I really did have the best intensions about writing more blog posts after I returned home! I was going to update you on all the things about which I neglected to write when they happened. Clearly, the best intensions didn't translate into the best blog posts. Oops! Sorry! But I've been thinking a lot about England this week so I thought it was about time to share with you all one of those cool experiences that I didn't get around to writing about earlier.
This weekend is the anniversary of the 2013 Pilgrimage from London to Canterbury. In fact, roughly 75-100 people are currently walking across southern England on this year's Pilgrimage and while I'm excited for them, I am also insanely jealous and sad that I can't be there. So since I can't be there, I decided that rather than (or perhaps, more accurately, in addition to) being sad, I would tell you all about the amazing time I had last year.
The London to Canterbury Pilgrimage is an event that happens every year and is organized by the Connection at St. Martin in the Fields. The Connection is a charity that works with and helps the homeless in London. They have long been associated with the church that I used to attend, St. Martin in the Fields and it is through St. Martin's that I learned about the Connection and the Pilgrimage. The Pilgrimage is one way for the Connection to raise money for their work--the participants get sponsors and all the money goes towards helping the London homeless. Last year, I decided to go on the Pilgrimage because it raises money for a good cause and I thought that it would be a unique way to see some of the English countryside that I wouldn't have otherwise experienced. And that is how I found myself walking across England for 4 days (between 16 and 20 miles per day) and a total of 74 miles (although sadly, I was only able to walk about 56 of them, for reasons I will explain later), resulting in one of the best (and most painful) long weekends of my entire life! Below are the highlights from that fantastic weekend!
Day 1, Friday May 24, 2013:
Each year, the Pilgrimage begins on a Friday and the pilgrims leave from the steps of St. Martin in the Fields in Central London. This was one of my favorite things about the weekend--we literally walked from Central London (Trafalgar Square) to Canterbury Cathedral. That first day was almost entirely spent in the city, but it was amazing to see our surroundings change from the bustle of Central London to the slightly slower pace of the edges of the city, and then to the suburbs and finally, right at the end of the day, briefly into the countryside. It was very powerful to slowly walk out of the city until the sounds of the cars, trains, and people faded away.
That first day was overcast and rainy. I had, of course, brought a raincoat, but quickly learned that it was not actually waterproof! Next time, I will be better prepared! By the end of the day, my feet were incredibly sore (I would say something like killing me, but as I learned, the pain can get worse so I can't use that description just yet) from walking with the wrong shoes (hiking boots) on the pavement and I was soaked to the skin (literally) from the rain. But let me tell you, I have never appreciated a bowl of hot soup as much as I did that day at our lunch stop!
While wonderful, that wet and painful day was the start of a rough weekend physically. My feet were hurting quite a bit by the end of the day so I talked to one of the podiatrists that were along with us that evening. (For the record, I had never seen a podiatrist before, but I saw them multiple times a day for four days that weekend! Their help was invaluable!) They gave me some insoles for my boots which really seemed to help at first. However, my theory is that they subtly changed how I was walking which made other parts of my feet and legs hurt, which then led to more subconscious adjustments until, by the end of the weekend I was a complete mess. Just so you understand, I in no way blame the podiatrists for this! No, my boots (which I discarded after the weekend) and my lack of preparation are completely to blame and indeed, the podiatrists became some of my favorite people that weekend--patching us all up so we could keep walking! But I wanted to set the stage for why I had so many problems with my feet and legs over the course of the weekend.
That night we slept on the floor of a small church somewhere in England. I'm not going to lie, it was one of the worst nights ever! I was using a new sleeping bag and was cold for much of the night. But I couldn't put on my sweatshirt because it was still wet from the rain that day. To make matters worse, whenever I would curl up in a ball to stay warm, my side would hurt from the hard floor. Not fun. And yet, when I look back on the weekend, I have absolutely no regrets! The lack of sleep and less than 5-star sleeping conditions made it even more fun, I think!
Ready to go to Canterbury!
Leaving St. Martin's
The view of St. Paul's Cathedral
The Shard up close (keep this in mind for later)
Seems appropriate!
Day 2, Saturday May 25:
This was one of my favorite days (although really, they were all great) and also one of the low points of the weekend. I'll start with the low point. Although I was feeling much better in the morning after some sleep, as the day went on, I found myself in more and more pain. My feet were aching and each step became more painful. Towards the end of the day, I had to make the hardest decision of the weekend. I decided that I wouldn't be able to walk the entire way to Canterbury. I knew that if I kept walking through the pain, I risked not being able to walk into Canterbury on Monday which was incredibly important to me. But the thought of not successfully walking the entire way broke my heart. I felt like a failure (not because of what anyone else said or did--they were wonderfully supportive--but because of my own expectations for myself). Anyway, I finally broke down (both figuratively and literally crying), and admitted to myself and everyone else that I wouldn't make it and asked to get a ride rather than walking the last 3 miles that day. I was hoping that by taking a little bit of a break, I would be able to walk more in the long run. That was definitely the low point of the weekend.
