Day: 161 22/6/96 Hythe to Dover

Weather:  fine

Distance: 25.5 km ( 15.8 miles)    Total Distance:   2030.5 miles

This was an eventful day - full of incidents.  The first was not too pleasant when I was driving down early in the morning.  I was almost in Hythe when I made a mistake and cut across another car on a difficult junction. The two young men in the other car were not too pleased to say the least. 

I found where I had stopped walking last time and parked the car off the main road in a quiet street and started walking, cutting trough a park and some housing down to the beach.  Hythe front did not look too bad a place.  I walked past an area where they were busy reclaiming the beach by pumping up pebbles from the sea bed using a large suction device on a ship and pumping them back onto the beach.  It was evident that the beach had worn away over the years leaving a very large drop off the promenade.

Just before coming into Folkestone I stopped at a cafe next to the sea.  The price of things was high and I almost changed my mind however when the £1.20 flapjack arrived it was very nice - warm and topped with grated orange peel. No wonder the sparrows had become so tame - not that they had any of mine.  A number of us were sat there looking out to sea when someone spotted a canoe coming closer to the shore without apparently anyone in it.  As it came closer however it was apparent that it was being pulled along by a swimmer.  The Coast Guards arrived soon after, siren going but the swimmer was strong and needed no help in getting to the shore or lifting the canoe out of the water.  How he came to end up in the water without a paddle, a long way from anywhere, I am not sure.

Folkestone was bustling and after making one failed attempt to get into it (the way via the beach onto the pier blocked) I backtracked and went in via a fun fair.  People were eating sea food at a rate of knots.  Out of Folkestone the road climbed up a hill and I then cut down to the beach again and soon picked up a pathway at the bottom of the cliffs.  A couple of young lads on a motorbike sped past and hit my hand in the process. I am still nor sure whether it was on purpose or whether their apology was heart-felt.

After the path ended it was back onto the pebbles.  I passed a very strange shack at the bottom of the cliffs, surrounded by barbed wire complete with barking dog and weird looking character.  It was then past a sign saying “no entry - nature reserve not yet open, vegetation still growing” or words to that effect. As it appeared the way ahead was a concrete monstrosity I saw little hope of any vegetation ever growing so went ahead anyway.  It was quiet to the point of being eerie. 

At the Dover end of this it became apparent what was going on. This was reclaimed land built as part of the channel tunnel development recently opened.  The service tunnel entered underground at this point.  The tide had come in meaning that my way forward was now blocked and the way into the chunnel service tunnel, which included a small tunnel through the cliffs to Dover was surrounded by fences and cameras.  This meant I had to backtrack all the way to the no entry sign which should have read “no entry - there is no way out”! 

I was very worried that I would have to backtrack even further in order to get up the cliff but I spotted a narrow steep path going up Abbots Cliff which appeared very seldom used.  Although I feared that it was now unusable because of a cliff fall I decided to chance it anyway.  So steep was it that it needed to use the ropes present for long stretches.  Fortunately it did lead to the cliff top.  By the time I got there my heart was pounding - I don’t like the sight of sheer drops for such long periods.

The cliff top walk into Dover was very nice and used by mountain bikers.  The decent into Dover was down a steep path, over a railway bridge and along a beach.  I ended up in a dock area just before three o’clock so decided to watch the European Championship match between England and Spain on the TV in a pub full of fisherman.  I had a roll and a couple of pints of Guinness but only stayed till the end of normal time.  England eventually won on penalties.  The rest of my walk into Dover was along  busy main roads.  I tried to catch a bus to Folkestone on the main road but a driver of a little bus that did stop told me the bus I wanted did not come that way and I would have to go into Dover itself.  I had a fair wait for a bus there and in Folkestone bus station too . 

I stayed in Canterbury YHA (plus the usual contingent of school children - Gibraltan this time!) on the outskirts of the city, since Dover YHA was full.  I walked into Canterbury that night  but failed to find anywhere nice to eat so had a meal in McDonald's.

Day: 160 13/4/96 Rye to Hythe

Distance: 40 km ( 24.9 miles)    Total Distance:   2014.7 miles

I believe this was the longest days walk I had done to date, not made any easier by a couple of misunderstandings concerning buses at the end.

I parked in a car park belonging to some flats just outside Rye. The first section of the walk was around the outskirts of Rye.  I probably did not see the best bits taking this route but it looked a good place to revisit at some stage.  Once over the bridge I went along the banks of the Rother, mainly walking on sea defences etc.  This side of the river was a lot more picturesque.  There was no footpath marked at times but it was still all apparently accessible. 

Once off the dunes it was onto Camber sands, which was not very busy to say the least.  I did not see much of Camber at all, the path did not go up until after the village.  After a trek along the road it was into Lydd Firing Ranges - what a desolate area that was. Rather than taking the shingle front I took a roadway instead which eventually petered out and seemed to leave me in the middle of a danger area.  I quickly made my escape towards  the sea and from then on along the shingle all the way to Dungeness Power Station.  This shingle front seemed to go on for ever and it was difficult and painful walking.  The first sign of life was sea anglers fishing off the shingle near the power station - not the sea anglers ever show any signs of life - they choose to ignore you if they possible can. 

