Posted in around the UK, career, It's my life, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged architecture, travel uk on December 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »
I’m working in Croydon for the next 9 days, so not holding out for too much of interest on my daily excursions. A very built up area, most of the houses are rather large or sprawling bungalows and lots of apartment buildings.
However, I did spot this little gem….Heron Croft circa 1493. How awesome is that!! I warrant the area was a tad different back then.
After getting rained on twice, I said ‘@#$% it’ and returned to the house. Not a good start and only managed 4kms….oh well…onwards
Posted in around the UK, england coast path, gratitude, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, photography, seaside towns of Britain, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged isle of thanet, long distance walking, sunrise photography, sunrise walks on the east coast, walk1000miles, walking the English coast on December 13, 2020| 3 Comments »
Got in a very respectable 15.9kms this morning. Starting off with a fantastic sunrise….red sky in the morning and all that
I headed up the coast to Stone Bay via Broadstairs where I stopped off at my favourite tearoom The Old Bakehouse for almond croissants (best ever) with a cup of coffee, which I enjoyed on the promenade, and fed the sparrows some toasted almond crumbs.
Enroute I strolled past the Dickens Museum – although he didn’t actually live here, it was the home of one of his characters in David Copperfield; Betsy Trotwood.
By the time I reached the end of Stone Bay the wind had come up and that promised storm blew in…with a vengeance.
Before heading back to Ramsgate, I bought some bird seed and scattered it amongst the bushes for the wee sparrows.
The wind was so strong along the foreshore that my walking poles were blown backwards and I had to plow into the wind.
Despite the wind and cold and rain, I had a fantastic walk. The harbour looked very different when I got back from when I left just after 7am
And tomorrow I’m back to work. I don’t feel as if I’ve had a proper break.
But I did have a most wonderful afternoon with my lovely family…Christmas tree decorating. I’ll write about that tomorrow..
Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, historical houses of the uk, It's my life, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged domesday book town, english history, exploring Shepton Mallet, Shepton Mallet Somerset on December 12, 2020| 4 Comments »
And suddenly I was on the home straight with just 19 hours to go and I’d be on my way. My final break was taken in town and I followed some of my more favoured routes and managed a decent 6.8kms, albeit with a reduction in my time off again 🤔🤔🤔
When I first arrived in Shepton Mallet 12 days ago my heart sank…it looked dull and grey with no defining features beyond grey walls and grey houses, a massive Tesco store and the distinction of being mentioned in the Domesday Book….and the oldest prison in the country looming large…and grey 🤨🤨
But as usual I set out to explore and managed to find lots of interesting nooks and crannies, a great number of interesting houses, some of which are Grade II listed.
Three other houses of historical interest:
Longbridge House : with links to James, Duke of Monmouth and the Battle of Sedgemoor July 1685. Now a B&B. With parts dating back to the 14th century the house is best known for being where the Duke of Monmouth stayed before and after the Battle of Sedgemoor in 1685.
Old Bowlish House : I was delighted to note the old English spelling…first house name I’ve ever seen in old English. Built around 1618, this Grade II* clothier’s mansion was modernised by the Georgians c.1735 and the Victorians c.1860.
Downside House – Georgian House 5 bedrooms 3 bathrooms…I’ll have one of each 😃
exciting finds, although I’m pretty certain there were quite a few more dotted about. After all, in its past, Shepton Mallet used to be a very wealthy town built on the wool trade
I found and walked a small section of the Roman Fosseway, and explored the greater countryside, walking many sections of the East Mendip Way. I discovered the wonderful viaducts, one of which carried the old railway – now disused. I explored the beautiful Collett Park and stretching myself I walked to Downside, Bowlish and Ham Lane.
I squelched along muddy public paths, slipping and sliding and climbed some interesting stiles 🤪🤪🤪 One of my favourite sections was between a steep field and the small holdings along the River Sheppey where I met lamas, horses, goats and chickens.
I walked along narrow roads and lanes and prayed that the tractors that had left their treads in the mud right at the absolute limits of the lanes, didn’t decide to come either up or down the lanes while I was walking along…they didn’t. Whew! I would probably have had to either climb under or over …or resort to climbing into the hedges that towered along the sides.
