't my best.

The challenge of camping during the summer months is that it doesn't really get dark until around 9.30 or even 9.40 pm, and even then there's still plenty of light in the sky. I wore a buff over my eyes, but I still struggled to drift off.

Then I woke up at 4.30 am.

That was definitely too early to get up, but instead of stressing about it, I just lay there and thought, You know what? Just relax. Keep your breathing steady. Even if you're not asleep, you're still resting and your body will benefit from that.

I eventually drifted in and out and properly woke up around 7 am.

The mornings are taking me a little longer than usual at the moment. I'm out of practice when it comes to packing everything away and remembering exactly where things go in my backpack 🎒. Rolling up the tent, sorting my kit and getting organised took me about an hour before I was finally ready to hit the trail.

The Cow Drama 🐮

The start of the day was... interesting.

I came across a field full of cows and had my GoPro out, chatting away to the camera. I was actually saying how confident I felt around cows these days after the GR10 and all the close encounters with the Pyrenees cows.

I definitely spoke too soon.

As soon as I said it, the cows seemed to notice me and collectively decided that I was the most interesting thing they'd seen all day.

Suddenly, they were all heading towards me.

Very close.

Very quickly.

I tried going through one field and shutting the gate behind me, but the gate wouldn't stay closed and just swung back open. I ended up climbing over a barbed wire fence into another field, only for the cows to follow along the other side.

It was honestly one thing after another.

I wasn't particularly frightened, more annoyed than anything else. I just wanted them to leave me alone.

Canal Miles and Heat Warnings

After the cow drama, the route settled into a lovely rhythm with plenty of canal walking 🚶‍♀️.

It was relatively flat and fast, although incredibly hot. Temperatures were around 25–26°C and there was an orange heat warning in place. There wasn't much of a breeze either, so it felt pretty intense at times ☀️.

One positive: I didn't spend any money all day.

I did stop at a pub to refill my water bottles, which was incredibly kind of them, and I visited a couple of churches along the way ⛪, which was really nice.

I also managed to take a few wrong turns and had to backtrack on myself a couple of times. There was one official trail closure where the notice said the work would be completed by summer 2025... which obviously hasn't happened.

In the end, I followed a parallel route along the canal instead. It wasn't exactly on the GPS track, but it was close enough and I managed to make it work.

Doing the Maths

As I walked, I started doing the mental maths for the final two days.

I think I need around 26 miles on both days to finish as planned.

The issue is that if I don't manage the distance tomorrow, the final day suddenly becomes 29 or even 30 miles, and honestly, that's not something I particularly want to do.

This is a training hike.

This is not a "destroy yourself before the GR5" hike.

I've already gone from around 17 miles on day one to roughly 20 miles today, which is a great progression. But jumping from 20 miles to 26 miles is still a significant increase.

I'm not hiker fit right now.

I've been training hard and I feel strong, but for me there's always a big difference between general fitness and trail fitness. Usually it's around 10 to 14 days into a long hike that my body really adapts and suddenly 20–25-plus-mile days start to feel much more manageable.

I'm not there yet.

And that's okay.

No Pressure, No Ego

I don't want to push things too hard and end up carrying unnecessary fatigue into the GR5.

I do have a Plan B.

I've got accommodation booked in Chester, and if I need to, I'll simply walk as far as feels sensible tomorrow, get a taxi to the hotel and then take a taxi back to my stopping point the following morning before finishing the trail properly.

No pressure.

No ego.

Just sensible decision-making 👍.

Lessons Learned So Far

Physically, things are going really well.

I've been making a real effort to stretch, and I can definitely feel the benefits. At one point today I stopped to dry my tent, had a few snacks and did some stretching, and this evening when I find somewhere to camp, I'll spend another few minutes loosening everything off.

I'm also planning to have my final meal around 5 pm and then stop eating for the evening, just giving my body a chance to focus on recovery and hopefully get a really good night's sleep.

As for lessons learned so far?

I probably need to carry one of those little squeezy bottles of cordial concentrate. It would make plain water a bit more interesting and save some money.

I also need to remember antihistamines.

And I think I'll wrap a bit of duct tape around my trekking pole, just to have it handy if I need it.

Other than that?

Everything feels in order.

The gear is working.

The body is holding up 💪.

And most importantly, I'm really enjoying being back out here.

Continue the Journey 🥾

Day 3 brings an early start, more hot weather, overgrown trails and an important reminder about the difference between being fit and being hiker fit.

➡️ Read Day 3/5: The Two Saints Way, Staffordshire and Cheshire