The Chicken has Landed

The final legg was so easy and there was only one boggy patch near to where the river emerged from underground - at least a mile from the source which was dry as a bone. it was a particularly joyful ending as we were joined by our dear friends Caroline (who lent me some very fancy wellies) and Alan. We dutifully took photos to record the event then wandered down to the Thames Head where we were joined by Diana, Gwyn, Ed, Bill and Tamzin and Karolyne, Asghar and Trevor from Arts Together which was a lovely surprise. We toasted our success and Karolyne presented me with a 'recovery pack' including a plant (joyous orange flowers typical of Arts Together), foot soak and foot creams, soft furry boottees for my tender toes and of course chocolate!

It was weird to arrive home and to be honest I am still sorting out in my head what it has all meant to me. Certainly it was the greatest physical challenge I've ever attempted and I was convinced I wouldn't make it past the first week. Yet once we were on our way I didn't long to be home and certainly never thought of giving up. Helen pointed out that we've both inherited our mother's stubborn streak and it certainly helped.
Still pondering .....

So near

Day 20 - Cricklade to Ewen. At last we are in Ewen, footsore and exhausted and I can still hardly believe that we're nearly home. It has been so exciting to arrive in the water parks and to feel 'at home'. I've walked here alone and with friends so many times that it was like returning to meet an old friend. The river is flowing fast and is much wider than it usually is at this time of year and the water is so perfectly clear that for the first time in this whole journey I actually wanted to touch it and even paddle. Most of the path here is clearly marked and easy walking. There are lots of flag irises, the dog roses are coming into flower and at last we've left behind the rapeseed corridors which have been so uncomfortable to walk through. The reports of flooded fields are all too true though and we arrived here with very wet and muddy feet from boggy water meadows on the outskirts of Ewen. Goodness knows what the fields will be like on the way to the source tomorrow, but remembering the video we saw all that time ago in London showing people wading above their knees in water round here just a month ago,I'm not too worried. Although the weather in the last couple of weeks has been unpleasantly hot for walking, it has at least dried out the ground most of the way, so we're unlikely to have more than wet feet to contend with. Tomorrow we will be back to reality and our own bed. What I've really missed has been friends and family. There's a lot of catching up to do!