I stopped in the station cafe at Dungeness surrounded by a nuclear power station, a couple of lighthouses a miniature railway and a collection of shacks where people had for some reason chosen to live amongst the desolation.  The shingle bank by the sea northwards looked private so I kept to the road which was much easier walking.  The housing gradually became more civilised, and the bungalows went on for mile after mile.

I got to St Mary’s Bay in reasonable shape considering the distance I had come already.  I was my last day of this trip so after finding out from an elderly couple waiting at a bus stop that the next bus going in the direction I wanted was not for another hour or so I decided to run myself into the ground and head towards Hythe or at least as far as I could get before the bus came.  The path was on the sea wall as far as Hythe Ranges.  There was no need for red flags, I could hear the sound of rifle fire from far away.  I headed inland and eventually came to a bus stop in an exhausted state near Palmarsh on the outside of Hythe.

The bus eventually came but the diver said he only went as far as New Romney on a Sunday and not to Rye.  Now why I did not get on and go to New Romney I’m not quite sure - I should have.  Instead I declined his offer and started hitching. It was an awful place to hitch and I had to walk all the way back to  Dymchurch to get a place anywhere near decent.  I hitched on the way out of the village and a man who was just pulling out stopped and gave me a life as far as Brenzett roundabout, near a Little Chef. 

It was starting to get dark and those cars that were coming off at my exit on the roundabout were travelling fast.  However, after not too long a wait a man drove out of the Little Chef car park and stopped for me and asked where I was going.  Rye seemed OK with him so I jumped in.  On inquiring he told me he was due to go in the other direction until he saw me hitching.  Things got even stranger when he told me how careful one had to be hitching, people getting raped and wrongly accused.  The one good thing was that he was driving so slowly I could have jumped out if I had wanted to anyway.  I was glad to get back to the car and drive home.

Day: 159 12/4/96 Bexhill to Rye

Distance: 30 km ( 18.6 miles)    Total Distance:    1989.8 miles

I had been unsure looking at the map of how much I would be able to keep to the coast between Bexhill and Hastings.  It turned out that I need not have been apprehensive.  The path went parallel to the railway for much of the time and at one stage going over a rocky out crop and then past a major sewage development which seems to be all the rage at these times of tightening EC water regulations.  The west part of Hastings is nothing to write home about - a couple of old marinas and old Victorian housing. 

Hastings itself however was very different.  Large by any seaside town standards, crowded and well maintained.  I crossed the very busy promenade road to ask at the Tourist Information Centre about buses from Rye back to Bexhill.  They looked at me as if I had two heads since Rye was in a different county and how would they be expected to know something like that. 

The path out of Hastings was up narrow steps hidden amongst the houses.  A little train could have saved me the time but completely outside my rules!  From Hastings to Failight Cave is a walk to be recommended,  in particular after all the built up areas of the previous couple of days.  Finding ones way through the wealthy village of Fairlight Cave is a bit of a challenge particularly when there have been cliff falls necessitating diversions through the village itself.

The rest of the walk was on the flat - very flat! To Winchelsea Beach I walked on a sea defence, looking down on the pebbles on the seaward side and the marshes on the landward side.  Beyond Winchelsea I walked on the beach itself since most of it was firm sand.  I caught myself out towards the end because a river going across the beach meant I had to backtrack a bit .  Although the River Rother was narrow there was no chance of wading across it - it is quite substantial, so I had to walk inland to Rye.  

Again there is not much to recommend this section.  Some bits of Rye Harbour looked nice but beyond that I had to keep to the road along an industrial estate.  Once I crossed the Military Canal, I was on the main road back to Bexhill.  I saw a bus stop close by and only had a short wait for a bus.  The journey back was quite pleasant through some scenic villages including Winchelsea, much nicer than the coast for once. 

I then went to the Youth Hostel outside Hastings - a nice old house in its own grounds, but the showers were appalling.  They had no record of my booking but had room anyway.  I went into Hastings and had a Kentucky Chicken take away.  On my return I got talking to another walker.  It turned out he studied the same topic as I had done at Exeter in the same year I did - if I had accepted the Exeter offer instead of the Swansea offer we would have been in the same year.  We went to the local pub - not the first one we tried, since that one had closed down.  The hostel was locked up when we came back but I went around the back where the wardens were still up - I should think so, because it still was not 11 o’clock.

Day: 158 12/4/96 Seaford to Bexhill

Distance: 30 km ( 18.6 miles)    Total Distance:    1972.4 miles

I had chocolate cake for breakfast in the Youth Hostel, which bought a few comments from the other healthy eating hostelers.  I told the Australian girl who had just finished her doctors exams, about the cliff top walk I did yesterday evening and where the Severn Sisters walk was.  I then set off and parked the car in the same pub car park as yesterday and walked down the east bank of the River Cuckmere to the sea.  It was a quiet still misty morning.  A group of workers with a JCB were repairing the path at the start of the climb up the first cliff which meant a slight tour inland to get back on the path. 

