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June Blog - August Blog
July 1st 2007
Only 8 more days and I will begin my journey following the Meridean to Lourdes.
9th July 2007 Day 1 - I begin my walk
10:00am - The day has arrived for me to start my walk following the Meridian line to Lourdes. Hopefully I can raise my target of £20,000 in aid of the "Flying Eye Hospital".
Please keep calling back here to follow my progress.
Spent a few minutes to have a chat with Cathy at Chastleton House
07:53pm - Have arrived in Enstone in Oxfordshire.
Taken up the offer of a roof over my head and a comfortable bed. My feet need the rest. Satnav already broken.
Have made friends with a three legged dog. Am missing home.
10th July 2007 Day 2
08:00 am - Saying my goodbyes to 3 legged dog I have made friends with during my overnight stay with Malc and Christine.
12:00 Noon - I am sitting under a tree opposite Blacks Head Inn Bletchingdon Oxfordshire, blood sugar down to 5 a near record. Walking all morning. Another hour Islip Oxon pub lunch.
Have to spend most of my time walking just to be able to keep schedule as I hope to be in Greenwich Saturday.
Did 12 miles yesterday. Must get going.
11th July 2007 Day 3
12:11pm - I arrived in Thame last night after covering approximately 36 miles so far and have another 46 miles to go before I reach Greenwich.
I am ready for the next step of my journey, which will be to Amersham, after having stayed at the Black Horse pub and enjoyed an excellent meal.
12:00 noon - Time to take a break for lunch in this cafe at Princes R1sborough.
12th July 2007 Day 4 - Amersham to Wembley
07:00pm - Said goodbye to Steve and Anne in Amersham and began the next leg of my journey to Wembley.
Early evening and I have arrived in Wembley after what must be the most tiring day yet. Have been walking most of the day. On the plus side they have pavements, unlike yesterday rush hour walking against the oncomming traffic coming out of the old town of Amersham.
Got the satnav working but is still tempermental.
Have done 16 miles as the crow flies , must have been over 20 have not seen any bed and b's.
Need to sort out where I am going to sleep, a little more tired today.
13th July 2007 Day 5 - Arrived London
12:05pm - I am on the outskirts of London.
02:00pm - I arrive in Oxford Street but I don't have time to do any window shopping.
02:30pm - very tempted to stay and have a chat to Eros as I walk around Piccadilly Circus.
03:00pm - arrived a few seconds late to record Big Ben chiming, standing in Parliament Square.
04:38pm - I can see Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, HMS Belfast is moored on the Thames and not far away is The Girkin.
06:25pm - I have achieved my first goal of this journey as I stand outside the gates of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, tomorrow morning I will pass through these gates and stand on the true Meridian line.
14th July 2007 Day 6 - Greenwich Observatory
Saturday 11:30am As you can see I am standing with my feet either side of The Meridian Line.
Look on my main Walk Page and you will see the certificate I was presented with.
As much as I woud like to stay here longer sadly I have to be on my way after completeing my first task.
There are a few more places I will pass through before reaching Brighton and the pier.
Saturday 16:30pm - Mission Status
Left knee is playing up, or as NASA might say:-
Sensors on the joint in the middle of the left support and thrust module may be indicating a problem. A decision has been made to continue with the mission and most of the mass in the command module has already been transferred to the support module
The situation is being monitored very closely, and the crew are confident it is just a glitch.
Saturday 19:30pm - Biggin Hill. If you look at the video clip in the background there are 2 Spitfire planes just inside the gate entrance. now I could really see myself in one of those for my journey back home, dreaming.
15th July 2007 Day 7 - Onwards
Saturday 09:00am - I spent a good night with Roger and Carol at their 'Old farmhouse B&B' and so am feeling much better today, my leg has improved quite a lot so I will pick up all my wordly possesions and it is all systems go.
A group of cyclist have just passed me as I walk down this narrow country lane, they may be covering a greater distance than me but it looks too energetic, I will stick to my walking.
