A short walk to Sidmouth beckoned on a dull wet day . The climb out of Beer led past mobile home sites along the cliffs. The weather had made the path muddy again but walking poles help out a lot.
I had the banner up despite the rain and was stopped by quite a few people. The fact that the flag caused some dogs to get very excited, particularly dachshunds, also helped start interactions with their owners as they tried to restrain their pride and joy.
I’m getting used to being waylaid now, and the most common word they use is “amazing”. Questions about camping and how many pairs of boots I’ve used also feature highly. People are extremely supportive.
I was very pleasantly surprised when one of my ‘handlers’ Dave Stayte put in an appearance. To be totally fair I didn’t recognise him initially due to the rain and the fact I thought he was miles away in Slimbridge.
He had managed to pick the wettest and hilliest bit of path to walk with me but he stuck at it like a trooper even without the aid of walking poles.
We were happy to get to Sidmouth to have coffee , cake and a catch up.