Temple Mead to ...Temple Mead...Via...Temple Mead

Set off early on the school bus to Salisbury with a promise to Matthew that I wouldn't join him & his friends on the top deck. Hoping to catch the 9.04 train to Bristol, I managed to catch an earlier, delayed train. Great, I was off to a good start, except the train didn't move. We were all told to get off as it had now broken down. As I waited on the platform, I watched the train being shunted away & realised I'd left my walking stick on it! Luckily it was being attached to the 9.04 & the guard brought it back to me. I'll be amazed if I get to John O Groats with same stick.
Now this train was delayed, and thinking I might miss the bus connection to Bitton, I had a good idea. Looking at the map it showed "Boat & Ferry Rides" up & down the Avon. I could get a boat ride down the river to parallel point to Bitton. An even better way to start the day. Armed with one of those irresistable City Maps you can buy from a machine for a £1, they are beautifully illustrated like a Toy Town in a childrens book, I set off to find the ferry stop & walked round in a circle back to Temple Mead Station. The map may look pretty, but not very accurate. So...off I went again, found the ferry stop & did as instructed on the notice board "If you want to be picked up, wave your hand" So I did. But she didn't stop, she gesticulated to me to go over to the next bridge. Ahh, I must have been waiting at the wrong place. So I hurried to the bridge where she told me "The Ferry stops here, at Temple Meads, and I turn round & go back up to town" Well, no wonder she had no passengers, it would be quicker to walk! and that's what I did. Good idea number two. I decided to walk along the river, following the "Avon Trail" it was only a couple of extra miles & should be pleasant along the meandering river. I just needed to find the starting point. An hour later I was back at...Temple Mead Station. Eventually, got on the trail & very quickly wanted to get off again. It was dirty& industrial with graffitied walls & debris all around me. Hardly anyone passed by, why would they? It was a horrible place to walk. I was beginning to feel uncomfortable when the path suddenly came to a halt at a retail park. I gladly stepped up onto the road & went to MacDonalds for advice. They were all so helpful, everyone came out of the kitchen to pour over the map & as I left a man ran after me, "Take the Whitby Road to the left, that's where you need to go" I would love to have taken the Whitby Road if it was Whitby, North Yorkshire. At least I'd know where I was! so ignoring their instructions I headed out of Bristol on the main A road through the equally grim suburb of Brislington, it wasn't good walking on a busy road but at least I was finally getting out of town. Once I'd passed the Park & Ride & turned into a side road down to a pleasant pathway through fields I thankfully sat down on the grass for a very late lunch. The rest of the route was easy to follow through lanes & fields & I soon made up time. I needed to, Jane was meeting me at Bishop Sutton & we were driving back to Bristol University to stay with Catherine, her daughter. This, I was looking forward to, spending the night in a hall of residence was the nearest I'd get to being a student. We got lost in Bristol, what is it about this place? before finally getting there.
Most student rooms are compact & Catherine's was no exception. We spent the next half hour rearranging ourselves,bedding & bags, just stopping short of the furniture, to accommodate the three of us. After a quick shower we drove back into Bristol & had a meal with Catherine & her Medic friends. We were joined by Joe, the son of a good friend of mine, & he stayed to chat with Jane & I while Catherine & friends went off to celebrate the end of their exams in the Medics Bar.