Sunday 11:00am - I have arrived next to the M25 motorway which runs from East to West to the South of London. The motorway is out of bounds for me so I will enjoy the countryside as I walk southwards towards my next goal at Brighton, thankfully it is not raining.
Sunday 14:00pm came across my first road sign for Brighton.
Just saying a quick hello to all of you, must carry on.
Sunday 09:30pm - I have been on the road for 12 and a half hours today, but I finally arrived in Staplefield where I will be staying overnight with Mike and Joan.
16th July 2007 Day 8 - Brighton Pier
Monday 06:15pm- Arrived in Brighton.
Going to make my way to where I am staying tonight, all I am going to do is have a good meal, put my feet up and relax, to prepare myself for the task of walking 300 lengths of the pier tomorrow, it's been a long day pulling my little trolley behind me.
Will send more info later. David.
17th July 2007 Day 9 - Peacehaven
Monday 01:18pm - I have arrived in Peacehaven and taken time out to visit the Meridian Marker which is on the coastline
Feeling much better today, this is the sunny Britain that I know.
Tuesday 04:30pm - I am standing on the end of Brighton Pier, the length of the pier is 1/3 of a mile so I am going to walk 150 round trips, or, 300 lenghts to compensate for the distance across the English Channel to Le Havre, wish me luck.
18th July 2007 Day 10 - Brighton Pier
09:19am - Just taking a break from my walking to fulfill a wish from one of my CoffeeCup friends in the US.
Hi Bike Mike, hope this photo will be ok for you, I even put my CC t-shirt on specially for you.
Now that is over I must get back to my task, I have to be at the Ferry Terminal Thursday night in order to get across the Channel to start the next leg of my journey across France, my feet will think they are in seventh heaven during the channel crossing.
You are not going to believe this, but I have forgotten how many times I have walked up and down this pier, not sure if it is 91 or 93, I knew this would happen if I stopped to chat.
It's ok folks, only joking, I had it written down on the back of Bike Mikes sign all the time.
94... 95.. 96.
02:00pm - Still walking along the pier after having an unexpected surprise, a GMTV Camera Crew came upto me and had a chat, so maybe some of you in the UK will see me on their breakfast show talking to Richard, who knows.
04:30pm - Still on the pier, if you watch the short video that Darce Jean has just uploaded you will be able to see a bit of the scenery on this warm sunny day.
I have finished my walking for the day and decided to sit down and give my feet a rest while I watch and listen to the guy on the right singing Country and Western music. It gives me time to reflect on why I am doing this walk, hopefully it will help some lucky person to see what I am able to see and experience.
19th July 2007 Day 11 - Devil's Dyke
 
09:45am - Just having a relaxing moment outsite the Devils Dyke pub on the left here in Brighton. Not going to say if I have a beer, you will have to decide that for yourself.
Right, is the actual view across the Devil's Dyke, stunning, really pleased I don't have to walk across there. I can relax a little now until I hit French soil later tonight, then it will be time to get my feet walking again.
11:00pm and I am now boarding the ferry for my crossing to Le Havre, it is quite stormy in the English Channel and talk is it could be a rough crossing.
20th July 2007 Day 12 - Paris
Friday 01:30pm - Well, I have put the sea legs behind me after a bumpy channel crossing and put my sturdy walking boots back on as I arrive in the centre of Paris to pick the Meridian line up again.
02:45pm - I must be getting closer to it as I have just spotted a sign on a wall, yeah.
04:00pm - I am outside the Obsevatory so I must be really close now, the sad thing it is closed, 4 o-clock and it is closed, never. I would like to try and the Concorde but doubt I will make it tonight, have to find somewhere to stay first.
I am in the garden of the Obsevatory and I have found the Meridian Line, Look...
