Day 42; Confidence

After a night of talking our way through storms as we couldn't sleep, Kate and I were up for 7 excited so see our Uni friends, Emily and Kila, who were meeting us at 9 to join us on todays walk. And as you had guessed, it was still raining! To cheer us up what we didn't know was the girls had decided they were carrying our bags for the day- and although we refused and resisted these stubborn little ladies were out to win. So Kate and I spent the day smiling to ourselves with the happiness of being surrounded by such good friends. Thank you girls! 

With 18 miles to walk all I could ask for now was a little sunshine. We were heading for Wadebridge- Kila's home town- crossing a lot of footpaths along corn fields and dairy farms, and then along small windy roads with tall hedges and no paint to spoil their country look (only problem was the moments when one car met another car and we were in the middle of it- our rucksacks had to quickly become friends with the hedges). 

The hills were enormous today, and steep. Really steep. I was happy on the up hill, Emily wasn't really appreciating the extra load at these points, and then my knees kicked in on the downhills while Kate was enjoying the Achilles recovery moment. Kila just powered through all of it- she was a machine, and her pain free feet made me more jealous with every step. At a happy pace and enjoying the sunshine we had just a mile to go until lunch where we were heading for a local pub that Kila could happily recommend. 

Then without warning the heavens opened; Kila and I were ahead by some way, so I wrapped up while Kila insisted on doing it the Cornish way and just walking on as if it was a perfect summers day. We reached the pub, soaked. Kate and Emily arrived drenched. With only 6 miles to go we decided to have lunch here and enjoy the warmth. 

In our final stretch we crossed one particular dairy farm which had cows surrounding the entrance gate. Me being nervous (as always) cagily walked towards the field. Kila being the unbreakable woman that she is lead the way and just demanded to the cows to leave by waving her arms in the air and gesturing 'go away'. I was in awe. She showed such confidence and the cows left immediately; clearing the way for me to quickly follow Kila across the field- I was like her shadow, and refused to leave her side. Amazing! 

I was so impressed with her completely fearless approach. Hey maybe I'll be like that next time (or not). After reaching our campsite where the girls were grateful to drop the bags, we pitched our tent and drove in to town for a drink where we found ourselves in enormous bean bags outside drinking Rattler cider, feeling completely relaxed. 

It was so lovely to have the girls here with us! We parted once we knew our clothes had finished washing and it was time to cook dinner. We crossed the 1000 mile line today... only 6 days to go now!

Day 41; Home

The kids woke us at 7.30 which was a surprisingly pleasant alarm- it makes a change to our usual dingalingaling. Next it was our turn to take parent roles and take the three girls to the bathroom for their morning ablutions- now, well out of my comfort zone, Kate was in her element- as they held her hand in a big sister kinda way. 

Breakfast was served, lunches prepared, then Tabitha joined us for the 12 mile coastal path hike. The heavens opened, and unfortunately didn't close again until the later hours of the evening. Although this made for dramatic scenery as the skies got darker and the waves got bigger; the three of us were soaked through. Again. What happened to our British summer!? 

As Tabitha kept our spirits high we trailed along up the steepest of hills- and of course back down them. Along sandy beaches- which was a first, and through small villages where the locals looked on as if we were mad... as I was still in shorts I couldn't really blame them. We reached our campsite by 4.30 pitched our tent in the pouring rain and then walked an extra 3 miles in to Boscastle as it was the nearest bus stop to send Tabitha back to Bude on. 

Boscastle is a beautiful small village, set down the middle of a cliff valley, filled with small tea shops and farmers pubs. Having been here after the land slide they experienced here eight years ago, it was amazing to see how they had restored it and managed to keep the traditional look of its countryside village. We sat down for hot chocolate & whipped cream, simply just for the heat. 

Once I stood, I left a small puddle on the chair from my dripping clothes. I needed to go in a tumble dryer. We enjoyed dinner together and then said goodbye to Tabitha once her bus arrived to take her back to her family (which only runs 4x a day!). Kate and I meandered back to our campsite via a cup of tea and another hot chocolate. Still freezing we could only hope for warm showers at the campsite. 

On our walk back up the 20% gradient hill which took us 35 minutes to climb, now shivering, all I could think about was home. And how much I missed it. It was all the small things that I missed, my pillow and teddy 'Dad', my Mum's cuddles, the comfort of a hoody and socks to walk around the house in. My best friends, and family. 

