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Via @ 70

July - October 2023
Walking from Canterbury to Rome Read more
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  • TravelerVia @ 70

    Canterbury

    July 12, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    And the fun begins.

    Fairly uneventful train journey here although I did find St Pancras International Station a tad confusing when I had only a few minutes to make a connection.

    After a somewhat excessive family meal yesterday evening I couldn’t face my sushi in a box lunch. Had it for tea instead but a day spent in my rucksack being lugged on and off trains didn’t help its appearance very much.

    Just to get into the mood of this pilgrim lark I attended the evening service at the cathedral. Undoubtedly my first and last Anglican service or Choral Evensong to give it the proper title. Apart from the guys in white gowns parading up and down it featured the girls choir. Made for an interesting comparison with the last choral event I attended, namely Glynice’s Sing in the City choir performing in the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens. Audience participation seemed to be frowned on and to be fair I didn’t recognise any of the songs or tunes. The notes seemed higher than my comfortable range. The lassies did very well though, even if they didn’t attempt any of the choreographed movements that SitC choir insist on doing.

    Now spending the evening trying to set up this Penguins caper. It’s all go.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 1

    Shepherdswell 12 miles

    July 13, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Had to have the full breakfast as it’s my only chance of a proper start to the day. Don’t think the Europeans have quite got the hang of it yet.

    Then a quick keek at the Kirk as it was next door. Bloody huge so knackered by the time I finished.

    Met my first other pilgrim or nutter. He had just finished walking back from Rome so looked somewhat hairier and thinner than myself. I have been seriously stockpiling round the midriff for a while in anticipation of future shortages. He was very keen to talk as I suspect he hasn’t met many others on his trip. He mentioned that he had been fined by the French authorities as he had been 100 days in Schengen area. And banned for the next 6 months. So my plan to finish within the 90 days looks like a good idea.

    Lesson of the day - just because the sun is shining when I start the day and no rain is forecast, don’t pack the waterproofs at the bottom of the bag because when it does start raining everything has to be emptied out into the rain to get to the damn things. In the stramash I managed to dislodge an earphone. After walking another couple of hundred yards I realised it was missing. Couldn’t find it anywhere so concluded it must have dropped in the grass either on the path as I walked or where I had stopped. Luckily I have many years of experience hunting for golf balls in long grass. Took a bit of time to find but there wasn’t a 3 minute rule to worry about. I was in no hurry and I couldn’t just whip another out of my bag.

    Nice short day so despite the late start I managed to get here before the only place to get food closed at 4pm. However the best that could be managed was a processed cheese and tomato roll. Dire but I was hungry. Camping tonight in a basic campsite. A field with portaloos in fact. So dinner will be a banana. With breakfast going to be another banana tomorrow I will start to make progress on that midriff.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 2

    Calais 14 miles

    July 14, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

    An early start. Walking by 7.10am. Not by choice obviously but I had 11 miles to cover before a 12.10pm deadline for ferry check-in.

    Uneventful walk although I did have my first barbed wire fence to cross. Amused by some of the local signs. Not sure if they have had folk blindly following sat-navs and driving whopping SUVs down these little paths but strangely they don’t see a problem for half the year.

    Had a horrific ferry crossing as rain forced me inside only to be faced with thousands of over-excited school children on bus trips abroad. Suspect their minders had sensibly found solace in a bar somewhere leaving their charges to go feral. Oddly there seemed to be less of them the longer the crossing went on. Suspect we were leaving a long trail of gently bobbing heads behind us, or perhaps they had just found someone else to annoy.

    It took some time to negotiate leaving the port. Barbed wire everywhere. I did seem to be the only person attempting to walk from the port to town. At least the French seem pleased to see me. Even declared it a national holiday, calling it Bastille Day presumably as Stuart Day would be too difficult for them to pronounce. I think fireworks are a bit over the top though.

    Tonight’s hotel suggested a local restaurant. Took one look at their menu and headed off for a PaniniLand instead. Meal deal of kebab sandwich, frites and a drink came to 7€50 which I think the gaffer back home will consider more suitable for a pilgrim with 90 dinners to fund.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 3

    Guines 10 miles

    July 15, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Another easy day. Loving this gentle start with short days for the first week.
    Meant I just chilled out in my room and didn’t get going until 11am. Gave time to digest the hotel restaurant breakfast before setting out. Loved it.

