3^rd April 2014

Well its been a strange few days! Power is still a huge problem and as I write this I aam worried the phone will die. Still I'll try and be quick. When I last left you I had completed a days hike when I got a small challenge. "Do an all nighter". Good crack I thought! So I accepted. It was a long and very odd feeling hiking the coast with no one around. Not even the moon. The stars were out but it was eerily dark. Along the way I spotted three young ladies having a spot of bother lighting a bbq so being the gentleman I am I lent a hand a showed them how to get it going. We spoke for a while before I headed on. Eventually I entered Ramsgate and passed a free wifi hotspot at pizza express. Knowing I would need extra calories and the fact I love pizza I had to stop. It was great, the pizza was delicious and I had the chance to do some great pr by having a picture taken with the chef which I was told would be forwarded to all the pizza expresses nationwide  result!

The town was bustling with bright lights and music pumping from the clubs and bars and although I love a good party I had to carry on with the mini challenge. The next town would be Broadstairs. Unfortunately I missed the steps leading up the cliff and ended up at the end of the promenade where three fishermen were night fishing, they took some convincing about the trek and what I was doing but eventually conceded and pointed me in the right direction, 800 metres back the way I had came. Now there is a reason why towns earn certain names and Broadstairs certainly lived up to its name. I started to climb and after a while turned the corner to be faced with yet more steps. This continued, each time it seemed there were even more steps and each section seemed to gry longer and longer. Along the way there were quaint stop offs. I had to convince myself they were mirages abd passed them all with out stopping till I reached the top. What a killer! Still being on top of the cliffs was a great feeling so on I hiked over cliffs across beaches passed towns, a blanket of stars accompanied me although the moon was nowhere in sight. It was a completely new experience and really quite pleasant. Every so often I stopped for a cup of tea with milk and sugar and a mars bar  at 2am I stopped and altered my watch to British summer time. as dawn approached I sat down and watched the sunrise, which is always magical. I still had over 12 hours to go by this point and was starting to feel weary and hungry so needed to find a place for breakfast. I knew I would have to wait another few hours before anything was open so kept going until I got to Reculver.

My legs were starting to wobble and I had a blister forming on my right foot. I wss knackered but determined to complete the challenge. A good breakfast and cup of coffee was very much needed!

To be continued...