But that day also had some incredible highs! We were walking in the countryside and for the first time we were walking through valleys where we could no longer hear the cars and the bustle of 21st century life. But the best part of the day was when we finally got to the top of a particularly long hill. After two days of walking, when we looked back the way we had come, we could see London in the distance! On the horizon we could see several of the tallest buildings and could distinctly see the new Shard. It was amazing to clearly see exactly how far we had come in two days. And to look back at a building that was now barely visible and that had towered above us only the morning before!
That night we slept at a priory. I loved how each place we stayed was so different from the one before! And luckily, I learned how to double up on sleeping pads so I had a much better night! The other highlight of the day was a massage from Gabby the massage therapist that night! She was another of my favorite people! I felt so much better that night!
As we were walking, I suddenly looked up and saw this, the first of many fields of yellow!
Just a gorgeous day for walking in England
I loved this path that we took through the field
A farm
The scenery over the 4 days was so varied--city, rolling hills, farms, woods--it was awesome!
If you look closely, in the background you can see London! Directly between the two people in the center of the picture is the Shard! No wonder my feet were hurting after walking all that way!
Day 3, Sunday May 26:
On this day, I walked all but about the last 7 miles. Once again, I had decided that if I stopped early, I had a chance of walking into Canterbury the next day. And this time, it was much less emotionally draining to stop. I was able to focus on taking care of my physical well-being and listening to my body. Actually, stopping was one of the high points of this day. I stopped early enough that I got to see all of the hard work that goes into setting up a new place for the walkers to stop! The support team was fantastic and they did so much work that I hadn't seen as a walker. They had to pack up and move all the food, medical supplies, and other necessities and take it all (along with the walkers' luggage) to the next location and unpack it all, all before the walkers arrived exhausted and ready for tea and refreshments. Getting to see all of that behind-the-scenes work was a real blessing.
And again, I got first-hand experience of how wonderful the podiatrists, massage therapist Gabby, and nurse Fiona were! They all became my new best friends! Supporting me emotionally while also helping to patch me up so I could walk more! The support team never made me feel like a failure for not making it the whole way. Rather they helped me see how important it was to do what was right for me and made me feel amazing for walking as much as I did!
That night we slept in several different places around this small town. I was with most of the other women in a refurbished barn belonging to a quaint little church. This was probably the best night sleep I had all weekend!
Still loving the scenery! I couldn't take enough pictures!
A bend in the road
Suddenly felt like I was in Italy
The little church whose barn we slept in that night
Day 4, Monday May 27: Arrival in Canterbury:
This was another amazing day! Physically draining, but emotionally exhilarating! I skipped the first 6 miles that day so that I would be able to walk into Canterbury that afternoon, which I did successfully! I was so glad that I made the effort to walk that day. We walked through the woods and saw thousands of bluebells! Normally they would have bloomed earlier and we would have missed them, but that year we had a late spring and I was so glad. They were gorgeous!
And it was from the woods that we got our first glimpse of of Canterbury Cathedral! It was in the distance, still about 10 miles off, but it was visible! Our goal was in sight! It was such a nice compliment to seeing London on Day 2.
A little while later, we arrived at the tea stop for the day (yep, we were in England, we had tea stops). Normally these were cause enough for celebration because we got to rest for a bit, but on this day it was a particular highlight! I still remember walking up to the little church we were stopping at and as we arrived, Fiona (the nurse who was also my new best friend, if you recall) started clapping since I had made it that far! She knew the pain I was in and her support was so uplifting! And I knew that the next time I saw her, I would be in Canterbury!
Walking into Canterbury turned out to be even more amazing than I had imagined it would be! I don't think I will ever forget that day. One of the funniest parts of the day was walking through Canterbury. We had been surrounded for days by people associated with the Pilgrimage and this was the first time we were around dozens of people who didn't know what we were doing. Walking through the town, all I could think was, "you guys don't realize what we've just done! We've just walked here! From London! Why aren't you impressed?!" The plan was for all the groups (there were about 10 groups that were divided by walking speed and I was in one of the slowest/steady groups) to meet at the Friends Meeting House before going to the Cathedral together. When we arrived at the Meeting House, everyone except about 8 people in the last group was already there and some people had even travelled from London to meet us! Walking up to the building and having about 100 people start clapping because we made it was fantastic! I started crying almost immediately.
After a little rest and some refreshments at the Meeting House, we all gathered together and walked to the Cathedral! Let me tell you, I have never been more excited to see a Cathedral in my entire life! It was amazing to finally get to the goal we had been struggling toward all weekend! We had a short service at the Cathedral where the St. Martin's choir had come to sing with us! It was fantastic! After that we all boarded buses and headed back to Central London. It was so funny that it took us four days to walk one way and less than two hours to drive back!
The bluebells in the woods!
A bit blurry, but you get an idea of how beautiful it was!
The first view of Canterbury in the distance! Hard to see, but trust me it was there!
Getting closer! You can see the Cathedral over the trees!
We did it! Celebrating at the Cathedral!
All in all, it was absolutely one of the most fantastic weekends of my entire life! Despite the pain and the 12 blisters (I won the blister competition by a long shot and I figure if I had to have blisters, I might as well win) I have amazing memories of that weekend! And I can't wait to do it again some day!
To be honest, I don't think this post does justice to just how awesome that experience was--sometimes I just can't find the right words. But at least you have some idea now. Thanks for reading!
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