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London to Walsingham

Time of past OR future Camino
Next Camino Ingles Ferrol
Off I pop again, embarking on yet another UK pilgrimage- there are so many to choose from šŸ„° I have now started 3, plus a cycling one šŸ«£

Of course I decided on the hottest day of late summer to start my little journey. Makes complete sense, who doesnā€™t like to swelter in 30+ degree heat?

Having ran away from a meditation retreat, I had a sleepless night and decided some me time was in order. I made my way to Moorgate first, mistaking it for Monument and got to the church of St Magnus the Martyr 10 mins before mass began. I was ushered in by the greeter at the door where I came upon many a men dressed in full clergy finery.

Uncomfortable as I always am with ā€˜The Instituteā€™ I fumbled my way into asking around for a pilgrim stamp to start my day off. They were terribly nice and wished me on my merry way as I kept apologising for my terrible timing.

IMG_2590.jpeg

I do love me a stamp! Itā€™s official, Iā€™m walking.

Who doesnā€™t love a walk that starts along a river? I mean thatā€™s half the battle nipped in the bud right there, no need to navigate! The time was 11am and it was blisteringly hot already, and I was walking east, no sunnies, no hat. Tsk, tsk, yes I hadnā€™t planned this at all well.

The first part of the walk was lovely, I still get surprised at how enjoyable this soon to be painful endeavour is in the moment. First a section on the Thames path, go past the Tower of London (never been) then through the quiet residential streets of Wapping, passing a yacht or two. Iā€™ve been in London all my life and Iā€™ve seen nothing!

IMG_2582.jpeg

I thought this little road took me back to the Thames, alas no, it was a smelly alley way.

The next stage is along many a canals and parks. Regents Canal, Victoria Park, Hertford Union Canal and finally River Lee Navigation. I suddenly got a sense of deja vu, I had done this before but in the opposite direction. It was one of my training walks for Porto to SDC. I wanted to hit 25km but gave up around 17km and treated my sore feet to a bus ride home šŸ¤£

IMG_2588.jpeg

Today, I treated myself to a 99 mmmmmm.

I had already determined that I was only going to go as far as Tottenham, that would break an unbelievably long day for me (28.5km) into something like 15/13. Boy was the last bit hard! I kept thinking it must be less than an hour, and that hour took forever! The lock finally came into view at around 3:30.

All in all, a lovely walk, very varied even though I was predominantly along water. I thought it had a little bit of everything. And I actually like pounding concrete, itā€™s predictable and my wobbly ankles prefer it. There was even a section in Wapping that brought back memories of all the cobblestones in Portugal!

Sigh- not sure when the next day is happening but knowing me Iā€™ll be unprepared and just tootle off on a whim.

Total walking time was around 4 hours, total distance around 16km. Pretty standard for me, keeping to my 4km per hour. Total overall time was around 5 hours.

Here are a couple of heavily altered pictures. If you donā€™t have it, fake it. Until next time

IMG_2587.jpeg
IMG_2586.jpeg
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Off I pop again, embarking on yet another UK pilgrimage- there are so many to choose from šŸ„° I have now started 3, plus a cycling one šŸ«£

Of course I decided on the hottest day of late summer to start my little journey. Makes complete sense, who doesnā€™t like to swelter in 30+ degree heat?

Having ran away from a meditation retreat, I had a sleepless night and decided some me time was in order. I made my way to Moorgate first, mistaking it for Monument and got to the church of St Magnus the Martyr 10 mins before mass began. I was ushered in by the greeter at the door where I came upon many a men dressed in full clergy finery.

Uncomfortable as I always am with ā€˜The Instituteā€™ I fumbled my way into asking around for a pilgrim stamp to start my day off. They were terribly nice and wished me on my merry way as I kept apologising for my terrible timing.

View attachment 156162

I do love me a stamp! Itā€™s official, Iā€™m walking.

Who doesnā€™t love a walk that starts along a river? I mean thatā€™s half the battle nipped in the bud right there, no need to navigate! The time was 11am and it was blisteringly hot already, and I was walking east, no sunnies, no hat. Tsk, tsk, yes I hadnā€™t planned this at all well.

