13.5 miles walked today
508 miles walked in total
(average 12.39)
I left Portsmouth again at about a quarter to
seven and started walking two hours later at Swale, which is actually nothing
more than just a railway station and the name of the river. In fact, to embark/ disembark at Swale, you
practically have to jump in front of/ out of the train. Very exciting!
The first chunk today took me on roads through
Iwade and Kemsley to Sittingbourne, which surprised me by being quite a pretty
little town, despite all the industrial bits.
I went to take a look at the Dolphin
Yard Barge
Museum
From Sittingbourne, I was back on footpaths along
the Swale to Conyer. Initially, I had to
walk through a travellers’ camp which was a bit scary, but the perseverance
paid off – I was soon back on proper footpaths – it was very peaceful. It’s great to leave the concrete behind and
get back on grass again. The policies
for each county regarding foot and mouth are a bit vague – some footpaths are
open and some aren’t. There doesn’t seem
to be any logic behind any decisions at all.
So I didn’t see any other walkers, but I did see some big, fat, healthy
sheep!
There are about a dozen houseboats at Conyer and I
was in heaven, imagining my future living in one of these abodes. I even collared one of the local residents
and grilled him about living conditions – apparently, they have double glazing
and carpets, can be lived in all year round and, if you’re lucky, you even get
your own little garden with shed and greenhouse. He’d lived there for three years but the
people who lived in the boat opposite had been there twenty years. In fact, the one next to him was up for sale
and would I be interested? Would
I?! I was informed that a houseboat
could cost anything between £30,000 and £40,000. Mr Minshull, take note!
I had a quick drink in the Ship and Smuggler Inn
which, coincidentally, overlooked a houseboat so I got a good gawp at their
kitchen arrangements as I supped my orange juice. Mmmmm, I wouldn’t have my kitchen set out
that way, but it’s started me thinking …
From Conyer, I was back on roads through the
villages to Faversham – I was beginning to struggle now and really wanted to
stop. My feet were killing me and I was
getting rather burnt and delirious, desperate for ice cream and a sit down! In fact, I did the last two miles at a bit of
a shuffle, rather than a walk.
Faversham is another pretty town – my guide book
said it was one of the prettiest towns in Kent
A
very good weekend overall. Considering
I’ve done no exercise for ages, I was rather pleased with progress.
No comments:
Post a Comment