Back home in Ca,... time to stitch photos together for panoramas

We are home now, taking the time to reflect on our trip and the places we saw. We were challenged but we also had fun on this trip.

Here is the folder with stitched and processed photos, panorama photos, etc...

Panorama and stitched photos

cheers, R

The Last Hurrah, Hastings to London

He said: Our 2nd full day in Hastings was a wash out; cold windy, and rainy. So, after a short walk to get groceries, we decided to stay in our room, this was our first and only day to relax, as it turns out. The next day (today) we took a train to London for the last day of our trip. After checking in, we grabbed a tourist map, and walked to the Victoria and Albert Museum, about a mile or more away. Belgravia, Chelsea, and Kensington were some of the areas we walked through on the way. It's a free museum with lots of interesting and historical things to see. Later on, we saw the Prince Albert memorial, then walked back to the hotel through Hyde Park. A short, but good day in London, and a memorable trip overall. My feet are not even sore anymore.

She said:
My favorite city.
"Who tires of London, tires of life."
EB

May29 and 30 Photos

On to St Leonard's and Hastings, East Sussex

He said:
We're done with our walk, I feel great that it went smoothly with both the good and the bad moments, it's all part of life's rich pageantry. Looking back, I will remember the good things given all we saw.
So, now it's on to Hastings, we are actually staying in St Leonard's next to Hastings. We took the train from Axminster, Devon to Clapham Junction, then transferred to a south bound train for Hastings, East Sussex. The travel day was May27, on May 28, we walked for a few hours down around the old part of town looking for locations of Foyle's War, and for all the real history recorded since the 1300's.

She said:
A terrific train ride down to St. Leonard's/Hastings. Train travel is very relaxing - the beautiful countryside going by.
In St. Leonard's on Sea we are staying at The Hastings House, a B+B right on Warrior Square facing the English Channel. Views from our room are perfect. Yesterday, we walked along the sea promenade to Hastings (a 15 minute walk) to tour the Old Town. Houses go from medieval to Victorian - winding streets with narrow stairways/passages throughout. We walked by several locations where Foyle's War, the PBS TV series, is filmed and enjoyed a great lunch at a tiny restaurant (recommended by a shop keeper where I purchased some body lotion.) I had traditional "Bubble and Squeak" - a couple of sausages (I opted for vegetarian sausages) on top of a bed of potatoes and cabbage (kale?), with onion gravy. British comfort food. Delicious. "Bubble and Squeak" is named for the sound the food makes while it's being cooked (we heard this from the chef).
We also stopped in at a small museum with amazing random artifacts from Iron Age through Roman times through Victorian era through WWII. In fact, the statue of Queen Victoria, in the square below our window, has a bullet hole from a German plane machine gun in her knee and a block of homes across the square from us is decidedly modern as compared to homes on either side - our innkeeper told us that the original homes were destroyed by German bombs. The museum also included a map of the area with bomb drops - there were hundreds. Sobering to see how England really suffered during that war.
A windy (headwind) walk back to our dreamy room. We ate dinner in looking out to the ocean.
I woke this morning with laryngitis - it was only a matter of time before the wind and the full Springtime hit me with wild allergies and some kind of reaction. Rain is expected for this afternoon, so we may actually get our much-deserved day of relaxation - reading in comfort as we look out our large windows at the sea and sky.
Down to breakfast -
EB

May 27, 28 Photos

We Did It!

He Said:
To the sea at last!
Many people have walked here before us, but our own journey is now complete after the last 8 mile day of walking to Lyme Regis from Lambert's Castle near Hawkchurch. Our feet held up, and we kept to our schedule. It helped that is was all set up and paid for in advance, so we had to make it to each day's end. Now, in the end, we walked well over 137 miles with the side trips, and wrong turns. Oddly, I gained some weight during the trip, despite walking every day. So, it was a good thing I did walk and didn't eat more jam on toast. Also, I would say that 13 days in a row of having a ham sandwich for lunch was getting rather old. Today, we really like the path, unlike yesterday, it's an untended path mostly, not a cricket pitch, but it goes through some great countryside.
Lyme Regis is a resort village with a small harbor. This area is famous for fossil remains from the Jurassic period. Tomorrow, we take a train to Hastings.