    One of the rituals of this walk is the collection of the testimonium from His Holiness in Rome (or an underling if he is busy) to show anyone remotely interested what has been achieved. As this is much prized, neigh coveted, one has to prove that enough of the walk was completed. One look at the poor feet would give a fairly clear indication but the generally accepted method is to produce a pilgrim’s credential, a wee booklet which gets stamped every day. No problem at all. Just nip into the local tourist office for the needful. But my guidebook informs me that a stamp in French is called a tampon. I kid you not. Nowhere else in the book is there any indication that the writer has a sense of humour so I suppose I just have to trust him. Duly called in to the main tourist office this morning and spoke to the very attractive young lady behind the desk. Asked for a stamp. Blank look. Asked if she had a tampon while desperately showing my credential book. Seemed to work. She slapped her tampon on my book and gave me a lovely smile. Got to love this country sometimes.

    Dinner tonight looked promising which was welcome because lunch didn’t happen again. Snack bar in the campsite. Large menu. Chose a risotto with turkey, chorizo etc. When it came it was some sort of frozen pre-cooked thing that had been microwaved. They didn’t even take it out of the box it came in. To add insult to injury it was tiny. Despite the pleasant enough lettuce and dressing I am still hungry. And no idea how I might get anything for breakfast. Hey ho. At least today’s rain has stopped and the sun is shining and drying out the tent.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 4

    Licques 11 miles

    July 16, 2023 in France ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    Slept in. Well not exactly slept. More like dozed fitfully. Camping is not really good for proper sleep. Firstly, you have wind. No, not me. Apparently, it was gusting up to 45mph last night. Quite believe it. My tent made quite a racket. Bought for lightness rather than robustness.

    Secondly my mat, also bought for lightness. As shown in the photo it is tiny, especially compared to my old one. I can just about get my head, shoulder and bum on it if I am careful. Feels like I am trying to balance on a partly blown-up balloon. I also bought a blowup pillow. Nice idea but I’m now trying to balance my head on a balloon on top of a balloon. And then there are the kids in the campsite who seem to turn in after me but wake much earlier. Might not be the same kids of course they could be operating in shifts. And I was hungry.

    Anyway I did get going eventually. First I had to walk in the wrong direction to get something to eat so it took about an hour to get back to the campsite. Luckily it was another short day. About half spent in woods.

    On arrival at another campsite I got myself and clothes washed, sort of. In my desperation to get my bag as light as possible I ditched the wee shampoo and soap I had planned to take. No problem in hotels but consecutive nights camping is a little less pleasant. As I have laundry wash at least the clothes will be clean.

    Lesson of the day :- I have noticed a tendency of some folk to dress according to what the weather on the previous day. I have just done the culinary equivalent. Last night I noticed the pizzas were popular and they looked lovely. But I had ordered quickly so went for that dire risotto before seeing any pizzas. Tonight I again ordered quickly at the campsite snack bar and went for the pizza. Shocking effort. While struggling to finish it I noticed that no one who came in after me ordered pizza. Might play a waiting game tomorrow and suss the scene.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 5

    Tournehem-sur-la-Hem 10 miles

    July 17, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    An interesting start to the day. Situation probably familiar to many who camp. There is a reluctance to get out of the sleeping bag and tent and trek to the loo too often during the night. So when morning comes there can be a certain urgency especially for gentlemen of rather advanced years. Now last night’s campsite had decided to only provide 2 traps in the nearest toilet block. Usually quite sufficient I’m sure. But I have noticed a tendency of some gents to simply take up residence in the morning and wait for nature to take its course. And this can sometimes take some time, not something I suspected I had in abundance. Faced with 2 locked traps my French was not up to enquiring whether the gentlemen were expecting to be long. Luckily there was another block somewhere which I simply had to find and get to in time.

    It would have been lovely to have followed that stramash with a nice breakfast. Nothing available. Luckily I had purchased a Snickers bar a couple of days ago for such an eventuality. Washed it down with some water and off I went.

    Every now and then I came upon a seat, a bench or even a picnic table put beside the path for walkers or cyclists but today I came across the next level. Not only were there 2 picnic tables placed under shade but it also had its own composting toilet. The only slight drawback was that I had nothing to eat and, after the minimal breakfast, there was no real need for the loo either. Never mind it’s the thought that counts.

