Ready or not, SWCP here I come!

 I’m writing this in my room at Minehead Premier Inn. I’ve decided to go ahead with the walk, despite my Achilles still misbehaving! I’ve completed a few training  hikes with a heavy pack and whilst my body has complained, it hasn’t packed up! 

I left home at 1pm this afternoon, having kindly been given a lift to Warminster Train Station by my sister Kathy.


I caught a train down to Taunton ( change at Westbury ) which was an inter-city type so, only stopped twice. We arrived at Taunton a minute late, leaving me two minutes to make it round the corner to a bus stop. 

I arrived, just as the last passenger in the queue stepped on. Phew! 

It was a 90 minute journey. You know those nice modern buses, that float along on a carpet of air? Well this bus wasn’t one of those! I think it got its suspension off an old  donkey cart. I felt every lump and bump along the way, which wasn’t helped by the driver’s heavy foot on the accelerator/ brake pedal! 

The bus journey terminated outside Butlins, which I last visited in about 1970! 


So, tomorrow morning, the mighty hike begins from the official start on Minehead promenade. The plan is to walk to Porlock and stay at a campsite there. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 5 Woolacombe to Braunton

Image
 I had a pretty poor sleep, mostly because my pitch wasn’t quite level and I kept slipping off my sleeping mat! I got up at 6:30 and left the campsite at 7:55.  Rather than walk directly back into Woolacombe, I chose to walk up the side of Challacombe Hill before re-joining the coast path. I was surprised how busy it was, until I realised that a ‘Park Run’ was just about to start!I waited and let the runners set off rather than get stuck behind me!  Eventually I reached the end of Woolacombe Bay at Putsborough, where the views were spectacular.  There was then a nice walk along the Headland to Baggy Point. There was a white post with notches on it, at the promontory. Apparently, this was used to practice rescuing stricken crew person by passing ships, by firing a rocket at it with a line attached. The line was secured to the post and a zip line set up.  A walk on the other side of the Headland took me to Croyde.  What a shock from the peace and solitude of ...
Read more

Good News and Bad News

Today's the day I planned to start my epic walk. The overnight accommodation in Minehead has been booked for the last 3 months and rough schedules worked out.  The Good News is that I have fully recovered from my hip problems. I have also recovered from the snot fest of Covid! Unfortunately, the bad news is that my achilles tendon  has failed to recover in time. If you have ever suffered from problems with your achilles tendon, then you'll appreciate how frustrating they can be. Several times I have thought it had got better, gone for a short walk, only for it to become inflammed and painful again. I could just try to walk through the pain, if I was just going for a one off trek. However, as I am planning to spend at least 50 days consecutively walking, with a heavy pack on my back, then the cumulative effect would be excruciating and likely to risk rupturing the tendon!  As well as being quite sore, I have been unable to practice carrying additional weight and climb any ...
Read more

Day 8 Bideford to Westacott

Image
 Despite it being the lumpiest bed I’ve ever slept in, I actually had a good night and woke up quite refreshed. As I paid for it, I was under contract to eat the full English breakfast. I tried to refuse, but you know how difficult it is to wriggle out of these T&C’s 😜 I set off at 9am and crossed the bridge into the West Side. I’d stayed in the east end last night, but didn’t hear a single dramatic drum roll or “leave it, he’s not wurff it” all evening!  I followed the coast path along the banks of the River Torridge, before we headed on a more circuitous route, due to access permissions I assume. However, I quite enjoyed this part of the walk, as it took me past some quite nice houses.  After a while, I reached the outskirts of Appledore. As I approached the Harland & Wolf Shipyard I was quite surprised at how many old boats were just left to rot in the river. In today’s more environmentally conscious times, perhaps it’s time to stop the practice.  I had a...
Read more