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Hello and….1 day to go and goodbye 2020

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, england coast path, Fun Stuff, Granny and Jamie's adventures, gratitude, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, me and Peanut, photography, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, walks around the UK, tagged 101 walks, conqueror virtual challenges, Covid 19, English coastal path, family and relationships, for the love of walking, grandson, new year 2021, walk1000miles on December 30, 2020| 3 Comments »

Well, would you just look at that!! Just over 24 hours to go (UK time) and we say goodbye to 2020. I can hardly believe it.

Not that the new year, 2021 is going to start off very well at all with now 8 in 10 people in the UK going into tier 4 and virtual lockdown. Although 2020 didn’t do too well at all, 2021 is not going to get off to a very good start.

To say I’m peeved at our useless government would be an understatement because tomorrow brings the double whammy of the final twist of the Brexit knife and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to really give this year a bad name. And do I believe our feckless PM when he spouts out his nonsense about having got a good deal?? No. I do not.

Meanwhile I, like millions of others, am trying desperately to keep my head and not fall into the pit of despair at the way life seems to be spiralling out of control. To that end I’m not watching the news nor reading the papers and still off Facebook. I am however spending quality time with my family and walking….walking and walking. I’m also grateful to still have work.

Although I only started in April, having the Conqueror virtual challenges has been a bit of a life saver really because keeping up with my targets gets me out, and the walking, which I love, keeps me sane.

I’m nearly at the end of the 2020 challenge and yesterday I completed the Mt. Fuji challenge after a fantastic walk from Margate to Herne Bay 22.18 kms. Although it was bloody freezing, I thoroughly enjoyed the walk and was not only surprised at how quickly I walked the distance, but also at how easy it was.

I’ve long wanted to walk from Broadstairs to Reculver after visiting the Roman site a few years ago, so it was absolutely thrilling to finally make the journey, albeit only from Margate. Except for one very short section, there is a promenade/footpath and the sea the whole way. The final section to Herne Bay was a breeze…literally and figuratively. I nearly froze 😂😂😂 it was so darn cold – at one stage I was sucking my thumb just to get some warmth back into it.

Fortunately the cafeteria at Reculver was open so I stopped for 15 minutes to rest my feet and warm up with a hot chocolate and a yummy caramel fudge brownie…delicious.

Herne Bay is a fascinating place with so much history, not all of it good. But they do have some fantastic fish and chips shops….😁😁 I have to give a shout out to Gary of EKS Office Equipment in Herne Bay for not only agreeing to charge my phone (for free) but also allowed me to sit in a corner of the showroom to eat my chips while I waited. It was very much appreciated.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the walk, despite the cold, the saddest sight was the vast amount of plastic pollution that quite literally lined the whole 22kms….I could have filled 50 black bags and still not cleared it all. Its terribly painful to see all that pollution.

So as the year comes to an end, I have one final day of walking to do to finish my 2020 km challenge. Its been a most satisfying pastime and I must thank my daughter for introducing me to the Conqueror Virtual Challenges….thanks to that I have improved my fitness levels, walked extensively in areas I would likely have not except for wanting to meet the challenge of the challenges 😉 and I’ve inadvertently accumulated way more medals than I had planned. Its been a fairly expensive hobby, but so much fun.

I’ve started on the Alps to Ocean, NZ challenge and hopefully tomorrow I’ll complete another decent distance as my final walk for 2020.

Other than that, I have finally found a suitable place to rent. Went to look at a room last night….and as Goldilocks said “it’s just right ” and I’m saying “It’ll do Pooh” 😃😃 It’s not a huge room, but it’s on the top floor, its spacious, it has cupboards, and a bed, and a skylight for summer nights, and a desk for my books and computer and MOST importantly, the landlord said Jamie can visit. So HOORAH!!! after 18months I’ll have a place to go ‘home’ to. I’m feeling quite emotional. It means I can get my clothes out of storage, and my books and Jamie’s toys and my amazing South African mattress. I can brighten it up with my own bed linen and pictures and bits and bobs.

Today we had a photoshoot done. The fab photographer of @createdwithlightphotography on Instagram did the shoot for me with my gorgeous grandson. We had lots of fun and then had hot chocolate to warm up, because of course it was freezing on the beach. ☃️☃️☃️☃️

Tomorrow, weather depending I’ll walk from Ramsgate to Margate one last time before I tackle the next section of my own challenge….to walk the whole of the English coast within next 5 years.

