Day 84 - St.Columb Major - St.Allen

I am such a dum dum! After my shower last night I accidently dropped my towel on the floor making it really damp, I thought I would be clever and dry it off on the wall outside our tent weighing it down with my shoes because it was very windy! Unfortunately this morning I was very confused when I was trying to find my shoes and towel and then twigged that I had left them outside all night.....I then remembered the torrential wind and rain we had which caved the tent in! Urgh. I had to ring out my towel and drain my shoes! Not a good start to the day!

The day wasn’t to get any better, me and beck went to the showers but the  light wasn’t working in mine so I went next door. The second I walked in my spidey senses were tingling! I knew there was one in there somewhere! And it didn’t take much searching until I saw a giant eight legged freak in the BATH! It was hideous! Absolutely massive, a proper ‘house spider’, needless to say I didn’t hang around too long in there! When Gayle and Mick arrived I went to show her the massive spider, she said to Beck as a joke ‘Shall I chase Jade with it?’ I was around the corner when she came round with the spider supped in her hand, I was a screaming mess! I also realised that your leg doesn’t hurt when it means escaping from a spider! Gayle said she was sorry and didn’t realise that I was around the corner (yeah right!).

The spider was realised in a trough alive and well.  It wasn’t long until we were back on the road again, it was a fairly uneventful days walk and it was pretty windy blowing rain in to our faces drenching us! We kept our coats on for the whole of the walk which has never happened to date as we usually have a sweat attack! We didn’t stop for a break today as the weather was so hideous so we walked 8 miles without a bit to eat! Lots of people will be shocked to hear that!

We met Mick and Gayle and thought it would be funny to hide from them in a field..... Little things please little minds! It worked a treat and they walked past right us! They did spot us on the way back though, it was only a couple of miles walk from here until we reached a pub for a well deserved CUP OF TEA!

It was so nice to be out of the hideous weather and sneaky eating wispa bars in the pub! Today’s walk ended at a church called St.Allen, there was nothing there apart from this very old and beautiful church which we all had a look around.

Back at the campsite we had a letharge before showers and a look around Truro, we visited the Cathedral, waterstones (so mick could buy Harry Potter) and had an amazing dinner at Pizza Express. I was so hungry and really looking forward to dinner, annoyingly we were put on a table in front of the door, me and Gayle were not too impressed and when we asked to move we were told that all of the tables were reserved WHICH WAS AN ABSOLUT LIE. 

Day 83 - Sladesbridge - St.Columb Major

First off, any one thinking of visiting St. Worst place in Cornwall Columb Major, one word of advice: Don't! How can one town be lacking so much! Me and Beck were very proud of ourselves this morning, we managed to get our tent down before Mick and Gayle :) Gayle couldn't believe it as she was well aware of my lethargness, but she did look very cosy in her pjs and sleeping bag! We were walking solo today and told that there was a tad trespassing on today's route from Gayle which always sounds interesting....  Although we soon found it when we wanted to cross a river and there was no bridge in sight apart from one being blocked by a 10ft steel fence and lots of 'no trespassing' signs, Becks was convinced that we were climbing over it...... I couldn't believe she thought that in the state my leg was in! I said we could go through it... And slid through the bars, Becks looked really shocked and couldn't believe a human bring could fit through the gap! I just think she lacks spatial awareness....Well we were skinny ladies 1,000 odd miles on! She made me come back through so that she could take a picture of me going back over!


The trespassing led us on to the camel trail which we followed for a couple of miles which was flat easy walking which would eventually lead us on a road to St. Boring Lame Columb Major, on this road we had a little break which Beck annoyingly shotgunned the little  portable chair so I got a wet foliage'd bum sat on the undergrowth! We started fantasizing about a cup of tea which is always a mistake when you promise yourself something or look forward to it when your heading to St. unhelpful Columb Major, it looked quite a big town on the map so not getting a cuppa wasn't an issue for us at the minute.


Today was a 12miler and so far the leg was holding up well, I didn't make it a secret that the question 'hows the leg?' really started to annoy me, no one wanted to know how me or Becks was, all they cared about was one of my lower limbs! We were both starting to get a little bit thirsty now, and a cup of tea was defiantly on the cards! Gayle sent us a text saying her and Mick had set our tent up! We were being majorly spoilt! 


We finally made it in to St. Horrible Columb Major and were both bursting for a wee, we set eyes on a tea room and all hopes were raised until we went to the door and it was closed....It was a Monday, who closes tea rooms on a Monday! We asked of there were any more pubs/cafes open and everyone looked at me like i was talking Cantonese! We need a cafe for 2 reasons 1. A cup of tea 2. To stop potentially soiling ourselves!