Below is the sign of a road in Paris named after Charles Augustus Lindbergh known as "Lucky Lindy" and "The Lone Eagle" who was an American pilot famous for the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, NY to Paris in 1927 in the Spirit of St. Louis.
21st July 2007 Day 13 - Nowhere to go
Not had a good day at all so far, I couldn't find any footpaths or cycle tracks to follow to get out of Orly so finally had to get a taxi.
04:30pm - Arrived at the railway station in Etampse after a really difficult day. I just couldn't seem to find an easy route out of Orly so there was only one thing to do, find the railway station and leave by train, surely that wouldn't take me round in circles.
It has been really hot today so I am going to find somewhere to stay tonight, don't fancy sleeping on the railway station.
22nd July 2007 Day 14 - Going to Orleans
Sunday 08:29am - I have just set out on my walk again heading for Orleans, hopefully I won't have the same problems that I had yesterday, going to put those completely out of my mind.
Been walking for a few hours now and am on the D49 coming into Boissy la Riviere.
Sunday 02:30pm - Walking conditions much better now I am in the open country with a nice cooling breeze blowing. I am in the area of Autruy sur Juine which is roughly 30 miles from Orleans.
Look at the quiet country roads, sort of reminds me of Scotland.
- Just reached the boundary sign for the Le Loiret region, not far to Orleans now.
Darce Jean has uploaded a video titled 'For the folks back home' in the France section and guess what, no not saying you will just have to go and look at it.
Sunday 08:30pm French time - had a good day today, Arrived on the edge of Bazoches les Gallerandes, there is a nice cool breeze blowing so I have decided to camp under the stars tonight and get a good nights sleep ready for the push to Orleans tomorrow.
23rd July 2007 Day 15 - Time for a think
Monday 08:09am - It's raining here and so I am sheltering in a wood, hopefully not for long.
So far it has been a real experience for me since I left home on the 9th July as I hope it has been for all of you while you follow my journey, the feedback I am getting really helps to spur me on knowing I have friends both back home and abroad.
The reason I am doing this walk is to raise money for the "Orbis Flying Eye Hospital" so that they can eliminate avoidable blindness and restore sight in the developing world, but to do this I need more donations, it doesn't have to be a lot, as little as £1 will help my fund to grow, as the old saying goes "From little acorns, giant oak trees grow".
If you would like to support me there is a link to ORBIS a little further down this page, please click on it to go to My Donations Page, thankyou.
Monday 01:00pm - I am in a cafe in a small town called Arthenay listening to Simon and Garfunkel singing Homeward Bound, is it possible the next song will be 'These boots were made for walking' by Nancy Sinatra.
Will be heading south again, its hard going today, England was a doddle in retrospect cameraphone is flat, all chargers are flat, am a bit damp, but what the heck, I will be Homeward Bound one day.
As I walked out of the cafe at Artenay I was suprised that the rain had not stopped but was now torrential, I saw a sign for Gare (station) and the song I had just heard (Homeward Bound) was going through my head, and I thought maybe there was a reason that song came on when it did.
I didnt take much convincing and found myself walking towards the station. I arrived to a warm dry empty waiting room, the next train out of here (Orleans) was 3 hours later. So sitting in the waiting room out of the rain I began to sort things out from last night, my first attempt at tentless camping. Throwing out all the rubbish and packing up my sleeping bag, which, along with most everything else, had become soaked with this mornings torrents.
I began to realise that to some extent my idea that I could continuously walk to Lourdes is just a dream. However in this life compromises sometimes have to taken, and thinking on the positive side I have done a lot of walking, and I have even been John Dunbar sleeping out under the stars for half a night before rain took over. So here I am "Sitting in a railway station" recovering from getting soaked this morning and thinking i have to head for Orleans and find a b and b to get everything dry.
Weather permitting I will continue the walk following the Loire s westwards.
So a compromise was taken to travel a small distance by train, to get dry and to recover. If it had not rained, I tell myself, but its just another of a million if's in this life. I guess we just have to take each day as it comes.
