Chimal one

Slow Way not verified yet. Verify Chimal here.

Overall, I would say this is a fairly pleasant walk; I enjoyed it but there were a few issues in the middle section near J17 of the M4.
I started in Chippenham and found the stretch between the town centre north to Kington Langley very pleasant. It's interesting to see how the town transitions from the historic centre, through the suburbs and then past the new builds. Then you're into the countryside with Bird's Marsh Woods and green lanes through to Kington Langley. Walking in spring, I was lucky enough to hear a Cuckoo; a nice connection with nature.
Heading north from Kington Langley, the route became a little problematic and, as mentioned in the previous review, the track from Lipgate Farm is not easy to access/follow and it's definitely recommended to stay on Day's Lane for an extra couple of hundred metres and then turn east onto the byway before reconnecting with the route. It is not possible to through the middle of St Modwen Park as the route suggests. I was able to follow footpaths that enabled me to skirt around the east of the Park and then join the B4122 to approach the motorway junction. These do not appear to be well walked with longish grass. It was fine for me as I had waterproof walking boots but any non-waterproofed footwear would have been sodden. Either side of J17, you have to do a couple of hundred metres of walking on the verge, not ideal, but there was space to do this safely. All in all, the navigational challenges, verge walking and 'green desert' feel of this middle section made it the least enjoyable part of the walk.
However, moving on, I thought the green lane stretch on the approach to Rodbourne was delightful, very quiet with a real feeling of being out in the countryside. The churchyard at Rodbourne was a nice spot for a bit of lunch and walk on to Corston was straightforward and pleasant. Beyond Corston, I made a bit of a mistake with the route around Burnt Heath Farm but soon righted myself. The green lanes and approach to Malmesbury, with the abbey coming into view, were another highlight of the route. There is a plethora of routes down into Malmesbury and, with the town in sight, you can choose whichever ones take your fancy.
Nature notes: I recorded 43 bird species along the route so, despite some areas of 'green desert', there is life out there!
Overall, I liked the route for some of the pleasant stretches of gentle North Wiltshire countryside, the villages which each had attractive churches/churchyards, the start/end of the route has characterful market towns. Not so great is the M4 running through the middle but there's not much to be done about that! However, the stretch north from Kington Langley to J17 needs a bit of thought and consideration as the Slow Ways route is either not ideal (Lipgate Farm path) or impassable (St Modwen's Park).
I would walk this route again, especially now I know where the tricky sections are. I would, however, choose a time with low traffic to make the verge walking either side of J17 as easy as possible.

I am familiar with the majority of this route; I walked the middle 3/5 of it today (3 May 2021), from Kington Langley to Corston.
I joined the route on Day's Lane in Kington Langley. I found it impossible to get onto Chimal One by the right turn onto the footpath at Lipgate Farm because the gate was tied shut. However, there was an easy workaround by continuing to walk along Day's Lane, and turning right onto the Byway after about 200 yards, then left onto the Chimal One footpath. (This left turn was not marked by a visible fingerpost or way marker).
The footpath across the planted field was not well marked or visible, but I got to the stream at the bottom. I expected to find a footbridge, but there wasn't one, and there was no finger post or way marker. I eventually found a way across the stream by scrambling down and up the banks and getting any feet wet walking across. Certainly not possible with wheels.

The path from there to South Sea Farm was OK, but I had to duck under electric fence wire a couple of times. The route though Whitelands Farm was a bit more difficult, but I got there in the end. No complaints about 100 yds through cow slurry. It is the countryside after all.

Approaching the new St Modwen Distribution Centre / Eyesore / White Elephant on the B4122 I found that there had been a (presumably legal / authorised) footpath diversion about a quarter of mile before the B4122. (See photo). It took me left to Day's Lane then stopped, leaving me to walk along Day's Lane and onto the grass verge alongside the A350. So then it was a quarter of a mile along a narrow grass verge, dodging empty bottles and Costa cups by a very busy 60mph dual carriageway. Not for the faint hearted or those with wheels. Then around the M4 roundabout to the relative safety of the grass verge alongside the A429 and the right turn to Clanville.
For the historians, 150-250 years ago the road to Clanville was part of the main Bath-Oxford road, aka the Pucklechurch to Christian Malford Turnpike.
The left turn onto the footpath was not marked, but relatively easy to spot, before the white house (see photo). From there it was relatively plain sailing. Except for being confronted by two very loud dogs, off their leads and without any owners in sight, as I approached the Stanton Road. Once across, the bridle path to Rodbourne and then on to Corston was OK, if nondescript. Although I did see 3 deer.
For those who reach Corston and want to save a bit of time, note that there is a safe and usable pavement / footpath / pavement all the way from Corston to Malmesbury alongside the A429.

All told, I can't recommend it to give this more than a 1*.
1. be safe - not really, especially on the A350
2. respect local codes and laws -OK?
3. be accessible to as many people as possible - no
4. be direct - OK
5. be off road - mainly, except for the bit along A350 and around the M4 J17
6.. have resting places to eat or sleep every 5-10km - Yes; note that there is a Truck Stop cafe down the B4122, just after the St Modwen site
7. pass through train and bus stations - Yes
8. be easy to navigate - OK with a map but a remarkable lack of Fingerposts and way markers
9. be enjoyable and beautiful - Not really
10 use established routes (such as the Welsh Coast Path), but not be distracted by them! not really.

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