Waking to glorious weather was a wonderful start to the day, but the
thought of some new scenery was what made this day fly by.
before I left the campsite at crooklands, I had breakfast with the old
couple in the caravan next door. it was lucky as I'd totally run out
of supplies. in no time at all after leaving, my legs were reminded as
to what a hill felt like!
on the horizon I could see the mountains of the lake district getting
closer and closer, but unusually the thought of an uphill struggle
made me smile. in preperation for a few hills, I stopped at a
roadside shop and was lucky enough to find the owner had a son in the
army - free lunch!
once I arrived in Windermere I spent 2 hours walking between all the
campsites on my maps, to find all were static home sites and or hard
standings. I'd had enough so made a bee-line for the first b&b I
could see.
upon opening the door I was greeted by 2 middle aged men who were
clearly more than business partners. as I ducked under the door they
both erupted in camp laughter and exclaimed "oooh you're a tall one
aren't you!". I could only laugh to myself as for a moment I thought
I was back in Brighton...
Tues 9th June - Windermere to Penrith (2 miles south)...
for the first time in a while I managed to sleep like a log before
heading down to breakfast. even as I ate the full English I could
taste that it wasn't 100% and was realised when it made me wanna hurl
for the remainder of the morning. seeming as I'd be hiking over a
1,500 ft mountain today, feeling ill was the last thing I needed.
as I left Windermere I strafed the lake and brushed the dust from my
camera, giving it the workout it desperately needed. the scenery was
absolutely breathtaking and made a fantastic change from the canal
routes - not that I hadn't enjoyed those.
I probably would have reached the summit in a reasonably quick time,
but I couldn't help but stop and take snaps every 20m.
within a few hours I'd reached the summit and was out of fuel.
luckily there was a tiny pub at the Kirkland pass and seeming as the
dodgy brekkie was a thing of the past, I stopped for some warm soup to
keep me toastie.
the great thing about reaching the summit, apart from the views, was
that I had about 6 miles of downhill walking until I reached the flat
lakes. what I thought would be an easy descent turned out to be a
killer on the knees as with each step, my weighty pack increased the
impact.
the scenery easily took my mind off the aches as I eventually joined
the first of today's lakes, making sure to avoid the main roads. this
allowed me to follow the paths along the shore where I was soon
clambering over rocks and voulting fallen trees... quite the Bear
Grylls... without the scripted scenes and carefully prepared dramas.
I sacrificed speed for fun, and I'm seriously glad I did!!
this was turning out to be the best days walking so far; whether it
was just the change of scenery I'm not sure, but whatever the case I
was loving it.
about 6 miles away from my destination, 2 guys on bicycles passed me
and gave a chirpy hello. in a few minutes I saw them waiting for me
outside a roadside pub so stopped to have a chat. they were also
doing LEJOG but were taking it easy as one of them had done it in the
past and wasn't up for a killer journey.
they were brothers and we shared the horrors of the challenge over a
pint... or lemonade in my case. it made me laugh when one of the guys
said he thought walking LEJOG was mad and wouldn't follow me into
battle as I was clearly bonkers haha!
I finally arrived at the campsite I'd marked on my maps but no one was
around. after ringing the bell a scary looking gent looked angry to
see me. once he knew was I was doing he soon became very smiley and
was kind enough to let me stay for free.
I then headed off to the pub I'd passed on my way into town and
devoured a chicken before wriggling into my sleeping bag.
Carlisle tomorrow with an even earlier start on no breakfast - yum!
this dreary thought was soon vapourised as I got a text from Ian to
let me know he'd managed to get my donations page on his company
intranet. that's an audience of between 400 - 600 people... superstar!
Wed 10th June - Penrith to Carlisle...
After such an amazing walk over the mountains, it was sod's law that
today was going to be a royal stinker. unfortunately I didn't realise
that my predictions would come true so soon.