The first part of the walk was lovely, I still get surprised at how enjoyable this soon to be painful endeavour is in the moment. First a section on the Thames path, go past the Tower of London (never been) then through the quiet residential streets of Wapping, passing a yacht or two. Iā€™ve been in London all my life and Iā€™ve seen nothing!

View attachment 156163

I thought this little road took me back to the Thames, alas no, it was a smelly alley way.

The next stage is along many a canals and parks. Regents Canal, Victoria Park, Hertford Union Canal and finally River Lee Navigation. I suddenly got a sense of deja vu, I had done this before but in the opposite direction. It was one of my training walks for Porto to SDC. I wanted to hit 25km but gave up around 17km and treated my sore feet to a bus ride home šŸ¤£

View attachment 156164

Today, I treated myself to a 99 mmmmmm.

I had already determined that I was only going to go as far as Tottenham, that would break an unbelievably long day for me (28.5km) into something like 15/13. Boy was the last bit hard! I kept thinking it must be less than an hour, and that hour took forever! The lock finally came into view at around 3:30.

All in all, a lovely walk, very varied even though I was predominantly along water. I thought it had a little bit of everything. And I actually like pounding concrete, itā€™s predictable and my wobbly ankles prefer it. There was even a section in Wapping that brought back memories of all the cobblestones in Portugal!

Sigh- not sure when the next day is happening but knowing me Iā€™ll be unprepared and just tootle off on a whim.

Total walking time was around 4 hours, total distance around 16km. Pretty standard for me, keeping to my 4km per hour. Total overall time was around 5 hours.

Here are a couple of heavily altered pictures. If you donā€™t have it, fake it. Until next time

View attachment 156165
View attachment 156166
Off I pop again, embarking on yet another UK pilgrimage- there are so many to choose from šŸ„° I have now started 3, plus a cycling one šŸ«£

Of course I decided on the hottest day of late summer to start my little journey. Makes complete sense, who doesnā€™t like to swelter in 30+ degree heat?

Having ran away from a meditation retreat, I had a sleepless night and decided some me time was in order. I made my way to Moorgate first, mistaking it for Monument and got to the church of St Magnus the Martyr 10 mins before mass began. I was ushered in by the greeter at the door where I came upon many a men dressed in full clergy finery.

Uncomfortable as I always am with ā€˜The Instituteā€™ I fumbled my way into asking around for a pilgrim stamp to start my day off. They were terribly nice and wished me on my merry way as I kept apologising for my terrible timing.

View attachment 156162

I do love me a stamp! Itā€™s official, Iā€™m walking.

Who doesnā€™t love a walk that starts along a river? I mean thatā€™s half the battle nipped in the bud right there, no need to navigate! The time was 11am and it was blisteringly hot already, and I was walking east, no sunnies, no hat. Tsk, tsk, yes I hadnā€™t planned this at all well.

The first part of the walk was lovely, I still get surprised at how enjoyable this soon to be painful endeavour is in the moment. First a section on the Thames path, go past the Tower of London (never been) then through the quiet residential streets of Wapping, passing a yacht or two. Iā€™ve been in London all my life and Iā€™ve seen nothing!

View attachment 156163

I thought this little road took me back to the Thames, alas no, it was a smelly alley way.

The next stage is along many a canals and parks. Regents Canal, Victoria Park, Hertford Union Canal and finally River Lee Navigation. I suddenly got a sense of deja vu, I had done this before but in the opposite direction. It was one of my training walks for Porto to SDC. I wanted to hit 25km but gave up around 17km and treated my sore feet to a bus ride home šŸ¤£

View attachment 156164

Today, I treated myself to a 99 mmmmmm.

I had already determined that I was only going to go as far as Tottenham, that would break an unbelievably long day for me (28.5km) into something like 15/13. Boy was the last bit hard! I kept thinking it must be less than an hour, and that hour took forever! The lock finally came into view at around 3:30.

All in all, a lovely walk, very varied even though I was predominantly along water. I thought it had a little bit of everything. And I actually like pounding concrete, itā€™s predictable and my wobbly ankles prefer it. There was even a section in Wapping that brought back memories of all the cobblestones in Portugal!