Cheers folks, thanks for reading along with me. In case I don’t get to write a post tomorrow, although I probably will, I wish you all a VERY safe, healthy and wonderful New Year.

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Finishing one, starting another

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, Health, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged Boxing Day, Conqueror virtual challenges 2020, family and relationships, for the love of walking, Great Ocean Road Australia, walk1000miles on December 26, 2020| 4 Comments »

Just thrilled to have finished the Great Ocean Road, Australia virtual challenge yesterday….exactly 5 weeks & 5 days 👏👏👏 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

And just because I can….I signed up for another 3 and the 2021 challenge. 🤪🤪 so some serious walking coming up next year.

I’m planning on walking these as part of my 2021 challenge…along with The Ring Road of Iceland, Alps to Ocean New Zealand and the Cabot Trail in Canada.

First though, I must finish off my 2020 challenge…Getting started on the Mt. Fuji (74kms) challenge this morning I set off just on 7am and headed to the cliffs. Hardly saw a soul…it was quiet and peaceful, not a breath of air. I didn’t get a spectacular sunrise, but it was soft and pretty and I had a super walk and my total for today is 15.76kms.

The harbour is so pretty, especially now with the Christmas lights decorating many of them.

The wind came up on my way back as storm Bella started making herself felt.

With only 63.4 kms to go, I’m really excited to be reaching the end of the 2020 challenge.

Why not join me https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474

I finished off the walk with fresh croissants from the CoOp 🥐🥐 and a cup of tea with the family and then a much enjoyed sleep, but not often done. My daughter and I had a quiet walk to the cliffs and back before supper as well, after which I spent the late afternoon and evening with my beloved family and just enjoyed being with my grandson. He is ever so cute, a real little munchkin, so full of beans, and boy can he be demanding…when he says “G’anny sit down!!!” – I sit 😂😂😂 usually on the floor which is not good for the old bones 👵🏻🦴🦴🦴😩😩

I hope you are all well and had a lovely 2 days. If you didn’t get to see family and friends, I truly hope that 2021 will see you all reunited.

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Getting out in Tier 4

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, gratitude, Health, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged Conqueror virtual challenges 2020, Great Ocean Road Australia, long distance walking, tier 4 lockdown uk on December 20, 2020| 8 Comments »

The universe conspired to deliver a beautiful day to make up for the horrid news delivered yesterday. A grey, wet and dreary day would have been too depressing. Tier 4??? Seriously!

However, we are now one day closer to coming out of lockdown. Meanwhile, knowing as I do, how the British weather system works; grey, overcast skies in the morning…clear sunny, blue afternoon. Clear blue skies in the morning…rain by midday – with the odd exception.

Soooo, when I pulled back the curtains this morning and saw clear blue skies with just a hint of cloud on the distant horizon, I determined to use my shopping trip as an excuse to get out for a long walk. Which I did.

Heading along the same route as yesterday where I discovered Lloyd Park, I once again reached the park.

Thinking a slightly different route in the park would be good, I followed what looked like a nice, firm, dry sandy path to the trees I could see in the distance…it wasn’t firm or dry 🤪🤪🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️ within a few meters I was slipping and sliding along…

Managing to keep upright thanks to my walking poles, eventually I reached a tree halfway to where I really wanted to go, and called it quits.

I did a careful about turn and slid back to the concrete pathway, which although tough on the bones, is so much easier to walk on. I walked as far as the carpark on the distant side of the park, then returned. There were a fair number of people out walking, mostly masked up and keeping their distance. I overheard snatches of a few conversations; mostly about the lockdown and the mental health of people affected by the sudden change in the government’s position on Christmas.

On my way back out the park I ‘slid’ to the left and walked past a massive allotment plot.

I stopped to listen to a robin sing and then went shopping.

Oh oh…who is that I spy lurking behind the bush?

In all I got in a very good 9.1kms and as a result I’m now only 103.3kms away from reaching my target of 2020kms of my 2020 virtual challenge 👏👏👏🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️😃

I noticed this amazing decoration on the side of a building near the station

As for the Great Ocean Road route in Australia I’m only 25km (15.6miles) away from the end of the challenge 😁😁 I am now close to reaching the end of my virtual journey…239.8km along the south coast of that epic continent – Australia!! I really want to finish by Thursday 24th.

