Friday 27 June
We woke this morning to rain the first time since we left home so I guess we can’t complain. It took some time for both of us to make a move out of bed but the call of nature prevailed so we had no choice.
We are quite adept now at packing up and taking the tent down. Today was a new lesson as we had work and stay inside to avoid a soaking. First the contents of the living quarters deflated and everything packed and put away in the right place. Next take the inner living quarters down without touching any of the walls or roof to avoid getting it wet - job completed.
Now with a decent area to move freely and dry we continued to have breakfast and later continued packing everything away, leaving the sopping wet outer shell to be folded up last. This is now in the shower enclosure of our B&B tonight drying out….
All gear packed away we set off leaving at a leisurely 10am but before the end the village we were both donning our waterproofs. For me it was a case of take them off before passing out with heat exhaustion, put them on, take them off put them on…….you get the idea!
With the early morning rain the fields were either muddy or like wading through treacle with on many occasions me being seen exiting the field slower than when I went in due to the wearing much of the field on my boots. On the odd occasion with the excessive mud well and truly glued to my boots my height had gained by nearly one whole centimetre…………
The day was a leisurely one walking through nice open fields and lovely woods but as we both left Ketton the skies started to get darker and darker with the distant rumble of thunder not too far away. We departed as usual with a kiss, thankfully it wasn’t the last but neither of us knew what the weather had in store for us. For Rachel, cycling to Duddington the next village where we would meet, the sudden storm just meant she had to stop and put waterproofs on. For me it was a bit more of nightmare…..
After I left Rachel I crossed into the fields with the distant rumble of thunder getting closer and closer and the sky getting darker and darker, I quickly slipped into my waterproof trousers and jacket before the sky unleashed itself with fury. No problem, I have walked in worse. Then the thunder started and that’s when it got a bit hairy as it passed directly overhead. As I reached the middle of the field there was an almighty crack of lightening also directly overhead. my thoughts being where is the best place to shelter from the lightening?…….well it did not matter I had no where to go but had to continue. My imagination took over, I was walking through a field with lightening carrying two metal walking poles like lightening conductors in my rucksack….not ideal! Thankfully I live to tell the tale but it was pretty scary and an experience I would rather not repeat too soon.
We met up again in Duddington and sheltered in a bus shelter strewn with bird poo all over the floor to have our lunch, beggars can’t be choosers! Later we adjourned to the Royal Oak Hotel for warm drinks and swift half for me. After an hour we dragged ourselves out for the last leg to our digs tonight in Kings Cliffe. There is a campsite not too far away which I pass in the morning but it has no permit for tents and despite asking does not even have a shed we can use. So with the wild camping becoming harder to conquer we are ensconced at Rose Cottage a 500yr old house..nice!
O and it has a bath too…….guess where Tony will head to first?
Distance - 11.5 miles
Distance since Helmsley - 234.00 miles
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