The Severn Sisters turned out to be not too strenuous and I took it fairly easy.  I was disappointed that it was so misty because there was no view from the tops of the cliffs.  Burling Gap has a hotel and not a lot else but a good place to stop and eat a bar of chocolate.  There were a few more people up the top of Beachy Head itself, all of us wondering where the summit was.  The sound of the traffic on the nearby road was a little eerie.  I got a little lost on the way down I think and took the path on the landward side. 

I had a rest when I got to the first civilisation and treated myself to the other piece of chocolate cake - this is walking how it should be.  I ate it whilst watching a group of foreign school children being unloaded from a coach and hump their suitcases across a road for a stay at a private school.  There was soon a path down onto the promenade all the way to Eastbourne where it started to drizzle, so I decided it was dinner time and went into a Fish and Chip restaurant - a F&C shop but with waiters in black suites - the English seaside at its best!

The afternoon walk to Bexhill was none to glamorous:  promenade, rough ground and flat boring roads.  The worst part was in an area marked Crumbles on the map and signified as waste ground, but in reality was a new housing development where I found it impossible to keep to the sea and was forced along the new estate, eventually getting trapped and having to ask a workman if I would go under a barrier to make my escape back to the coast.  Around a couple of lagoons and I was back where I wanted to be - well almost, I could have done with a path instead of shingle to walk on.  Some people are never happy eh. 

After leaving Pevansy Bay I got onto a minor road and followed it to Bexhill.  It passed through Norman’s Bay a village without much character and a host of ramshackle cottages / chalets. The suburbs of Bexhill were different however - affluent and smart.  I had a fair wait for a bus back so asked in the Tourist Information Office which was in the theatre.  They were good enough to give me a map.

I got the bus back and that evening ate again in the pub where I had parked and stayed in the Youth Hostel in Alfriston again - with the inevitable party of foreign school children. 

Day: 157 11/4/96 Brighton to Seaford

Distance: 26 km ( 16.2 miles)    Total Distance:    1953.8 miles

I dropped the family off at Birmingham Airport for their holiday in Ireland and then drove myself down the South coast.  I'd booked into the Youth Hostel in Alfreston, so I knew where I wanted to finish the walk for the day.  I parked in the pub car park and then caught the bus without too much delay into Brighton. There was however a delay on the bus because it took a very long time and went inland at one stage to Lewes instead of just along the coast.  A very frustrating start to the day.  Even worse was the fact that I failed to get off at the right spot even though the driver promised to tell me when I was close to the pier. This meant a walk back through the very busy shopping centre of Brighton.  It was good to get going eventually.  I was hoping this was going the be a bit greener than the previous weekends walk back in January.

Another frustration appeared after the first hour.  I had walked though the new harbor complex only to find there was no exit on the far side back onto the Undercliff path.  It was not so much blocked by a water inlet, just what seemed to be the bloody mindedness of the yacht club.  A fence, barbed wire and a large drop appeared to mean that I would have to backtrack a mile.  After standing on top of a breakwater, looking at the drop onto the beach, for what seemed like a long time I decided to give jumping it a go - or actually lowering myself on the weathered piece of rope and then letting go and hoping for the best. I turned out not to be too great a fall and I was relieved.  The Undercliff path is talked about a lot in Brighton, but is actually another concrete monstrosity. Never mind, if it was not there it would mean a long walk on the road I suppose. 

The path ran out without much warning and I had to backtrack a little to get back up onto the cliffs at Saltdean.  I crossed the main road briefly to post some letters off was then onto the cliff top path.  Around Peachaven, the path followed the end of streets of bungalows on the low cliffs.  Around the Harbour Heights area of Newhaven the scenery changed to more green heathland before I saw a path down towards the breakwater.  A cafe nestled in the wasteland near the breakwater so I stopped for a cup of tea, the silence only broken by the sound of game machines.  People seemed to be drifting out from work for an early evening stroll.

The road into Newhaven took me past a marina and then over a swing bridge into Newhaven town itself.  Over the railway, my route veered back towards the sea. I decided to carry on at least until Seaford even though evening was approaching.  The back streets soon changed into a more industrial scene, the car park for the ferry and then over the railway again and into waste ground towards Seaford.  I picked up speed determined to walk back to where I had left the car rather than catch a bus back.  Out of Seaford the path went up onto the cliffs again and very pleasant it was too in the evening sun.  At one stage there was a large number of rabbits out and the scurried back into their burrows when I approached.

I was worried what the path up the banks of the Cuckmere River would be tricky in the failing light but it was reasonable.  Rather than go out again once I was in the Youth Hostel in Alfreston later, I ate in the pub where I had left the car - only spoil by the fact that the only seat free was outside the gents toilet and smelt like it.  Finding the Youth Hostel in the dark was a little tricky.  It was a good hostel in an old building with a dorm overlooking the valley.