I had woken up earlier than normal and got all my kit squared away in
record time. unfortunately this counted for zip as I needed to wait
for the local shop to open in order to grab some supplies. once
fuelled up, I hit the roads and made sure to keep clear of the maniacs
in the morning rush.
as I was using the winding hilly lanes, my mind was taken off the
bordome of walking into bland scenery by the burning in my thighs. it
didn't help when I looked back at the scenery I was leaving behind -
but I guess I have all of Scotland to go yet.
the winding hills soon turned into dull rural main roads as I tried to
avoid the same fate as the roadkill I saw every other step. it's hard
to be enthusiastic about walking when your mind and body are sick of A-
Roads, but at least I know why I'm bored - something easily fixed with
Kendal Mint Cake!
in a blind moment of arogance, thinking that a whole bar wouldn't do
much, I wolfed it all down in mere seconds. within no time I was
practically jogging the route and couldn't have stopped if I wanted to
- I was loving the sugar rush.
I've never seen trainspotting, but I guess the come down off heroin is
a piece of cake compared to kendal mint cake. it hit me about 6 miles
outside my destination, and boy did I feel as low as humanly possible!
in a strop I was moping along, barely reading my maps or taking the
time to check where I was heading. this resulted in me getting
totally lost down a farm lane and cornered by a set of teeth that
could have ripped me to shreds. luckily for me the farmers wife
pointed me in the right direction, safely away from the lion they
called a farm dog.
the tears soon dried as the campsite owner let me stay for free,
adding to the fact that she cooked me gammon, chips, egg and beans
with a few beers for only a fiver!
the campsite had a clubhouse where I met john, a total mentalist who
was living at the site whilst he worked on building Carlisle's flood
defence system. Over a few tins we watched the England vs Andorra
game, until my conscience got the better of me and I retired to my
tent and into the land of nod.
Thurs 11th June - Carlisle to Longtown...
even though it was forecast to tip it down overnight, I'd avoided a
soaking and woke to a glorious day - even if I could see trouble
brewing in the distance.
john had kindly handed me a few rations the night before, but in a
moment of weakness I forgot the concept of rationing and devoured an
entire box of Jaffa cakes.
as I laid my maps out in the morning sun, I saw that someone had
pitched their tent next to mine. a guy soon emerged and introduced
himself as another john. in no time, he kindly made me a coffee and
even a giant bowl of porridge - appropriate now I'm nearing Scotland I
guess. however there was something about john that I couldn't put my
finger on; he seemed too happy about life to be human.
he and his wife were cycling the 'Coast To Coast' route on a tandem,
something which filled me with a horrible feeling as it follows a
section of the dreaded Pennine Way - SPITS...
as we chatted over brekkie I realised what john was about as he
released an epic "Jesus Christ our saviour. instantly I felt
seriously embarrased as minutes before I'd been heatedly explaining
the lows of my route with plenty of colourful language... if he was
offended, he hid it well.
as I left he handed me a pamphlet about being a sinner and converting
to Christ. I read it from cover to cover in order to pass the time it
took me to walk into central Carlisle, however I have one major
issue. john was a nice guy but the pamphlet was a bridge too far for
me. I'm still a sinner even doing this charity walk off my own back?
hmm that's some lovely god right there... so in order to re-balance
the religious scales, I listened to the ricky gervais podcast in its
entirity.
once I was in Carlisle and was pamphlet free, I found the two missing
maps I needed and headed for the tourist info centre. the lady behind
the desk was a star and devoted nearly an hour to helping me hunt down
campsites along my route.
luckily for me I also found an outward bound shop within a few paces
and picked up my 3rd and hopefully final map case. for £6 it had all
the bells and whistles - fingers crossed it'll last longer than the
last 2.
on my way out of town I took a few minutes to be a tourist and take a
look around Carlisle castle. it was an amazing monument to British
military history as although empty, the moat and vast towers are all
still totally intact. I snapped a few pictures on my phone before the
guilt of not hitting the roads kicked in.
the rest of the day was spent trudging along the grass verges of the
A7, trying to second guess the weather. one minute it hailed, the
next it was searing heat followed by heavy rain for contrast.
after a further 12 miles I'd had enough and arrived at longtown before
heading to the campsite right on the Scottish border. the lovely
owner let me stay for free which was great, even if I was the only
person on the site. it was in fact located slap bang between two MOD
bases, so at least I was secure even if all my calls were being
monitored.