She said:
We finished our Wessex Ridgeway walk today - hooray for us! The weather was perfect and we had just about every manner of good thing on today's final journey - blue skies, cool temps, beautiful farm fields, lush pastures, country lanes, full bloom bluebells and wild garlic, friendly cows, gorgeous vistas, delicious packed lunches, happy feet and an outstanding B+B with views to the sea at the end town of Lyme Regis.
Though it was tough, tough, tough for me, I am feeling very proud of myself. I am full of fresh air and clear thinking. I have learned the ways and the history of the Wiltshire and Dorset countryside. I feel fit. I love my husband.
Brilliant.
EB

May 26 Photos

A last, long slog on the Ridgeway

He said:
Today's hike out of Beaminster was 12 miles, OK, but it had an unexpected number of hill climbs and descents, and some of the most uneven, rutted, unattended, unmarked, unloved stretches of dung covered surfaces we have had to try to navigate through. The route planners were deliberately trying to find every little hill to go up and down, just to get them all.
At least the weather was a bit cooler, with a promise of rain in the days ahead. We should have seen the sea from a number of hill tops, but the haze was too thick. Tonight we are hunkered down in The Old Inn in Hawkchurch, ahhh, simple country living.
Shown above is one of the art objects we saw near Beaminster on our way out of town.

She said:
The official name of this walk is The Wessex Ridgeway Path, but we have come up with alternates:
The "You've Got To Be An Optimist" Path
The "This Is Really Only An Idea Of A Path, Not a Real Maintained One" Path
The "Go In The Opposite Direction Of Your Ultimate Destination For a Few Miles" Path
The "Here's A Guidebook But It's Ten Years Old And Things Have Changed" Path
The "Don't Try This In The Heat" Path
The "Be Sure Someone In Your Party Has A Great Sense Of Direction And Can Read Ordinance Survey Maps Really Well" Path
The "Field After Field Of Deeply Rutted Cow Pastures That Are Hell On Your Feet" Path
The "Sheep Poop" Path
The "We Aren't Going To Put Up Many Waymarkers So 'Good Luck'" Path
The "At Least Once A Day You'll Get Lost" Path
The "Now We're Just F#@king With You" Path
The "When You Take Your Boots Off You Better Leave Them Outside" Path
The "Believe Me, A Foot Rub Will Be Better Than Sex" Path
The "Go Up Each Hill At Least Twice, But Come Down Each Only Once" Path
The "Hope The Randy Bull Is Penned Off" Path

Tomorrow is our last day of walking - a short day, only 8 miles.
This has been quite challenging for me, but I have powered through and feel better for it.
Still, it will be great to be done and on to Hastings and London for a little luxury.
EB

May 25 Photos

Death March on the Wessex Ridgeway, May 21-24

He said:
The heat is taking its toll.
We have had unusually hot weather, and this makes walking difficult, especially when these are also the longest segments in the hike; up to 14 miles per day.
The Wessex Ridgeway is not a path so much as an intended route, the open fields often have no well defined path to follow, and most of the surface is uneven and rutted or rocky. We probably need to go through a boot camp to better prepare for this.
So, we have felt like we were on a death march.
No, really, we are fine and fully recovered in our room. Many places in England do not have AC, so, for another day in a row, it's 9PM and the temp is in the 80's in our room.
116 miles walked in 11 days now, 2 more days to go....

We have been without a network connection for 3 days now, having been out in quite rural areas, I'd call it "extreme rurality" if I could legally do so in English. Now that we have a connection in Beaminster, we can get the blog and photos up to date.


