Wendover to Ivinghoe Beacon. It was the right decision to opt out on Friday. Mel arrived at our hotel late in the afternoon, soaked to the skin and frozen and I realised that, had I decided to walk, I would have seriously slowed him down and added unnecessary risk to the day. We also discovered that you can't use a touch phone if your fingers are frozen, so I'd sat in our room wondering if he was ok while he was trying to text me on an unresponsive phone. Sobering thought - what would have happened if he'd needed to call for help?
The Red Lion was a real treat - friendly, comfortable and delicious food!
By contrast Saturday turned out to be a perfect day for walking the final section. Cool, sunny and clear with magnificent views. We walked through beech and mixed woodland with masses of bluebells scenting the air, followed by open downland and the song of skylarks. The path was surprisingly dry and mostly not too slippy.
Julie, Paul and Steve met us in Tring Park with a delicious picnic - a real treat after pub-type packed lunches all week - and then caught up with us later about half a mile from the end. We walked about 11 miles in total and I'm not still quite sure how I got to the top when we reached the Beacon, but what a view when we reached the peak! And fascinating to look back towards Wendover and realise just how much ground we had covered on our last day.
Julie and Paul took us back to their house, where Joan and Steve were waiting, and treated us to a celebratory glass of bubbly. Good to take my boots off for the last time.
Spent the night at Aylesbury Premier Inn as Tring was fully booked. What an anti-climax but too tired to care!
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