Fri 12th June - Longtown to Langholm...
I really didn't feel like getting up when my 6am alarm went off, but
by half past the guilt got me out of "bed" and down came the tent. it
was yet another glorious day and would be made even more significant
as today I was passing from England into Scotland.
the plan was to follow the A7 north out of Longtown until I hit
Canonbie, where I would be able to refuel. if this route were to
follow quiet country lanes i'd have been in my element, alas 99% was
on an unfinished main road with no footpaths.
there was a thin strip of the road for cycles, but at the speed some
of the lorries were travelling, I stuck firmly to high up on the
embankment.
Canonbie turned out to be a picturesque little village, far from MPs
expenses and the hectic city life. every single person I passed
greeted me with a smile as I made my way to the local post office for
supplies.
I was feeling that after a week of solid walking, I needed a
psychological boost to stop the negative vibes eating away at me.
this came in the form of posting home a weighty chunk of maps I no
longer needed and how sweet it felt! I then continued to buy out the
shop of its freshly made ham rolls and sat next to the village's new
war memorial munching away.
the rolls tasted identical to the ones my nan makes, which sounds odd,
but there was something about them that drifted me off into a daydream
about home and family. a few passers by snapped me out of my daze by
kindly sponsoring me before they headed into the shop. I quickly left
before they realised it was I who scoffed all all their ham rolls.
the route out of the village was pretty bland, but for a few car park
pitstops with a scattering of sunbleached tourist info boards. they
describe the A7 as the new borders tourist route - what they actually
mean is simply "this is the road to Edinburgh, keep going".
soon I arrived at the southern entrance to Langholm, where I was
greeted by a stunning river running under the bridge that takes you
into town. I tracked down the campsite that the tourist info office
back in Carlisle had found for me and pitched up for free - again!
it was only 2pm by the time I was all set up, so in an attempt to even
up my tan I fell asleep in the blazing sun - only to be women by the
oddest sight.
a pheasant was strolling right up beside me, trying to figure out if I
was safe and or had food to share. I threw it (or pete as I named
him) a few scraps and it decided I was a safe bet, refusing to leave
me alone whilst it checked out my tent.
it wasn't a hot blonde, but the company of this bird was as good as it
was gonna get. as I drifted off, I could only keep reminding myself
that from now on my Bergen is only getting lighter.
Sat 13th June - Langholm to Hawick...
until now the only run-in with mossies was along some of the towpaths
on my early morning starts. these weren't even an issue as I was
passing them by at a good speed. however last night I wasn't so lucky.
after about 2 hours sleep I was woken by the itchy feeling of
something around my neck and ears. I heard the sound of tiny wings in
my ear so swatted it away and thought no more of it. within 5 minutes
I couldn't take any more so reached over for my maglite and shon it
into the tent.
it was like opening the curtain in a dark dindgy room and seeing all
the pieces of dust floating in the air, although this time the dust
wanted to bite me. these buggers were small enough to get through my
tent's inner lining so the only option was to spray myself in deet and
try to get some sleep. it seemed to work as I plugged in my earphones
and attempted to drift off.
in the morning, I opened the tent to see the brothers and sisters of
the gits I'd squashed the night before waiting for another shot at
me. in a shuttle run fashion, I cleared away my tent as soon as I
could and hit the road.
my breakfast had only consisted of a dairy milk chocolate bar which
wasn't going to fuel me for very long at all. the problem was that
there was sod all around as the A7 runs through completely rural
countryside.
after 12 miles of walking on just cold water, I finally found a hotel
that was partially open. I explained what I was up to and wormed a
couple of J2O's and some crisps out of them to fuel my feet.
the route had been pretty dull up til now, but that soon changed as
the A7 joined the River Teviot and turned to head for Hawick.
it was about 6 miles outside Hawick that I made my first idiotic
mistake of this trip which could have resulted a hell of a lot worse
than it did.