She said:
Yes, the big news is the weather - Hot, Hot, Hot.
Now, I'm a great walker. I can walk in rain or cold or dark. I can walk in city or in country. I can walk for miles and miles and miles. Actually, the only thing I hate when I walk is...heat.
Needless to say, these last few days have been a challenge for me (hence the photo at the lead of this post.)
Lots of interesting sights and experiences, though, along the way:
We walked by tended water fields where watercress is being farmed.
Wild garlic abounds in the woods - so intoxicatingly fragrant.
The bluebells are in full bloom now, and they also carpet the forest floors - when we walk through the woods it is very magical.
Along the path towards Tolland Royal we met three woman walking. They've been friends since fourth grade and continue to make time to travel together. They are originally from Alamo, CA (wait, the world gets even smaller.) One lives now in Palo Alto (we'll meet at Whole Foods for coffee when we both return.) They were great fun to talk with and walk with for a while.
One day. as we finished our packed lunch on a country lane, we heard a low, loud hum coming towards us. We watched in amazement as a (big) swarm of bees passed by us, not ten feet away.
When we passed from Wiltshire into Dorset, the waymarks became much nicer - beautifully carved wooden arrows on frequent signposts.
Pheasant abound - the male has a shrill, harsh hiccup of a call and he lets loose whenever anything comes within about 25 feet of him. Lots of shrill, harsh hiccuping going on.
One day, we had a very posh packed lunch - smoked salmon tea sandwiches!
We saw a small snake sunning him(her?)self right across the path. He(she?) had to be prodded to move along.
At Foxhangers B+B we were treated to the real B+B experience. Jane, our hostess, had one, small room to let. She is an elderly widow who was so thrilled for our company and who had just recently begun to have travelers in again. She was excellent company and we had a wonderful visit with her.
Hot, Hot, Hot and Up, Up, Up. The Death March began.
On Sunday, the Wessex Ridgeway was being used for both a runners' relay race and a horse cross country event. After having the trail virtually to ourselves for five days, it was weird to have such traffic. Interesting, though, to talk with race coordinators and event organizers.
We stayed one night at The Dairy House Farm, a working farm in an idyllic setting. They had many new calves (some young as one week) in the field just below our window - a real treat to see. We also chose to have a fully cooked English Breakfast there which was a great decision as everything was farm fresh and delicious.
More Hot and more Up.
We passed a Caravan Park and were surprised to see caravan-ers sitting full on in the sun. Seemed to us like a crazy thing to be doing in 80 degree weather but I guess they don't see those temps too often and probably couldn't believe their good fortune. (Meanwhile, I was ready to pass out or crack up.)
We took a detour from the path to see The Giant, a huge , male figure carved into the chalk hillside by the Romans sometime around 100 A.D. He is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He carries a big club. He is naked. He has a giant erection. I wonder what message the Romans were sending to their conquered people with The Giant?
We met two woman on the path who were amazed by our trip, even though I was a blubbering idiot by then from the heat. I characterized us as "crazy" but they thought I should use the word "intrepid" instead. So, from now on, we are intrepid. I like that.
At the end of our walk one day, we walked to the pub where a taxi was prearranged to pick us up to bring us to our lodging for the night. They were closed for their afternoon break, but after hearing that we'd just walked 12 miles, the innkeeper promptly poured us pints.
This morning, we started our walk by poking around in the village church (built 1150) and walking along the "infant" River Frome, where we watched flying insects dance an elaborate, circular dance at what looked like break-neck speed. We watched a hawk hunting for breakfast. These simple things seemed wondrous. Vacations are the best.
Still Hot and still Up, but today we had our first glimpse of the sea in the distance.

Two more walking days.
Feet are sore.
Soul is soaring.
EB

May 21 Photos
May 22 Photos
May 23 Photos
May 24 Photos

From Wiltshire into Dorset

He said:
After our stay in the popular and upscale Stourhead area at the Spread Eagle Inn, I was ready to get back to rural and sparsely populated country. This was that day, we started in the very small village of Hindon, ending in another small village of Ludwell. In between, along the 10 miles of trail we covered, was quite a variety of terrain and flora. We walked up over wooded hills, grassy hills, past lakes, streams, and ponds, and down into mostly wooded valleys. We saw the ancient Wardour Castle (see the photo above) and its newer version. The trail absolutely disappeared today several times, we were up to our knees breaking through grasses where the trail should be (based on the map), the tops of our shoes got buffed up.
With our 10 miles on the path today, our total distance is 67 miles after 7 days of walking.... coming up on half the total distance. Tonight we are staying in Shaftesbury, Dorset. Every day is busy with walking, navigating, sleeping, laundry, stretching, eating, shopping, downloading photos, blogging, etc... in fact, we have very little leisure time.

The next few days will be warmer, the daily mileage will be longer, and we may not get a network connection, so we will update things as we can.


She said:
I love Premier Cars, our drivers through this stretch of Wiltshire/Dorset. Karen picks us up from the end of the path each day, drives us to our inn and picks us up the next morning and brings us back to the path's start so we don't miss a mile. She also moves our luggage forward for us to the next night's inn/B+B. Walking on the Wessex Ridgeway means that we are out in the very rural countryside, and accommodations are not usually available right on the path, hence Premier Cars (and other services like them.)
"Rural" is the operative word - once again, we saw only ten people for the whole of the day's walk. Brilliant.
We walked through a pig farm today. If this is the counterpart to industry farming in the States, the US has a long way to go. These pigs looked downright happy! Lots of room to run around; lots of places to wallow. Happy. little houses to live in.
We came upon carpets of wild garlic on the forest floors - such a fragrant, fresh smell. We had seen this on the Cotswold Way and were happy to have it with us again this walk.
Kudos to R's map reading skills (and general directional abilities.) Several times today the path...just...ended. We walked cross country and came out where we belonged, no thanks to the guidebook and certainly no thanks to the (very) sparse Wessex Ridegeway signposts. Big thanks to R - left to my devices in these situations we would have done a series of long, circular walks.
We walked around Wardour Castle, opting to not go in. Castles in the UK and Ireland are like Cathedrals in Italy and France - after a while, they are so ubiquitous that we become jaded and pass them by. Now that's a first world problem!
Our final mile today was mostly uphill and since the weather is getting warmer, we were grateful for the end and our Jaguar ride to the Fleur de Lys inn.
A clean bathroom and a puffy bed - heavenly.
Good night -
EB

May 20 Photos