In just 7 days I get to see my mum as we cross the finish line and in just 10 days I get to go home. I've never been so excited to return back to 'normal' life, ever. It was a nice feeling knowing I had learnt to appreciate that though. Even if it had taken 1000 miles of walking across the country. P.s. incase you were wondering, Kate is still snoring next to me... some things never change.

Day 40; Seaside

Three words to describe today; challenging, painful but fun. 
After what we felt was a well-earned lie in we had breakfast and left for our 18 mile coastal path walk to Bude. And the sun was out, finally! We reached the sea and although tempted to jump straight in we had hills to climb, and lots of them. 

It was the first time we had seen the sea since Gretna in Scotland, and to me the seaside reminds me of my parents- they took us to the beach come rain or shine every weekend until I was 16, making this part of our trip special for me. 

We stopped for lunch 13 miles in next to a small sandy beach with two very large hills either side of us. Seeing holiday makers sunbathing made Kate and I quite jealous so we didn't stick around for long. Our next hill was one of the steepest yet, but for both of us it showed us how much fitter we were getting; we climbed it no problem, even in the gorgeous summer heat. 

However, as always, where there's an up there's a down. I now know what it feels like to be my 82 year old nan going down stairs, and I've decided getting old isn't going to be much fun. I snail-paced it as my knees were complaining- what I didn't know was things were about to get a lot worse. 

We looked across in to the distance and as Kate took in the glorious views, all I could see was three horses in our next field. As my stomach churned I continued on slowly trying to create any other possible pathway. I was out of luck, and by the time we had reached the gate the three horses were right there at the fence- waiting for us. 

Kate tried to calm me as she ran through step by step instructions of how to keep walking forwards, even when a horse is approaching you, tears starting rolling down my face in pure fear of my next challenge. I was gifted the smallest second where the horses turned their backs and you have never seen me run so fast in all my life (though considering the 22kg rucksack on my back, that's probably an exaggeration). 

I eventually looked round to check Kate was still alive and now with my knees and hands shaking, I was sweating all over. Keen to reach the next fence I continued, now heading up a hill with 30m or so between me and Kate, I started having a panic attack. Trying to breathe was hard enough besides the fact I couldn't see with all the tears blocking my view. 

I finally reached the gate and feeling grateful that I had made it through alive I tried to calm myself down and catch my breath again. It was crazy, I have dived with sharks and not been that scared... and to think they are just a four legged animal with a long tail. 

Leaving that experience behind I obviously let myself relax too much as I found us lost, walking forests with no path, climbing barbed wire fences and crossing streams, all for 90 minutes, just in circles. But I loved it, to me this was what the adventure was about- and as Melinda would say, make your own path and follow your senses. 

We finally found our final destination where Tabitha (my boss) was meeting us with her family at our campsite. A BBQ was cooked and prosecco poured, it was a perfect end to a challenging but fun day. And so lovely to see a familiar face. Tabs even let us share her 6 man tent- Kate and I felt it was a treat to have a different home for the night, without mentioning the pillow! It had been a great day, and now with only 8 days to go the count down was on!

Day 39; Inspirational

Waking to our little treat to ourselves- hotel= pillows and dryness. Heaven. We had breakfast on our beds and then set off for Clovelly, leaving Exmoor behind into North Devon. We walked along the A39 for 18 miles today, its a long national speed limit road with no footpath- as you can imagine it was monotonous.  

We did finally see the sea though, having not seen it since Gretna- on the boarder of Scotland, three weeks ago, this made me very happy! We joined the West coastal path for the final stretch in to Clovelly. 

Clovelly is the only village in Britain where all the houses are owned by one family- and you can get donkey rides on the cobbled streets (if you would so desire). It's a beautiful quaint village where no cars are allowed, and you pay for the privilege of walking down it- unless like Kate and I you turn up at 6pm, then you get a free stroll. We checked in to our hotel/B&B and went for dinner across the road (literally). 

After calling home in the evening I got chatting (no shock there) to a handsome guy outside (dont panic he was on his honeymoon). After the 'small talk' stage, 90 minutes later, he had gone on to tell me how he had MS, and was disabled only three years ago but since has gone on to climb the three peaks of Britain. After talking about walking 1100 miles across the country I felt a little silly- this man was a true inspiration.