    Those following my route may have noticed that I don’t seem to take the straightest path each day. Indeed today I started going north, back towards Calais. This seemed to be so that I could visit the ruins of the 15th century Chapelle de Saint-Louis. Not totally convinced it was worth the effort but the rain possibly detracted from my appreciation of its finer points. The subsequent locked gate didn’t help although I do prefer a locked gate to a barbed wire fence.

    Just before reaching the campsite I came upon an open cafe. Not bad for a Monday in France. The only thing that madam was able to produce was a Croque Monsieur but I was in no place to turn it down.

    It was sufficiently cheap that I have returned this evening to see what she could manage in the evening. I’m not sure what the problem is but it turns out despite the board outside promising delights such as moules frites all that was available was some sort of cold stew and frites. I suspect the chef doesn’t do Mondays.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 6

    Wisques 12 miles

    July 18, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The toilet saga continues. Last night’s campsite considered that one “bathroom” was sufficient for the entire campsite. One room with a shower, toilet and sink for I don’t know how many campers. Naturally when I went to brush my remaining teeth there were a couple enjoying their evening ablutions including a shower. 30 minutes may not seem long but I would have much rather spent the time inside my sleeping bag than standing outside the toilet.

    I was then kept awake for a couple of hours by some folk talking. After that I was just cold. Not a great night all told.

    Anyway I set off this morning in the sun, stopping off at yesterday’s cafe to see what she could manage for breakfast. Turned out it was orange juice, croissant, pain au chocolat and a coffee. Strangely, I was expected to eat a naked croissant. I know some folk consider that normal but I would expect butter and marmalade or possibly butter and Nutella but most certainly butter. And don’t try that nonsense of croissant is made of butter so you don’t need any more. Realised somewhat late that I should have taken some away with me as there was nothing more to be had until dinner.

    A fine walk, mostly sunny but not too hot, usually between fields although with some short sections of road to add a little spice. Only came across one person all day. A lady using hedge trimmers at the side of the road, outside her house. As I passed her she gave a sudden start and gave me a filthy look. Now it might be she was just surprised at a passerby but also possible she was just startled by catching a wee whiff of pilgrim. I didn’t stay to enquire.

    To give a measure of the sort of day it was, the highlight was passing over the A26 on which one could cover the 150 or so miles from Calais to Reims in under 3 hours by car. I should manage it in a little over 2 weeks and will meander about 235 miles on the way.

    I did take advantage of the solitude by giving voice to my playlist despite my nearest and dearest stating frequently that I can no more sing than walk on water. A good example of one’s memory of music being the last to disappear is that I considered I was pretty word perfect to the double album of the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack albeit a second or two behind.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 7

    Therouanne 14 miles

    July 19, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    After 3 consecutive nights camping I thought I could justify something more comfortable last night. I could have stayed in a monastery but I remember staying there last time and it was very strange. A communal meal with the monks, eaten in compulsory silence, monks round the walls all staring at the pilgrim eating in the centre of the room. And the food wasn’t great.

    This time I went for a nice hotel with a reasonably priced dinner, bed and breakfast. I had booked a special “businessman’s rate” which is the only way it came close to my budget. When I booked it I hadn’t paid much attention to the rules but as it got closer I did begin to worry. The hotel site seemed to be very insistent that the special rate was only available to a solo traveller genuinely travelling “on business”. In my day a businessman would have been expected to turn up wearing a suit and driving a Ford Mondeo. I know times have changed but not sure if a smelly t-shirt and shorts, lugging a rucksack with no car in sight might have made them a little suspicious. If rumbled I was planning to say that I was a writer and I was in the process of writing a book on the via. Only a slight exaggeration.

    Anyway I checked in, ate the dinner (3 course including a bucket of mussels and a nice glass of wine), slept well, did the breakfast proud and went to check out. Got my knuckles gently rapped. Didn’t have the cheek to try the writer nonsense.

    Interesting choice of route for the day. Either the official one, 14 miles wandering about fields and woods or 8 miles by a fairly straight road. Not in any particular hurry and the weather was fine (well only raining a little) so went for the 14 miles. Reducing the chance of being smeared over the road helped the decision making.

