27th - 28th June

27th June day 478

I'd found it extremely hard trying to get some rest during the night. The trains and cars did eventually stop but early in the morning the mechanised noise returned. Climbing out of my tent i went to see where i was. It had been dark when I'd pitched up and hadn't realised that the patch of grass i was occupying was directly in front of a "no camping or overnight sleeping" sign. Oops.

As i made breakfast, mug o porridge with the addition of galaxy ministrels to liven it up i overheard a gentleman with a strong London accent comment with disgust about my choice of campsite, "right in front of the sign". I just chuckled to myself. If the sign had been illuminated obviously i would have seen it and carried on further.

I was just packing my kit away ready to collapse the tent when low and behold stuart turned up wearing a nice solid pair of new boots and a big grin on his face engulfed by his beard that was now noticibly more biblical than when we first met. He was heading on to his next bnb a pub where we agreed we'd try and meet up if i made it that far.

As i left the prohibited camp site i needed to find a public toilet, digging a pit in a public place is often frowned upon. A little way along the beach i came across the first public convenience, it was locked the council had closed it down and was publicising it for rent. Like who would rent a public toilet. The next one i found required 20p for its use which was no good for me as i didn't have any change. Thankfully the one that followed not too far away was open and free. I went in to do my business. As i was comfortably sat relaxing i heard the door close a few cubicles along. This guy really needed to go and obviously didn't care who heard him. He'd either eaten something that didn't agree with him or he had a disfunctional bowl.  As i left having cleaned myself up i saw a woman standing outside. As i passed i turned and said "if thats your husband in there he should really go see a doctor". I carried on, she looked embarrassed.

Reaching the next village i found a cafe, i needed to get a bit of a charge on my battery pack so i order a small breakfast and coffee. Taking my time i ate my meal and headed to the toilets to brush my teeth and have a quick shave. I'm sure they wouldn't have minded. In fact i don't think they even noticed that the hairy man who'd come in and ordered was now clean shaven and looking ten years younger.

The path i was walking was much easier than the previous days and i made good progress. My hips were extremely sore and my back still had bruising from, well as long as i could now remember. Approaching praa sands i could see people enjoying the good weather, building sand castles and swimming in the sea. Families were gathered on the verandas of beach side cafes and bars. It was hot and i was hot. Having plenty of time to get to where I'd hoped to be i decided to stop and treat myself to an ice cream.

As i waited to be served and trying to make my mind up which flavour to indulge in a young lady walked up. I didn't really pay attention at first but we began to chat. Both indecisive about what our pallets were craving. I was edging towards mint choc chip but felt also compelled towards the toffee fudge. Unable to decide and influenced by the young lady i went for a double scope. One of each with the mandatory 99 flake.

Taking a nearby deck chair the young lady ordered her cone and came over for a chat. Hope had fallen on bad times, she'd been staying at a friends after feeling compelled to leave her flat in London when she'd began to research the occult for a documentary she wanted to make. What she  had discovered had disturbed her somewhat and be it paranoia or through genuine fear had fled convinced she was being watched.

Hope (the name she had asked me to call her as we parted company a couple of days later) was a Christian, born again. Having recovered from a rather speckled childhood which had sent her off the rails and into a life of sex and drugs she turned to the bible for guidance. She'd been staying with friends in a squat in Plymouth but when things turned as she put it 'hectic' and her friend had been arrested she headed to a small camp site about a mile from praa sands and borrowing a tent had been camping for two weeks whilst she waited for god to provide. I was somewhat fascinated by her story. Having finished our ice creams we continued to chat and i bought us both a coffee i wanted to  hear more about Hope and to try and understand her absolute faith. I guess i was still searching for answers myself and although i had absolute faith in myself i stil wanted to understand why people put there faith in an unknown power. Christianity and for that matter religion still posed many unanswered questions and this i felt was possibly a way for me to draw a unique insight into why people turn to god and not just the Christian god but gods of any religion.

In no way did i feel threatened by this beautiful young lady who'd had such a dark history so when i was asked where i was staying and what i was planning to do i decided I'd go with the flow. We left the beach together and headed back to Hopes camp site. She had an enormous tent which consisted of two pods and a dining area. She was sleeping in one pod and had her belongings in the other. Having cleared the second pod of her stuff she lay out a duvet and placed a pillow in for me to sleep on.

