Day 19 - Another catch up on photos

Graffitti at Taunton railway station. I hate such graffitti - it is almost criminal!

Steve and Terry of Luckmans Duckett Parker find the village sign at Luckett amusing.

The intrepid hiker and support driver Adrian plan where to meet at the end of the day's walk. However all the best plans go wrong. Adrian rang me to say he was waiting for me in the Trout Inn. When I got there it was closed! He had meant to say he was in the Fishermans Cot which was not too far away. The smell of a pint of cider mean't that it didn't take me too long to find him.

Following doctor's orders to stretch before the day's walk.

The wonderful people at Coxey's who all wore red, held British Heart Foundation ballons and copies of Taxation magazine in support of my efforts. Thanks, your support is really appreciated.

Clive, me and another pint of cider in the Globe Inn, Stampford Peverell. The photo below shows the barman (Roger) who organised a collection for the BHF.

Celebrating reaching the 300 mile total since leaving Lands End, at the village of Norton Lindsey, Warwickshire. I think that the cider must have been airbrushed out!

Andy and Phil helping me to enjoy a drink on a very hot Saturday walk along the Grand Union canal

Cheers

Keith

Days 17 and 18 - At Home

Support driver brother in law John who did the honours on Friday 21st.

The squad for Saturday's walk - Phil, Neil, Karen, Keith, support driver Graham and Andy.

Apologies for not making a post on the blog yesterday. By the time that I had finished the walk I did not find time as Norman came round to check on my health and then Adrian and Heather came round for a meal (a takeaway Indian which was very good!).

Yesterday I travelled through Stratford to Snitterfield a total of about 18 miles. Today I managed a further 13 miles to Knowle. the walk today was certainly different as my son Neil, 2 of his friends (Phil and Andy), and Karen from LDP joined me. Having a number of fellow walkers certainly helped me as the chat took my mind of the unmentionable s..... Nine miles of the walk was along the Grand Union canal which made for reasonably easy walking. There were also a number of pubs on the route and we took the opportunity to visit everyone of them. This resulted in the walk taking a fair time but the alcohol made sure that I didn't particularly mind!

I reached another milestone today - a total of 300 miles (now 311) which is almost one-third of the total journey. Just think, all that I need to do is to repeat what I have done - twice! The 300 came up in the almost appropriately named Norton Lindsey - I will contact the council to point out that Lindsay should be spelt with an A and not an E.

I have mixed news for those of you who have been awaiting news about the benefits of the extreme Lands End to John O'Groats diet. The bad news is that my weight is exactly the same as it was 311 miles ago. The good news is therefore that if you are looking to lose weight there is no need to feel guilty about not planning to walk the length of Britain. I feel as though I have eaten huge amounts since 5 May and so there could be hope for anyone who would like to eat as much as possible and not put weight on - just walk 20 miles a day!

Thanks to everyone who has posted comments on the blog, on facebook or sent me emails of support. Your good wishes certainly help me in my crazy quest. you may have noticed that there is now a counter on the blog which records the number of visits to the blog. This has been in place only since Wednesday and has almost reached 400 - this is fantastic and it is great that there are so many people out there who are interested in my exploits.

The KBW's for the last 2 days;-

John, Graham and Jean for transport services.
Neil, Phil, Andy and Karen for services to drinking and walking.

In view of the state of my s... and the very high temperatures forecast for tomorrow I plan to have the day off. I will make the decision whether to walk on Monday tomorrow in consultation with Norman. Despite the current difficulties rest assured that I am still fully committed to finishing the walk.

"Walking is good for solving problems - it's like the feet are little psychiatrists." - Edward Weston

Cheers
Keith

Days 15 and 16 - 250 mile service

This is me on my rest day. I am sure that you can come up with some interesting theories about what I am doing! The sad truth is that I am using ice packs with my feet up in an attempt to cure my shin problems.

Norman Pilgrim with the patient.

After a rest day my shins felt slightly better. I therefore set out intending to reach Chipping Campden - a walk of just over 18 miles. I managed this in reasonable time although by the end my shins were fairly painful. Norman has very kindly been checking on my condition every day, and he still does not seem overly concerned about the prognosis. It may however be necessary to scale down the daily mileage and build in more rest days. Any of you who are planning to join me later in the adventure please contact me so that we can discuss when I might reach the various locations.

Tomorrow I plan to reach just north of Stratford on Avon. This is in Warwickshire which I regard as my home county , even though some bureaucrats think that Coventry is in the West Midlands. This has made me think of the number of counties that I have already walked in during the last 2 weeks. This is not such an easy task as it may seem at first thought. For instance does Avon still exist? Is South Gloucestershire a separate county or is it simply part of Gloucestershire? My research on Google suggest that the answer to both questions is no. The list of counties that I have visited so far is therefore Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire (6 in all). Sounds a long way doesn't it!

Further use of google has helped me identify the deer that I saw on Dartmoor - they were Roe Deer. I was inspired to research this as I saw another Roe Deer in the Cotswolds today. The scenery was again stunning - I am running out of adjectives to describe the wonderful English countryside!

After spending even more time on old Roman roads today I am able to report the breaking news that 'Adrian's Wall has been finished! You may think that this news is 2000 years or so out of date - however Adrian (remember the superb support driver for a week in the south west) has confirmed to me today that their new extension has just been finished. By the way He also tells me that the correct spelling of the old Roman is Adrian and not Hadrian - any comments?

Today's KBW's are:-
Graham and Judith - Services to Transport and moral support
Norman - For expertise and friendship

"Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend." - Albert Camus

Cheers
Keith

Catch up on support group photos

I thought that I would use my rest day to catch up on some of the photos of the support group that I have previously been unable to upload. The pictures in order are:-

Pat and Bryan Cooper with their support vehicle.