Day: 156 21/1/96 Worthing to Brighton

Weather:  Cold

Distance: 21 km ( 13 miles)    Total Distance:    1937.6 miles

I had breakfast with the Richards’s themselves.  Mike thanked me because it was only when guests were staying did he have a cooked breakfast.  Glad to be of service Mike!

It was a finer day weather-wise than yesterday though it was still cold and windy.  Since it was so early, I managed to find a place to park on one of the side roads very easily - it was just a case of deciding which road would be safe.  Most of the day's walk seemed to be along concrete of one sort or another, much of it promenade. The wind and wearing a tight hat was giving me a headache, so I stopped and took a couple of paracetamol.  Perhaps the most pleasurable bit was between Lancing and Shoreham where the path left the road and there was a series of lakes on the inside of the path and the sea on the outside. 

At Shoreham-by-Sea the path disappeared and it was a case of walking on the suburban streets - the advantage being that it was out of the cold head wind.  I walked as far as I could along this little peninsular before turning the corner and heading back - swapping housing for light industrial units. 

I was lucky to find the footbridge took me back to the mainland, as it were, and then along the busy and narrow main road of what I presume was Shoreham itself past B&Q, car garages and other less than interesting places.   An even more lucky break was the pontoon type bridge back towards the sea, again saving me what would have been a long detour around the port.  There were hundreds of purple ribbons tied to a chain fence in the town - a sign of the battle to stop veal calf exports to the continent that had been fought and I think won the previous winter. 

This was real industrial dockland stuff now, and what looked to be a disused power station.  Near the harbor entry a number of fishermen huddled in a cafe but it did not look very appealing so I took to the concrete again towards Hove.  Once off the docks and onto the promenade again, I stopped in a cafe - a rather ramshackle type building on the middle of a green patch just back from the shore.  It was hard to believe but it seemed people were actually coming in for their Sunday lunch.

Eventually, through the poor visibility, the piers of Brighton appeared. The West Pier was a weird site, now derelict and not joined to the beach and obviously visited by graffiti artists periodically. It was strange because the seafront itself was well kept and lots of expensive hotels overlooked this sight.

The Palace Pier was in much better condition and even in the middle of winter doing good business. I stopped here, well in fact went on a bit to find a bus stop, but ended up doing a little figure of eight and catching the bus on the road perpendicular to the pier.  Once back I at cat I drove home to Coventry after a windswept weekend away! 

Day: 155 20/1/96 Bognor Regis to Worthing

Weather:  Windy and cold

Distance: 25 km ( 15.5 miles)    Total Distance:    1924.6 miles

The forecast was dry so I decided late to have a weekend walking.  What I had not realised was that the forecast was also cold and windy -  very cold and very windy! 

I drove down from Coventry early and parked in a side street and had a cup of tea from the flask I had bought with me.  I then set off soon to realise that I was in for a battle!  The wind was sending waves crashing onto the promenade at Bognor and it was a case of wave dodging to get around some obstacles such as buildings.  I was well wrapped up but it still felt cold.  I stopped at a telephone box in Bognor and telephoned the B&B I had stopped last Autumn.  They were not there but his mother was and she said it would be OK to stay.

At Middleton-on-Sea my way was blocked because there was no promenade and the tide was right in preventing me from walking along the beach.  The trek inland did however give me a brake from the wind for a while.  I decided not to take the first path back down to the seafront since it was not evident that I would get anywhere and may end up backtracking again.

Eventually the path led through a new housing development and back to the sea.  Beyond that there was a mixture of official footpath and track to walk along though much of it was in a poor condition.

Up into Littlehampton was a usual mix of marinas and housing.  I stopped on the far side of the River Run as it appeared fairly sheltered before getting back down onto the beach. 

The remainder of the walk was along promenades - Sussex already seems a concrete county. 

After getting the bus back to Bognor I was pretty tired, phoned home, bought a large packet of biscuits and a couple of cans of beer and went to the Richards B&B.  I was so tired that night that I did not feel like going out, so stayed in with a packet of biscuits!

Day: 154 29/10/95 Selsey to Bognor Regis

Distance: 18 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

Today marked the end of all the inlets and the start of what I hoped would be easy progress for a while. I left the car in Selsey and tried to memorise what the bus stop looked like so I knew where to get off at on the way back. 

The first part of the walk was along promenade, and I would see a lot more of that kind of stuff over the next year!  I headed onto the pebbled spit of land at Church Norton before it became hard work and then about turned and started the circular walk around Pagham Harbour.  The first part was populated by birdwatchers out enjoying the fine weather.  There was a reasonably good path around until the village of Sidlesham.  The last section towards Pagham meant taking to the mud flats themselves but was only hard work in a couple of places.