There were 4 pubs in the town and all 4 of them were shut! This town is seriously lacking potential business! Finally found a public toilet and all was nearly well! The campsite was only a kilometer away so we decided just to go back to the tent as we were fed up looking for amenities in St.Drab Columb Major. Arriving at the crib, I had never seen it constructed so torte! Good job Mick and Gayle!


Mick and Gayle bailed on us tonight and went in search for a B&B  tonight, leaving only the hardcore to survive the night in torrential rain and windy mcwindyness! (I dont know where i'm getting these words from!) I couldn't be bothered to shower straight away and letharged for ages, Becks was very motivated and showered straight away. We got a call from Karis saying Dennis was in Cornwall and wondered where me and Beck were so he could pop by. Meanwhile I went to the campsites Reception and got a chinese takeaway menu and the lovely receptionists made us a cup of tea! I thought it was best to bring something back to the tent as a 'sory' as Beck felt sick because of my horrendous farting in the tent.


While we were sipping our tea, someone shook our tent and made me jump, luckily it was Dennis, he popped by to see if we wanted to go for a drink! I was like ahhhhhhhhhh I haven't even had a shower! But there was no time so a change of clothes and a spray of deo had to do the job! We went to this massive shopping center which had a massive sweet shop, Dennis said that we weren't allowed to leave unless we picked 3 things! We were in our element but for some reason we found it really difficult to choose things! 


I did the worst smelly fart in the novelty sweet section  and it followed me! Unfortunately Beck and Dennis walked through it and Beck made a bit of a scene! We went to Brewers Fayre next door and had a cup of tea and a glass of wine, it was a very lovely evening, thankyou Dennis! When i got back to the campsite I felt slightly drunk and i had to have a shower! Most importantly we had to order the chinese, it was from Newquay so the delivery driver had quite a trek!


When it arrived we were so excited! But we didn't want to eat it in the tent, it would have been noodle carnage! So we stole a chair and made a restaurant in the laundry room, It was ll very civilized until i got chew-mein on the spinner! The wind and rain was so heavy tonight it woke me up, I'm glad Mick and Gayle were enjoying themselves!

Day 82 - St.Breward - Sladesbridge

First off, apologies for lack of blog, but expect regular updates!

Back on the road again! Day 82 marks the reunion of me (Jade) rejoing team (Becks)! Very exciting! Why I wanted to leave my cosy house with as much tea and soft furnishings avaiable to me to camp in the rain for a week is beyond me, but I was back and happy :) We were up by 7.30am this morning and had a buffet breakfast, Becks ad joined us the night before to camp as Mandy was rowing in Newquay so poped over to say hi, he left at 8 and not long after Mick drove me, Beck and Gayle to where they finished yesturday. It was luxuary not having to take the tent down as we were staying at the campsite for 2 nights, and it was really wet so everything would have been a hassle!

We had an easy 8 mile day ahead of us, 8 miles we decided was good to ease my leg back in to walking again as while resting I probbaly managed 2 miles a day at the most! It was mainly road walking along small country roads but Gayle included an off-piste section in which my feet stayed dry for 58 minutes of walking. Our first stile in to a field was a challenge even to those with fully functioning limbs! It was a stinging nettle and bramble fest and they were all out to get you! Everyone was gettting caught and I kept getting them stuck around my ankles! Nightmare! The second stile was more entertaining...... Stepping off the other side was instant slurry pit death! It was perfect welly boot slurry, and I really thought I was going in, but brave Gayle went first to scout out a route, unfortunalty the route around the slurry involved good balance and holding on to a barbed wired fence, both of these are not my strengths and I managed to get caught in the brambles - a lot. Beck was unhooking me with her leki pole from the back and Gayle was trying to get them off my front! But us being us, we made it across!

The wlak itself felt fairly easy and my leg was feeling good, Mick joined us 2 miles from the end where he had parked his car to walk back with us, I have noticed that Beck has been sporting some very odd footwear today....... waterproof socks with asics trainers! She said she likes tham as she looks lie someone form fame - or a horse! They did look handy though as her feet were completly dry, but she did wear them a lot without washing them which was pretty gross Beck!

Back at the car we had a team photo whihc Mick and Gayle updated their blog with, we were now in search of a nice little cafe for a cream tea, but it was Sunday. And we hate Sundays. We had no luck looking in the town of Wadebridge so we settled for the Co Op Cafe where there was only one cream tea left..... Mick had it and me and Beck settled for chocolate cake (the same cake we had in Tain) Although I wasn't sad enough to enjoy it so smotthered it in clotted cream much to Gayles disgust! Back at the campsite it rained and it rained and we realised the campsite had a lounge! It was massive with couches, a pool table and our fav...jigsaws!

