We had already decided to have a day off after the battle with the wind on Wednesday, which was just as well, as Lois developed a fever and cold symptoms during the night. Despite the best efforts of Dr. Paul and a bag of cold medications from the local pharmacy, Lois’ fever persisted throughout Friday ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...