My mother would have been 89 years old today. Except that she died when she was 52, about 3 years after this photo was taken.
My Mother and my daughter ❤💗
I was 29 at the time and I remember thinking, as you do, that my Mother was quite old. Now that I’m 65 of course I realise that she wasn’t really.
I often wonder how our lives, my 3 sisters and mine, would have turned out if she hadn’t died so young. I’m almost certain that I would not have emigrated to the UK if she were still alive.
So even though she isn’t alive to celebrate her birthday, I still think about her every year and wish her a happy birthday wherever she may be.
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.
Sunrise in Broadstairs Sunset over 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.
No hardship walking in this environment
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.
Crossing the White Cliffs of Dover
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…
Old disused railway line in Lewes
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 ….😉
I was chatting to my daughter and grandson last night via WhatsApp video, always an absolute joy when I’m away. I miss them so much….
My daughter was telling me that she took him to the park in the afternoon which he loves.
There were some other children there, older than him by about a couple of years, playing with the bark and play pretending it was ice-cream.
My grandson (not yet 2 years old) trotted over and tried to make friends. He picked up some bark too and offered it to the little boy, who rejected it and dismissed him with a snarky comment 😔😔
His little face crumpled with disappointment and hurt. He wanted to join in and be friends. He’s such a sweet little soul and so generous.
My daughter related how her heart contracted with the pain of his rejection, the expression on his face.
And I knew exactly how she was feeling. My heart contracted with imagining how he felt and remembering how I used to feel when she was rejected at school and at any other time in her life. It pains me greatly to know that he’s going to go through these times as he grows up.
It reminded me of the little ditty my Mother taught me when I used to get bullied at school : ‘sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me’.
I recall chanting that ditty many times over the years, until my daughter some years ago said that actually it’s not true. Wounds from sticks and stones do heal in time and you tend to forget about them. But the words remain stuck in your head to go endlessly round and round, sometimes interminably as you grapple to make sense of why someone has said such hurtful things.
My heart ached for this little boy, just starting out on his journey through life and it brings tears to my eyes thinking about the painful times he is going to have to contend with.
I wish I could teach him how to not take the nasty things people say to heart, but I’m useless at that coz I’m still struggling with something my sister said to me at my daughter’s wedding nearly 3 years ago….
My daughter said she’s going to teach him to “not give a shit what people say”, but ultimately some barbs hit hard and go deep and the pain never goes away.
My grandson truly is a sweet, gentle, caring, generous little boy, and it pains me greatly to know that along his journey in life he too is going to feel the pain of nasty words. I do hope his Mummy can teach him how to not let them affect him too much.
To learn that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but I won’t let your words harm me”. To learn that words deliberately or carelessly directed at you are more about the person saying them than about you.
Oh my goddess I’ve found a new long distance walk to do!! 😃😃😃 I was doing some research on distances between towns for my ongoing quest to walk the whole England coast over the next 5 years (I blame it on the moon) and found the whole route for the Saxon Shore Way.
I’ve touched on the route during some of my previous excursions, but I didn’t realise just how long it was and how far it extended. Sigh..you just know I’m going to have to walk it 😂😂😂
The 160 mile / 257 km route starts in Gravesend on the banks of the River Thames in North Kent and ends in the colourful seaside town of Hastings in East Sussex. The route goes inland somewhere near Reculver and bypasses Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate and again from Folkestone to Rye/Camber but the rest of the route offers some of the finest coastal walking in England.
The reason the route bypasses Margate, Broadstairs and Ramsgate is due to the fact that they’re all on what was, and is still referred to as the Isle of Thanet, which used to be separated from the mainland by the Wantsum Channel up until 1550, by which time the river had silted up and was no longer navigable. And of course the Saxons were here from mid 5th century, so the route they created would have followed the then mainland coast.
According to wikipedia: The River Wantsum is a tributary of the River Stour, in Kent, England. Formerly, the River Wantsum and the River Stour together formed the Wantsum Channel, which separated the Isle of Thanet from the mainland of Kent. Now the River Wantsum is little more than a drainage ditch starting at Reculver, and ending where it joins the Stour.
I’ve walked small sections of the Saxon Shore Way when I followed Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales route to Canterbury via Sittingbourne and Faversham, again when I followed St Augustine’s Way from Ramsgate to Canterbury and again more recently when I walked from Sandwich to Dover.
Saxon Shore Way, Sandwich
I’m gonna have to stop working so I can do all these walks 🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🤭🤭
The header image is of Gravesend on the Thames from when I walked Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury Cathedral…my very first long-distance walks, along which I learned some really good lessons – like to never walk in wet socks 🤪🤪👣🧦👣🧦
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. 😉
#walk1000miles
But I have achieved my original goal of 1600kms/1000 miles. Hoorah 👏👏🚶🏻♀️
Places I’ve walked in November:
Sunrise walk Ramsgate to Broadstairs Lots of Ramsgate beach excursions Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay for sunset Ramsgate to Pegwell Bay / Sandwich Bay Nature Reserve Temple – LondonTemple – LondonShepton Mallet- Somerset Shepton Mallet- SomersetShepton Mallet- Somerset
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 😂😂😂🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️🚶🏻♀️
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.