Cousin Dawn Cooper and her husband Dave (it is not a requirement that you must be a Cooper to be in the support team!).

Susie and Clive Walters together with their support car.

The view from the Lodge in Looe, kindly provided by David Russell.

The "Looe Squad" preparing for the walk - Adrian, Steve , me and Terry.

I will perhaps try to catch up on some of the other photos another day.

Cheers

Keith

Day 14 - 250 and 1000

The good news is that I today passed the 250 mile marker. The bad news is that after consulting with Norman I think that I am due a 250 mile service, and I am now taking a rest day tomorrow. Norman doesn’t think that the problems are too serious, just wear and tear on the shin muscles which are used to lift the foot up whilst walking. The strange thing is that walking downhill causes more of a problem to these muscles than does going uphill. He has prescribed ice packs every 2 hours and as much feet up as possible.

The stroll today started about 5 miles south of Cirencester (which looks to be a very pleasant town) and then took the White Way out of town reaching a little village Compton Abdale which is just south of the A40. The White Way is another Roman road and runs due north out of Cirencester. The weather was sunny and so I had the opportunity to audition as a human sundial. It was interesting to watch my shadow gradually move from the left to the right as the day progressed. I am however synchronised to Greenwich Mean Time, so that it was at 1.00pm that my shadow was pointing due north.

I am very pleased that the photo facility is now back in action and I will try to catch up on the best pictures from the last week. The first photo today shows Rod (who hosted me last night) and his sister Judith who carried out today’s taxi duties. Thanks very much to both of you. Also to Rod’s wife Jean who did not quite make the early morning start!

The second photo shows the proud and relieved moment when I left Cornwall, and entered Devon, after several days of walking up and down hills. I am with Terry so I assume that Steve took the photo.

You may remember that my lifetime bird list was 999. Well I am pleased to say I have reached 1000. The new species is Merlin which I saw hunting over Dartmoor. It was not until I returned home today that I had access to my records to show that I had not seen it before.

Today’s KBW’s are:-

Judith – Excellent transport and encouragement when walking was painful
Rod and Jean - Fantastic hosts with great food and hospitality
Norman – Physio advice and help


Two reminders. I would be delighted to read your comments and thoughts, so please post comments. The fundraising total has now exceeded £3,500 but I would be pleased to receive any more donations!

“People say that losing weight is no walk in the park. When I hear this I think, yes, that’s the problem” – Chris Adams

As tomorrow is now a rest day the next blog will be on Thursday.

Cheers
Keith

Day 13 – In Roman Footsteps

I have now done over a quarter of the walk! Not far to go now!

Almost the whole trip today was along the Fosse Way, the Roman Road North East out of Bath. After yesterday’s musings about Harold’s Army, today it was time for me to think about the huge distances that the Romans walked. I therefore spent the whole day imagining life as a Roman soldier.

I know roman roads are renowned for being straight but I had forgotten that romans weren’t concerned about hills – they just went over them! I don’t think that I will forget this lesson.

My right shin has been painful all day although it hasn’t slowed me down (24 miles in 6 ½ hrs). I’ve have arranged to see Norman, my friendly physio tomorrow night when I am back in Coventry. I will try and struggle through until then.

Jean returned home this morning with my laptop so this blog has been typed by Sue – thanks, and to which she qualifies for a KBW for services to typing.

Today’s KBW’s go to:

Judith for transport services
Rod and Jean for wonderful hospitality and accommodation

Tomorrow I will be on my way through Cirencester towards Chipping Camden.

“He who limps is still walking” – unknown

Cheers
Keith

Day 12 - Bath

I had an early start today in an attempt to get back onto schedule.This surprised me a little as we had spent Saturday evening with my cousin Dawn and her husband Dave, and there is the reputation of perhaps drinking a glass or two of red wine more than is strictly good for us. However this time we had a very good,quiet, meal in the vegetarian restaurant (Demuths) that Dawn had booked - if at any time you feel the need for a vegetarian meal it is highly recommended. So I felt on good form this morning and it was pleasing that they were able come over to spend some time with us and to participate in the venture.

The early start led to having breakfast in a lay by as the hotel did not serve breakfast until 8.30. Jean is planning the same again for tomorrow morning, before I head towards Cirencester along the Fosse Way .

I started with my head literally in the clouds as the clouds were low over the Mendips, with light drizzle for the first few hours. When the weather improved I had a pleasant stroll through river valleys on quiet country lanes.

I made my target of walking back to Bath and in fact managed to walk 2 or 3 miles along the Fosse Way out of Bath. This will make it easier to to make a start tomorrow morning. Jean will drop me off and will then return home. I an to be met at the finish of the day's walk by Judith Mitchell and will take me to her brother's house in Wootton under Edge where I will stay the night.

My shins were much better today. I stretched them last night and this morning which may have done the trick. Hopefully this problem will not recur.

I haven't been keeping stats but I think that by far the majority of people that I have spoken to along the way (I am not too proud to ask for directions!)have been supportive of the enterprise, with only a few thinking that the whole thing is pointless.

Whilst marching along today I recalled the forced marches that armies did in the olden days. The one occasion that I recalled was 1066 when the English army marched from northern England (York?) where it had been fighting the Vikings to Hastings to fight the Normans.I would like to know how far they walked and how long their march took. Does anybody know? I suspect that it may put my present efforts in the shade.

"A pedestrian is someone who thought that there were a couple of gallons left in the tank." - Author unknown

Cheers
Keith