As Pagham came closer the type of people changed - out went the bird-watchers and in came the holiday makers from the nearby caravan camps.  Around the last part of the circle and the concrete entrance to the harbour and some intrepid fishermen.  At last I started to head eastwards, but my enthusiasm was curtailed because I was forced to stay on the shingle beach for a long period of time.  This was very energy sapping and the scenery was not all that inspiring either. 

At last Bognor came into view and a proper promenade to walk along.  The end of the years walking and a celebratory milk shake in McDonald's - I should know better before a long bus journey - not in miles but the number of bends it goes around.

Day: 153 28/10/95 Fishbourne to Selsey

I parked in the very quiet and picturesque hamlet of Fishbourne.

The morning walk was quite pleasant along the estuary, especially through the wealthy villages including West Itchnor.  I passed many inlets containing yachts being taken out of the water for winter. I only had to cut seriously inland at one point near Dell Quay and walk down a farm road, where the path along the estuary disappeared.

East Head was a sandy outcrop, busy with people out for an afternoon walk.  Parts of East and West Wittering were less than pleasant, lots of holiday chalets bordering the shingle making it very difficult to find somewhere to walk with any solid footing underneath.

Selsey was also a strange place. I was unable to walk along the front, there was no promenade and the sea was battering the concrete blocking my way.  On the east side things improved and there was a promenade. I stopped by the lifeboat and got a bus back to Chichester and then another out to Fishbourne.

I tried to stay in the Youth Hostel at Arundel but it was full - half tern I guess, so I went to a B&B just off the main road in Fontwell owned by the Richards family. I went to Arundel for a pub meal, came back and they had a power cut in the main part of the house, but it was OK where my room was and sorted out by the morning so we could have a cooked breakfast!

Day:152 2/10/95 Prinsted to Fishbourne

Weather: Fine.no wind

Distance: 21 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

I decided as the forecast was good to have a day out walking.  I was up at 5.30am giving Gareth a bottle and then handed him over to Margaret and was on the road by 6.20 am.  I was surprised at how busy the roads were but there were no major hold ups.  Even Newbury was comparatively clear. The motorway around Portsmouth and Southampton were very busy and it was a relief to reach the very quiet hamlet of Prinsted.

Much of the day was spent walking on embankments, all in fairly good condition though was glad I wore my boots because some parts were muddy. It was less bleak than the walk around Thorney Island.  I met very few people all day.

At Cobnot Point the embankment disappears briefly and I was left to walk on the sand/mud made especially memorable because of a row of oak trees with very exposed roots lining the field fighting off high tide.

At Cobnot I got a little confused but was soon back on the coastal path. The highlight of the day was seeing two kingfishers in freshwater pools near Cobnot and what turned out to be a little egret a little further on in the mud of the estuary.

The little inlet at Chidham meant walking past large and thatched houses.  Many had boxes of apples outside free to anyone who wanted. I had been looking forward to Bosham after being told it was picturesque. I was not disappointed and was pleased to see it on a fine and not too busy a day.  Buildings in this old village came right down to the waters edge and the road got flooded at high tide.  I found just what I was looking for, a good tea shop and treated myself to home made ham salad sandwiches and a West Sussex cream tea - not unlike a Hampshire, Dorset, Devon or Cornish cream tea actually.  The view from the other side of the inlet were especially picturesque. No wonder a photographer was busy with tripod lining up the best view. 

The coastal route ran out opposite West Inchetor so I took to the country lanes, keeping myself amused by looking at what people were up to this October morning, having gardens landscaped, jobs done etc.  I caught up with another man out walking at Bosham Hoe.  He was from Brighton and looked just like Prince Michael of Kent.  We walked together for a while before he headed back to Bosham.  The remainder of the walk was also pleasant along quiet lanes paths and even a reed bed before entering the very picturesque village of Fishbourne with its large village pond and equally large houses.

The was enough for the day, a convenient place to stop I decided.   I called home to check everything was OK and then caught a bus back, a friendly bus driver telling me the best place to get off.  A a trouble-free journey home got me back by 5 o'clock.  A successful day and the exercise I needed. 

Day:151 6/8/95 Langstone to Prinsted

Weather: Overcast but warm.

Distance: 16 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

The first decision of the day was what to wear on my badly blistered feet. I chose boots to give more protection and on the basis that a short walk around the Youth Hostel car park gave me little bother. I aimed to walk around Thorney Island and make a decision after that about if to go any further.

I parked in the pub car park in Langstone which doubled up as a public car park, visited the public toilet and set off along the coast to Thorney Island. The walk to Emsworth was pleasant and varied, along foreshore, woodland, fields of crops and a church graveyard with a sad sight of a children's section. Onto the foreshore at Emsworth, but had to head inland when the path on the map did not appear in practice.