Public Footpaths A bathtub in a field….where else? 😝😝I saw some amazing farm houses And the stunning Kilver Court complex
I eventually ended up on the Fosseway before heading back into town to see the Christmas lights. Some of the windows look so pretty.
Perfect for a cold dark winter night
I sent the pic of the owl to my daughter to show my grandson – apparently he responded with “oooooooo” 🦉😃😃
The High Street
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.
Madhatter’s
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.
Looking back….Sometimes I think the farmers just make it difficult for their enjoyment 🤪🤪 I did however manage to get over that
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.
Always good to be reminded Last night’s path – on my left behind the fence are the manor house grounds 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.
I more or less slid down that path..
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.
Dark and 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.
Great Ocean Road virtual challenge 320.1kms to go by 31.12.2020
The client I’m working with these 2 weeks has alzheimer disease. As a result of the dangers surrounding this the family have had to have the cooker and hob disconnected for her safety. They have prepared meals delivered for her. That means I’m unable to prepare fresh food for myself. So I’ve been limited to buying microwave meals.
I’m not a fan of microwave food and never use one if I can. But needs must so….
I had to get inventive 🤪🤪 and tried this on Saturday night not half bad actually. Enough for 1 person and if I had vegetables with it, it would make a satisfactory meal.
On Sunday night I tried the Mushroom Stroganoff which was actually really good with lots of mushrooms and sauce.
I just know that I’m not going to be feeling very healthy after all this stuff, vegan or not, but hey ho….
In my job I get to travel frequently, usually to different parts of the country, and seldom to the same place – unless I choose to return to the same client, which doesn’t often happen.
I was meant to be working with a regular client in Nether Stowey till 21st December, but as it turns out, I’m not. I am however still in Somerset, in a town called Shepton Mallet which is close to Castle Cary and the cathedral city of Wells.
When I’m given a new assignment I usually (not always) do a bit of research so I know what I’m getting into and if there’s anything of interest. As it turns out Shepton Mallet is mentioned in the Domesday Book as: Sceapton
Besides that, according to wikipedia the River Sheppey runs through the town, as does the route of the Fosse Way, the main Roman road into south-west England. There is evidence of Roman settlement. Its medieval parish church is among many listed buildings. Shepton Mallet Prison was England’s oldest until it closed in March 2013
So much to see and investigate.
After a 5.5 hour train journey I arrived quite late Saturday afternoon in Castle Cary (nearest rail station) and we soon arrived in SM. There are always surprises to be had when you arrive in a new place, and one of the first was an enormous Tesco’s store!! Really? In such a small town?
the 2nd surprise was that its a very hilly area…which considering its location in the Mendip Hills shouldn’t have been a surprise, but there you go.
A very hilly area
The 3rd surprise was how grey it is. Just about every building is built of grey stone, and of course being winter, the weather is also grey…so my spirits were a little dampened. Although to be fair the day was quite sunny with blue skies on Sunday.
Blue skies
I had visions of a medieval town with old Tudor buildings and interesting architecture. 🤪🤪
Very grey
But I’ve given it a good go and during my breaks over the last 2 days I’ve walked here and there and pretty much covered the whole town and then some.
A grey misty day 30.11.20Exploring the lanesSplashes of colour – the cottage at the bottom right dates from 1750
So in a nutshell: Shepton Mallet
1. Domesday Book village 2. The old Roman Road known as the Fosse Way runs through the town 3. The Market Cross dates back to 1500 4. The name Shepton Mallet derives from Saxon times when it was known as Sepetone. 5. The current spelling is recorded at least as far back as 1496, in a letter from Henry VII. 6. The Romans had a trading centre here along the Fosseway 7. In Norman times William Mallet became Lord of the Manor – hence the second part of the name 8. During the Middle Ages the town grew as a wool trading centre 9. The town is home to the country’s oldest working goal (closed 2013). 10. Shepton Mallet is home to Babycham 11. The River Sheppey runs through the town
A section of the Roman FossewayThe Market CrossThe Market CrossMedieval Church Shepton Mallet prison – closed 2013Home of BabychamLest We Forget – I saw these on various houses ❤❤❤❤❤The River Sheppy near the centre of townThe river flowing past the Mill HouseThe river flows through the countryside
I loved these decorative window sills at the library
A real splash of colour near the Market Cross Shepton Mallet has its own ‘twittens’
I’ve pretty much walked along most of the roads in the town centre, so I’m hoping to expand my horizons and set off along the East Mendip Way – depending on how muddy it is.
Its amazing just how many pilgrimage routes there are in the UK and they haven’t even mentioned St Cuthbert’s Way, St Augustine’s Way and The Two Saints Way.
Have you walked any of these pilgrimage routes? Which was your favourite?
I’ve started a new Instagram profile @overthehillstilltravelling for my travels if you’d like to follow. Give me a 👋👋 if you do….it’s relatively new, but I’m adding images as I go..
Not Just a Granny 
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