15 miles walked today
550 miles walked in total
(average 12.5)
I awoke this morning at six o’clock and was
surprised to note how enthusiastic I was.
Considering I haven’t walked for two months, except for a week’s
trekking in the French Alps, I’ve been looking forward to starting up again
with some trepidation. On checking the
weather forecast before I left, it would appear that Margate
was the wettest place in Britain
yesterday – marvellous!
I left Portsmouth
at six thirty and was striding out along the sea front at Margate just before nine. Before too long, I’d left the amusement
arcades and sound stage of Invicta Radio behind me and headed out to quieter
beaches and the Thanet Way Coastal Path, a very well signposted path with lots
of information boards.
My first sit down was at Botany
Bay on the cliff overlooking the chalk stacks on the beach, which
had become separated from the cliffs.
There weren’t too many people around this early and the peace and quiet
reminded me a lot of family holidays from years ago – sunshine, sand, seaweed
and seagulls.
From Botany Bay,
I was on roads, footpaths and prom to Broadstairs, a really pretty little town
with many Dickens references. In fact he
lived at Bleak House, a fort like building overlooking the town, where he wrote
David Copperfield. I had a pit stop at
the Pavilion, a café/ pub with seating outside on the beach. I’d arrived slap bang in the middle of the
Folk Festival! I couldn’t miss out on an
ideal opportunity like this, so I listened to a couple of bands, watched some
Morris dancers and a hundred tiny tots doing the hokey-cokey, had a mooch
around the folk inspired craft fair and just sat and soaked up the sun.
Ramsgate was bustling and, after a quick drink in
the Royal in the harbour, I cracked on again – on proms, roads, old toll roads,
through a nature reserve and through an industrial estate to Sandwich, where I
stopped at the Fisherman’s Wharf for a cream tea. Sandwich is
another pretty town and obviously caters for a lot of tourists – I asked four
lots of holiday makers the way to the station before finding a local who knew
the way!
I really enjoyed this morning, but, from Ramsgate
onwards, it was a real slog and I found it quite difficult. That’ll teach me for sitting around and doing
nothing for ages!