Must get the camera phone re charged.
24th July 2007 Day 16 - Leaving Orleans
Tues 09:56am - I am on my way again, hopefully I have everything dried out, slept in a comfortable bed last and had a nice meal.The weather isn't perfect so we will see how things go.
Tues 11:30 - Beaugancy.
I am just about to cross the River Loire, it's a massive river, it's a massive country but I am going to give it another go today, thankfully someone has built a bridge over the river which makes it easy for me to cross, I think.
Tues 02:30pm - Walking down the D925 near to La Ferte st Cyr, I am going well and everything is ok, more later today.
Tues 04:15pm - Arrived at Dhuizon, I am walking down the D13 heading south, this is my type of road and I will be on it for some time, I am going to enjoy this.
Tues 07:00pm - I have been walking all day and am a little tired after covering 30km, yes, km, we are in France now so I shouldn't call them miles anymore, the next thing I will be wearing one of those little french beret's and a string of onions around my neck, on the other hand, I don't think I would pass as a French onion seller, dream on.
I am at the Vernon en Sologne camp site where I hope to spend the night, i have found the reception (small building behind me) but I don't see any other campers so it seems I have the place to myself.
25th July 2007 Day 17 - Going strong
Wed 10:30am - Arrived at Mur de Sologne, the weather is dry, nice and cool, very much better than the last couple of days with the roads very quiet, maybe they don't get up early in the French Countryside. This is just the way I like it.
Wed 02:40pm - Arrived outside a small church in Billy (left). It's getting quite hot now so I am going to have a little rest, I bet it is cool inside the church.
I have arrived at Selles sur Cher. Well, I have to tell you, it came to me a bit of a surprise when I discovered today had been Wednesday.
I have walked another 25 km and am recovering in a small hotel. I went into a Sports Shop to enquire about a reasonably priced hotel, luckily a French gentleman came to my rescue offering to drive me here and negotiate the price for me. Ironicaly I had walked past here 90min before and the lady remarked on seeing me. I was provided with a nice room and I have just had a shower.
Today started off cloudy and cool but since midday it has become warm/hot again. There is a way to go yet, and I know how important it is to take a proper break. The shower also worked wonders.
When I am able to comunicate I seem to get on very well, they are very helpful, and everyone says "bonjour" to everyone. I passed my first vineyard today and a garage in a village that also sold tractors. Well, I will call it a day for today and wish you all a very good night
26th July 2007 Day 18 - Left Selles sur Cher
Thurs 10:40am - I have left Selles sur Cher after a good nights rest in the small hotel and am now heading down the D17 towards Couffy. There is a clear blue sky with every indication that it could get hot later in the day but I am ok and feeling good.
Thurs 01:10pm - Just going through a small place called Lye, I was really enjoying myself this morning but as I neared Couffy I realised I was going in the wrong direction, so out came the map, yeah, I have to back track 5km to get on the right road, must be the sun getting to me.
Thurs 04:30pm - I am on the D33 and just passing Lucay le Male, taking a little time out to have a rest at the side of the road, it's pretty hot now so must find some shade from the sun.
Thurs 07:30pm - It has been a very hard day today for me but thankfully the weather has cooled a bit but I am very tired. I am at Ecuelle on the D13, going to look for somewhere to stay for the night, would be good if I have the same luck as I had last night.
27th July 2007 Day 19 - Heading South
I didn't have time to send the latest info to Darce Jean last night because I was busy trying to find somewhere to say. Eventually I found somewhere called 'Eupheginia's Place', it was a little draughty but the service was excellent, the food was quite good and it didn't cost me much either, see the pic right.
Friday 08:00am - I am leaving a small place called Preaux, there is no-one about yet, a very sleepy place.
Friday 12:30pm - I am continuing South down the D43 but at the present I am taking time out by sheltering under an oak tree next to a maize field.
