Day 10 - Olney to Wellingborough

The day began with a warming porridge breakfast, afterwards Lavinia and Wren sorted the Airbnb out and made lunch so I could pack and get ready for the day of walking ahead, they were a great support team! What I'm doing is actually made so much easier because of all the kindness and support, practically and in words, I'm recieving along the way. 

We drove to Olney where I had the best oat flat white in a long time, competition for the Dark Horse in York! Setting off just after 9am in sunshine, Wren and Lavinia walked with me for 3 miles, partly on quite a busy road and I was glad I'd not encountered other similar roads and that I had company. They managed to find a much nicer alternative on their way back to the car and we can add that to the Slow Ways review to make it easier for the next person who walks from Olney to Wellingborough. This is what I appreciate about Slow Ways, as a lot of the routes I'm walking have already been adapted 2 or 3 times each time with improvements. 

My friends each carried one of my bags as we walked through a long tunnel of trees before reaching a gate leading to an open field where it felt like the right place to say goodbye. We shared a hug and thought of Ro and I continued the journey with tears in my eyes, love in my heart and hummus sandwiches in my bag!

It was a day of animals and birds. I didn't pass many people but I was given flying displays from Red Kites, a Kestrel, a Heron, a Robin and I'm pretty sure an Owl. I walked across a field where Muntjac Deer were bounding around, and until I just looked up how to spell it I've always thought they were called Monk Jack Deer! I also saw a Rabbit which made me very happy!

I walked through a slightly hilly field with long grass which reminded me of meadows behind the house in Daisy Hill in Bradford where Ro used to sprint late in the evenings. Fitness and strength were always part of his routine and he'd told me not too long before he died he was getting fist bumps from others in the gym when they saw what he was lifting! He swung kettle bells of 20/30kg with ease and I've been remembering the times we travelled together and I had the rucksack I'm carrying on this walk, he'd lift it and make it look so small and light! I know he'd be impressed with my strength carrying the bag all this way! I haven't always been as strong - it makes me laugh remembering the time Ro, Lavinia and I were carrying a sofa in a Bradford alleyway moving it two houses up and I had to ask a random man who happened to be passing to take my side of the sofa for me!

I stopped in a small place called Wollaston where I went into a pub called The Nags Head and thought of my grandpa John who loved Only Fools and Horses. I bought (no surprise!) a coffee and talked to Pete who was drinking a pint. He asked me if I was climbing a mountain and I explained what I was doing and he was very encouraging. As I was getting my bags on to leave he said 'I have faith in you, you can do it, all the way to.......' and I said 'Bradford' as he said 'Wellingborough' which was my destination for the day a few miles down the road. A nice reminder to take it one day at a time!

I approached Wellingborough along the river Nene path walking past many sheep and later stinging nettles! I was making my way to Jen, Stuart and Anne's house for the night and had to walk up some hills to get there, but I like hills and I've missed them! I received some surprise encouragement from a street sign........

........to my destination! I was still a couple of miles away but it feels closer in the grand total of 340!

On my arrival around 3.45pm and after 16.5 miles I was welcomed with tea and cake! We spent the evening talking and ate more delicious food. We spoke partly about injustices and scandals that affect so many, including for Ro the Windrush compensation which I'll write more about another day. 

I went for a short walk with Jen after dinner and saw the beautiful moon. My legs and feet felt good and it was nice to have a brief night walk although there was a noticeable drop in temperature.

Day 9 - Bedford to Olney

Today started excellently with a very nice strong, black coffee from Hilary and Martin's machine! Last night Lavinia, Wren and I had discussed our route options and decided to walk 15.5 miles from Bedford to Olney instead of the planned 21 miles, so we could enjoy it and not be pressured to race to catch the 4.16pm bus. They had stayed in an Airbnb in Bedford so we met just after 9am at the train station. As they had collected my big rucksack the previous evening, I had a whole day walking with only my small rucksack which was wonderful, I bounced along! 

This was the first route that I have reviewed for Slow Ways and it felt good to be contributing to the project and was made easier with 3 of us navigating any unclear paths. I remember reading in Robert MacFarlane's book The Old Ways about how if you know what to look for when walking in rural landscapes, the footpaths and ways start to stand out and become clear, and I feel having been walking for so many days I'm noticing subtle differences that indicate a path to follow, or something small in the distance marking where I am heading. 

After a number of days walking alone it was really special to have company for the whole day, walking with 2 great friends who also knew Ro very well. Lavinia, Ro and I had been housemates for a few years in Bradford from 2009 and Wren lived down the road. It was a beautiful community of friends who lived close, ate together, hosted asylum seekers, went wild swimming and had some great parties in between working, being involved in activism and living our lives alongside each other!

We spoke a lot about Ro all day, too much to share here, but one thing we kept coming back to was his love and care for his family, being there for them in whatever way was needed which was sometimes made more challenging by physical distance when he was in Bradford and they were in London, but he always put them first and wanted the best for them and was so proud of their achievements. Ever since we met he had talked about his siblings, he loved being a big brother and also being an uncle and took these responsibilities very seriously but also had huge capacity for fun and playfulness and giving something a go, and these qualities extended to time spent with friends for which we are grateful. 