The entry onto the island was through a marina and then onto the coastal path proper. I had read that the island was MOD property and the public were only allowed around the outside.   - I wasn't however expecting the high fence, close circuit TV and intercom that greeted me at Great Deep. I had seen a group of people go through before me so thought it was open. The notices detailed how I had to report via the intercom.  I gave my name and address and when asked my purpose on the island said I was walking the coast of Britain. He said I could enter and wished me the best of luck.  I caught up the other group and commented that if the milkman had to go though that every day he must get a bit cross.

The walk around the island which consisted mainly of a disused airfield and occupied barracks was uninteresting and the path in variable condition.  By the time I reached the village of West Thorney, where the marina looked a lot more busy than the church even though it was Sunday, I was tired and the feet getting sore again.  I made the decision to finish the holiday at Prinstead.  I used the intercom to ask to be allowed off the island and bade them farewell. 

I finished for the days walk at the pretty village of Prinstead.  I tried hitching for a few minutes once on the main road but a bus soon turned up which I took back to Havant and then walked back to Langstone.

It had certainly been the hottest period of walking I'd ever done.  I was pleased because of the distances I covered especially in such hot conditions. I had not walked such long distances for a many years.

I called in the Harrow at West Isley, north of Newbury, on the way back for yet another larger shandy and to try to get a pie but they had none.  When I got back I had a couple more very relaxing enjoyable days off before the family got back from Ireland on Tuesday afternoon. 

Day:150 5/8/95 Brockhampton to Langstone

Weather: Sunny & hot.

Distance: 31 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

Breakfast at the Youth Hostel was cereal, a couple of croissants and toast. The Germans and the young lad at my table were uncommunicative so it was all silence. I asked about the washing up but apparently all that is done for you too these days. 

Parking the car at Brockhampton, I started the day by passing the sewage works and then a mile on the foreshore before crossing the Langstone Bridge onto Hayling Island. In the reports I had read from others who had walked around Britain, they had missed out Hayling because it was an island.  The road over was busy even early in the day.

There was a path and bridleway all down the west side built on the tracks of an old railway. Mountain bikers in particular were making use of this facility. Skirting though a suburban area and along a road I ended up on the beach looking back over to Portsmouth.

I could not tell from the map if there was access around the golf course but I need not have worried because it was all beach from here until Eastoke Point at the east side of the island. I alternated between walking on the beach itself and on the promenade. The crowds were out enjoying the hot sun.

Around the east side of the island there were less paths. I went all the way out to the peninsular even though the way back was along town roads. I found there was a pleasant

foreshore walk out to Mangham Salterns but after that it was back on the back roads and path.

I stopped at another pub for another pint of shandy.   The narrow roads through the village of Northney were very attractive but I was a bit too weary to appreciate it all by then.  Back over the Langstone bridge which was packed with cars by that time. I headed up towards Havant.  In need of the toilet I spotted one on the street map I had but when I eventually found it, it was closed then I saw McDonald's - one thing you can always be sure of with McDonald's is their good toilet facilities!  The air conditioning was also very much appreciated and so was their milkshake!

I spent a second night in Portsmouth Youth Hostel.  It was full this night. I had a shower and then went for a curry in Portchester and was glad to get the bill and find it was half price at six pounds - mind you twelve pounds would have been pretty pricey for what it was, but it was nice. The restaurant must have been going through a rough patch to offer meals at half price.

I was first in my dorm at just gone 9 o'clock but had no trouble in sleeping.

Day:149 4/8/95 Portchester to Brockhampton

 Weather: sunny & hot.

Distance: 32 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

Another hot day but not quite as hot as the previous two.  I parked the car outside my employers, Courtaulds Performance Films warehouse and offices and popped in to check it was OK. I was amused that there was window film peeling off the window - a bit like the paint at Nawton Ferrers was fading.  

After a stretch of walking along the foreshore I went onto Horesea Island. Although much of this is still MOD property the first part is a marina development,  cinema, restaurant and office complex. Being a true coastal path walker I walked the section I could before coming back onto to the landward side of the motorway again avoiding the main road by going via a new Tesco being built and a Holiday Inn. Then along the main road outside the IBM headquarters which looked huge and full of private signs. I thought of calling in to see if an old friend of mine still worked there but decided to leave it to the end of the day to see how I felt.

Once under the motorway, there was a cycle track and walkway all the way into Portsmouth being enjoyed by a number of cyclists in particular. I was wondering if it was possible to walk around Whale Island but it turned out to be another MOD property so I had to give it a miss. The next couple of miles were around Portsmouth docks or at least as close to them as I could get.  The old boats, Mary Rose and HMS Victory,  were unfortunately on private land and had an admission fee so I had to give them a miss

I called in the TIC but they were not very helpful about accommodation or camp sites. I called into the railway station to get an idea of train times - seemed to be frequent.  Just before getting back to the coast proper I called in for my fist pint of larger shandy of the day.

It was then around old Portsmouth dock, yet another area being done up to make a marina development. I was amused to see one pub at the very head of the harbour had not the normal picnic type seats but rows of benched in its garden to allow visitors to sit and watch the procession of boats in and out of the channel.