Friday 01:00pm - Walking down the D43, there is a nice cool breeze with no traffic on the road, just the way I like it.
Friday 02:00pm - I am passing through Murs, headed for Paulnay.
Friday 04:00pm - Walking down the D43 through Paulnay, been a really good day today.
Friday 06:30pm - Arrived at St Michel en Brenne, going to find some kind of shelter for tonight, I aim to be in Le Blanc tomorrow evening and find a Mote, I am sure you will all agree I deserve a bit of comfort shower etc.
I have been making good progress I am tired but OK.
28th July 2007 Day 20 - Le Blanc
Sat 07:40am - A very kind person let me sleep in their bike shed last night. I am currently 15km north of Le Blanc and hope to arrive there by noon. Right is the typical scenery in this area.
Sat 10:30am - I arrived in Le Blanc, I was in the local Supermarket and I met Paul vernon a friend of mine. While I was in here I bought my meal for tonight, rice pudding and cornflakes, the rice pudding is in a plastic container from which I can eat some cornflakes later.
Sat 08:30pm - I decided to spend the rest of the day here in Le Blanc, I have been pushing on hard for most of the time I have been down here, I have had some good quiet roads but most of all cool conditions. I have been telling myself go while the going is good.
Its 8.30 saturday evening and here I am sitting in a hotel room, I have spent the last 2 hours trying to get everything packed and tidied for a quick start tomorrow. I am feeling more apprehensive as I know my luck with the cool breezes will soon run out.
I have tried to stop and take more photographs, but I am feeling like Jim Lovell in the film Apollo 13. During their journey behind the moon the other 2 astronauts were overcome with the beauty of it and were distracted from their responsibilities, Jim had to remind them of the reality of the situation, saying simply "gentlemen, I want to go home".
Finally I just want to say thanks for all the support everyone is giving me.
29th July 2007 Day 21 - Southwards from Le Blanc
Sunday 12:00 - Feeling much better after having spent the night in a comfortable bed and had some good food during my long stay in LeBlanc, but now it is back to business. I am currently passing the small town of Bethines.
Sunday 04:30pm - Walking down the D118 past Montmorillon, again this is a quiet road and conditions are fine, I am feeling ok. More to follow later.
Sunday 05:00pm - I was walking down this street in Montmorillon and there was a faint aroma in the air that reminded me of home, as I walked a little further it became clear that the aroma was from some freshly made chips coming from a small hotel. I think of myself as being a strong willed person, so when I arrive at the entrance to the hotel there were 2 choices for me, either to carry on walking or to go inside the hotel and order some steak and chips. Wish you couls see them.
30th July 2007 Day 22 - Leaving the Hotel
Monday 08:00am - was difficult leaving the hotel after my steak and chips but I have some walking to do. I am currently on the D729 heading for Confolens which is roughly 29 miles in a straight line.
My little trolley is getting overloaded with gifts that I have been given during my long walk making it a liitle more hard going when walking up hills.
31st July 2007 Day 23 - Reflection on yesterday
Hi all. What an eventful day it was yesterday, Meeting with Paul Vernon and 2 of his friends, staying with John and Pam Ball at their b&b Le Chene Vert You can read the full story by going to a page called Events that Darce Jean created for me late last night.
I would like to once again pay a very special thankyou to all above for making yesterday a very special day for me.
So, what will be in store for me today, I am prepairing to leave Millac and head towards Confolens, I will be doing this leg of the journey without my luggage as John Ball has kindly offered to take it onto a camp site at Confolens for me.
Tuesday 11:00am - Going well after a good nights sleep and some good food. I am on the D729 heading for Confolens, I am travelling light thanks to John and Pam.
Tuesday 02:43pm - Arrived in Confolens via the D952, now that has been a very pleasant walk not haviing my trolley to pull. I am going to head to the camp site to collect the rest of my luggage and decide what my next options are, I believe the site is by the river, maybe a rest is in order.
June Blog - August Blog
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