I am currently sitting in Torp airport in the south of Norway, waiting for my flight home. I will have three days to get some extra training walks, wearing the clothes I will be walking in, and finalise the packing before I fly out again. Toiletries, odds and ends will be put in, taken out, … More Holding my packing nerve
This time there really were three Day 0 before my camino started properly. The first was the day I finished my packing and left the house with my Scouse Spouse to spend the night in Liverpool. The flight to Dublin was so early that I would have needed a taxi to make it, and the … More Camino Sola ’19, Day 0 x 3
According to my countdown widget, it is now 14 days until I set off for Spain again! The plan is to make it a trial run for my fit & kit before the St Olav’s Walk from Oslo to Trondheim this summer, and it seems both will be a lot colder than I had hoped. … More Another countdown to Camino
It was a great plan, one that I still hope will happen one day, soon, this year maybe? But my Celtic camino with my young camiga has been postponed indefinitely because of Life … in this case new life, as she is expecting her first child! The best reason ever to cancel a move and … More Best laid plans
We know everybody likes a good packing list, so who wouldn’t love my comprehensive and link-heavy un-packing list after the Camino Inglés in June/July? What worked: Osprey Tempest 30 pack (previous version), which I was determined to replace before something wears out on it. Very glad I took it – it stops me overpacking, carries … More Camino Inglés Un-packing list
You may have noticed that I have been very quiet lately and not exactly posting mileage every other day of this #walk1000miles challenge, or as much as a photo of a refreshing clear and cold winter walk. That’s because I am stuck to the laptop working, for one, and also because my knee suddenly and … More A new level of Camino Chic
Let it not be said that I hang about when I discover some new form of kit that excites me! After Clare at Seeing Clarely tipped me about the Dirty Girl Gaiters, I of course had to have a look at them. I soon found the UK stockists, UltraMarathonRunningStore, and was immediately smitten with the … More Gaiter Girl strikes again!
One of the changes I made for my Camino Sola in September 2015 was taking poles, something I have never done before. But not just any old poles. Heather at Pacerpole very kindly let me test drive a pair of carbon Pacerpoles for which I am very grateful. I thought it was time to really consider poles, … More Challenges and changes – Pacerpoles
This year I have thought about making some changes to my kit and Camino habits. It just occurred to me that I am so close to the ultimate kit and way of doing it – for me, I hasten to add – that I have perhaps forgotten or neglected to try out different things. Things … More Changes and challenges for my September Camino
For my September top-up camino this year I will be taking Pacerpoles! Not the alloys, but a pair of carbons, very kindly supplied by Heather at Pacerpole.com for me to try out and compare to the alloys. The reduced weight of the actual carbon pole means the centre or point of gravity is slightly different … More Pacerpole preparation
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A stream of consciousness
With my new novel Lost in the Fog to-be published September 21, 2020, last fall I embarked on a four month trip to France, Spain, Portugal, and the Caribbean. The main reason for the journey was to hike the Camino de Santiago, a 550 mile pilgrimage. With this blog, I am excerpting from the journal I kept. As David Lynch once said "getting lost is beautiful".
My times on the Camino de Santiago
One Man – 500 miles – No Proclaimers
Willing, Wondering and Weary: The Travels of J9
Notes from the Camino de Santiago
Talk the walk
Thoughtful wanderer in search of virtual meaning
walking together on the way of saint james
The tale of a chubby guy, lots of wine and over 1200km of Camino walking
Eating my way to Santiago - just a few tips for non-Spanish speakers to read menus in Spain
Santiago de Compostela
Follow My Life Changing Camino Travels
a few of my thoughts whilst walking
writing and adventure in a delayed gap year
Camino de Santiago de Compostela - before, during and after