Day 38; Challenge

It's raining its pouring but for once Kate isn't snoring! Our tent once folded resembled something fresh out of a washing machine- that had missed the 'quick spin' stage. Everything was wet. We were heading for Barnstable, 22 miles South Westerly. 

We started our day in the bottom of a valley where the river flow was fast due to the recent showers; the first footpath we were supposed to take had a polite sign 'please do not use'. Feeling out of luck we carried on forwards in hope of an alternative route. Seven miles off course, in the middle of marsh land filled with mud, slugs, quick sand, and long grass/ ferns both Kate and I were soaked through.

We had been walking for 4 and a half hours and hadn't even made it to 3 miles on our map. Then with a track on the opposite side of the river, we decided to cross. Now so far past 'damp' I walked straight across the middle of the river; my boots sunk under the water flow and without a care in the world I crossed (its times like these I need my wellies!). 

Climbing 500m in half a mile our legs got a good morning wake up call until we finally reached our first town- now 5 hours in. We continued on, hoods up, feet squelching- now in the middle of absolutely nowhere with just the odd sheep bleep to keep us entertained. Kate joked how she could go to the bathroom and no one would know as she was that soaked through. 

With rain dripping off my hood on to my face, and unable to see more than 20m infront of me, I found myself wondering what on earth I was doing!? And then I thought about how this challenge wasn't just an 1100 mile walk with 22kg rucksacks. It was about facing any weather that the English summer threw at us, keeping the morale high when you're lost in no man's land, coping with no phone signal for 4 days, and best of all, learning to smile every step of the way through it. 

So smiling away to myself, enjoying the adventure Kate and I had embarked on 38 days ago, now with only 10 days to go- we felt it was time for a treat. We cancelled our planned camping night and spoilt ourselves to a plush hotel with pillows and white linen- and a bath! 

Feeling delighted with ourselves we drank afternoon tea in the lounge area and then booked dinner for a leisurely 8.30. Dinner brought cocktails and all of a sudden Kate had forgotten about the agony her shoulder was in and I had dismissed the blisters that were so selfishly taking over my feet, and we just enjoyed ourselves. Completely enjoyed ourselves. Cheers to that!

Day 37; Navigator

Kate and I treated ourselves to a lie in this morning, 7.50 alarm set, delightful- and I never get bored of waking up on a pillow; its such a treat in the camping world. After a homecooked English breakfast we departed heading for Simonsbath. 

The walk was much the same as yesterdays, lots of hills, beautiful scenery, but the best part was the minimal pain from my feet. 2 paracetamol and 2 ibuprofen before starting is the trick- and it meant I could smile all day. 

We got slightly off track on a couple of footpaths, resorting us to ask the farmers and other ramblers (I'm getting to know the walking lingo now) to confirm where we were on the map. 

13 miles in we stopped for a break in the village tea shop- all I needed now was my wellies and I could have been a farmer. We bought food for dinner and finished off the final stretch to our campsite. We had showered and pitched our tent by 8pm so Kate and I had a picnic/dinner in our cosy tent (that now smells of jelly belly air freshener- a treat to ourselves for the final leg). 

We wrote home and then slipped into our sleeping bags by 9pm- out of phone signal left to an early night. Having really enjoyed today and not hating my feet on every step made a huge difference and so for the first time in a few days, I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Where guess what!? I'll be walking.

Day 36; Swimming

After our package of our next lot of maps hadn't been delivered to our campsite we had to go via the Royal Mail delivery office. It made a change to our morning routine. We went for breakfast in Bridgwater before setting off for Roadwater- which is in Exmoor National nature park. 

The walk was beautiful, such stunning views, brilliant sunshine, and giant hills. 25% gradient up, 25% down. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. The only very small downfall to this wonderful day was my feet. Again. The blisters made it feel like walking on glass, some of them were now bleeding too. A strong dose of paracetamol and ibuprofen saw me through the day, until we reached our home for the night. 

A beautiful farmhouse; Kate and I enjoyed tea and scones on the lawns outside before I went swimming in their outdoor heated pool- amazing! I am loving this! After an hour in the bath we were both relaxing in our dressing gowns writing home with the t.v. on. Small problem was we haven't had dinner or lunch- and there aren't any restaurants here... breakfast will be served soon.