Three years later…..

Today marks the third anniversary of starting my End to End. Three years ago today I was standing at Land’s End, a rather overweight 60 year old woman not certain I could walk a day let alone 117 days.

With a lot of help, support and encouragement, particularly from Bob, I got there ‘Come wind and weather‘. That’s the title of my book of pilgrim resources developed from the End to End that I hope will be published in 2023. It will be the 20th anniversary of Bob’s first End to End in 2003 just as this year is the 10th anniversary of Hannah’s End to End in 2012.

As a family we’ve stood at Land’s End for this epic adventure a few times now. Obviously that was more difficult since the Covid pandemic started and I’m ever grateful that I walked mine in 2019. Since then Bob and I have been joining up dots, a whole pattern of walks across Britain linking with each other and with walk we’d done in the past. This has involved several routes from West to East and quite a few round Derbyshire nearer home.

Three years later, lots of fish and chips and ice cream consumed, in less than 3 weeks we being our next big adventure: a walk to London and back. This was due to take place in 2020 and had to be postponed. It is the brain child of Bob and will take us to London via canals and back by some of the route of the great Central Railway. It should take us about 48 days.

I’m calling it the Grand Walk Out #GrandWalkOut and the Great Way Back #GreatWayBack and you will be able to follow us on Twitter. Do let one of us know if you’d like to join us somewhere on the route.

Remembered bible: It’s the narrow route that leads to life.

Lead us…

Janet Lees in Longdendale on the 3rd anniversary of the End to End, 2nd April 2022.

And finally …

Day 117 of the End to End in 2019 was the final day of walking. The final total of miles walked was 1110.

It was not that far from Canis Bay war memorial to John O’Groats and there were lovely views across the Pentland Firth. At one corner a doe bounded across a barley field, which gave me something to sing about.

Each step was bringing me closer to the end of what had been a totally amazing experience. Even the biggst ice cream for 117 days can’t really properly celebrate the achievement.

One year on, and a shorter walk on more familar territory in Longdendale, I’m still reflecting on the whole thing. I continue to thanks Bob for all his support, help and inspiration, and Hannah for joining in when she did.

Of course there has been much walking since, but no where near as much as at this point last year. There are other places we hope to walk. Look out for other blog posts.

From the Bambi beatitudes: Blessed are the walkers, that their gentle tread doesn’t damage creation.

From the remembered bible: Those that trust in God for strength walk on without weariness.

I’m a walker, I’m a walker,
I walked all the way…

And for now may God grant a quiet night.

JAL 12.08.2020 in Longdendale, the 1st anniversary of the completion of the End to End.

A different summer

Day 116 of the End to End in 2019 negotiated several of the long straight roads of Caithness to finish at the impressive Canis Bay war memorial. After so long walking up Britain I’ve seen many such memorials in towns and villages, each one inscribed with the local roll of honour. The one at the corner of the road leading into Canis Bay is not very different. It is the place where our three routes meet again before the final few miles into John O’Groats: Bob in 2003, Hannah in 2012 and me in 2019. As I looked across the Pentland Firth, I as glad I had decided to leave the last few miles for day 117.

But today in 2020, I will reflect on a different sort of summer. 275 years since the Jacobite followers of Bonnie Prince Charlie made it as far south as, Derby, Bob and I decided to try a section of the Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk today in Derbyshire.

It was a hot day and I think I got the best bit of the walk from Osmaston village along pleasant tracks and shady woodland. Bob met me near Longdon and explained how his section to Lees, where we had decided to finish, was more difficult. Some of the stiles were high or wobbly. Some of the way was across fields with and without crops. At one point a gate was barred and a detour had to be taken at Osleston Hall. It was getting hotter and it was good we had plenty of water. We arrived on the village green at Lees at 1.30, tired and sweaty.

2020 is a very different summer to 2019: no painted ladies for example. There were lots of other butterflies out today including two Brimstone. There have been new plants sighted and different routes have been tried. All in all new stories to tell. But there is nothing quite like walking LEJOG. If you ever get the chance, do it.

 

From the remembered gospel: That same day two of his followers were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus, about 11 miles walking.

