Testing … Testing …

our guide book makes it clear that there are 3 consecutive tough days  – The Massive Days. Today was Day 1 of The Massive Three. Reasons being length (19 miles) and uppy-downy-ness (there is one 8 mile stretch between Port Isaac and Tintagel that is 5 hours as a benchmark. Sooooo, we fortified ourselves on porridge with clotted cream ( diet? Wot diet?) and did a straight line north through fields, alongside streams (some novelty factor there for us) to get to that Isaac place (apparently famous, I believe, for blokes’ sturdy footwear and black strong lozenges), girded our physical and mental loins, strapped our straps, gripped our poles, buckled our swashes and gritted our teeth.

fair to say it has been the toughest day so far (as Strava will probably attest) … some pics here but of course they fail to do it justice (and like the operator have no sense of perspective)

Regardless of the nutritional benefits of biblical hordes of orifice-inquisitive flies we found spitting rather than swallowing the better option, tiring though it was, and all in all to add injury to insectal insult we had BBS2 (just when you thought it was safe … to put your boot on). Poor Becca had a different blister on a different foot. I suggest a new definition of stoic …

however we continue to be blessed with great hosts – Steve last night genuinely couldn’t do enough for us (the porridge was like Desperate Dan’s Cow Pie – no matter how much you ate it never went down, and was perfect for the day); the previous night Jill offered to do laundry for us (I guess that she has industrial forceps and a Class 1 decontamination unit, when she said to leave my detritus on the floor all I could think of was China Syndrome), Linda who was ok to serve brekkie at 7 …

So tomorrow the rigours of Massive Day 2 … 49000 of them today (admittedly some of them very small), the first 100 miles done … Stroll on …