I’m roughly halfway between Port Cambell which I left behind 4 days ago

Port Campbell and 51.2 km (32 miles) to go

And nearing the end at Allansford

I hope to visit Oz for real in 2023/2024….finances depending. I only just received all my postcards from the Conqueror Challenges team. It seems I started the route before they were ready, so they kindly sent the cards in one batch when they were done. So awesome. They’re all incredibly on the ball with their customer service.

And so as 2020 starts to wind down, I’m gearing up to virtually climb Mt. Fuji 🗻🇯🇵 Hopefully this challenge will dovetail nicely with the last kilometres of my 2020 challenge. And of course, it goes without saying…I’m going to participate in the 2021 challenge too….😁😁😁🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️ What distance do you think I should set my target at?

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Both ahead and behind

Posted in conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, tagged Conqueror virtual challenges 2020, https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474, winter weather is holding me back on December 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

After correcting the start date for the Great Ocean Road virtual challenge in Australia, it seems I’m actually ahead of myself

Why thank you, I’m giving it some welly…😁😁

But with the 2020 Conqueror Challenge I’m still behind

121.1km doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you’re not ‘actually’ walking ‘virtually’ it’s a longggg way to zero!!Now if only this sodding weather would improve, I might actually finish them on schedule, and considering that I still want to virtually climb Mt. Fuji before 31.12.2020 …..

Still to get started, never mind completed

Meanwhile, the last day of 2020 creeps ever nearer….

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The love of walking

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, england coast path, Fun Stuff, Health, long distance walks - solo, memories of days gone by, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, walks around the UK, tagged for the love of walking, long distance walking, walk1000miles, walking solo, walking the English coast on December 5, 2020| 14 Comments »

I’ve had some amazing walks the last few years since moving to the east coast. The scenery along the Thanet coastline is really beautiful, especially at sunrise on a clear day, and then sunset. You can catch a gorgeous sunrise from Broadstairs or Ramsgate, and if it’s a good day, an equally gorgeous sunset from Pegwell Bay or Margate. I’ve been known to rush over to Margate to catch the sunset or a quick walk to the cliffs above Pegwell Bay.

I’ve always loved walking. As a young girl, in my 20s’ when I lived in Hillbrow Johannesburg, I used to spend the whole of Sundays just walking around the suburbs for hours on end. I used to walk to work every day, up the hill and down the other side….right up until I was 8 months pregnant, and then my boss wouldn’t allow me to walk anymore and insisted one of the staff take me home by car and collect me the next day.

I lost my walking after my daughter was born and my husband bought me a car. By then it wasn’t that safe to walk alone anyway and I got lazy.

When I arrived in the UK, my love of walking was reignited. I lived in Dublin, Rep. Of Ireland for 6 months and my sister, brother-in-law and I used to walk everywhere, especially on weekends when we’d head out to Dún Laoghaire or Glendalough and the Wicklow mountains. In fact we travelled to so many places, I’ve quite forgotten all but the most memorable. I do remember though being able to walk home from Dublin to Monkstown late at night and never feel unsafe….and my love walking, freedom really, was reborn.

I remember one weekend when we walked across country from Waterford city to PassageEast in the County of Waterford, took the ferry across the River Barrow to Ballyhack Lower in County Wexford, then walked to Arthurstown and onto Duncannon…and in reverse the next day. One of the many fun excursions from my 6 months there.

A walk across country in Rep. Of Ireland

On most of my overseas trips since, I’ve invariably planned a 10 day stay and walked….everywhere, and included a day trip to another destination. When I visited Venice I literally walked around all the accessible islands and usually started at 8am and walked till late at night exploring every nook and cranny. Actually, after Ireland, Venice was my very first trip to Europe and albeit terrified, I loved every minute.

