Day 18 - Kirkby in Ashfield to Bolsover

It was nice to open the curtains and see that the rain had stopped, the wind had calmed down and there was blue sky! This far into my walk and with an adjusted reality of what's possible, today was what I now call a shorter day of only(!) 12.25 miles which meant I could enjoy a long sleep and get out of bed around 8am. I had Simon's porridge for breakfast, which was full of seeds and nuts and felt like a great way to fuel the day ahead. He made me an aeropress coffee, I didn't take any in my flask as I wanted to stop in the next town Sutton in Ashfield and buy one. I made myself a packed lunch of hummus salad sandwiches, put on my now dry boots and waterproof trousers for an extra layer of warmth and headed towards Derbyshire just after 10am. 

Another flat walk, partly along an old railway line to the coffee stop! I've been trying to go to independent coffee shops where I can and here found a spacious cafe, busy with local regulars eating and drinking. On walking in I felt the opposite in the welcome I received compared to Leatherhead many miles and blog posts ago! Everyone was very friendly, I had a black coffee and could have stayed longer but I'd only done about 3 miles! 

I really enjoyed the second part of my walk, I ate half my sandwiches on the move realising I'd taken the morning a bit too easy! There was lovely long-shadow sunlight and I was crossing fields and walking on tree lined paths. I decided to follow the map and rather than the road, taking the footpath to Glapwell which crossed 2 fields and was a very muddy mistake! I found a bench and ate the rest of my lunch and was then onto the 3rd route map for the day to my destination of Bolsover. 

I decided to not follow the footpath and instead stay on the road which was quite busy but had a wide grass verge that I could walk along safely. I hadn't been walking long when a car stopped and the driver said 'are you alright duck, do you need a lift or owt?' I said thanks but declined as I didn't have too far to go. The offer of a lift immediately reminded me of time spent with Ro in Ireland. 

Before he got his passport he found out he could travel to Ireland with his provisional driving licence and we went 3 times (it could have been 4 - all the trips blur into each other). A friend in Bradford, Chris, had good friends in Sligo and went often with his family Cat, Clara and Angela. He invited others to come along and I remember being there with Ro, Lavinia, James, Andrew and Helen at different times. Chris's friends were connected to the Methodist church and gave us the keys and free rein of the building which provide us with a perfect base for exploring this beautiful part of the west coast of Ireland! By day we walked, went to the beaches, swam in the sea, climbed hills and by night we went to the pubs to hear live music and once went to what was possibly the only nightclub in Sligo! We also took tents and camped, once in Donegal and once (because we hadn't checked the weather!) in a force 8 gale but then just after midnight the 5 of us got rescued by a woman called Fionnuala from a cottage down the road and it turned into a wonderful night that we never forgot! Ro was very touched by the hospitality from a stranger and even wondered if she was an angel! It made all of us want to be able to offer hospitality to others in the beautiful way that receiving kindness can make you want to pass it on, and we did back in Bradford.

When we were walking, cars sometimes slowed down and offered a lift even without us putting our thumbs out and if we'd walked far we gratefully accepted. One time we did have our thumbs out to hitch a ride back to Sligo but there were 5 of us so we had to split, a man stopped in what is a hazy memory but I think was an open top car and Ro and I took the lift. We got talking and he wanted to show us a stunning part of the coastline so made a diversion but it was totally worth it, we were both blown away by the rocky beauty we were seeing that seemed to stretch for miles, the sky and sea looked dramatic as a backdrop. One of those experiences you're glad someone is there to share it with and you talk about for years after. I feel sadness that I can't talk about it with Ro any more but grateful for the memory and the times we did talk about it. Our friends were worried because for some reason (either too immersed in the moment or more likely, phones with no battery!) we hadn't let them know about the detour and they wondered why we weren't back at the church when they arrived, as we'd taken the first lift. I remember trying with Ro to explain what we'd seen and not doing it justice. 

Part 2 of this story is a return trip to Ireland. I can't remember the details of how Ro and I ended up walking along the part of the coastline that had previously amazed us but there we were. Incredibly happy to be there, seeing it close up, until we reached a field of cows and calves, they however didn't look or sound happy as we started walking past. We made a quick decision that we both agreed was best to walk on the other side of the fence. It was difficult to climb over and the other side was a narrow ledge right on the cliff edge! Both options had risks but we didn't want to face the cows. We were glad when we reached the road to be heading back safely to Sligo. Just one of many Irish adventures!

I was now not far from Bolsover, I could see the M1 in the distance along with some mountain like clouds! I was meeting my parents Ian and Judy, who were walking with me the following day. My mum had booked a BnB and I arrived first. The owner knew about my walk as my mum had mentioned it and so she wasn't surprised to see me with a big bag and muddy clothes. I took my boots off outside and she took me up to my room. As well as running the BnB she is a podiatrist and in my room had left me an electric foot spa and epsom salts! She asked how my feet were doing and I said I hadn't really had trouble with blisters as I put plasters on anything that starts and then they don't bother me. At the end of a day walking 15+ miles my feet are tingling but then always feeling good to go the next day! 

I sat drinking peppermint tea with my feet in the spa and then had a shower. By that time my parents had arrived. It was really lovely to see them and to be able to walk some of this journey with them, as we've done quite a lot of walking together and they had known Ro for many years. They'd also brought some essentials - more coffee bags so I was never in the 10 miles before coffee situation again, dark chocolate and underwear! My sister had sent a gift of chocolate coffee beans and seaweed crisps with them as well! 

We went to a nearby pub for dinner and I ate 3 delicious courses, I'm really noticing how I'm needing to eat more for the energy required each day. We agreed to meet for breakfast at 7.30am as it's a long day of walking tomorrow and I will finally reach Yorkshire!