16.5 miles walked today
232 miles walked in total
(average 13.64)
I started walking at 9.30 am after a huge
breakfast, most of which I left. I still
have a dodgy stomach unfortunately.
Because of the state of my feet, I’ve carried my boots and walked in
trainers all day. I also left the trousers and long johns off and walked in my
shorts instead. It just means my bag is
heavier, but I’m more comfortable.
The first stretch was along the sea wall to
Frinton, which I wasn’t prepared to like – it’s the only town in England Clacton .
It’s been easier walking as it’s been so
breezy. That hasn’t deterred anyone from
swimming though. The wall went along the
back of a golf course and country park and there were lots of people about.
I got quite excited as soon as I spotted Clacton pier!
There were lots of yachts out and I had a rest sitting by Gunfleet
Sailing Club on the front, watching the boats being winched up the beach. (I should perhaps mention Pippa from work,
our resident yachtswoman. Pippa very
kindly made me ten flapjacks – one for every day of the walk – simply so she’d
get a namecheck every day. However, my
rucksack was so full, that I offloaded the flapjacks in Coulsdon at Sheila and
Alan’s before I even started. Sorry
Pippa!)
I had a very quick flit around
I continued on the sea wall to Jaywick – another
scary place. We came here on holiday
when I was very small – all I can really remember is Mum having to go and buy
some disinfectant when we arrived as our holiday home was so filthy. I couldn’t remember if Rat had been born –
sorry Rat! – but Mum confirmed that he sat on the front in his pushchair,
alongside Nan in her wheelchair, while Amanda
and I played on the beach.
It’s very like a shanty town – there was a big
market going on and there were some very enterprising home owners who had all
their old tat out on show in the gardens for sale.
I walked along the wall to Seawick – another
nightmare place. There were hundreds of
caravans and a karaoke machine set up on the green – not my idea of a fun
holiday, I’m afraid.
The sea wall finished at Seawick, so I was back on
roads until St Osyth – I got to the Red Lion pub to find the priory is in new
ownership and closed to the public.
Gggrrr!
I followed the road to Hollybush Hill and took a
public footpath to Brightlingsea. This
entailed a sharpish march through a field of cows – uh oh! I’m quite scared of cows actually and when I
walked the Cornish coast path with Sam a few years ago, the only time I was in
the lead was when I was sprinting through the cow fields ahead of her!
I get a second wind usually when I get near to my
destination for the day and, as I leaped over my final stile, I called out to
an old boy in his garden. He demanded to
know what I was doing and, when I explained I’d walked from Walton and was looking
for accommodation, he found me a chair from his garage, made me sit in the sun
in his garden and went to ring a friend who owns a B&B. I’m always astounded when people are so kind.
The B&B was excellent and I had a scalding hot
shower before attending to my feet – which are now blistered on the bottom
too! I also had a shivery five minutes –
sunstroke perhaps? Maybe I should start
wearing the hat, instead of carrying it!
I had a mooch around Brightlingsea tonight –
there’s an absolutely beautiful Thames barge
on the quay. What a fantastic end to a
good day. Or so I thought …
In the Yachtsman’s Arms, I got talking to a couple
and the landlord about what I’ve been up to this week. I asked the landlord for the number of a taxi
firm as I didn’t fancy walking uphill in the dark – the B&B was over a mile
away. The couple said they’d give me a
lift – apparently they lived two doors away from where I was staying. People are so generous.
They all had a good laugh about the way I’d got
the B&B in the first place.
Apparently Pitty, the old boy who got me the accommodation, can be a
right old b*st*rd when he wants to be according to the landlord. I think I’ve seen a side of him that his
neighbours never have!
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