Sigh- not sure when the next day is happening but knowing me Iā€™ll be unprepared and just tootle off on a whim.

Total walking time was around 4 hours, total distance around 16km. Pretty standard for me, keeping to my 4km per hour. Total overall time was around 5 hours.

Here are a couple of heavily altered pictures. If you donā€™t have it, fake it. Until next time

View attachment 156165
View attachment 156166
Yummy ice cream too! Yesā€” temps have been scorching over thereā€” till your next day - please post again šŸ‘šŸ»
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

ā‚¬149,-
Day 2: Tottenham Hale to Broxbourne. Approx 20km

Well the forecast was for heavy rain and winds and I thought that it might just bring back memories of walking the Ingles at the start of the month šŸ¤£ I decided to head off. If not, Iā€™d have only sat and watched more TV.

I didnā€™t dress for the Camino, just my normal clothes and an umbrella. I got to Tottenham just before 11am, I thought I would make it to Waltham Abbey by 2 and Broxbourne before dark.

The path was wet, very wet, it wasnā€™t unpleasant but it wasnā€™t as peaceful as I would like. I had to concentrate to avoid all the puddles and then get out of the way for all the cyclists. Itā€™s definitely less busy than the first stretch which I appreciated.

It also didnā€™t rain! Not one bit, I was annoyed at having the umbrella but in the end I did lean on it for a bit.

Being dressed in normal clothes meant I overheated almost straightaway! Ending up putting my parka in my bag and it only came out when I took a long break.

Waltham Abbey Church is pretty beautiful and supposedly the Saxon King of England is laid to rest there, somewhere. There is a stamp in the church though itā€™s kept in the back and you have to find someone to ask for it. There are some lovely grounds here but I didnā€™t have time to explore.

After a few minutes I headed back to the path, more easy walking along the River Lee Navigation. I had a train booked just before 4pm back to London so I hurried along and got there with 15 minutes to spare.

Iā€™m sure walking along the canals can be a nice experience but I think Iā€™m over it. The paths are too narrow, I hate cyclists ringing their bell at me. I canā€™t wait for this route to leave the canals and get me on a country road or field!

No exciting pictures, but I did come across this barge which I thought was poetic!

IMG_2953.jpeg
 
Day 2: Tottenham Hale to Broxbourne. Approx 20km

Well the forecast was for heavy rain and winds and I thought that it might just bring back memories of walking the Ingles at the start of the month šŸ¤£ I decided to head off. If not, Iā€™d have only sat and watched more TV.

I didnā€™t dress for the Camino, just my normal clothes and an umbrella. I got to Tottenham just before 11am, I thought I would make it to Waltham Abbey by 2 and Broxbourne before dark.

The path was wet, very wet, it wasnā€™t unpleasant but it wasnā€™t as peaceful as I would like. I had to concentrate to avoid all the puddles and then get out of the way for all the cyclists. Itā€™s definitely less busy than the first stretch which I appreciated.

It also didnā€™t rain! Not one bit, I was annoyed at having the umbrella but in the end I did lean on it for a bit.

Being dressed in normal clothes meant I overheated almost straightaway! Ending up putting my parka in my bag and it only came out when I took a long break.

Waltham Abbey Church is pretty beautiful and supposedly the Saxon King of England is laid to rest there, somewhere. There is a stamp in the church though itā€™s kept in the back and you have to find someone to ask for it. There are some lovely grounds here but I didnā€™t have time to explore.

After a few minutes I headed back to the path, more easy walking along the River Lee Navigation. I had a train booked just before 4pm back to London so I hurried along and got there with 15 minutes to spare.

Iā€™m sure walking along the canals can be a nice experience but I think Iā€™m over it. The paths are too narrow, I hate cyclists ringing their bell at me. I canā€™t wait for this route to leave the canals and get me on a country road or field!

No exciting pictures, but I did come across this barge which I thought was poetic!

View attachment 160235
I can see how walking n the Canals can @get oldā€¦ with cyclists speeding byā€¦šŸ„“ā€-
Too cold I imagine for ice cream?
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms

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