I’ve since walked 80%+ of the streets in the City of London….much of my free time was spent exploring every court, lane and street, and I walked a fair amount of the City of Westminster too. When we still lived in Richmond, I often walked along the Thames riverbank, either downstream to Kew Gardens or upstream to Kingston and even Hampton Court. Even in the snow 😉

When we moved to Broadstairs we used to walk along the beach to Ramsgate. I always thought it was quite far, but its actually only just over 3kms. Now that I frequently walk in excess of 20kms and occasionally as much as 35kms, it seems absurd that I thought 3kms was far 😁😁

During my last stay, I walked along the beach from Ramsgate to Stone Bay and back, and one morning I enjoyed a sunrise walk to Viking Bay…of course I stopped off at The Old Bake House and bought a take-away coffee and my favourite pastry; an almond croissant then sat on a bench on the promenade to enjoy my treat.

Breakfast from The Old Bake House in Broadstairs

Its such a stunning section of the coast and offers much of interest to see. Stretch your legs and walk to Margate… fantastic route, especially along the beach.

A few weeks ago I decided to walk to Sandwich (for the 3rd time) in order to increase my mileage for the Conqueror 2020 Challenge. Somewhere along the way I hatched the insane idea of walking the whole of the English coastline….I know…bring on the strait jacket. I blame it on the moon 🤭🤭🤭 I’ve walked as far as Dover so far. Of course Covid-19 has held back my horizons, but I’m hoping to get out more frequently in 2021.

I love walking and one of the benefits of my job is that I get to travel all over England, often times to places I’d never heard of…and then I walk…

But my walking got a real sense of seriousness when I started training for the Portuguese Camino in 2017, and started following the #walk1000miles challenge in 2016. That really got me going. I struggled at first to get into walking daily, bought my first pair of walking poles (still have them 😄), a decent pair of walking shoes (asics) and I’ve never looked back, now I find it difficult to not get out for a walk on a daily basis and get quite tetchy if my walking is interrupted ….😉

Stunning coastline between Deal and Walmer.

Show me a path and I’ll walk it….

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Conqueror Challenge November

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, england coast path, Fun Stuff, Health, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged conqueror virtual challenges, English coastal path, long distance walking, walk1000miles, walking 2020 on December 3, 2020| 2 Comments »

274kms for November 😁😁😁 48 kms more than October. Getting closer to my target of 2020km, but the days are rapidly declining …with only 29 days left this year and 317.9kms to go….and as they frequently remind me…I have to up my game. 😉

But I have achieved my original goal of 1600kms/1000 miles. Hoorah 👏👏🚶🏻‍♀️

Places I’ve walked in November:

Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay / Sandwich Bay Nature Reserve

As for December….my kms will have to be a final push of 317.9kms to reach my target….so, I’m guessing the week between Christmas and Old Year’s Eve when I’m off work, will see lots of sunrise walks and full day marching along the east coast of England 😂😂😂🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

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Exploring further afield

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, conqueror challenges, It's my life, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged conqueror virtual challenges, domesday book town, exploring the towns of England, Shepton Mallet, walk1000miles on December 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Had a good 6.8km walk yesterday afternoon – took a slightly different route and ended up at the viaduct again but still haven’t found the lake that shows up on Google maps. Although I did see a small lake near a business park complex and a duck pond in Collette Park.

From the viaduct I went off in a different direction across a couple of fields and finally back to the main road, through Collette Park and down the High Street, then up onto the hill in time for the sunset and finally followed last nights path in reverse and back to the house.

Last night’s path – on my left behind the fence are the manor house grounds

Did some slip sliding on the muddy paths on the hill, but managed to not fall on either my face or my derrier.

The path across the hill takes you beneath what must have been a railway bridge before the 1960s purge of railway lines, its really dark and foreboding, especially in the waning light of night time – I just love it, looks so spooky.

Before setting off across the fields I visited the Kilver Court Designer Village. They have some really lovely items, and I’m glad my debit card was at the house 😁😁😁

Kilver Court Designer Village on my way back

In all a really good walk and I’m getting closer to my target for 2020 and making good progress along the virtual Great Ocean Road in Australia. Unfortunately the organisers of the Conqueror virtual challenges haven’t done any virtual postcards yet for this particular route, but I hope to receive them when they are ready.

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Last sunrise walk for 2 weeks

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, conqueror challenges, Domesday Villages of England, gratitude, Health, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, photography, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged #plasticpollution, conqueror virtual challenges, long distance walking, sunrise at the coast, walking the English coast, walks in england on November 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »

So thankfully I start a new assignment today. I was beginning to panic just a bit.

But the agency finally came through and I’m on my way to Somerset to a town called Shepton-Malett, which to my delight is a Domesday Book town.