Portsmouth then merged into the holiday town of Southsea, the first part being the worst i.e. amusement arcades and fun fairs. Southsea common was packed because it was flower festival weekend.  After that it was miles of promenade walking - pleasant enough because of all the people to watch!

I then found a pleasant foreshore path around the east. Halfway around I stopped at the Thatched Inn which seemed poorly named since it was tiled.  I became gruff with the barmaid when I saw her make up my shandy with dregs from the drip tray but then proceeded to drop my pint over a table because my hands were so sweaty!  I drank what was left and ordered another and only got charged for a half. I don't know what the moral of that story is. 

There was good footpath all up the east side of Portsea Island. I called in at the camping and cravan site to enquire about the price of camping and was quoted over nine pounds - for one person, one tent, one car! I tried to barter but was told the prices were fixed by the council - I don't think so somehow. I told then I could get B&B for much more.

Once I reached the main road I continued around Farlington Marshes, also blessed with a good footpath. Quite a number of people were our watching the wildlife. After a bit more foreshore walking I headed up into Brockampton and aimed to catch the train back to Portchester.  I bought a ticket from the machine and then entered into a farce. I got talking to a lady who had caught the wrong train and was trying to get back to Cosham, the station before Portchester. We realised after countless trains had gone past heading to Portsmouth that there was not direct train to Southampton and they all went via Portsmouth. I got the train and changed and the lady got a taxi in despair.

I saw on my map that there was a Youth Hostel in Cosham so decided to see if there really was. I eventually found it, in the middle of a housing estate!  It was an old mansion house in fairly good condition. I joined the YHA and booked in for 2 nights. I went out for a Chinese take away from Cosham and ate it in the marina in Solent Heights, but it was very poor take away and I had to force it down since I also was not too hungry with all the heat. 

Day:148 3/8/95 Lee-on-Solent to Portchester

Weather: Sunny & very hot.

Distance: 28 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

I woke to what was evidently going to be another very hot day.  Breakfast was fine, better than what it might have been considering the landlady also ran the Happy Shopper corner shop next door - I was expecting economy sausages etc.  I left the car there and started the walk on the sea front.

I was soon on the shingle beach and walking outside more MOD property.  I was unsure if I could get access all the way around Browndown but it was fine.  Rounding Gilkicer Point by the life boat station I could see what I thought was the Royal Yacht Britannia making her way from Cowes into Portsmouth.

I walked to the end of a golf course and asked two groundsman about access.  There was MOD property preventing my way along the coast but was told that although there was no official footpath between the course and the MOD property I was OK to walk it.  Back on the coast I found myself on a promenade.  I saw a man with a bike watching the boats come and go.  He confirmed it was Britannia and proceeded to tell me about the local maritime history.

I cut inland again and into Gosport, walking between a defense establishment and a naval research establishment.   Crossing into Gosport town I tried to find the TIC to ask about transport and rights of way.  I found McDonald's and got out of the heat for a milk-shake. I eventually found the TIC who were not too helpful except to tell me about more MOD property coming up than rights of way.

Out of the town was along roads mainly.  I briefly got back to the coast at Hardway which made a very pleasant break. I discovered for the first time this holiday how refreshing larger shandys were in a pub on the front. The landlord apologised that the prices had gone up to £1.77.

Back through the village and onto the A32.  This was one of the hottest sections I had ever walked.  I stopped at one stage just under the hedgerow on the side of the road,  just to get out of the sun.  It was not until fairly near Fareham that I managed to get off the main road and onto side roads again.  Just after that I was attacked by the powerful smell from the local sewage works.  I stopped again to get out of the sun and drink some water on the recreation ground.

At Cam Hall there was development work going on, seemingly to make a leisure complex.  The golf course was finished as was the footpath all around the peninsular.  By the time I reached the housing at Portchester I was parched. I almost stopped at one stage to ask someone watering the garden to give me some waster.  There was no sign of a corner shop.  Seeing the curlew pub near Portchester castle was a very welcome sight.  Time for another larger shandy.

It was then only a short walk up into Portchester.  I got a bus from the town to Farehan and then after another visit to McDonalds - I know where the air conditioning is!  I got the bus back to Lee.  The evening was hot and I made the most of cold showers.  I ate in the Inn-by-the -Sea, a tasty sweet and sour chicken if  little small portion - I was just glad my appetite was small because of the heat.

Day:147 2/8/95 Southampton to Lee-on-Solent

Weather: Sunny & very hot.

Distance: 32 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

It was one of the hottest weeks on record, not the right weather for walking but since this was the week the rest of the family were going to Ireland I decided to made the most of the opportunity.  I dropped the family off at Birmingham airport for their trip to flight and then went down the motorway.  I had booked into the Ellmee guest house for two nights and was a little concerned what I may find - being told it was next to the Happy Shopper corner shop. It was fine - run by an elderly couple who were trying to sell up because of ill health.  He was a bit of a wag always saying at breakfast that he had just returned from a walk from Winchester or somewhere similar.

