25^th March 2014

Just trying to work out my last blog. I believe it was just after my birthday so I'll try to be brief. Lisa and her kids dropped me back exactly where they picked me up and at around the same time too. It was cold and wet and my priority was to find a place to call home for the night. Luckily in this baron straight of stones and shingles I found a nice grassy area near a bush so was able to get some protection. Woke around the same time as normal and continued on my way. It didn't take long before I was back in trek mode after an exhausting rest break. Don't get me wrong it was lovely and well thought out but on these breaks all I really want to do is to sit on my arse, sleep and repair kit. Some people also find it hard to believe that I really enjoy my own company, the solitude, peace and quiet is lovely.

Anyway I made reasonable progress and headed along the coast. The wind is not your friend! Although the sun was shining for a bit. Bedded down at night as per normal this time amongst the sand dunes. Extremely comfortable and protected from the wind.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of lisa so I headed towards a nearby cafe for breakfast while I waited for her to join me. Lisa wanted to experience the trek first hand and insisted on carrying my back pack. Who was I to argue! We swapped and continued towards dungeness. Before we could get there though we encountered an mod live firing range and you could hear the heavy artillery and mortars going off. So as not to become a target ourselves we had to head inland and avoid the range. After almost a day hiking we started to head back to the coast the other side of the range. Somehow I missed a turning and we wandered off course a little and into a bird sanctuary where we were greeted and lisa was taught a little relaxation technique. Shes way too hyper! The lady at the info center told lisa to take a chill pill lol after a short break we headed off in the right direction back to the closest point of the range we could get to. As it was getting dark it was also time to start looking for somewhere to camp up. Luckily we had passed a few hides and decided they were probably the best place to shelter for the night. After enjoying a beautiful sunset and preparing our freeze dried rations we settled down for the night. I must admit it was bleeding freezing and probably the coldest night so far. In morning the sun was shining, we packed up and headed off . Lisa still with my pack. We walked along the shingles until lunch time where we found a lovely pub and had a complimentary meal and break courtesy of the land lady  lisa stayed with me for a few more miles before flagging down a taxi and heading back to her car. I soldiered on and within a couple of hours the weather changed, the wind picked up the rain came down and eventually it started to hail sleat / snow. Not perturbed I soldiered on, cold n wet. In the meantime lisa had organised a pitch at marlie caravan park. I arrived lateish pitched up and had a few coffees to warm me up. That night the temperature dropped below -2c and I woke to ice inside the tent. A first for the trek! I really did not sleep well trying to keep warm and even kept my wooly hat on.as the sun started warming everything up I climbed out of the freezer and jumped into a lovely hot shower. After breakfast I joined loopy for another photo and chatted about bunny politics and found out he had released his own record! Although it was fascinating chatting with loopy,although like the stig he doesn't actually speak, I had to move on. Towards hythe. The weather was amazing. Not to hot and not to windy  I made good progress until I was stopped by a man informing me that I had wandered onto another live firing range. This time small arms and rifles. As soon as he said this I went for cover and we had a lovely chat about the range and a little bit about its history. I then retreated back from whence I came and followed the road around the area. It was starting to get late and I only had a few hours of light left so I popped into a nearby pub. The prince of Wales, reinforced with blast walls and used as a munitions dump during the world war two. A great bunch who looked after me extremely well inviting me to stop the week so I could attend the open mic night on Saturday. They also offered me the use of their caravan for the night which I of course declined.however they did have a garden so I pitched up there, ate dinner and drank from the top shelf. The pool league were also playing that night and I offered my services but only if they didn't mind loosing  it was a great atmostphere with some lovely locals. I was offered two extra sleeping bags which I used to pad out my air mattress and used ad a duvet solution. Which brings me up to today. Around 7am I was awoken with a nice hot cup of coffee and invited in for a bacon baguette. I slept extremely well in fact it got so hot I had to remove some layers. I am now heading off towards Dover now, the weather is miserable, cold, wet and windy, but with a spring in my step and a good nights sleep I am in good spirits and looking forward to soon turning north and heading towards Scotland