Today was our last full day of walking. I must admit I am
feeling quite different to how I imagined I would feel at this stage. The last
few days have really been a struggle. Anne's shin splints have been quite
debilitating for her. We are both developing more blisters, and now blisters on
blisters, and our feet are incredibly sore.
I imagined we would be buzzing as we reached the end of our
adventure, but I think we are both feeling quite flat and just wanting the pain
to be over.
So we woke up early as usual and packed our stuff. We were
leaving Jeremy and Sarah's who have been brilliant at looking after us for the last
three days. We loaded the van and set off for Woking. Jeremy had offered to drive to Richmond and drop our
overnight bag off at the B&B we were staying in tonight to save us having
to carry it - we really appreciated that.
Our dear friends Sarah and Jeremy Culverhouse
We both started the day feeling thankful we only had about
18 miles to walk. We were both feeling a bit flat but this lifted as someone
approached us as we got out of the van and prepared to start walking. A lady came
over, seeing the signage on the van and asked what we were doing. She then gave
us a £20 donation to the fund. This served as a reminder of why we were putting
ourselves through this - to support two vital and brilliant charities. It was
just the lift we needed to re-motivate us.
The first part of our route today was along the remainder of the Basingstoke
Canal, which took us under the M25. This was a welcome sight as it gave a real
sense that we were nearer London.
Passing under the M25
We then picked up the Rover Wey which we followed through
Weybridge and up to Thames Lock. There were certainly some stunning properties
along this part of the river.
At Thames Lock
We picked up the River Thames path which then took us through Walton on Thames and Sunbury - again lots of very nice waterside homes.
The River Thames
Just as we were leaving Walton, Radio Cornwall phoned and I
spoke on air to Laurence Reed.
By now we were both feeling the strain, especially Anne with
her shin splints, we again needed to stop and rest frequently. This slowed our
progress.
We made it to Hampton where we left the river and went back
on roads. We did get some strange looks as we walked through the centre of
Twickenham - I guess we do a look a strange sight to these city dwellers, however we
could smell the end and found a bit of energy to march along at this stage.
In Twickenham we found Cornwall Road. A nice reminder of
home.
They're right - tis the road from Cornwall!
We were really flagging by now and the final stretch into
Richmond was a struggle. Our feet were incredibly painful and our energy was
gone. We were almost crawling by the time we made it to our B&B. I was so
grateful I didn't have to carry the big rucksack with our overnight stuff. I
think that would have finished me off today.
So we are now in London. We have 8 miles to walk to
Westminster. We are planning to pop out tonight and knock two or three of those
miles off to make tomorrow comfortable.
Thanks once again for all the messages of support today. You
will never know how important they have been. One very special message we
received today was from the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He has heard about
what we were doing and the two charities we are raising funds for, which he
obviously has an interest in. He isn't able to be around when we arrive
tomorrow but sent a really nice message of support.
The fundraising continues to grow - very close to £5000. It
would be amazing to hit that figure before we finish tomorrow. So here's the
link if you haven't yet donated.
