Day 37 – 26 Km walked today – 773 Km walked in total - Wye

I'm really proud of us today. Despite being on the way home, we were at a low relatively low ebb yesterday evening. In part, this was because we lost our rythtmn but perhaps more because we had come so far but some old physical concerns made us doubt whether we could finish it off.

But today was a new day and we walked 26Km up hill, down hill, up hill...and so on. It felt more like 30Km and was certainly more strenuous than that distance in the flatness of Belgium. And the scenery was wonderful.

We started out, as we ended yesterday, on the South Downs Way and what a contrast to Belgium. I will not day that we didn't notice the hills but we certainly didn't mind them, given the rewards. But after lunch, a minor wrong turn found us on the Pilgrim's Way. These days, the South Downs Way is better for walkers, as the a lot of the Pilgrim's Way is tarmac. But on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the tarmac was quiet and it was a special feeling to walk where so many feet had walked before.

To escape the tarmac for a while, we took a footpath that runs parallel to the road. It ran through a number of fields and it became clear, after the second, field, that the owner was not very keen on having people follow this ancient right of way. Signs went missing or were overgrown and styles were precarious. This came to its nadir in the final field which increasingly became nothing more than a field of thigh high stinging nettles. I was wearing shorts but we, now militant ramblers, were determined to get to the end. Four hours later, my legs are still tingling like mad.

Shortly after, we sat on a bench, dialed 118 118, which worked pretty well yesterday, to find some comfortable accommodation in Wye. It was a nasty shock to be told that there wasn't any and that we would have to go to Ashford. And then along came the lovely lady below, who happened to be passing by.

Not only did she tell us that there were indeed places in Wye, she walked with us into Wye, and showed us to the very the door of the place we are now staying. But she also waited outside, to ensure that we had a room, so that she could show us to somewhere else if they were full. I gave her the thumbs up and took the picture above. But her generosity didn't end there. When we came back to the dining room, we found that she had returned and left us an envelope containing a generous donation to our charity. What can we say but thank you.

So finally, to our musical choice. Having spent this afternoon on the Pilgrim's Way, I was going to choose the old hymn, “To be a Pilgrim”, with words by John Bunyan, which I have been singing on and off for weeks.

But I have also been looking for an excuse to include something by the late and very great Robert Nesta Marley. So in recognition of our assertion of our right to ramble, it is the great man and “Get Up, Stand Up (Stand Up For Your Rights)”.