The runner up
And the winner!!
I arrived at the pub in Kingswold at 11am only to be told they didn't open till 12, so I sat on a bench and drank water and enjoyed not wearing my rucksack for a short time. I realised the shoulder straps weren't quite right the first couple of days but it's very adjustable so I could change it. I then needed to walk to Capel where there would be an open pub by the time I arrived. I played 6 music and Cerys Matthew's show especially felt like perfect Sunday morning autumn walking listening.
The signposts were pretty clear but I did go wrong a few times, including in one muddy field where I saw a big cow in the distance that turned out to be a tree stump! But just round the corner in the large field I'd have to walk through were a lot of real cows looking at me and I didn't fancy it, so I went back to the road and rejoined the footpath further up. That added time and I was moving slower today. As I approached Capel a man who was gardening asked where I'd come from and I told him and he said well done it's not easy to get from Horsham to Capel, he'd tried a few years ago and struggled. I think this was exactly the encouragement I needed as I had found it challenging. He wished me a good onwards journey and assured me I could get a coffee in the community pub The Crown. He wasn't wrong and around 1.30pm I was enjoying a much appreciated coffee and had a nice chat about my walk with the barman and a local. It must be a personal record to do 10 miles before coffee, I'll try not to do it again!
I left the pub with caffeine in my body and a spring in my step - blisters, what blisters? shoulder pain, what shoulder pain! This lasted until I ended up in another very muddy field with a lot of cows in my way so again I decided to divert and walk on roads and pavements for a bit. I'm noticing around 3pm although it's not dark I know there isn't much daylight left and I made the decision to end today's walk to Dorking about 4 miles early in South Holmwood. This whole walk from Brighton to Bradford was never about walking every single metre but about the journey as a whole and so I am going to change the planned routes slightly as and when I need and it feels really good to be able to do that. I'd done 14.5 miles by the time I arrived at 3.30pm and my feet felt it. I am staying with Megan and Emily, in the Surrey hills. Megan and her friend Michael picked me up and I spent a lovely evening with them watching rugby (the first full match I've watched), eating Chinese takeaway, drinking beer and playing games.
Before I got to my destination I didn't have a data signal so I was listening to my downloaded playlist and there's a line in the song Watch The Sun (PJ Morton feat Chronixx) that Chronixx sings 'let love lead the way, yeah that's the best you can do' that I was thinking about. Maps are great, don't get me wrong, my map app is getting me from Brighton to Bradford, but I wish that as humanity we could find our way through love.
I went with Ro to a Chronixx gig in Leeds in 2019 and we had a great time dancing and enjoying the music. I miss going to gigs and festivals with Ro, he connected with music in a deep way and would go for it on the dancefloor. I have so many shared music memories with Ro and other friends, and was remembering the joy of them today.