I managed to find many items of interest after all…I thought my options were out, but no.
Some houses had little plaques remembering past residents who went off to war and never returned
Although the architecture is mostly solid grey stone
I did find some older painted houses, albeit peeling and covered in mould….the reason for the stone houses was more apparent. The town is mostly located in a very deep wedge between hills, the Mendip Hills, and a great number of houses are built right on the rivers edge.
I found what used to be a Priory
I’m totally intrigued by the bricked in doors and windows of many of the older houses, and am curious to know when and why they were sealed off.
Addendum – Many thanks to Grace for sending me this link in the comments. The reason why windows and doors were boarded up…governments eh 🤪🤪🤪https://www.amusingplanet.com/2018/04/why-do-many-historic-buildings-in-uk.html?m=1 anything to squeeze more money out of their citizens.
The church was beautiful albeit locked so I never got to go inside 😔 and the market cross is beautiful
And after yesterday’s walk and 2 weeks of indoor walking I’m now closer to my 2020 target of 2020kms. Hoorah. It looks like I may just reach my target by 31.12.2020
As usual, saying goodbye to the pets is sometimes the hardest part of leaving
And so ends my sojourn to Shepton Mallet. Its been quite a stressful job, and I’ll be glad of my 48 hour break before starting all over again on Monday in Croydon 🤪🤪 thankfully only 9 days….
At the moment I’m in transit, first train and nearly in London ….1 tube ride, the HS1 to the coast and a taxi ride away from the Airbnb where I’m staying this weekend.
Posted in around the UK, Fun Stuff, long distance walks - solo, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, walks around the UK, tagged 101 walks, country walking long distance walking, hiking the byways of the UK, stiles and kissing gates, walk1000miles on December 10, 2020| 1 Comment »
The highways and the byways of England. Personally I’m not a fan of stiles, some of them are murder to get over, especially when carrying a heavy backpack, and most particularly towards the end of the day… and I’ve often just sat down on the sticking out part and refused to budge 😖😖😖
But eventually I have to just get on with it and drag myself over.
Now, give me a kissing gate and I’ll be happy…even though some of these are so narrow I have to take my backpack off and sling it over separately – at least I don’t have to climb over it.
Unfortunately, if you’re going to be daft enough to go traipsing across the country, there is no doubt that you are indeed going to encounter more than your fair share of stiles…
Now this is more my ‘style’ – sorry couldn’t resist the pun 😁😁😁
Posted in around the UK, england coast path, Fun Stuff, gratitude, seaside towns of Britain, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged coastal walks, long distance walking, sunrise at the coast on December 10, 2020| 3 Comments »
I really miss watching the sunrise on the coast. Sunrise is always lovely but when you’re living in a town or city, the view could be obstructed. I’m usually based in towns in the countryside and my routine doesn’t allow me to get out, so when I’m back at my base I try to get out every day.
I’m hoping there’s good weather on Sunday and I get a repeat of this ☺☺
Posted in Fun Stuff, Inspiration, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, project 101, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged adventure, Camino de Santiago, Conqueror virtual challenges 2020, English Channel, for the love of walking, Hadrian's Wall, long distance walking, walk1000miles, walking the Conqueror virtual challenges on December 9, 2020| 7 Comments »
In April of this year, just one month after we went into lockdown, my daughter introduced me to the Conqueror virtual challenges. A friend of hers was participating in them, and knowing how much I love walking, she thought they would be a fun idea for me too. Initially I was like…hmmm that’s a bit expensive, but hey I like the Hadrian’s Wall medal, so yeah, why not sign up and do just the one (please note, at the time I said “just the one” 🤪🤪)
I signed up, downloaded the app and for the next week I swore and spluttered as I tried to get to grips with how it all worked…and I walked. But soon enough I figured it out and in no time at all I was adding on the miles and watching my progress.
The organisers are very clever… besides the fact that the app has (actually) been beautifully designed, the features keep you hooked as you progress along the route…click on the map and you can see ‘where you are on the route’ and until I figured how to turn it off, all the other virtual travellers who were either with you, or ahead or coming up behind. I found that a bit busy and switched to only me.
