I've been back in the UK since March 16th 2008. I completed a winding, several-hundred-mile journey along the English/Welsh border a couple of weeks ago, with Bridie, my young Welsh Sec C pony acting as packpony while I walked. All the walking seems to have done my arthritic knee a world of good, my trousers and skirts have to be held up by a belt to stop them falling round my ankles as I know have a waist for the first time in about ten years or more, and young Bridie - who looked very young when I bought her in mid-June - now looks a lot more mature and has had an extended learning experience while carrying a light weight (about 15kgs) at a steady pace on short, easy daily stages. As anyone in the UK will know, this has been the wettest summer since records began. There have been no prolonged sunny, or even dry, spells until a few days ago, and in August it rained EVERY day and/or night. Not just a little gentle drizzle or the occasional shower, either, but stonking great downpours and heavy storms, usually separated by periods of steady, continuous rain. I got wet. Very wet. However, my tent stayed cosy and weatherproof, and my sleeping bag was always warm, even when it, too, unavoidably got wet once or twice. It was only the reliable warmth of my sleeping bag which enabled me to always have dry socks, every single morning.I have met wonderful people and received great kindness, helpfulness and hospitality everywhere I have been (with the notable exception of a PCSO in Herefordshire - but even with that, I received a lovely apology from West Mercia Constabulary). I have travelled in a way that few people have travelled in the past hundred or more years, and enjoyed the mossy lanes, grassy tracks and quiet paths as they should be enjoyed - slowly and quietly, leaving no emissions other than the most natural, carrying only the bare neccessities of life and travelling in the most sustainable way possible.If I can enjoy it despite the appalling weather, just think how much I will enjoy it with better weather!2009, here I come!
Almost time to leave Australia ! Still got lots to do here, though. I do still want to go to Tassie to learn leathercraft, and I'm determined to see Uluru and the Olgas. corny though they may be.
And a quick journey to NZ - to soak in the pools of Rotorua - sounds like a very good idea to me. I LOVE those pools.
I need to spend some time working on my saddle and saddlebags, too. And pack them. Oh, packing, what a dreadful thing to have to do!
I hate the idea. All my wordly goods in teachests. I think I'll keep out a black skirt, a couple of black tops and undies, a couple of pairs of black shoes, a swimsuit, a pair of black slacks, - you get the idea. Colourful NOT. But with a couple of colourful scarves and belts I'll be dressed for anything and able to travel light.
See you in the UK next year if not before! I've decided I'm definitely going to do the four corners before venturing to Europe.
It's been a quiet couple of months; I've been map-reading, planning, learning about tack repair, looking at different cooking systems - should I stick with the trusty Trangia? Or should I dare to try a Dragonfly? Nope, Trangia it will be - with maybe a gas canister stove as a back-up, and certainly my eco-billy.
Then a week or so ago, while surfing, I found this site www.geograph.org.uk
Its aim is to have a photo (or several) for each and every grid square in the British Isles. Initially I merely thought it was interesting - and then, as I came upon pictures of bridleways, started to realise how useful it is! So now I have to replan some of what I thought were final route plans - I can't resist some of the bridleways illustrated, but others are simply dreadful - the picture of the one in Cornwall blocked by a burnt-out car is the equivalent of ROW porn!