We continued to discuss her past and her beliefs. She'd turned Christian three years previous and although she rarely went to church she prayed every day and read the scriptures seeking her own answers and putting her faith entirely in god. She said he spoke to him directly and he replied.  She'd admitted she'd had a  falling out with him and had felt let down that she'd now ended up in a field with limited money and no way out.

Hope could talk and i mean really talk. I listened. Hope had only gone to the beach to clear her head that day and although strapped for money had bought an ice cream to make her feel good. I think she was thankful for my company though and as i told her of my journey and about those I'd met along the way. The experiences both good and trying i could see a glimmer of hope in her eye.

It was late when we decided to get some sleep. Hope had suggested that i should take the following day off and spend it relaxing with her so she could hear more and share her faith with me. I couldn't see the harm in it. In fact my body had been screaming out for a rest and i hadn't stopped since Cardiff quite some time before. I agreed and although compelled to complete the challenge i knew also that such distractions were also part of the journey.

28th June day 479

We'd both slept in til gone 10am. It was extremely misty outside and had been raining during the night. I got dressed in my stinking clothes which felt uncomfortable to my skin and made hope and i a coffee and porridge.

On the way to the campsite the day before we'd passed a lovely looking old church. Its architecture was quite unusual and set among the trees it looked quite peaceful. Although i wasn't religious and still unconvinced by hopes faith i suggested that once the mist burned off which was generally the case in Cornwall we went for a walk to pay the church a visit. Hope had never herself in the two weeks she'd been staying at the campsite been and agreed it would be interesting.

While we ate our porridge and drank several mugs of coffee the mist lifted. I wanted to share some of my knowledge about how to survive with hope. I felt that if she were armed with just a little knowledge i could pass on then she would feel better about her situation. I went out from the tent and within minutes had found a stick and several wild edible plants that were easy to identify and grew plentiful around the area.

Hope had never camped before and this was strikingly obvious by the way in which the tent had been pitched. Long screws had been used to tie the inner flysheets down and the outer fly was loose and flapping in the wind. Taking the stick i asked hope what it was. "A stick" she replied "wrong" i said "its a tent peg". Taking my folding saw i cut the stick to size and using my knife i whittled a tent peg. It didn't take long at all before the tent was repitched using the newly crafted pegs. I  then presented hope with the different leaves I'd gathered telling her what they were and how she would be able to identify them after i had gone. Hesitant at first i had hope eat each of the leaves so she could get the taste. The trust began to grow.

With the mist now burnt off and the sun shining down on us we set off to visit the church. I often felt at ease and although not a worshipper myself i did find them a calming place to gather my thoughts and often found myself intrigued by there design. As we walked along the lanes i kept my eye peeled for the plants I'd shown to hope and when i found one i stopped and asked hope to identify them. I hoped i was passively teaching her and she seemed to enjoy the experience.

The church was a humble and fantastic traditional village church. It had the usual welcoming feel as you entered. Hope went to the front and began to pray while i as i always did found a bible and turned the pages to mark 13, the end of days. Some would say it was quite morbid but for some unknown reason I had always been drawn to that chapter. I loved the words.

"Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another", "For nation will rise against nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the birth pangs, the beginnings of sorrows".

Having spent several hours at the church hope praying and seeking answers and myself exploring and reading the engravings on the headstones we headed back to the campsite again i quizzed hope on the names of the edible plants.

"Do you need anything washed?" She asked. My clothes did need to be cleaned they were feeling somewhat uncomfortable but only having the one set put me in an awkward situation.  I explained that as long as she was comfortable with me sitting in my boxers while it dried then yes it would be lovely to have my clothes washed and grab a shower.

Having had a shower i stripped off and handed my clothes over. The clean boxershorts I'd planned to sit in had unfortunately gone mouldy in my pack, the plastic bag had been ripped and water had got them damp. They were rank so i decided to throw them out and wrapped my rather small travel towel around my waist so as not to embarrass hope. I'm not sure the towel did that good a job but hope seemed comfortable and went off to wash our clothes.

While we waited for the clothes to dry we toasted marshmallows on my stove and chatted some more. My back had taken a rough time recently so i asked hope if she'd mind rubbing vaseline in to help moisturise the skin.  It had been quite some time since I'd got so intimate with someone and as hope massaged the jelly into my muscles i felt relaxed. Her hands were gentle and caring.