St Swithins Day Coast to Coast

 St Swithins day a Saxon Bishop commemorated in England on the 15th July,if it rains on this day so legion says it will rain for 40 days and 40 nights,it rained and the long range forecast for the next 30 days is heavy rain,just has I decide to walk the coast to coast a long distance walk across England (200mls) from St Bee's head on the west coast to Robin Hoods bay on the east

 this is a walk I have wanted to walk for years and now I can,I had been put of in the past by the arduous nature of the trail as it passes through 3 national parks starting with the Lake District and finishing on the north Yorkshire moors my home county, but hey I have criss crossed Spain so why not England.

in my youth I had spent many a weekend hitch hiking in the Yorkshire Dales and the Lake District carrying a small tent wrapped up in a sleeping bag bedroll-meeting up with friends from all over the north of England-singing folk and Dylan songs by night-walking climbing and pot-holing by day-happy daze.so now I get another chance to walk those blue remembered hills.
the picture on the left is from Dad-Fest when son number 2 and daughters 2 and 3 came visiting and discovered my secret stash of sunglasses.

since getting back from the Camino I've been licking my wounds and trying to get my garden back in order but my hearts not in it,its too domesticated and rooted and I quite like weeds and wild flowers plus when its not cultivated all sorts of things probably not seen for years come thrusting up,a testament to passed tenants of my home and their cultivation making it more there's than mine,its time to move on.
the village has been a safe haven but its too safe, a gentle peace full place but with the slight smell of decay.
 so once more into the breach I will tilt at a few windmills on the coast to coast and then hopefully the Camino Norte on the coast of Northern Spain and then try and get this house in order and move on.



 in the past things tended to happen to me when I was moving or just passing through,as the Sundance kid said "I'm better when I move" so move I will.

in view of the inclement weather forecast I have invested in a poncho and armed with a pair of classic Ray-Bans undiscovered by my children I will sally forth

When The Rooster Calls at the Break of Dawn

  

me and brother David decided on a 2000mls road trip to visit Salamanca and the surrounding area for Holy week( Easter).1000 mls in having hugged the French coast all the way down-camping by the sea things took a turn for the worse tempers were frayed and after a day of driving the camino from Puente la Reina to Santo Domingo de la Calzada things came to a head,I went from wishing I was on the Camino and looking forward to my long planned for walk on the Camino Norte along the coast once I got back to England and my Ryan-air flight back to the Spanish border to being on the side of the road with a heavy backpack (in poring rain I may add) and having got my credential from the place with the hens in the church heading for Granon in the rain,it took me just 5k to know I was where I was meant to be and the bell tower floor of granon did not disappoint. guitar playing hospitalaros and a young Korean singing folk songs and it was like I had never been away.
 The Camino kept providing for the next 550kms as only it can many great people were met, food and wine consumed round communal tables. You make the road by walking, where it is does not matter.I had made so many plans for this year none have turned out so far,perhaps the answer is not to make too many plans and just walk.
there is still time for me to do the northern rout who knows and maybe the coast to coast in England, Daughter number 3 has lost her job and wants to walk with me,which I would love.
  in the meantime the garden needs tidying the house bringing to order and a time to reflect on so many things this unplanned for Camino gave me.
 ( the pics are in reverse order)