I was in a daydream as I walked along the road until I heard a voice
call out hello. it was a friendly looking guy who'd seen my flag and
was having a ciggy outside the front door of a small cottage thagstood
alone, no neighbours for a mile either side. a second guy then came
out to say hello before offering me a coffee. I instantly said yes
without a moments thought and assumed I'd drink it in the doorway as
we chatted.
instead they invited me in and being polite I took a step inside the
cottage, only to instantly regret it. if you've seen/read "Withnail &
I", you'll have an idea of what these two guys were like. the front
room simply had a chair in the middle of the room with a load of
rubbish piled into the fireplace.
as the coffee appeared from the room I assumed was the kitchen, I took
one look at the dirty, crusty looking mug and knew I couldn't drink
even a sip.
just when I thought things couldn't get worse the welsh one of the
pair brought up the issue of money.
"so how have you been paying for stuff along the way then? you must
have some cash on you right?"
FUUUUCKK!! this was going south fast!
"no, I've just been relying on the kindness of strangers, just like
you two offering me coffee" I said, trying to hide the wobble in my
voice as I jiggled the mug of coffee. I kept one eye on my bag,
specifically the zip of the pouch where I'd only recently put back my
penknife after opening the bottle of J2O.
just as I was wracking my brains for a decent excuse to get out, one
of them explained his bus would be along soon and that was all I needed.
"ahh ok, well I best be making tracks before I seize up... cheers for
the coffee" I quickly said as I backed out the front door with a
nervous smile. they looked a bit confused but I was in no position to
give two hoots, I needed to be out of there.
I almost sprinted the next mile before sitting by the side of the road
and yelling "you f*****g idiot" to myself in response to such a school
boy error. I have to laugh it off now, but it certainly didn't feel
too funny at the time.
within a few minutes I came across a roadside diner and stopped fir a
pint if coke and a couple of toasted sandwiches. the guy who ran it
was ex-forces, supporting 45 Commando during his time in the Army
before being medically discharged. he clearly didn't like life on the
outside and by the look in his eyes was not adjusting well, but I
guess you win some you lose some.
once recharged, I pushed on into Hawick and tracked down the tourist
info office. as I came through the door the person that I think was a
woman looked at me like I was sub-human. I explained I was doing a
charity walk and did she know of any nice b&b owners who would be
willing to help me out. her response was amazing...
"well without being rude, anyone could say they're doing a charity
walk to get a discount, but I'll see what I can do."
two things struck me about her reply; A: she was a nob
and B: anyone willing to fly a massive Help For Heroes flag, wear 2
wristbands and an H4H t-shirt and fibally go to the effort of filling
out 3 forms of fake names and addresses all in different handwriting
styles, bloody well deserves a few quid off for the effort!!!!
just for fun, I let her waste 10mins writing out the names and numbers
of b&b's whilst I watched the good looking women working in the coffee
bar behind her. I then stuffed her advice deep into my pocket and
gave her a huge cheshire cat grin as I strolled out and went for a
wonder round town.
I soon found a b&b which had no room but the lovely owner phoned a few
other places and luckily found one right up the hill. when I arrived
and explained what I was doing the owner, Lorraine was over the moon
as her nephew was in the RAF. she said she'd hardly charge me a
thing, so I celebrated with a cavery at the local before crashing out
in front of the tele.
Sun 14th June - Rest day in Hawick...
I seriously needed today to rest up hopefully stop everything aching
so much.
I spent the entire morning watching rubbish on the tele, but by 2pm I
was starving so I headed into town so see what was around.
just after the northern bridge I found a fancy looking Indian
restaurant and I literally couldn't resist. I opted for a pasanda
with all the trimmings just before a couple came in and sparked up a
convo. the husband was a security officer at a local military
barracks and once he knew what I was doing, asked for my donations
site and said he'd spread it round the barracks - result!
after the success of the delicious meal, I headed back to the b&b and
collapsed on the bed barely able to move from all the curry... I love
rest days
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