We were worried about the amount of time today’s walk would take and so we had a hasty breakfast at the hotel and hit the road at just after 8 am. It seemed as though the route was determined to throw obstacles in our path! The route was blocked less than a kilometre in! That… Continue reading Pilgrims Way – Day 5
Pilgrims Way – Day 4
Breakfast at Denbies was, as expected, a rather superior affair. Washed down with freshly pressed grape juice! The day’s walking started easily enough with a gentle flat stroll along the side of the A24 Dorking bypass, followed by fun and games crossing the Mole River by stepping stones. It isn’t easy jumping from stone to… Continue reading Pilgrims Way – Day 4
Pilgrims Way – Day 3
The last two days could be fairly described as ‘rolling’ in terms of gradient, today however we moved towards the Surrey hills and so face a little bit more of a challenge. Leaving Guildford this morning, after a swift breakfast of pastries and coffee in Ole and Steen, we knew that we were in for… Continue reading Pilgrims Way – Day 3
Pilgrims Way – Day 2
After a comfortable night in the Princess Royal and a reasonable if unexciting breakfast, we set off on our trek along the A31 to Guildford (or at least roughly parallel to it😀). It has not been difficult to remember which route we are on, given the very large number of references to Pilgrims along the… Continue reading Pilgrims Way – Day 2
Pilgrims Way – Day 1
This years challenge is the Pilgrims way, 222 kilometres from Winchester to Canterbury. Pilgrims have been travelling this route since the 1170’s to pray at the site of the murder of Saint Thomas Beckett. Sadly, we don’t have time to do this epic route in one go 😭. We did the first two stages, Winchester… Continue reading Pilgrims Way – Day 1
Hadrians Wall Path – Day 8
Today was our last hurrah. We got up early and strode towards Wallsend, avoiding the last remnants of the Friday night revellers on the Quayside. It was an interesting route, I grew up on Tyneside but the green pathway out to St Anthony’s point took me by surprise, until I realised that it had been… Continue reading Hadrians Wall Path – Day 8
Hadrians Wall Path – Day 7
This morning was all about the ‘Military Road’ or the B6318 as it’s more formally known. It runs from Greenhead, where we stayed on day 3 of the trip, to Heddon-on-the-wall and we have run across it fairly often in the course of our walk but since yesterday we have more or less just been… Continue reading Hadrians Wall Path – Day 7
Hadrians Wall Path – Day 6
We started this morning beside the lovely banks of the North Tyne, With scenic views in both directions and a quietly fishing heron. You may have noticed that yesterday I mentioned that Sewingshields Crag was the last big climb of the holiday. Apparently, I gave the impression that from now on it would be at… Continue reading Hadrians Wall Path – Day 6
Hadrians Wall Path – Day 5
Today was definitely a day of two halves. We started the morning well aware of the challenge which awaited us having seen the Peel Crags stretching into the distance from the top of ‘Mount Doom’ yesterday. And wow, what a roller-coaster that was, from the off! None of the climbs were long, apart from the… Continue reading Hadrians Wall Path – Day 5
Hadrians Wall Path – Day 4
This was the shortest day yet, but took an inordinate amount of time! A fact potentially explained by the elevation profile 🏔️ We started the day with a bit of fun, playing hide and seek in Thirlwall Castle, not hugely successfully with enormous bags on🙂 Thirlwall Castle was beloved of 19th Century Romantics, both poets… Continue reading Hadrians Wall Path – Day 4