I’m looking forward to exploring 😃😃

Unfortunately it means that I can’t get out for sunrise walks for the next 2 weeks, so I made sure I got out this morning….and it was stunning. A gorgeous day for walking with clear skies and mild temperatures.

Stunning colours reflecting on the waves

I walked as far as Dumpton Gap and back to the harbour chasing the incoming tide.

As with yesterday’s walk I collected 6 big pieces of trash that would otherwise have ended up in the ocean.

Besides these, I picked up a big plastic container and 2 other water bottles

I’m going to have to get back to carrying bags and gloves with me again…there was so much more I could have picked up but no means of carrying the stuff 😔😔😔

I was also attacked by a bloody dog again that despite the owner trying to grab the damn thing, jumped up and tried to get to my face. It took the owner a good few minutes to get the dog on a leash. My verbal commentary was not very polite. I truly wish people who own dogs would just train the damn animals. Thankfully it was a spaniel so not very big or my face would have been slashed. As it is I could smell its breath it came that close 😠😠😠😠 I did manage to wallop the animal with my stick which gave it pause, but as soon as I moved it went for me again.

Ultimately I managed to move off without much more than my trousers muddied. But seriously….

The tide really does encroach pretty quickly, which cut off part of my route along the beach.

On my way out I walked over this concrete slab.. a bit cut off on the way back…🤪🤪 thanks be for the promenade

A lucky morning; I found a real bounty of coloured and white glass pieces on the beach. Yesterday yielded only 2 pieces, today I found loads, especially of the dark green glass that is so beautiful.

I really do love that house…the views of the sunrise must be amazing

I cannot resist taking a photo every few minutes, it just is so beautiful. I love how the colours reflect off the waves on the beach

I saw another dead shark/dog fish on the beach, a tiny baby this time 😔😔 I do wonder what is killing them…probably the pollution

A magical walk and I’m so glad I made the effort. My kms are adding up, and the deficit going down 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️👏👏👏

After such a beautiful morning at the coast, clear skies and mild weather, imagine my surprise as we approached Canterbury on the train….the countryside is heavy with mist…looks amazing and I was wishing I had the time to jump off the train and take photos

A complete contrast to Ramsgate…not that far away.

Totally spooky 👻👻

My next post will be from Somerset. I’m looking forward to exploring a new town.

Have a good day folks.

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Walking familiar paths

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, It's my life, photography, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged #plasticpollution, baby boomers travel, being a granny, conqueror virtual challenges, long distance walking, Ramsgate Harbour, walk1000miles, walking the English coast on November 26, 2020| 2 Comments »

Lockdown and the government tiers certainly doesn’t allow for much by way of exploring, except in your local vicinity. If you’re lucky enough to live in a countryside area, close to the sea, or near a river, even if its familiar its usually different and can still be enjoyed every day.

Hands and Molecules – a familiar and favourite sculpture on the clifftop – makes a good frame for the moon

I adore this house. Located near the King George VI Memorial Park on the Dumpton Gap side, I used to have house envy till I realised how close to the cliff edge it is 🤪🤪

I live (sort of*) near the sea and even though it’s the same, every day along the coast is different. I’ve found myself with time on my hands due to losing a 6 week assignment so made the most of the opportunity to spend time with my grandson and to catch up on my walking targets for 2020.

My favourite sunset to date…23.11.20 across Pegwell Bay

Sunset from the cliffs above Pegwell Bay near Cliffsend

One of my favourite village signboards – Cliffsend has seen Viking raiders, St Augustine’s arrival and WW2 action

I’ve seen some amazing sunrises and sunsets and had much fun with the kid. He’s developing into a very determined little boy and like most kids his age, he has a strong will. He’s also growing rapidly and requires his Granny to carry him when he gets tired….but Granny is not a bodybuilder and has her limits 😁😁

He’s going to be a displacement officer when he grows up 😉😁 loves to move stuff

Just a hop, skip and jump on the beach at Margate

I’ve mostly walked locally and managed a walk to Broadstairs and to the Sandwich side of the Pegwell Bay nature reserve.

Looking across the saltmarsh mudflats to Ramsgate

The saltmarsh mudflats, a fascinating environment

The mudflats are home to an incredible number of birdlife that visit here during the changing seasons

The reserve has an amazing history and played an important role in WW2.