God of memories, pull us into the present.
Explanations and stories have a place, reflection adds depth to our humanity as we seek to understand anew,
But do not let us stay there, entrapped by the past whether good or bad.
Call us on to see your current concerns, to become involved in your justice, to be peacemakers now.
Companion Christ, may we also be able to say ‘I knew it was him’ with each encounter.

    JAL 11.08.2020 near Ashbourne, Derbyshire, and on the Bonnie Prince Charlie Walk.

 

Ultima Thule

Day 115 of the End to End in 2019 was the day I walked to Greenland, hence the title of this post. Originally referring to ‘a distant far away region or place’ many parts of the North have had the name: Orkney, Iceland and Greenland are just a few. It seems it has also been used to name a large rock in the Kuiper Belt. The sense that any of this places are distant or far away does, as always, depend on where you start.

Today I start east of Thurso which is quite far North for mainland Britain. Along this part of the coast you can get ferries to Orkney, and in fact we did go there with Hannah a few years ago. But Greenland is somewhere else entirely. It’s a small chicken farm in Caithness.

Around here lots of places get unexpected names. Look out for Holland tomorrow. You can almost do a world tour on foot.  For the Vikings, Greenland was one stop on the way west via the north. Interestingly, a large part of the British population still exhibits Viking DNA (not least in the Warwicker family). As I’ve said before, we are all descended from migrants.

Apart from Greenland, names of places in Caithness often show Viking influence, like Wick that we visited for a curry in 2003. Human habitation in Caithness dates from prehistoric times, but it was certainly known to the Vikings, who named it for the Pictish people who lived here when they arrived in the 10th century.

Most of Britain is like this: a patchwork of names and places influenced by one or more groups of migrant people over two millenia or more. Like the chickens pecking in the farm yard that show the influence of diverse forefowl, we too are mongrels. In one field there were Rhea, a large flightless bird originally from South America. Some have gone feral in Germany. Perhaps Caithness will be next?

It all allows me to choose one of my favourite passages from the remembered gospel: Jesus said ‘How often I have wanted to gather you together like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings’.
How I wish I’d had a chicken suit when I was a school chaplain.

Chicken-hearted One, wing spreader, all humanity concerns you:
May we be as generous with shelter, support and love to any who need our aid on these shores.
For this one race, the human race, may the term ‘Being a chicken’ be a affirmation not an insult.

JAL: 10.08.2020 in Longdendale.

Windy and wild

Day 114 of the End to End in 2019 began 28 miles from John O’Groats and 4 days to walk there. The weather had other ideas. At first not too bad, just a bit windy as witnessed by the rotating arms of the nearby Baillie wind farm.

I made a short detour to St Trostan’s grave yard to see an early water stoop in the wall there. The name Trostan might have originally been Drostan and he may have come from Ireland. Names change as people move about. I wonder if these wandering Irish saints in their small boats were welcome?

After St Trostan’s it started raining harder and got windier. The walking became more difficult and I had to stop and start several time, getting soaked, cold and struggling to stay upright. Not every traveller has the choice of whether to set out or not. Twenty something miles may not seem far but for some it can be the difference of a whole lifetime.

One of the places on my route was Janetstown. How glad I was to get there and sit in the bus shelter for a bit. When you walk LEJOG you remember small gratitudes. Eventually I was walking down into Thurso, even though the ‘No Loitering’ notice at the station didn’t look all that inviting. I walked through the town and finished my day’s walking just a short distance east of the main bridge over the river where there was another well placed bench.

From the remembered gospel: Jesus said to the storm: ‘Peace, be still’.

From the post in 2019, the Scottish Pilgrim’s Prayer

The keeping of God be upon you in every pass,
The shielding of Christ be upon you in every path,
The bathing of the Spirit be upon you in every stream,
In every land and sea by which you go.

May those who travel by land or by sea today
find the welcome and peace they seek.

JAL: 09.08.2020 in Longdendale.