    Tonight I am staying in a gite reserved for pilgrims. Can sleep about 14 but it looks like I’m the only one. Bit basic compared to the hotel but they do only charge 25€ so I can possibly overlook the plastic covered mattress. Dinner was a pre-cooked lasagne from a local butcher. Suspect breakfast will be a pain au chocolat from the baker as I pass in the morning. Could be a sparse day for food tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 8

    Amettes 12 miles

    July 20, 2023 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Straightforward day’s walk in (mostly) sun. Usual fields and woods, seeing no-one.

    The host of the gite turned up before I left, just for a blether really. Reminded me of the late Peter in his enthusiasm for random things. He did however bring me a local delicacy, bit like a round waffle, covered in chocolate and with some sort of cream filling. In the absence of anything else it went down a rare treat for breakfast.

    Spent most of the walk listening to Desert Island Discs. Never heard it before I started my training for this walk but it has became my constant companion if I am walking on my own. With BBC Sounds it is so easy to just play episodes one after another. There are very few that I haven’t wanted to listen right through. Haven’t heard of very many of the folk but no matter, their life stories condensed into 40 minutes or so are amazing. The music they choose is less interesting but they only play wee clips so that’s fine. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to download them as I go but there isn’t any problem so far.

    Was a bit concerned about dinner (not for the first time in my life) as I am staying in a sort of farmhouse in a small village without any shops, cafes etc. When I arrived the elderly lady was very chatty albeit with no more English than I have French, but no mention was made of food. These pilgrim places are all very different in what is provided. There is no standard package. I came downstairs at about the appropriate time and sat about outside, near the kitchen, waiting to see if anything was forthcoming. Surely they must eat and they must realise I might like to eat too. After a while the lady indicated that there was a kitchen I could use and she could give me some potatoes and eggs. Might not do the Buc but it was just fine for me. Boiled eggs and boiled potatoes are just about the limit of my culinary skills anyway. Really could do with some sort of pudding to follow but hey ho at least I’m not still starving.    Read more

  • TravelerVia @ 70
    Day 9

    Bruay-la-Buissiere 12 miles

    July 21, 2023 in France ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    As usual, my life is all about eating and sleeping. Last night the eating was adequate but the sleep wasn’t. Ridiculous really. All seemed good - nice bed, comfortable temperature, little external noise. The only problem was a wee insect that persistently did a flypast of my ear just when I was nearly asleep. Now I am no keener than the next man on being bitten so this would send me into a frenzy of light on, out of bed, armed to the teeth with a towel and murderous intent to prevent said insect continuing its acrobatics. Failed time and again. Even lured it into the confines of the bathroom, shutting the door behind so it couldn’t escape my flailing towel. Thought I had scored a direct hit, no sign of it, back to bed, light out, off to sleep.

    But no, the little bugger, or its chum (not easy to tell one from another) was still there. Nothing for it but stick a leg out of the covers, leaving it to its fate in the hope that the blighter would just silently gorge on all that flesh and leave my ear alone. I have no idea if insects have a favourite part of a carcass to gnaw at, similar to a human choosing leg or breast from the Xmas turkey, but this one didn’t seem too fussy and peace reigned. As soon as I reconciled myself to being eaten alive I managed to nod off.

    After an OK breakfast I departed although not before madam had taken a photo as she apparently does of all pilgrims.

    Walk uneventful although becoming more built up in places.

    Arrived before 3pm with high hopes for dinner as the hotel had a restaurant. Turned out that Friday is the day off for the restaurant. Wandered out about 4pm when the tummy started rumbling. Looked like there were some eateries about half a mile to the east or about a mile to the west. Headed east. Spent ages wandering about some sort of spread out shopping centre. Lots of food outlets but only MacDonalds was showing any signs of life and I wasn’t that desperate. After an hour and a half I had given up and headed west. Got quite excited when I came to a Taj Mahal until I read the note on the door which said it was on holiday until mid-August. Never mind there was a Chinese restaurant opposite. Except it didn’t open for another hour. Kept walking. Eventually came upon a small pizza outlet. He seemed bemused that I might want to order a pizza just after 6pm. Nevertheless within half an hour when the rest of the staff arrived I had my pizza.

    Hard going. Must have walked about 4 extra miles just trying to get my tea.    Read more

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