On my way back from the nature reserve I walked along the beach beneath the cliffs; devastated to see the volume of plastic trash lining the high tide level and he number of dogshit bags piled up. It’ll take a team of 20-30 people to clear that up…it stretched from where I’m standing right along the cliffs; heartbreaking.

We’ve had a couple of family outings and made a special trip for the boobee to see the Christmas lights in Margate

Snowman!! Penguin!! Santa!! His vocabulary is expanding daily 🥰🥰

Ramsgate Harbour offers so many photographic opportunities, you could spend all day there

I’ve managed to increase my kms by 74 this week and passed my original target of 1600kms. I do however still have 375km to walk to reach my 2020 target of 2020kms. Looking forward to seeing if I’ve exceeded my October total 🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️🚶🏻‍♀️

So yeah, I may be walking familiar routes, but every day it looks different.

* I sort of live in Ramsgate but because work all over the country I don’t actually have a home and liveineither a guest house or b&b between assignments. One day…I hope to have a home of my own.

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Completing the Ring of Kerry

Posted in around the UK, conqueror challenges, Fun Stuff, Health, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged Cindy's travels, conqueror virtual challenges, long distance walking, walk1000miles on November 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Absolutely delighted to have completed the Ring of Kerry virtual challenge tonight.

After I’d updated my Conqueror app kms last night I found I only had 1.1km left to complete the challenge. So tonight after I got back from visiting the kids, I went for a short walk along the clifftop and 1.6km later, I’m done.

Challenge #5 in the bag. For someone who said she was only going to do one….😁😁😁🤭🤭

A cheap way to travel the world. 😉

Congratulations, you have completed Ireland’s well known scenic route the Ring of Kerry. Before you leave spend a little more time in Killarney by visiting the historical site of the 15th century Ross Castle.

Overlooking the third largest lake in Ireland, called Lough Leane, the castle was built by the local ruling clan, O’Donoghues Mór. Ross Castle was one of the last castles in Ireland to surrender to Cromwell’s forces. Up until the 17th century the castle was surrounded by a curtain wall with towers in each corner. A portion of the curtain wall was torn down to make way for expansion whilst in use as a barracks. Today the castle is open to visitors, retaining the tower house, part of the curtain wall and two towers.

From the castle take a boat ride on the lake to Innisfallen Island, the home to the ruins Innisfallen Abbey. Founded in 640 AD by St Finian, the patron saint of the area, it was occupied for nearly a thousand years. Nothing remains from that early settlement. The current ruins are a late 12th century Augustinian Priory. Over a few hundred years the resident monks wrote the famed Annals of Innisfallen, a chronicle of Ireland’s medieval history. In the late 16th century during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the monks were dispossessed of their abbey.

An excerpt from Thomas Moore’s poem entitled Sweet Innisfallen (c1870) describes it best:

Sweet Innisfallen, fare thee well,
May calm and sunshine long be thine!
How fair thou art let other tell,
To feel how fair shall long be mine.
Sweet Innisfallen, long shall dwell
In memory’s dream that sunny smile,
Which o’er thee on that evening fell,
When first I saw thy fairy isle…

It’s so easy to get discouraged these days what with lockdown and various crazy things happening in the world, so for me this has been a fun way to keep motivated, and even when I really don’t feel like getting out, the thought of adding kms to my challenge gets me out the house.

I love the milestone postcards we get and the information that comes with them. The plant a tree initiative is fantastic and its exciting to know that my walking challenges have planted 25 trees so far

If you’d like to join me on these virtual challenges, you can sign up here via my link.

https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474

This is not an affiliate link and I don’t make any money from people signing up, but you get a 10% discount on any walks you sign up for and I think I get a 10% discount as well….which is a moot point really since I’ve already signed up for all the walks I want to do 😃😃😃, although that’s no guarantee and I’m pretty certain that if they bring out more challenges, I’ll sign up 🤣🤣🤣

What’s next you might ask….well I’ve 477.7km to walk to complete my personal challenge of 2020kms in 2020, and next on the horizon is the Great Ocean Road, Australia and Alps to Ocean, NZ. Next year I’ll be walking the Cabot Trail, Canada and the Ring Road, Iceland.

Hope they bring out a 2021 challenge too.

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