Calais to Wissant – 20.6km

We looked out on a misty English Channel (La Manche from the French side) from a mostly empty lounge on the P&O ferry to Calais, as we dined on yesterday’s sourdough baguette (surprisingly still ok!) and cheddar cheese. Arriving on time, we didn’t disembark for another 1 1/2 hrs, due to a docking issue. It was windy and pouring with rain and we shared a taxi into the city with another couple.

Awaking to leaden skies and a cool 5C, we headed downstairs for a reliable Hotel Ibis breakfast before walking to the town centre to view the Flemish Renaissance style town hall and UNESCO heritage early 20thC bell tower and “Les Bourgeois de Calais” ,one of 12 casts of Rodin’s beautiful sombre sculpture. We had seen another cast of this sculpture in the Musée de Rodin in Paris and were keen to see it again.

Back to collect our packs, we set off towards Wissant, immediately encountering a diversion on the route, which meant that we missed Bleriot Beach, the departure site of the first airplane crossing of the English Channel in 1909. We had seen an original of one of Louis Bleriot’s planes in the ferry terminal in Calais last night.

By the time we rejoined the route along the sea shore, the rain was pelting down. The dilapidated German WWII embattlements along the way were reminders of the brutal past of this region of France. Leaving the beach, we followed a long sandy trail behind the sand dunes, the wind driving the cold rain into our faces. As Lois’ hiking pants became increasingly soaked, she regretted not having put on her rain pants! By the time we approached Sangatte, we were in need of warmth, despite the now clearing skies. We walked almost the entire length of the town (a war memorial included a Canadian flag), before finding a restaurant, Le Blanc Nez, with an impressive menu of local seafood. We enjoyed delicious soupe de poisson, salade de chèvre chaud and coffees, while our gloves and tube scarves dried on a nearby radiator.

Feeling well refreshed, we started the climb towards Le Cap Blanc Nez. It became stormier, now with a headwind of over 60km/h, which continued to batter us all the way to Wissant. At one point, Paul had to chase his hat over a fence and across a field. Just as he climbed back over the fence, Lois’ backpack rain-cover went flying. Luckily, it was quickly retrieved by a passerby, who Paul then helped back over the fence. Near the Dover Patrol Monument we were very nearly blown over! Stopping for a quick look at the Lindemann Batterie Lourde, a German gun battery which could fire across the Channel, we quickly made our way back down the hill, hoping in vain for some respite from the headwind. By the time we were trudging along the final stretch of beach, heads bent against the wind and blowing sand, we were exhausted and sadly not able to fully appreciate the stunning vistas for which this area is known. We finally stumbled into our hotel around 6 pm. As our room was up 3 flights of stairs, which Lois was reluctant to descend in order to find a meal, Paul gallantly went off in search of pizza pour emporter and a glass of wine for Lois.

Fauna notes: numerous Cuttlefish on the beach

Sheperdswell to Dover 15.2 km

It was hard to pull away from the interesting conversation over breakfast this morning, with old friends and new – Krishna and David were also staying at Susanna’s. But, with blue skies beckoning, we set off with David and Anne for St. Andrew’s Church, for our pilgrim stamp and a search for the “green man” stone carving. We think we may have identified it…! Passing the Celtic cross war memorial, we made our way across fields and coppices on the North Downs Way, stopping to view a 17thC Palladian folly (a belvedere, unfinished) and associated modern sculpture, through Waldershare Park and past its stately home. At Ashley Sutton, while siting on a grassy bank, enjoying a break and Anne’s delicious nut cake, another walker approached, Kevin McCallister from Massachusetts (yes, “Home Alone” references were made!) on his way to Dover to complete another section of the VF (mid—France to Rome completed last year). Krishna and David soon joined us. Late morning, the clouds began to roll in and we donned our rain gear, although the rain held off until later. Just after crossing the A2, we encountered a temporary construction fence, which required a slight detour. Unfortunately, Krishna and David ended up having to climb the fence to get back on track! We then joined an old Roman road, which eventually brought us to the outskirts of Dover. We had our pilgrim passports stamped at St. Paul’s church, thanks to Krishna who went next door to get the custodian, and ended our walk together with a good lunch and well-needed coffees at Cafe Melange, a great find (thanks, Anne!). Krishna and David were spending the night in Dover, but we expect to meet up again along the way. David and Anne headed back to London. We so appreciated their company on the first two days of our walk. We hopped in a cab, stopping at Dover Castle for a quick photo, and then to the ferry dock, to board the 5:25 P&O ferry to Calais. With our passports stamped, the 90 day Schengen countdown begins!

