Hullo. How are you? I hope you are having a good day. I’m Mark and I’m walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats…
I left the golf course hotel early this morning and walked through the little town of Garstang, which is really handsome. The rain started as I passed through the main shopping street and continued for a couple of hours, so I sheltered under a tree for a while to put the rain cover on my bag and get into waterproof gear.
The first five miles or so of today’s walk were along the A6, which is had expected to be noisy with traffic but was actually rather quiet and the walk passed pleasantly in the warm and dry of my Goretex shell.
Leaving the main road, I joined the Lancaster Canal for the main part of the walk. As I joined the canal, the rain subsided and the sun started to break through.
The towpath walk was a really lovely and peaceful way to progress towards Lancaster.
The real world interrupted my day for a little while as I had to join an online meeting for half an hour, which meant finding somewhere with a good enough phone signal. I stopped on a little bridge at Galgate for the meeting and then started along the canal again.
After a while, a man called out to me and asked me if I’d lost my credit card. I checked my pocket and realised it must have fallen out when I was getting my phone out for the meeting. A friend of his had found my card and was going to take it to Lancaster and drop it off at the bank. Luckily, she hadn’t yet set off. So I walked back to Galgate and met Julie, who kindly gave me my card and did a good job at making me feel less of a plonker for dropping it. We chatted a while about what I was doing. Julie insisted on making a donation to my MacMillan fundraising. Yet again, the goodness of strangers warmed my heart. And then it was back to the canal.
Now that the rain clouds had fully passed, the temperature rose and the afternoon was unseasonably warm, adding to the serenity of the amble into Lancaster.
Arriving into Lancaster along the canal means passing through fine neighbourhoods, with handsome housing and pretty parks.
I then made my way to the centre of the city. I have visited Lancaster many times and always like being here. It’s such a nice city, with an impressive castle and priory.
The castle is surrounded by historic and impressive streets, with flagstone paths and cobbled roads, giving the visitor a sense of the city’s importance in the past.
Although the walk was completed (as per my Ordnance Survey route), I spent another hour or so wandering around Lancaster before heading to the hotel just as the rain returned.
The Day 32 Vlog
Fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support
As I walk from Land’s End to John O’Groats, I am hoping to raise £10,000 for MacMillan Cancer Support, who do such a wonderful job of supporting families through the most difficult times. If you are able to spare any amount and would like to donate to MacMillan, please do so through my Just Giving Page.
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