I left the car there and caught the bus from the front to Southampton. I was dreading this journey because of the heat but in actual fact it was not too bad because the driver went along with his door open.  At Southampton I had a burger and milk-shake though did not very much enjoy them as I was very keen to get going. They were spreading sand on the road since it was so hot!

I walked around the marina and then over the tall bridge over the River Hitchen. It looked like a popular place for suicides given the number of samaritan stickers on which someone with a perverse sense of humour had crossed off the phone number.  Woolston was a shipbuilding area and I stopped to buy a bottle of pop because I had a headache - Happy Shopper limeade - awful!

Then onto the coast proper for the first time that day and a fairly straightforward walk all the way to Hamble.  There was only one stage which appeared blocked by private residences but I managed to get around below the low water mark and a bit of scrambling.  Inland, up to Hamble was along a tree lined path parallel to the main road. Hamble itself looked very expensive.  I stopped to recover for a while.  This section was baking hot since there was no breeze and I was sweating a great deal.  Through a wood bought me into another picturesque village of Burlesdon.

Once over the river I stopped off at a garage and bought the last 2 litre bottle of chilled water they had.  The people before me had just grabbed the other six bottles.  The proprietor looked astonished at the sudden rush on water.  He would only have had to step outside to realize why.  It was one of the most refreshing drinks I had ever had!

The was a bit of a breeze on the east side of the Hamble River where the path follows the sea embankment with some lake on the shore side.  It was beautifully quiet and peaceful along this section with a great deal of bird-life on the lakes. The river was busy with boats returning from Cowes week yacht races.  Rounding the headland it should now have been a straightforward walk to Lee but at Solent Breezes holiday camp the path was blocked and I was diverted inland.  Iff I had known the length of the diversion I would have made more of an attempt to force my was through since it was marked as a footpath on the map.

From there to Hill Head was along what was almost a cliff.  The path again signposted as closed this time because of land slips, but plenty of people were walking it and the path had detoured slightly into the adjoining field to get around the slips.

Once around the harbour at Hill Head the last section of the day was a promenade walk.  The beaches were still busy because of the very hot weather. By the time I reached the B&B it was 8.30pm and I was well tired. I showered and still did not feel hungry so being assured I would have a cooked breakfast I went to bed.

Day:146 21/7/95 Fawley to Southampton

Weather: Sunny & hot.

Distance: 22 km  ( miles)    Total Distance:  miles

The last day's walk of this holiday and the first where Margaret and the rest of the family dropped me off in the morning. It was not a very scenic days walk but since I had had four good days previously I wasn't all that upset.

A couple of miles along the main road was helped by the fact that there was a separate footpath much of the way away from the road. Once past the oil refinery the Solent Way cut down to the sea through woods and an odd field, though the way-marking left a lot to be desired.

Hythe was a disappointment. We had been led to believe it was a picturesque port but the way in was along an industry lined road and the centre was not much better. I met Margaret and the family near the pier and we visited a small cafe.  The temperatures were beginning to hot up considerable. Margaret then took the boys to Avon beach again and I walked on. Exiting Hythe next to a housing estate and then onto a pretty boring walk all the way to Marchwood. The coastal route was blocked because it was British Ports land. Veals Farm on the way into Marchland was more of a junkyard than a farm.  A strange place indeed.

Marchwood is a military town and the docks there were being used to assemble the equipment for the rapid reaction force being sent to Bosnia though the rate at which it was all being got together made it anything but rapid.

Marchwood to Totton was particularly unpleasant. The road was busy and no pavement.  Much of the traffic was heading to the council incinerator at Marchwood. Things improved in Totton for a short while as a minor road took me into the town over a toll bridge and down towards the A35.

From here to Southampton could be described as not as bad as it could have been. There were paths and cycle ways all along the busy main road but it was hot!  The docks prevented any good views of the river and there was only industrial estates to look at.

I looked up at one stage after hearing a bang to see a cyclist in mid air having just crashed into a bollard which was in the middle of the cycle path. I think he may have been watching the young girl at the bus stop.  I made sure he was OK and he passed me a while later going in the other direction with a very buckled wheel.

The last part into Southampton was along a residential area since there was no access to the main road.  I saw the station but decided to go down towards the river and probably catch the cheaper bus back to Brockenhurst which would also save me a walk at the other end.  This section was more bad quality walking along dockland roads. 

I walked into the town to get a drink and find out about buses. Being very hot I needed to cool down before doing anything otherwise I thought I would not make it. I tried McDonald's but for once the air conditioning appeared not to be operational. M&S was better.  I bought a cheesecake and orange juice and headed for the shade in the park to consume them.  I gradually recovered.

Back at the house I had no key but was allowed to go through their flat upstairs down into ours. That evening the owners had a lot of family around so it got pretty noisy for a while.

The next day we headed home and stopped off at the pub in West Isley for lunch and bought a pie for tea - all very civilized.  We arrived home pretty early.