 

Canterbury to Shepardswell – 17.35 km

It was a blustery wet day of walking, with the winds whipping across the North Downs and muddy tracks traversing fields – an appropriate initiation into the Via Francigena!

After a hearty breakfast at the House of Agnes (including Hot Cross Buns), the four of us headed off to find lunch items before stopping at the Cathedral to take photos. There we met another couple, Krishna and David, who were also just beginning the walk, having travelled here from Perth, Australia, and their friend, John, accompanying them as far as Shepherdswell.

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We walked as a group for much of the route, which helped distract us from any fears or misgivings we might be feeling setting out on this journey. The route was well signposted for both the North Downs Way and the Via Francigena and on top of the Downs we found a relief map in wood of the entire route to Rome. We passed St. Augustine’s Abbey and stopped to walk around St. Martin’s Church, dating from Saxon times. At St Mary’s, a Norman Church in Patrixbourne, we found a stamp for our pilgim passport inside and enjoyed a few moments out of the rain. Paul was pleased to see some Oast houses (converted to residences) that are emblematic of Kent. On arriving in Shepherdswell, we had a very welcome cup of tea at the cafe of the East Kent Railway Trust, an old colliery train line. We were both feeling a little stiff after our first day’s walk, but Lois is very relieved that her hip has not given her any grief so far!

We repaired to local pub with Anne and David for dinner.

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Flora – Cowslips

 

 

On our arrival at Heathrow early Monday morning, we headed off by train to Moreton-in-Marsh, a pretty Cotswold town where friends and family had kindly agreed to travel to meet up with us. Our journey to Moreton took much longer than expected due to a damaged viaduct on the main line to Oxford – a consequence of a very wet English March – however, once there, we had a most enjoyable week. The train disruption did mean that we were unable to travel down to London to meet up with Lene and Freddy, old friends from Denmark who were visiting their daughter and family.

We visited Batsford Arboretum with Martin (friend of Paul’s from medical school) and Grace, Paul’s sister Liz, our niece Catherine and grand-nephew Nathaniel. Over lunch with Chris (another medic colleague of Paul’s) and Sally, we heard about their Eco-housing venture as well as rural pursuits such as hedge laying and pollarding, later visiting the grounds of Sizencote House. With Martin, Grace and Liz, we picnicked in the rain (!) before touring Chastleton House – another National Trust gem. We caught up with some of Lois’ International Studies classmates – Angela and Jane joined us for brunch at No. 1 Cotswolds in Moreton and we met Sarah and Jenny for brunch at Artist Residence in London. We really appreciated the distance that everyone came to see us. Martin and Grace journeyed from Dundee in Scotland!

Arriving in Canterbury yesterday, after checking into the House of Agnes (the Wickfield family residence in David Copperfield) we wandered down to the Cathedral precinct and found the stone marking the start of the Via Francigena. Further exploration resumed today after espresso, including the Roman wall, Norman castle and the spectacular Canterbury Cathedral.

We bought our Via Francigena Pilgrim Passport and have received our first stamp! Our friends, David and Anne, who will walk with us to Dover will arrive soon and we will all attend Easter Choral Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral this evening.

