The ocean at the end of the lane

The three or four people reading this blog already know that I successfully completed the Coast to Coast Walk yesterday afternoon at around 1:40pm. Either because they were there to cheer me in and buy me the obligatory pint (thanks Mum and Dad) or because they have since been sent copious amounts of photo evidence.

I dipped my boots in the North Sea, which must have added an extra 200 yards to my walk as the tide was fully out, and made a wish as I cast our pebbles carried from St. Bee’s beach into the water.

How do I feel now that I’ve done it? I think it’s too soon to say. Perhaps more on that in a day or two.

As Terry Marsh, the writer of the excellent guide that has accompanied me on this journey puts it: “success, in the final analysis, is a very personal thing. Few people will know of your triumph and most of those will think you are mad.”

He also says, “There will have been bad days, almost certainly, when spirits were low, or feet and shoulders ached, or the pub or cafe closed two minutes before you arrived...”  but I can genuinely say that, although my feet and shoulders did ache, I started and finished each and every day of this walk feeling strong and happy.

I guess the lowest point might have been the descent to Haweswater on Day 4 but, if I hadn’t been in serious need of distraction, I wouldn’t have got to hear about about Flight Lieutenant Quinn, one of Mark’s ‘associates’ in the RAF, the stories of whose escapades are making me chuckle even now.

The high points are too numerous to mention but I am sure I will reflect more on them as time goes by. Again, one for another day and another post.

But before I go today, I wanted to mention another person who I hope has been reading this blog: Gad Simon, who passed away just before I set off on this walk and whose funeral I missed as a result. Gad was the biggest (ok, let’s be honest, only) fan of my ‘travel writing’, so I hope they have Internet cafes and decent broadband speeds on the other side. Rest in Peace, Gad.

Day 16:
Walked: 39,651 steps (16 miles)
Stayed: The Victoria Hotel, Robin Hood’s Bay

Ate: The Wayfarers 

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