30^th April 2014

The main problem I have lon this trek is finding places to charge the phone. Thats why sometimes I'm a little late posting my blogs. Anyways lets pick up from where I last left you.

I was camping up on the dunes south of Caister. Caister is really of historical importance, that weekend especially as it was the place and date marconni sent the first ever radio signal! Not alot of people know that! Well I woke up a little later than usual so headed into the town to charge the phone at local cafe ansd seek out tge local library so I could use their Internet terminals to create the rnli just giving page and check my twitter account as I don't have it installed on my phone yet. Thats when I discovered the times guardian artical about my stay on the isle of sheppey. Wow that was ages ago. I also discovered unfortunately that one of the backup batteries was damaged, the connector had broken away so I couldn't charge it up  everything breaks on this trip. Still I had to continue with the journey and headed of down the endless beach. Believe it this thing didn't end and I saw nobody all day. The constant shifting of my weight on the sand and shingles really tested my stamina and patience. The sun didn't appear all day but it wasn't particularly cold unless I stopped. When I did occasionally take a break everything ceased up so getting going again was a real mission.

The landscape did change gradually over the day and the dunes got larger but the sea wall didn't seem to end. During the hike I had plenty of time to think about things and started to wonder if I was insane for even attempting the trip and whether I really did have it in me to complete the challenge. I was feeling tired so I found shelter from the wind under some trees, rehydrated some custard and apple and lay down in my sleeping bag for an hour or so. The trek is full of ups and downs and can be really lonely even for someone who enjoys there own company as well as others. Eventually I shook myself up and headed on my way determined not to let the broken boots, wet feet, cold and hungry body and twisted feelings impair my ultimate goal of completing the 6600 mile journey I had just begun.

Eventually behind the dunes the landscape changed once again and I could see trees. A sign also warned of snakes (adders) poisonous ones. My heart raced, I love stuff like this. Would I see one? I carried on and a strange spectical caught my eye. About 300 caravans abandoned and parked closely together, to close to be usable. Was this a sacred place where caravans go to die? I was intrigued! After a short period of contemplation I carried on. Within a few miles and too much thinking about how far I had to go the temperature dropped and the sun started to go down. The clouds were starting to break up and the sky turned red. It was going to be a lovely sunset but I wasn't in the mood to enjoy the moment. My feet squishing in my bootd and the wind biting away at my body. Why was I doing this? Then I heard a strange noise from behind the sea wall I dropped my bag and had to have a look. It was the sound of a colony of about 100 seals maybe more. Totally magical! I got my camera ready and sneaked up as close as I could. I must have got about 10 feet away before they got spooked. I sat and watched them for ages, mesmerised by their antics. Some play fighting others swimming and surfing the waves. Others simply laying there enchanted by my presence. My question had been answered!

Eventually I left in search of somewhere to camp and make home. I walked about a mile or two before finding a flat sheltered area and set up camp, made dinner and settled in.

30^th April 2014

So I was just south of Waxham. I got up and packed everything away. It was over cast again and a little chilly but I was getting used to that. Still no sunrise and still misty over the sea. I headed off and bumped into richard walking his dog. I honestly didn't think I would see anyone as there were no signs of dog walkers, no plastic bags hanging on trees or shoved in bushes. Well he told me that there was up to 900 seals in the colony and they were causing him all sorts of problems as he was a commercial fisherman and they were eating his livelihood.

Well after a short chat I headed back along the endless beach of sand and shingle in awe of the ever increasing cliffs and the immense destruction of the norfolk coast. Most of the sea defenses were destroyed with only parts still in tact. Eventually I approached Happisburgh a small town mostly claimed by the coastal erosion and mostly now in davey jones locker at the bottom of the ocean. One interesting thing though was that recently when one of the cliffs collapsed it revealed ancient footprints preserved in hard black clay. They had been dated back 60000 years and showed signs of one of Britain's earliest settlements. It predates the ice age!

After a short break to see if I could locate the area the footprints had been discovered I headed off down the beach. As I did I got a text saying that my boots had finally arrived in essex. Problem was I was now in Norfolk so I needed to arrange somewhere to get them sent. I also needed to arrange somewhere for JøAnnë Peters to send my supplies and for Mike Maynard to send a life jacket. I did some estimations and with the help of Craig Sommerville I located an rnli station in Hunstanton.

Once I had put the wheels in motion and let joanne take over I carried on to find somewhere to camp. The tide was coming in quickly and I didn't fancy a repeat of the last time so I headed up the cliff to where some paragliders where playing. They suggested I setup on one of their launch shelves which I must admit was a great location with a lovely view 

30^th April 2014

High on top of the cliffs I was hoping for a beautiful sunrise. Major disappointment when I woke and peered out from under the fly sheet to see another misty day. I followed a ramp back down to the beach below and clambered over the debris the winter storm had left behind. I headed along the beach and received a text letting me know the supply drop had been organised and I had to get to Hunstanton by Wednesday I was now in cromer. That was 3 days away and I only had 2 days of food left. This challenge was hard. I also I noticed I had lost two inches off my waist when I had to take my belt off because it was rubbing my hips sore with the backpack resting on it. I was 32" waist before I left less than 8 weeks ago. Now I reckon I'm a 30", maybe less!

I had to get a move on and had planned to get to Cley next the sea but the light was fading fast and due to the tidal surge during the first months of the year the satellite images I was using to navigate by looked nothing like the terrain presented on front of me  I used my better judgement and found a grassy dune amongst the shingle hills and bed down.

I woke the following morning to yet another misty morning. I hadn't seen the sun for days now. It was very weird. It was light in the morning. Light all day and then dark! No sun at all. You couldn't even tell where it was. Well it was early and I had a very long day ahead of me. I only had one breakfast and one main meal left and alot of miles to cover. I had breakfast and headed to wells next the sea a few miles away. When I arrived I sat on the harbour wall for a break and a couple of ducks joined me thinking I had something to give them, all the time I was thinking duck a la orange!

I then picked myself up and headed on, noticing a sign that said Hunstanton 23 miles. I had slightly misjudged the distances to Hunstanton as in total from cromer it was nearly 50 miles! I shrugged it off put my head down and started stomping. I hit the beach and picked up the norfolk coastal path. A few hours passed and once again the scenery changed. There were small woods close to the beach so for a change I headed into them and followed the coast along the woodland track. By this time I was starting to get hungry again so I decided to have my last ration before making a hardened attempt at reaching Hunstanton by the morning where I would be able to get some breakfast.