Wildlife Notes: Red Kites at Bashford

We are currently in Ottawa airport, on our way to London, via Toronto. After a farewell dinner at 10 Acres in Sidney on Tuesday with Mish, Steve, Jade, Rhys and Emme, we flew to Ottawa early Wednesday morning, for a brief visit with Chris, Shinyoung, Alice and Eliot. While the minus temperatures were a bit of a shock after the cherry blossoms in Victoria, we have had a lovely time playing and reading with Alice and Eliot, eating delicious meals, walking in the snow, visiting a sugar bush and attending gymnastics and soccer practices.
We are looking forward to another week of visiting with friends and family in England,  before beginning our walk on Easter Monday.  Although we have not been able to do the training that we had planned (and begun, but abandoned due to Lois’ hip muscle strain), we are hoping that the exercises and some rest will have helped.

Just 4 weeks before we leave for Ottawa, en route to England to begin our trek! We have had to modify our training program, as Lois had a flareup of hip tendinitis (?)  following a 20 km walk. She was hoping her GP would give her a steroid injection, as this has worked in the past, but the presence of sciatic nerve involvement has the doctor concerned that the cause may be  degenerative disc disease. As an X-ray was inconclusive, Lois is relying on a combination of physiotherapy,  massage therapy, accupuncture and a regime of strengthening and stretching exercises to get her “hike ready”. Deciding that part of the problem might have been that we increased the distance on our long walk too quickly, we started over, now walking longer distances several times a week, increasing the distance by a kilometre each longer walk.  Tomorrow, we will do 13 km. It is frustrating that we were not able to train in the way we had planned, but we are hopeful that by the time we leave, we will have had enough kms under our belts that we can begin the trek with some level of endurance and fitness (and no pain!)

We are now into week 5 of our training. As a treat to ourselves on our long walks on Sundays, we have been exploring different brunch venues in Victoria. So far, we have walked to Jam Cafe, Blue Fox and Fuego, all excellent and highly recommended (and worth the lineup)! This week, our 20 km walk will be celebrated  with brunch at Bear and Joey with friends Helen, Wayne, David and Kate.

Apart from the long walk, our training is not exactly rigorous. We are walking with an empty pack a couple of times a week and searching out hills to include in our routes. We are both doing  our daily (more or less for Lois, always for Paul!) stretches and strengthening exercises and Lois continues to practice yoga twice a week.

Footwear has been the subject of further discussion and debate. Lois ordered a new pair of Lowa Explorer II hiking shoes, when she discovered she may not be able to get her old ones reheeled in time (there appears to be a shortage of shoe-repair services in Victoria). After ordering the boots, we discovered that Oak Bay Cobbler was able to repair her old ones quickly, after all. Now, it’s a matter of deciding whether it is advisable to use the  new boots, which are a half-size larger than her normal size (as recommended on hiking blogs), or her old ones, which are already broken in…

Paul’s concern has been the development of a pain in his heel after a long walk in his Lowa’s. He has now purchased a new pair of Blundstones, with a  hiking sole, which appears to be solving the problem.

Planning is well underway for our latest adventure! We have booked our flights to England (arrive April 3) and have arranged to spend a week visiting with family and friends, before beginning our walk in Canterbury on April 10.

We will be following The Lightfoot Guide to the Via Francigena.

We have started preparing physically, using the  Camino de Santiago 12-week training plan. As we are currently in the practice of walking 5 km/daily, we will continue to do our daily walks, while increasing the distance on one or more walks a week. Eventually, we will also have to start walking with packs fully loaded. Our goal for the trip will be to average 20 kms/day.

In terms of gear, we will be using our 30L backpacks ( Lois’ is a Deuter Futura women’s fit and Paul’s, a Tatonka) and our trusted Lowa hiking shoes. We are still sorting out clothing, bearing in mind that the ideal weight of our backpacks without water is 10% of our respective body weights, including the weight of the backpack itself (i.e., no extra shoes for Lois!)