Besides that, you get award notifications (via the app)…Flying Start Award 5%, or Trail Blazer 20% and Halfway There Award 50%, a bit like a coach would do, keeping you motivated.
If you click through to the actual challenge they have 2 stats: Distance and Time which show you the distance you’ve covered and how long it’s taken you. You can set the length of your own challenges. I usually overstate mine and end up completing well before my expected date – then you get a message that says “well done Cindy, are you sure you’re not a pro? Or “you’re well ahead now” LOL Brilliant.
Besides that excitement, they intermittently send you virtual postcards telling you more about the route and the history of said route or the country you’re virtually walking through – and they have really put a lot of thought into it. I get a thrill each time a new postcard pops up in my email.
They’ve recently introduced a new feature and for every 20% of the challenge you complete, they plant a tree in conjunction with their partners Eden Projects; their reforestation programs help the environment and reduces extreme poverty by employing local villagers. The trees are planted all over the world, from Madagascar and Indonesia to Central America and Haiti. Being eco-conscious and concerned about the destruction of our planet, this was an exciting feature and keeps me heading for the 20% markers. I’ve planted about 20 trees so far ☺☺👏👏👏
At the time I started the Hadrian’s Wall challenge I was working in a wee village in Somerset; Nether Stowey, miles from anywhere, out in the countryside and right slap bang on the Quantocks. Give me the name of a walk to do, and I’m there…🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
And so, during lockdown, I used most of my 1 hour allocated free time for exercise and I was out exploring and walking, the kms/miles soon added up. Using the calendar on the app I added a description of where I’d walked and added a photo for each day’s mileage and looking back its brilliant to see what I did each time I went out ‘boots on’ walking.
Suddenly hoorah!! To my excitement I completed Hadrian’s Wall challenge….I marked it as completed and waited in anticipation for my medal. Yes!!! You get a real life medal, and it is beautiful, a real solid medal on a lanyard. Clever clever organisers.
At that stage I was like okay, that was fun but I’m not going to spend anymore money on this….
Until I did 🤣🤣🤣 I ‘happened’ to look at the website and saw the Camino de Santiago challenge….my resolve dissolved. I loved the medal, and since I’m planning on actually walking the Camino in the next couple of years, I decided to sign up for ‘just one more’. So I signed up for the Camino de Santiago; at check out, they offered a 15% discount for doing 2 challenges….how could I resist!
And so my one challenge became 3 as I signed up for the English Channel challenge as well – of course the medal had NOTHING at ALL to do with my choice hahaha. Of course I had/have no plans to actually swim the English Channel, but I’ve walked along the beaches and waded in the sea often enough…so, I walked. The distance is only 34 miles and within 4 walks I was done! Whoo hoo…another challenge completed (30/09) and my medal was in the post! Some people actually swim laps in a pool while doing this challenge.
Now what? I really really didn’t want to spend any more money on this, but! I follow the Conqueror Conquest Challenges on instagram and one day to my cost, I noticed their new challenge : The Ring Road – Iceland! OMG Sold to the lady in the corner LOL Dammit it. The medal is absolutely stunning. I caved, and not only that but I bought the 5 challenge pack as mentioned in an earlier post, as well as the 2020 Challenge which lists all my walks from 01.01.2020 right through to 31.12.2020 – super awesome. Of course the amazing medal had nothing to do with that either. My goal for 2020 was to walk 1600kms (1000miles) again, since I didn’t in 2019.
….and so I bought The Inca Trail – Peru (since completed), The Ring of Kerry – Ireland (since completed), The Ring Road – Iceland (for 2021), The Cabot Trail – Canada (for 2021), and the 2020 challenge. And then for good measure I added the Great Ocean Road – AUS (currently walking) and Alps to Ocean – NZ (for 2021).
But at the rate I’m going trying to complete each challenge asap to get the medal, I’ve already exceeded my 1600km target and am close to completing 2020kms, my current total is 1749kms including today 9th December LOL – an awesome challenge!! Its been good to push myself to achieve that target.
And so, I’ve gone from signing up for 1 challenge to 10…..I love it. It’s a bit crazy really, but I love walking, and these challenges really keep me motivated, and the medals…..well, they really are beautiful and had a lot to do with my decisions..