The last shall be first

Day 113 of the End to End in 2019, with only four days to go, was the day I crossed into Caithness. This county is what Cornwall is in the opposite direction. If you are a south walking ‘Joggler’ then Cornwall is your last county. But if you are a north walking ‘Lejogger’ then it’s Caithness. Both have their merits but on day 113 it was hard to determined what they might be in Caithness due to low cloud and persistent rain.

Reay was the one village on the coast road and the Reay Golf Club was welcoming with hot drinks and cake even for non-golfers. The old graveyard is home to an 8th century cross slab but it is in a locked vault so cannot unfortunately be visited.

Our accommodation that night was our first at Thurso. The backpackers hostel is above a taxi office and opposite a fish and chip shop. Our room could best be described as the Red Room, being mostly red including the sheets. The weather forecast for the north coast was not very encouraging for the next few days.

It was getting to that part of the walk when it was nearly over. It seemed remarkable that this was so. Each day still had to be walked and weather is not negotiable. By now I had got very used to getting up each day and walking, ticking off things I saw, adventuring in small ways as I went along. It now seemed likely that I could walk the 4 days still required even though that would mostly be along roads, which was never my favourite.

From the remembered Gospel, Jesus said ‘The first will be last and the last will be first’.
Although he did walk a lot, the Holy Land End to End was not what Jesus was referring to.

Way wanderer, I will walk with you.
I am alarmed to see how the first treat the last
and how the last are pushed even further back:
when arriving in barely inflated boats, news it, it’s their fault.
How can that be?
Which of us, in the first group, would put our children’s lives on so fragile a line?
May we not turn our backs or pull the plug
on need and necessity, we who have plenty.

JAL: 08.08.2020.

 

Stories of the Strath

Day 112 of the End to End in 2019 began just past Forsinard and continued north through Strath Halladale, named for the river Halladale. After yesterday’s rain it was in spate and flowing very quickly. However, more rain was also evident and I therefore decided not take the slightly more direct road route to the north, than the track/footpath we had wondered about.

Even so the Strath is full of stories. The bunkhouse is in the old mill which still has its mill wheel. I later met the bunkhouse manager along the road. The war memorial is well signed and it was not far from there that I met local resident, Sandra Train. She told me she was 80 years old and had previously written a book about the Strath and the people who had lived there. This had included her family and the evacuees they had shared their home with during WW2. Unfortunately despite my local enquiries, I was unable to find a copy of the book.

We walked side by side to the next lay-by and she told me what life had been like in the valley when she was a child in a cottage with no electricity or running water.

A year later in our own valley, Longdendale, Bob has managed to get a book about the old mills in these parts and what happened to them in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

I was able to take Bambi on a short drive, just to check everything was working and get some fuel, in the hope for a longer trip next week. The find of the day was a larger group of Broad Leaved Helleborines (a type of orchid) further up the trail that I habitually manage to go. All of which meant a well deserved ice cream when I got back.

From the remembered bible, from psalm 139:
You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know everything I do.

God is eye to eye with us, knowing, confirming, loving
(words from the liturgy of the Mobile Chapel of St Scholastica).

JAL: 07.08.2020 in Longdendale.

A wet blanket

On day 111 of the End to End in 2019 I walked across part of the Flow Country. I had chosen this route on purpose so as to take in this precious habitat which has global importance. It is made of blanket bog and it should be wet and soggy. Drying out is one of the things you don’t want for blanket bog country. Neither do you want industrial scale destruction. Conservation for the area has become very important and the RSPB are amongst those organisations involved in this. The Flow Country is an important habitat for native and migratory birds.

If you don’t want to walk 111 days to get there, Forsinard Station is on the Far North Line. The waiting room houses a lot of information about the Flow.

Walking through an awesome landscape like this is not detracting from by weather. Having said that it did rain. Of course there would be little enough blanket bog without it. I recall that due to the prevailing wind one leg got wetter than the other.

Bob had been planning ahead and found a little cafe on the way into Forsinard. Guarded by a zealous sheep, the small menu was more than adequate to our needs and we tried some of almost all of it while we dried out. This latter idea proved somewhat pointless as the rain was set in for the day. Thunder broke overhead and we opted for a slice of chocolate cake.

