What started out as promising day turned into equal parts dull and painful by the end. I am more sore than I have been so far and one of my blisters is the size of my whole small toe. Which is odd, because you would think the walk would have raised no issues today. Leaving Oxted felt like leaving home again. I was so well cared for that it hardly felt like I was leaving a stranger’s house at all. They cooked breakfast for me, provided me with a replacement water bottle for t

Well, today certainly had an unexpected ending in the best possible way. The contrast between yesterday evening and this evening is like oil and water. But I’m getting ahead of myself just a little. We should start at the start. The stay in Merstham was quiet and passed without incident. My dinner was comprised of all the leftover chocolate from the hike that day, plus half the flapjack generously gifted by the church, plus a bag of Doritos from the Esso garage, plus three c

This morning was in the running for the worst start so far. Rain? Check. Cold? Check. Steep incline? Check. Hotel? Trivago. The sleepover at Westhumble had been fun, though my mum seemed to enjoy being in a sleeping bag again after 50 years far more than I expected. She was eager to donate to the chapel as thanks, too. I was glad that she came, and hope that she brings Freddie back with her on Saturday like she suggested. But it was raining already, and I had to meet a memb

You could say that this leg of the journey was the end of the beginning. Tonight is the first night that I sleep away from home, now I am far enough for it to be impractical. I’m on my own, so to speak, from here on out. To begin with, I watched the sun spill across the countryside from the ruins of St. Catherine’s hill. There are many more woods in Surrey than in Hampshire, it appeared from there. So, after crossing over the lazy River Wey, I started marching out of Guildfo

Seale Church Maybe it’s delayed fatigue, but I feel especially tired today. I’m not sure why, but it could be to do with the threat of my brother dropping out. He had been complaining of blisters for the last few days, but I thought it was generic soreness. After all, the amount of walking that we are d oing each day, multiple days in a row, is hardly something you casually prepare for. I worry that I set the pace too fast, that I should have better accommodated him. For his

Today, we left Hampshire. To start, however, our trip was overtly familiar. The stretch of the Pilgrims’ Way that runs through Alton follows the path our family walks the dogs along. It cuts across the fields at Anstey Park where I played Rugby as a teenager. It follows behind my siblings’ secondary school before meeting the road at Holybourne. I could share a million memories of the path that’s practically visible from my house, but it will suffice to say that it took severa

The rain truly reflected the spirit of today’s walk. More than a few moments today were less than pleasurable, but had to be suffered nevertheless. Even the start of the walk gave us a sharp lesson about the value of up to date information. After insisting on starting at the end point of the previous day, the Church of St. John the Baptist in the center of Alresford, Freddie and I trudged through the rain to the Cricketers Inn, adding an extra twenty minutes to the route. Not

Empty cathedrals truly feel otherworldly. When we arrived to commence our walk and receive our blessing at Winchester Cathedral, there was barely a handful of individuals inside. I almost wish I had planned to record footage there this morning. The sunrise through the stained glass certainly aided the spiritual atmosphere. As it turns out, pilgrimages are quite popular, and so my brother and I were one group of three in total. Two friends were planning to walk the Pilgrims’

Image from Pixabay Winchester. Wintanceaster to the Saxons. Venta Belgarum to the Romans before them. Famous for its cathedral (one of the largest in northern Europe), Winchester College, a 700 year old public school, and as King Alfred’s capital – the future first capital of a united England. Of course, above all, we know it as the place where Ade threw outrageous New Year’s Eve parties while we were students together. This was meant to act as an introduction to the starting