Team managed to complete a 500 piece jigsaw of Ross-on-Wye in pretty much record time, Beck did the outside pieces and I was doing the middle, I think we enjoyed it far too much, and wa wndering if we were good enough to enter a jigsaw championship.We really fancied going swimming as the site had a pool but was gutted when we found out it was closed because it was RAINING! It said for health and safety reasons they cannot open it in the rain! What? Incase someone gets wet! Annoying!

Dinner was so so - a pasta and sauce sachet meal but it was wholemeal which slightly ruined it, butwe were hungry, so it was fine, me and Beck went back in to the lounge to write diaries before going to bed, it was pretty chilly! Probably the coldest we have been so far on our walk....was in Cornwall! My feet really stink as my shoes got wet this morning and I own no waterproof socks, boooo :(

Day 81- Past Launceston to St Breward

This morning the lovely campsite lady sent us out a plate of toast for us for breakfast and before we left a couple of ladies from one of the caravans on the field came over to chat and gave us £10 for the Childrens Hospice which was very kind. So, today was the Bodmin moor day and it was decided that Mick would walk with me and that Gayle would be cheif driver and we would meet on brown whillays. 

It was a grey/wet and miserable day however i liked Bodmin and had a really good time! We did well managing to follow a faint path pretty much the whole way to Brown Whillays but we did have to cross some boggy patches and little streams and right near the bottom of the hill we had to climb a barbed wire fence and walk through a load of cows! It was a steep climb to the top of the hill as we yomped straight up the front rather then taking the path up the side. Walking up here Mick got his foot stuck in a hole and half fell over and as i was asking if he was ok and laughing at the same time....i did exactly the same thing! Very funny! We then carried on to the top where we met Gayle and quickly had something to eat before the rain got heavier. 

We walked down from the hill then joined a path which lead us the rest of the waythrough Bodmin moor. Along here the weather was hideous! It was really wet and windy and i was wet through! Before we started the moor walking Mick had lent me a pair of waterproof socks, at first they were brilliant but by this point even these were full of water, although i think this was because i was wearing them with shorts so the water was running down my legs and into them.

When we got off the moor me and Mick carried on walking whilst Gayle went and got the car then she picked us up and we drove on to our caampsite in St Mabyn. We paid and quickly set the tents up then  i went for a shower to warm up. The disabled shower was amazing!! Everything you could possibly need in one cubicle! Warm and dry we then drove to Sainsburys in Bodmin and whilst Gayle shopped me and Mick sat on the comfy sofas drinking tea in the cafe. From here we went to the station to wait for TEAM!!! Team back together!! It was very exciting! Reunited we then all went back to the campsite and we werent there for long before Dad arrived. Dad was in cornwall to watch the gig rowing the next day and ended up camping here with us here for the night. 

It was a lovely evening! I got a load of washing done which is always a treat and then after dinner me Dad and Jade went on a trip to Wadebridge tescos where dad treated us to lots of goodies!! When we arrived back at the campsite we then had a feast in the car whilst we wrote diary and sheltered from the rain.

Day 80- Sourton to a few miles past Launceston

  

Today i walked into Cornwall!! I am in the final county!! It was very exciting but also really sad that Jade wasn''t there too. Today was also Sams last day of walking. Its been really nice having her along and she has done so well!

As we had the car me and Sam had a light bag between us which was lovely, however, it also meant that Mick and Gayle had some tricky car logistics. 

We started the day by continuing along down the railway line. It was a nice sunny, blue skied morning and walking along here again we had that great view up to Dartmoor. We walked along here together and then Gayle left us to go back and move the car on. Me, Sam and Mick then turned off the track and it wasnt long until we found ourselves lost in some cow fields. Our feet got soaked walking through these wet/ grassy fields but fortunately after climbing a few gates we managed to get onto the road we wanted to be on. 

We soon met Gayle again and the next hurdle of the day was a field of cows and bulls who wanted to follow us! Sam really didnt like this and i wasnt particularly happy either but Mick and Gayle were so brave- they stopped walking and turned and faced them and all the cows/bulls stopped and played statues. Whilst they were being held off me and Sam took our chance and made for the safety of the gate. Later in the day when it was just me Sam and Gayle walking we had another similar incident when we had to go through another cow field. Sam wasnt particularly happy with going through there and it wasnt helped when she spotted a sneaky cow to her left and Gayle informed her that it wasnt actually a cow......

Before we walked into Launceston we crossed the river Tamar which marks the Devon/ Cornwall divide. It was very exciting and i made sure i got a picture with both the 'welcome to' signs. In Launceston we then had a little shop then sat and waited for Geoff and Nik to arrive to pick up Sam. They soon arrived and they'd brought someone else along, they were sitting in the back....who was it?! Dad!! He'd come along as a surprise :) After a little chat and goodbyes they were soon off again and we carried on walking for a few more miles before calling it a day.