In fact you can join up and either walk indoors, run, swim, cycle either indoor or outdoors, you can do rowing and skiing, you can participate even if you’re in a wheelchair, and of course outdoor walking which is my preferred method of exercise. It’s just brilliant.
As for the future…well there’s the John O’Groats to Land’s End challenge …that’s quite far at 1733kms/1083 miles, so I’ve looked at that for 2022 and maybe I’ll plan to walk that in real time and follow the virtual trail at the same time…😉
Now, I wonder what other challenges they’re going to design? I have no doubt that I will in all likelihood sign up for those as well. This could keep me going until I fall over…kaputski!! LOL
and unbelievably (or not) just last week I signed up for their latest challenge: to climb Mount Fuji – Japan…virtually of course 😁😁😁 The medal is absolutely stunning, why would I resist
And that brings me up to 11 challenges!! To say I’m addicted would be an understatement….
Why not join me and sign up to complete a couple before the end of 2020 and maybe set yourself a challenge for 2021. If you sign up via my link you get a 10% discount, as do I on my next challenge. https://www.theconqueror.events/r/CE1474
Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, Domesday Villages of England, Historical, It's my life, Palaces and castles in UK, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged Bishop's Palace Wells, cathedral cities of England, city of Wells, domesday book town, english history, places to visit in england on December 8, 2020| 2 Comments »
Unexpectedly, I had the opportunity to visit Wells last week. What a delight. The weekly market was in full swing and people bustled about buying Christmas presents and savouring the delicious aromas that wafted through the air. I saw some amazing wreaths and was tempted to buy one, except I have nowhere to hang it, and a 6 hour journey to the Thanet coast on Saturday.
I had 2 hours to explore and made the most of the time…..and spent most of it in the Bishop’s Palace 😁😁 which left me with 10 minutes to visit the cathedral. Fortunately we’re going back later this week so I can have a proper visit.
Home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells, the palace, founded in 1206, has been the Bishop’s residence for more than 800 years. The great medieval bishops – Jocelyn, Burnell, Ralph of Shrewsbury, and Beckynton – developed their palace next to the city’s ancient wells. For centuries, water flowing from these wells has shaped the landscape; the buildings and the gardens of this site.
Wells, a cathedral city, located on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills, has had city status since medieval times, due to the presence of Wells Cathedral. Often described as England’s smallest city, it is actually second smallest to the City of London.
Wells takes its name from 3 wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop’s Palace and cathedral.
A small Roman settlement surrounded them, which grew in importance and size under the Anglo-Saxons when King Ine of Wessex founded a minster church there in 704. The community became a trading centre based on cloth making and Wells is notable for its 17th-century involvement in both the English Civil War and Monmouth Rebellion.
Wells was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Welle, from the Old English wiells, not as a town but as four manors with a population of 132, which implies a population of 500–600
William Penn stayed in Wells shortly before leaving for America (1682), spending a night at The Crown Inn.
I had a wonderful time exploring the Bishop’s Palace and am looking forward to seeing the Cathedral more fully on Thursday.
Inside the Bishop’s Palace
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.
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.
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 ….😉
Show me a path and I’ll walk it….
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:
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 😂😂😂🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, It's my life, Travel, walk 1000 miles 2020, tagged exploring the UK, Shepton Mallet, walk1000miles, walking on December 2, 2020| 2 Comments »
Since I’d already explored the greater part of Shepton Mallet in the previous 2 days, yesterday I decided to follow the public footpaths – it took me on quite an adventure.
I eventually ended up on the Fosseway before heading back into town to see the Christmas lights. Some of the windows look so pretty.
I sent the pic of the owl to my daughter to show my grandson – apparently he responded with “oooooooo” 🦉😃😃
There’s a delightful cafe in the High Street called Madhatter’s – I love the decor. Next time I go past, if the cafe is open I may just treat myself.
So, despite having pretty much covered the whole town on the first day, I’m still managing to create some news routes…it’ll be interesting when I finish here on 12th, to look at all my excursions on mapmywalk and see just exactly where I’ve been.
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