DAD-FEST

 Spring has hit England with a force not seen for years,A week of glorious Sun,we Brits so love it when it happens that everyone sheds clothes and head for the beach-park or anywhere where we can display our white bodies and bask in the rays,we spend more money and make plans for the rest of the year as if the warmth will stay with us for ever.
I was no different,and with thoughts of my next Camino in mind decided to walk 20km through Thetford Forest, one of if not the largest Forest in England an old old path that links up with an even older Roman road that goes up through Norfolk to the coast,in the past I had walked the coastal route and now had a fancy to link this up with the "Pedders Way", my walk I hoped for the next 3 days
Also I wanted a taste of reality and with this in mind was carrying a tent in my 12k rucksack-I hope to carry one on the Camino Norte a walk along the coast of northern Spain,mainly because of money reasons but also because I want to walk in the early evening and not have to worry about the hostels being full, which in the past meant booking in by 2/3pm.
 I had pitched a tent in my garden the previous weekend, to be used by one or all of my 3 youngest children who were visiting the old man for his birthday in his one bed roomed bungalow,needless to say it was me who finished up in the tent-daughters 2 and 3 taking over the bed and son number 2 the sofa.
Tom son number 2 the artist even did a large poster for the event,it now hangs on my wall.His web site tom-kitchen.co.uk
it was good to have them there and fun was had but each night I had to creep into the tent and lay down these old bones-doubts creeped into my mind about sleeping in Spain in one never mind carrying the bugger hence the reality walk.
The day turned out to be the warmest April day on record  and a small Norfolk village I walked through the hottest in England.
it was so good to be on the road again with the sun on my back not one person was seen on this walk through the woods and just to lay down on the mossy banks with my bread and cheese (and wine) was sheer heaven, naps were taken as I slowly walked this old drovers route-the rests became more frequent as the sun and the weight of my pack took its toll.The stillness of the woods only being spoilt by the fact this path lies on the flightpath of American jets from the 2 large American bases nearby,for all I knew the conflict in the Arab states had escalated !!
but even the warplanes couldn't distract from the peace and quite and timeless stillness of this English country lane,but the burdening weight and the hot day did-it was time to lay down my bed for the night but I had reached a part of the Forest that is closed to the public an area used by the military for war maneuvers and firing range,maybe not the best place to sleep the night so I walked on to a small village pub and rested for a while,the locals at first welcoming but increasingly hostile as they questioned me about my plans for camping out-this being Norfolk (rural rural) and quite a small place my face was known from the time I owned a pub 40miles away and memories were invoked of a night I took a cut down pool cue to a bunch of gypsy types intent on wreaking the place, it seemed that the pub I now sat quietly drinking in watching the big football match on the TV was filled with friends of these people,my first thoughts were could I divert the army from their maneuvers nearby or maybe call in the American warjets,I settled instead for phoning my nearby brother for a lift home,the thought of my own safe bed too hard to resist.
 in penance for not walking the whole 3 days I spent the next day walking through and out of my local village to the water overflow channel one of many that cross low laying Norfolk,I love the local newspaper headline advert that stands outside the village stores it makes me smile every time.
 the local paper is famous for its headline "Titanic sinks 1 Norfolk man killed"
 The sight of the sun on the furrows of the newly plowed fields,the deer that scatter as I turn the corners,rabbits everywhere-the birds that shout and scream in order to frighten this poolcue wheelding maniac away,the strange horned highland cattle and the mated for life pair of swans that come back each year at this time patroling their stretch of water by the bridge, bring back the serenity of the day before,"its a new day its a new year and I'm feeling good"

