Weather: Extremely windy! This made walking so difficult in some places. Certainly, it was more exhausting, too! It was not very cold, although I wore two T-shirts and a jumper. Most of the day it was spitting with light rain. At one point, it even felt like it was going to bucket it down – but it didn’t. 

Walking report: The walk was quite boring! It started mostly following roads and paved footpaths. Then it finally opened up onto the North Downs Way. The path went up and down lots of valleys and long, empty fields until I finally arrived in Shepherdswell. This only took me about 3.5 hours to walk 17.1km; a beautiful little village with a nice-looking pub, although it’s not open until 2 pm. Therefore, the only place for a coffee and a sit-down was a quaint little farm shop. I stopped there for a brief spell before marching onwards to Dover. 

The route to Dover was a bit different – a lot of gradual climbs, some steep and quite a few wooded areas to pass through. It was mostly quite straightforward, apart from the strong wind and mud that made it quite an arduous walk! I certainly missed the warmth and ease of walking like in Spain. 

Thoughts: Walking long distances alone is not an easy task, but one I am very comfortable with doing. When I was buying my boots from a shop in Horsham, another potential customer in the store asked me what I was looking to use them for. I explained I was going to walk from Canterbury to Rome. His reaction was similar to most I’ve encountered so far – shock and ermm.. why?! He asked me if I was going to get paid for it, or if I was walking there for charity. When I explained to him I wasn’t doing either, he seemed even more confused – “So why then? He said.” My response at that moment was such a simple answer to give! 

Why not! 

He seemed to accept this answer, wished me well and left me alone. 

During my walk today, I was thinking about that moment a lot. I have since decided to raise money for charity – MacMillan Cancer Support. My reasons for choosing them, as you have probably seen are my way of remembering my dad but also supporting others who may be/have experienced the effects of the tragic illness. 

My ‘why not’ reason feels a bit more complex. For over 15 years, I struggled to walk because of a deteriorating hip joint. Every step I took was quite painful and not much fun. I think I’ve survived on Ibuprofen and Paracetamol for as long as I can remember. Even during both of my Camino de Santiago pilgrimages and the one I completed in Portugal. It was a daily occurrence to be taking tablets at least 3-4 times a day. 

In February 2024, all that pain finally came to an end, with a nice new titanium ball, socket joint and femur being fitted into my right leg. Now that the new joint has fully embedded itself and formed a new part of my body. I have not once had to take any pain medication because it hurts. To me, this is quite a strange thing, particularly having been used to it for so long. So, my ‘why not?’ Must be – because I can! I have walked several times alone and spent a lot of time in my life being single, so I feel very confident in myself and do not have any fear of being alone.

Nor am I searching for anything either. I can do this walk and will do this walk not just to raise money for charity and remember my dad, but ultimately because I can and can! Also, life at school is always so busy. It will be nice to step (excuse the pun) away from it all and just be. Like I said on my website, left foot, right foot and onwards I go. 

For now, though, it’s time to return to school (teaching) and get fitter until the Easter holidays and my next 500+ mile adventure walking across France.