Charles' Walk Catch Up

Progress since last blog:

Well I should start this by saying that keeping up with the blog became impossible, due to a mixture of time constraints and also the fact that my little laptop was slowing down. I decided to prioritise the daily diary which has been kept up to date and all the entries in this can be found under the diary tab on the website. I thought I would send this blog out as I had forgotten that some peoples only access to the walk was with the weekly blog.

So since the last blog which was published back in Ullapool 90 days ago I have walked 1706 miles, so that works out at about 22 miles per walking day. This period included completing the West coast of Scotland, a section I will never forget and though it was tough and completely all encompassing in terms of the physical effort and amount of planning due to lack of routes, shops and just general remoteness, it was quite simply magnificent and it is very satisfying looking back at it.

Since the West Coast of Scotland the terrain and access to shops has steadily made certain things easier, firstly heading across the North of Scotland, before dropping down the East coast crossing the border back into England and I am currently in Colchester, Essex.

The walk at the moment:

Well you may think now I am in the flatlands everything would be easier but it is not quite that simple. In general the walking is simpler though due to private land and so many rivers and creeks heading inland without bridges there is still a fair amount of route planning to do. Also parts of Essex are remarkably remote when on foot, so though I was very fortunate to be offered lots of beds last week, it looks like all camping this week and in fact I will have to be slightly careful with food provisions.

The bigger reason it is not simpler now is the age of the kit. For example the backpack is almost 6000 miles old, so it is hard to adjust the straps to make it fully comfortable anymore and a lot of the padding has lost its paddiness (pretty sure that’s not a word) so I can end up having wear marks on my back and hips which I wouldn’t have got earlier in the walk. The clothes are also getting old, from the fleece, rain jacket and backpack cover amongst other things which have all so far survived the walk but though still functional are not in tip top condition anymore. Essentially I am trying to eek everything out the last 12 days or so to the end now.

The final reason I think the walk may be a bit harder at the moment is I am nearing the end, and maybe my body or mind has relaxed a bit, and regardless of if I’m near the end, walking 20+ miles with 20+ kg is still tough and requires the right mindset. So I must make sure I concentrate on the walk, as well as looking at life beyond the walk which is for me a surprisingly hard balancing act.

Final Day:

My brother has organised something for the final day of the walk and you can access this by clicking here . Originally I had half thought about doing a very quiet end to the walk but knew I would never get away with that, so now it is organised it would be great to see as many people as possible that I have met on the walk, as well as friends and family. The more the merrier.

My Mental Health and Looking Forward:

A lot of people have asked me about this recently and my answer is essentially on the walk my mental health has been generally good but the real test will be when I get back to London and normality. But I am actively thinking about job, accommodation and looking forward, something I hadn’t been able to contemplate for at least 4 years prior to the walk. I have a lot to start trying to organise outside of the walk (with the little spare time I get) now from accommodation when I return to London, a small temp job in December maybe hopefully something more proper from January and also making sure I have a few fun things organised in December as I am going to go from a schedule that includes 9/10 hours of walking a day, 2/3 hours of admin/diary/etc to essentially nothing overnight if I don’t at these schedule a few things.

Thank You

Specific thank yous: (its a long list since last blog and very grateful to all the people below amongst others)

Port a Bhaig Campsite – thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite and giving me a complimentary meal in your bar.

Ryan Owen - thank you for kindly buying me fish and chips and making me a cup of tea amongst other things.

Scourie Campsite - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

Armadale House - thank you for letting me pitch in your garden, and cooking me a lovely dinner.

Windhaven Cafe/B&B/Campsite - thank you for providing me with a complimentary room, food, fishing and everything else on my rest day.

Amanda & Ray, Dunbeath - thank you for letting me stay in your house and cooking me a lovely dinner & breakfast.

Crackaig Campsite - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

Tony & Alison, Skelbo House – thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and feeding me so much lovely food.

The Mackays, Cromarty - thank you for cooking me a lovely lunch.

Janet, Fortrose Cafe - thank you for letting me stay in your house as well as cooking me dinner and breakfast.

Dad - thank you for joining the walk and booking a room for my rest day.

Duff House Royal Golf Club - thank you for letting me pitch behind your building to shelter from Storm Ali and have a shower in your clubhouse.

Rosehearty Community Boat Club - thank you for letting me sleep in your clubhouse which is under construction.

Lido Caravan Park, Peterhead - thank you to the owner who let me use their static caravan for the night.

The Robertson’s House - thank you for letting me pitch in your garden and cooking me a lovely dinner.

Tayview Caravan Park - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

The Lowe’s House, Lower Largo – thank you for letting me stay in your house for the night and cooking me a lovely dinner.

Adam’s Caravan, North Queensferry - thank you for letting me stay in your caravan for the night.

Jez, Edinburgh - thank you for joining the walk for the day and buying me a lovely lunch.

Jamie & Siobhan, Portobello - thank you for flying up and letting me stay with you on my rest day, as well as feeding me and treating me to many things.

Puffin Palace, North Berwick - thank you so much for offering this holiday let for my rest day.

The Joicey’s House - thank you for putting me up for the night and cooking me a lovely dinner and breakfast.

Jackie, Holy Island - thank you for letting me stay in your house and cooking me a lovely dinner.

Kat & Dan, Whitley Bay - thank you for letting me stay in your house and cooking me a lovely dinner.

Tom Owen, Jarrow – thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and cooking me a lovely dinner ready for my arrival.

Sam & Andy, Middlesbrough - thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and cooking me so much lovely food.

The Tate Family - thank you so much for joining the walk for a day, feeding me and booking somewhere for us all to stay.

The Baldock Family - thank you so much for joining the walk for a day, and treating me to a lovely pub dinner.

Bluebell Pond Caravan Site - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

Kirkstead Holiday Park - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

Jen, Rob & Little RJ - thank you for coming to meet me on the walk for 2 days and kindly paying for my accommodation for 2 nights as well as feeding me.

Dawn & Andy, King’s Lynn - thank you for putting me up for the night in your house and feeding me so well.

Briarfields Hotel, Titchwell - thank you for providing me with a complimentary room and food.

Jules Sheridan, Burnham Overy Staithe - thank you for treating me to a lovely lunch.

Simon Allfrey - thank you for treating me to a meal at the Victoria Inn

Victoria Inn, Holkham - thank you for providing me with a complimentary room.

Richard Jefferson, Sheringham - thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and feeding me so much lovely food.

Southwold Camping Site, Southwold - thank you for letting me pitch for free at your campsite.

Harbour Cafe, Southwold - thank you for giving me a complimentary breakfast and alongside the chandlery organising me a rib across the river.

Dick Warner, Thorpeness - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house, walking with me and providing me with so much food.

Priya (and mum) - thank you for joining the walk twice in Norfolk/Suffolk.

The Curtis’ House, Orford - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food.

The Mill’s House, Melton - thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and feeding me so much lovely food and for all the kindness everyone who came down for Nat’s birthday showed me.

The Mayhew’s House, near Felixstowe - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food as well as spreading the word to friends further along my walk.

The Burge’s House, near Shotley Gate - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food.

Ursi, Bradfield - thank you for making me a nice lunch.

Dina & James’ House, Bradfield - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food.

The Penfold’s House, Kirby le Soken - thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food.

The Bloor’s House, Brightlingsea- thank you for allowing me to stay in your house and providing me with lovely food

The Khetapal’s House, Colchester- thank you for putting my up for my rest day, and feeding me so much lovely food.

Also thank you to everyone who has donated (roughly £15,000 so far) and all the kind messages that I received. 

The walk can be followed on Facebook and Instagram and any donations are greatly appreciated.