It was rather foggy as we left the Auberge de la Jeunesse close the beachfront, but the sun was already beginning to break through promising another unusually warm day for March. The seafront here is a strange mixture between ‘functional’ apartment blocks possibly dating from the sixties, and newly created public leisure space. The latter, […]
Author Archives: Tom and Julie
DAY 18 FRANCE AT LAST!
Here we are in Calais at last! But not thanks to P&O Ferries. We wrote earlier about the message P&O Ferries sent us, saying that despite our booking they were withdrawing foot passenger services from 17th March for “operational reasons”. Subsequently they told us it was for the safety and overall well-being of all their […]
DAY 17 SHEPERDSWELL TO DOVER
A short train ride from Kearsney, near our overnight billet, back up the valley to Shepherdswell where we left off yesterday. On our walk to the station we passed a group of bin men at work. On greeting one of them “good morning”, his response was “good morning, young man”. Tom was rather tickled by […]
DAY 16 CANTERBURY TO SHEPHERDSWELL
After several last-minute panics – organising an alternative Channel crossing to P&O; new post-Brexit border bureaucracy complicated by Covid; and obtaining a data SIM that actually did accommodate roaming – we left the southwest door of Canterbury Cathedral in lovely spring sunshine. We attended Choral Evensong yesterday at the Cathedral sung by the Boy Choristers […]
DAY 15 – ARRIVAL IN CANTERBURY
Another excellent overnight lodging at the Woolpack Inn at Chilham, with cheerful and welcoming staff. A bright morning welcomed us as we climbed up the hill to St Mary’s Church, past some wonderful medieval houses. The church was open but finding the stamp for updating our pilgrim passports was less easy. A large building on […]
DAY 14 – CHARING HILL TO CHILHAM
After another very comfortable stay at the Bowl Inn at Charing Hill we set off back down the south slope of the downs to rejoin the Pilgrims Way / North Downs Way passing some interesting mined ground on the way – probably chalk for lime slaking. Bathed in spring sunshine we headed east crossing the […]
Day 13 Back on track! Thurnham to Charing
The Black Horse at Thurnham was our overnight billet and what a good choice it was: a comfortable, spacious room, excellent chef and cheerful, friendly staff. Make a mental note if you ever need an overnight stay en route to the Tunnel. RV with John and Jane at 0930 (how military is that? John is […]
We resume tomorrow, at long last!
We’re in Thurnham tonight, just north of Bearsted in Kent, where we left off two years ago, thwarted by Covid and the consequent lockdowns. Tomorrow we set off for Charing Hill for our third to last day into Canterbury. We’ll be joined by John an old friend from Tom’s days in Kent and we very […]
Tom and Julie are planning to resume in March 2022. At long last!
We’re excited to say that, all being well, we are planning to get on our way to Rome again in late March almost exactly 2 years after Covid 19 stopped us in our tracks. Of course the pandemic is far from over but things are much easier now thanks to the vaccination campaigns both here […]
Pilgrims remain under lockdown
Today is our 45th day under lockdown. According to our schedule we should have finished the first tranche of our pilgrimage, at Bar sur Aube in southern Champagne, last week and attended Tom’s Godson’s wedding in Sussex at the weekend. Sadly, neither happened because of lockdown restrictions. So what have these pilgrims been up to […]