We talked about how he knew who he was deeply and to achieve this takes courage, time, focus and a desire to be fully himself. He wasn't always understood but was able to be attuned to others and I know how thankful I am that he saw parts of me I hadn't and helped me see them. We also spoke about Wren's friend Jamie and how special it is to have recordings of our loved one's voices as a way of remembering them. 

We had planned a lunch (and coffee!) stop at a pub in a small village, but when we arrived it was closed due to flooding, but the owners were so friendly despite their situation of not being able to be open for business and having to sort out the flood damage. They chatted to us, let us sit on the outside tables near a beautiful smelling lavender bush to eat our lunch, and use their toilets. 

We continued on our way breathing well in the fresh, open air and reached a tree where there were so many birds singing to each other, it was so loud it made us stop and in silence we faced the tree and watched as they fell suddenly silent and then flew from the tree in a magical murmuration, it was incredible to watch and one of those moments where everything has led to the point of being in that place at that time and witnessing something spectacular. My words are limited in describing how it looked and felt but it was a very special moment to share together on this journey, we all felt it.

This was the first walk I've done on this journey where I was walking towards the sunset and it was a beautiful end to the walk. We hugged some large trees and arrived in Olney at 3.30pm with time to buy a hot drink (black forest hot chocolate!) before catching the bus to Bedford. 

This was another murmuration we saw later.

At the Airbnb I made use of the washer/dryer and cleaned my clothes which after almost 2 weeks on the go was amazing! I also repacked my big bag and gave a few unessential items to Lavinia and Wren to take back to Bradford for me, although they weren't heavy it created space in my bag, but I'm pleased that I mostly seem to have packed very well before this journey!

Day 8 - Luton to Flitwick

After the 19 miles yesterday, 13 miles seemed like a short day! I think previously doing a trail marathon and ultra marathon have helped me approach long distances, believing it's possible by putting one foot in front of the other, and then you arrive!

I treated myself to a lie-in and after breakfast at 9am put on my boots ready to start walking. However I couldn't leave Luton before visiting the Portuguese cafe that Lyn had spoken about a lot. It was almost on my route and Lyn joined me for a coffee and then we walked together for the first one and a half miles to the edge of a field, said goodbye and I continued towards Flitwick (pronounced Flitick!)

Today was the first day I hadn't felt the need to listen to anything as I walked, I was present with my thoughts, enjoying the sound of the leaves crunching under my feet and feeling the cool air in my face. A lot of the route was very expansive and open and I felt I could breathe easily and well. 

I really wanted a salad for lunch but I stopped in a small place, Barton le Clay, where the Morrisons only had meat sandwiches and the pub only had side salad, so I ordered 2 side salads! 

Towards the end of my walk I had a run-in with a muddy ditch! As I was approaching the end of a field where I needed to get on to the road beyond, I passed a gap in the hedge to my right which lead to a track - I SHOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH IT! But I decided to follow the route and carried on for about 20 metres until I got to the ditch, the long grass and slope meant it was hard to see how wide it was. If I hadn't been carrying a large heavy bag on my back and a small heavy bag on my front I would have probably been able to jump it, however I knew this would be stupid if not impossible with my bags. I briefly considered going back to the gap in the hedge but at this point on my journey, so close to the end, I was tired and didn't want to backtrack as it felt like I'd be doing extra. I decided to take off my small bag and throw it over the ditch and I would then follow. As soon as I threw it I knew what would happen next, it landed and rolled straight down into the mud! I had to climb into the ditch to retrieve it and then pull myself up out the other side and as I did so put my hand on a clump of nettles! I finally made it to the road and learned the lesson that sometimes on these walks going back can be the way forward. I was definitely tired by this point and it can be hard to make the best decisions.

After this I needed to listen to some music to give me that boost to reach Hilary and Martin's house, my overnight stay. I had the line 'another lesson learned' from the song No More Drama by Mary J Blige in my head, so I listened to that followed by some of her other tunes. MJB was one of Ro's favourite artists, particularly her earlier music, I remembered times we'd listened to these songs together. 

Hilary and Martin are friends of my parents and I really enjoyed talking with them, especially hearing about their time walking on the Camino de Santiago. Lavinia and Wren, 2 good friends of mine from Bradford had driven down to walk with me the next day and had kindly offered to collect my big bag so I wouldn't have to walk with it. Hilary and Martin extended their warm hospitality and invited my friends to stay for dinner. We all enjoyed a delicious meal watched over by George the parrot. He was too shy to talk while we were there but I heard him chatting later! 

Parrots remind me of Ro. I was on a train and bored once and messaged Ro to ask for any funny YouTube recommendations, he told me to look up parrots! On the day he died he sent me and some other friends a video of people dancing like parrots to a Backstreet Boys song. I was in my kitchen when I watched it and messaged him straight back to say it made me laugh out loud. He replied with a smiley face emoji. Around 7 hours later he had died from cardiomyopathy. I'm so glad he knew he made me laugh that day, as he had made me laugh on so many days. He had a wonderful sense of humour and enjoyed sharing the funny side of life 😄