The people at the campsite were really nice and when we arrived the lady invited us in for tea and bourbons and let me sit in the comfy chair :) Tonight for the first night i had the vango to myself!! I wasnt sure if i liked it or not, it felt weird. It seemed so big and i didnt know where to put my stuff....too many options! Bodmin moor tomorrow and team will be back in the evening!!!!

Day 79- Crediton to Sourton

Had so much sleep last night....it was amazing!! This morning we were up and ready before 9 and to start the day we had to walk back up the little road that we’d walked down last night to find the campsite. From there it was then road walking again to Yeoford then all the way on to a place called Spreyton. On the way to Spreyton for a section we followed part of the alternative route for the Two Moors Way, and we crossed the actual Two Moors Way route which I thought was very exciting!!

In Spreyton we stopped and had a well deserved rest. Today has been pretty hot and we ended up having a lovely long lunch stop here lay on the grass in the sunshine. From here it was then a footpath section which made a nice change to road walking which we have been doing a lot of lately, but unsurprisingly, we got a bit lost. However, with the help of the map and compass we did eventually manage to find the sneaky, overgrown gate. This led us up to a farm but we couldn’t seem to find our way out. Two young girls were playing out in the garden so we said sorry and asked if they knew how we could get out and on to the road. They pointed us out and let us cut through their garden....I’m pretty sure we weren’t actually meant to be there, especially as at the end of the road we saw a sign that read 'private!' I don’t really understand where we went wrong because I couldn’t see where else the footpath could have been leading.

The next village we walked into was a little place called Sticklepath.Here we found a little village shop which was handy as we needed food for the next day.....The lady in the shop gave us 2 free ice pops and a free tomato!.....We love free food! From here we carried on past a field of cute alpacas and then eventually arrived on the old railway track which we then followed all the way to the campsite. From the track there was a really nice view up onto dartmoor and of meldon resevoir. Walking along here we we got a call from Mick and Gayle saying that they had arrived at the campsite and that they would walk along the track to meet us when they were all sorted. By now me and Sam were both feeling really tired and couldn't wait to sit down!

We met Mick and Gayle and then all walked back to the campsite together. It was really nice to see them and the thought of having a support car for the week was very exciting! On the way down Mick and Gayle had dropped into Torquay to give Jade back her stuff and she had given them a goody bag to give me which was full of my favs- chocolate digestives, baby plum tomatoes, chocolate and more! Such a nice surprise! 

Today.....day 79.....was the first day i left something behind!! How annoying! I left my little hairbrush in the shower. Still, i think i did pretty well going this long without a loss. 

Day 78- Tiverton to Crediton

 

I love the blamonge and did not enjoy leaving it this morning but we wanted to have an earlish start so it had to be done. After we were packed up and ready we piled our stuff into the car and into Asda for supplies before Hayley drove us back to the end of the canal in Tiverton. Her and Scott have been so good to us and it has been really lovely seeing them over the past few weeks.

After Hayley left we had a massive faff trying to get through Tiverton and onto the Exe Valley Way which we followed for the first part of the day. We just couldn’t seem to get the map to fit where we were which was really odd and we were both really confused. We thought surely it shouldn’t be this difficult as the end of the canal is a massive feature?!...It turns out that what we thought was the end of the canal on the map actually wasn’t. It sounds like we were being massive dum dums but actually the map was really misleading! The very end of the canal (unlike the rest of it) was white and not blue and looked like a little white road and not a canal. Anyway, that was pretty annoying and wasted lots of time but eventually we realised what we had done and found the path we wanted.

The EVW took us down through the valley and through lots of fields to Bickleigh Mill. We had to go through one field packed full of cows and one that was hid in the hedge gave Sam a fright! From Bickleigh Mill we stayed on the EVW for a little longer before turning off and from here it was road walking pretty much the whole way. We had some pretty hilly bits along here and we were both looking lovely and sweaty! 

Walking through a little village we spotted a really cute looking bus stop which we stopped in for a rest. It was full of mismatched chairs that all had cushions on top and it just looked really cosy! From here it was a bit more road walking before we found our public footpath which cut us over into Crediton. We did some good navigation through the town and we were soon heading down the little road which led to the campsite that Gayle had written down for us. In the end we weren’t really sure if we were at the campsite that Gayle had meant but as it was nice we stayed there. We were very excited because the one Gayle had written down didn’t have a shower and this one did which was a lovely surprise! The lady who owned the site was very kind and said that as it was a charity walk we could stay for free. After we’d set up the tent she also popped over to check we were OK and that we had enough food and everything.

Today I’ve been sending lots of texts to sort out/discuss logistics- it’s so confusing but I think I now understand what’s going to happen. Gayle and Mick have really kindly said that they will come down and stay with us until the end and also be support car which is amazing!! Also...Jade has decided that she’s ready to come back and will be joining us after we’ve past Bodmin Moor (as advised by Gayle :) ).