The Pilgrims’ Way – Day 3 – Wrotham to The Friars Aylesford Priory, 19.3km / 12 miles
The double bed was a little short and I had to sleep at an angle. It was a good mattress though, and a nice thick duvet, which helped, since I had the window open all night. The Bull Hotel full English breakfast was very good; made by the talkative and charming host, who did nice…
The Pilgrims’ Way – Day 2 – Dartford to Wrotham, 32km / 19.9 miles
After a decent Full English for breakfast, we set off in cool and grey conditions just before 9.30am. According to the Cicerone guidebook, the route for the day was meant to be around 17 miles – 11.5 miles to Otford Pond, then 5.75 miles to Wrotham. We needed to head south following the Darent Valley…
The Pilgrims’ Way – Day 1 – Southwark to Dartford, 36.3km / 22.6 miles
Kat and her good friend John had talked about walking from London to Canterbury – the pilgrimage of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The idea of John and I doing it together came up, but with Covid delays and whatnot, it was not until March 2022 that we were finally ready to go. This is our tale.…
Cotswold Way National Trail
Soon after finishing the South West Coast Path in the heatwave of July 2021, my thoughts turned to which National Trail to try next. Kat had often talked about doing all 14 National Trails in England and Wales in a single year (!), and had already done: Hadrian’s Wall, Thames Path and the Pembrokeshire Coast…
Completing the South West Coast Path
Having walked the surprisingly remote and very picturesque South Devon coast (reaching Lyme Regis, Dorset, in April 2021), hiking the entire South West Coast Path was in sight. It had to be done! In May, I continued from Lyme Regis heading east. After the many ferries of South Devon, Dorset brought fossils, landslides, and a…
Hiking the South Coast of Devon
Completing my walk around Cornwall in Gorran Haven on 12 September last year, I quickly realised it was too soon to hang up my hiking shoes. While it had been both physically and emotionally challenging, it also brought me closer to Kat. It really did feel like she was with me every step of the…
Thames Path and Aussie memorial benches
On the anniversary of Kat’s funeral, I retraced Kat’s steps along the Thames Path to the new memorial bench beyond Kew Gardens. The trail took me past Mortlake Crematorium, where the daffodils looked as beautiful as last year. It turned out to be a (pretty flat) 30km walk from London Bridge to Richmond (27.5km to…
Hiking the Cornish Coast
Through the summer 2020, I hiked around the incredibly beautiful coast of Cornwall, following the South West Coastal Path. Katrina was with me every step of the way. I dedicate every mile completed, every butterfly, every cooling breeze, every mushroom, every clump of moss, every river crossing, every stunning view, the joy, the pain and…
Memorial benches in London
Places to reflect, remember and maybe even feel inspired by the nature, majesty of St Paul’s and memories of Kat. We used to walk down to St Paul’s Cathedral all the time. In springtime, Kat was always keen to check up on the cherry blossom trees just over the road, on the south side. Fingers…
A tribute to Kat ‘Hummingbird’ Davis
You will recall that Kat did a lot of hiking with KC along the PCT back in 2015. In July 2019, they did their last hike together – the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path – to, I should add, an insane schedule. This is KC’s beautiful tribute to Kat: To my friend Kat, You stuck out in…
followingthearrows 