Dodging between rain drops we made it to Forsinard station and from there I walked another mile down the road before my soggy bottom (and the rest of me) meant I threw in the towel and called it a day, if rather a wet one.

From the remembered bible, psalm 29: God’s voice is heard over the sea.

Here in this linking landscape: bog to bog bean, sun to sundew, curlew to clouds,
I am reminded of the connected cosmos and the Crucial Creator.
Here the lamb guards the door to the feast and the trains (mostly) run on time.
May we humans be as planet wise as the Lamb,
And mindful of the wet blanket that surrounds us,
remember One who embraces the world,
holding us together in harmony.

JAL: 06.08.2020 in Longdendale.

The Far North Line

Day 110 of the End to End in 2019 made use of several stations on the Far North Line. This meant we could both walk together all day. We began at Helmsdale station and took the train to Kildonan, the end of yesterday’s walk. We were walking to the next station which is Kinbrace.

Although it is along a road all of the way it is a fairly quiet route and presented no problems. The Far North is the place of myths and legends and not a few disputes about how far north it really is. As it was there were still another 8 days walking to go until John O’Groats.

The landscape is full of signs of human activity dating back many generations: hut circles and brochs are common , as are sheepfolds but here and there an occasional burnt mound tells you that even our stone age forebears threw stuff away.

Kinbrace is another small gathering place which boasts a timber yard and a station, as well as a tiny tin chapel, erected in 1925. This has recently been restored into a community centre and through the kindness of a local resident I was able to visit. She had the key in her kitchen drawer.

As we get nearer the End we meet more Lejoggers. Helmsdale Hostel, our current resting place was full of them, and we exchanged End to Enders Tales with several, some going south, others going north like us. The merits of the JOGT were put to the test, especially as one traveller had made an almost crucial mistake at Golspie and camped below the tide line. He was soaked but otherwise unharmed when the tide came in.

From the remembered bible, psalm 91: Whoever lives with God, shelters in a holy place.

Holy One, you warm us with the intensity of your love,
you soak us with the abundant generosity of your company.
For the tough days and the challenging ways,
I am thankful for your presence:
may it be real now for those who struggle today.

JAL: 05.08.2020 in Longdendale.

Another Valley

Day 109 of the End to End in 2019 started at the Last Wolf Memorial and went to Kildonan Station via Glen Loth. If you’ve followed this blog you’ll know I’ve walked through many valleys and that I also live in one. My favourite book from childhood was about two children who got lost in a valley. Glen Loth was the sort of valley you might have been able to get lost in once.

For now there is one road through it, prone to snow and ice in winter. It rises from the bottom by the sea and keeps going. It’s one of those valleys that I thought I might not get through. As I walked the clouds brushed the tops of the encircling hills and then gradually the table cloth descended from one side or the other but by the time I reached the pass the visibility was improving slightly.

At the top there’s a sign to remind us of the highland clearances, part of a local ‘outdoor museum’ trail that wanders through these places. There were conifer plantations, wrecked a bit by prevailing winds, and heather, scabious and orchids along the road side. I met Bob near the pine woods and we went down to the next valley together.

Kildonan is a small dispersed settlement by the river. The nearby Kildonan Burn witnessed a gold rush in 1869 but today all is quiet. The small chapel was surprisingly open. A display there recalled that the story of Christianity in the valley began when St Ninian came this way in 390AD on his way to Orkney. There is a large cross slab by the farm near the chapel that is probably much older than the current building.

As I mentioned in 2019

I sang, somewhat untunefully, a version of Psalm 100 in the empty church at Kildonan. It was a simple place, well kept, although I wasn’t sure how often it was still used. Communion Table, font and pulpit its simple furnishings, speak of generations of a local community gathered here.

From the remembered bible, psalm 100: Know that God is the Holy One.

Cross-wise one, we see your mark on hills and valleys, stones and places;
mark us as your cross-wise people, knowing vulnerability and love,
witnesses to the timelessness of your Holiness,
Ready to move onto the the next valley at your call to build community,
to sing or fall silent in prayer or praise at the awesome nature of the universe.

JAL: 04.08.2020 in Longdendale.