I woke up at 5:30am. Not unusual when you fall asleep at 9pm but breakfast wasn’t until 8 and I didn’t want to wait.
So I quietly packed up and headed out. I ran into grandpa who was also an early riser and while he couldn’t make me food he offered a bunch of snacks and fruit which I shoved into my bag for the day.
Walking at 6am was lovely. The heat wave was over but it was still gonna be a hot sunny day so I’m glad I left in the cool of the morning.
This days walk was totally unique as I walked through gorgeous fields of growing wheat!
Then I approached everyone’s biggest fear on the coast to coast: crossing the highway. You have to cross one of the major highways and the closest pedestrian bridge adds an extra 5 miles which no one wants to do, so everyone dashes across like Frogger.
I remember hikers talking about it way back in the beginning as their biggest worry of the hike, and I could hear the highway about a mile away so I was getting nervous too.
And then I arrived and laughed. I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I live in China! I cross a busy 6 land road everyday at work and this little British highway was only 4 lanes with a median in the middle so I only had to cross two lanes at a time?! Easy peasy.
There was also a highway rest stop with a big gas station shop so I got myself an Icee before very easily crossing the “dreaded” highway.
After that all I had to worry about was climbing up one steep mountain. Sounds tiring but not scary…until I saw my trail. It was marked “private property: no public way” all over the entrance.
Only problem was it was where the map was telling me to go. And I don’t know any other way to go besides what the map says so despite all the warning signs I continued on figuring one lone walker wouldn’t be discovered in this giant wooded farmland.
Until I saw 2 farmers walking towards me, tough guys with sunglasses, two big dogs and they were carrying sticks which my American eyes first mistook for shotguns.
Gulp.
“You know you’re walking the wrong way,” said the older farmer.
“I know, I’m sorry but this is the way the app is telling me to go,” I said, holding out my phone.
“Which app is that?” He asked and I told him.
“They used to send people this way because the official route was always flooded but last year they made a new route which goes around the farm, but people still come this way,” he said.
I apologized again and asked if I could keep going. (I was halfway up the mountain and didn’t want to walk down to the trail and then have to climb up it again.)
“I’ll walk quick and won’t bother anything,” I said.
“Sure, no problem,” he said walking away as I thanked him. Phew.
So I huffed and puffed up the mountain and then went over it and separated from the official coast to coast trail to get to the village where I was sleeping.
Since I left so early I arrived before check-in (I was sleeping at a pub) and I went to a cafe for a sandwich and then just sat outside for a bit.
At dinner the pub had real candles and it felt very old tyme cool sitting there and writing in my diary with candlelight. But I was off the trail and didn’t see a single person I knew so it made me feel a little lonely…
It was a 19km day with an elevation of 300 meters.
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