Camino Algarve Travels with a Prostrate

a cold bleak january full of man flu left me pining for some sun and golden sands so taking advantage of cheap Ryan air flights I fly to the Algarve in Portugal,land at Faro and take the train along the coast to near the Spanish border arrive at the station at Monte Gordo its in the middle of nowhere isolated, it looked like a wild west station I expect tumble weed to come blowing across the road, but at least its warm and not cold England, I follow the other people who got off and walk 2km into the seaside town that looks like high rise Blackpool out of season and book into my hotel £63 for the week including breakfast can't be bad and bad it wasn't in fact my room was great and came with a balcony and a view over the main square.
 In the next few days I walk the beach left to the border with Spain and take a ferry across and bask in the sun my winter blues recede as I sit in the bars and drink my frosted beer,back to my great apartment in an evening, sit on my balcony and view this sunny world.
 every morning from outside my window people clad as if on the Camino flow past my hotel walking poles in hand.I find out they meet every morning catch the train to some out of the way spot and walk back,I join them one morning and find out there is a huge community of elderly German and dutch that have been here for weeks and walk every morning, maybe this is the future for me, spending my winters in sunny climes walking poles in hand trying to keep death at bay while slowly fading away with a great tan and fit body,the thought depresses me and I retreat to my solitary outings along the coast visiting whats left of the small fishing villages slowly being engulfed by the high rise hotels and brand new towns of partly sold houses with no life one such visit takes me to me to the old town of Tavira which was a breath of fresh air,it even had Camino arrows painted on the floor,I followed them to see where they led only to find myself at the bus stop for the tourist train that circles the town,I was now in need of a toilet break and stepped into the nearest bar to use the facilities,refreshed I headed uphill back to the railway station only to be caught short once more and had to call into another bar, another beer and toilet break,it took me two more stops to reach the station only to find the station bar had no facilities and was directed by the owner to a large wall at the side where I displayed myself to half of Tavira much to the amusement of the other bar users who welcomed me back with smiles and thumbs up,I hate that this maybe the way my world ends",not with a bang but with a whimper"
 having said all this I did come come back refreshed and benefiting from the sea and sun and also to get a bit real and revise my plans a bit for the new year,I cancelled my flights to Canada ( too expensive) I had not done enough research and while the young me would have thrived on 3 months of brown rice and no money the older wiser me took over, a little sad maybe but practical.
 So I continue to count out my life in coffee spoons and plan smaller battles maybe the Camino del Norte but with frequent toilet breaks----my computer has just developed a mind of its own and gone into a somewhat colorful mode,I lack the skills or the will to do battle with it, so for the time being will have to except my blog has gone a bit jackson pollock

Video of the Via De La Plata to Muxia

Year Endings and Future Plans

So here we are at the end of another year,A cold England with snow and ice not seen before Christmas for years. the weight creeps back on slowly but the tanned legs still remain a reminder of warmer days in Spain. this Norfolk village  creeps along slowly as I try to get my affairs in order,utility bills house cleaning. Came back to a full pantry and fridge thanks to daughter number 2 who had used the house for a short holiday with her boyfriend  and managed to roll my car into a farmers field less than one mile from the house,thankfully both were fine,just bruised and shaken, the full larder came with apologies. So now I catch the bus to the larger towns in the area,the overheard bus conversations tend to follow the same pattern, who's missing, ill or has died recently I tend to feel very old by the time I get home.
 So I make plans for the new year in a attempt to slow down "times winged chariot" in April I drive down through France and Spain with my Brother (in his car) hopefully with me driving :-}he loves Roman remains so we return to Salamanca and the surrounding area for Easter.
 then in an attempt to get out of my comfort zone,if you can call walking 5 months this year on the Camino comfortable!! I'm stirred to go for a bigger challenge so in another rush of blood to the head I have booked flights to Calgary Alberta in Canada (out May back??? July) a low deposit and 10 weeks to come up with the rest hopefully-and I don't say this lightly I,m going to have to pull my finger out in order to meet the deadline plus money for the stay-The realisation of what I've taken on woke me up early this morning with a nice feeling of nervousness which rose to stark fear when I googled Banff  National park near to the Rockies,the planned area of the backpacking treks and looked at the advice on how to deal with the Mountain lions Grizzly bears and Cougars, now the last cougar I met was on the Camino just outside Pamplona,thankfully I was too old for her, but I think  these may be differant  cougars ones with a taste for prime English beef. The bears will not be long out of hibernation the Female on heat for just a sort time and the growing female not on heat for 5 years, no wonder they are flipping Grizzly!!!
 there are also the weele disease carrying tics the later stages of which consist I kid you not of " arthritic pain or swelling, disorientation,short term memory loss,the inability to concentrate- and mental fog" my God I've got the lot !! how am I'm going to tell if I've got it ??? But I have battled the bed bugs of the Camino and will go prepared. plus  the Mountain passes will still be full of snow, This trip will be as far out of my comfort zone as I can get, I obviously have to get a bit real for this trip.
 So the year ends, I have met so many good people this year I was truly blessed plus I'm a more chilled relaxed and happy person going out than I was coming in.
 So for anyone reading this I wish them the same for the New Year, have a good one