Greetings from Porthallow

Hello Everyone,

Apologies again for the lack of blogs since the last. I am officially a complete arse when it comes to blogging!!

Well....

I'm at Porthallow and officially half-way the South West Coast Path!! So, I've done 315 miles... phew! Time for a minor celebration me thinks. Although overall it was great approaching and going round Lands End, I did have some mixed feelings. Some of the coastline from Cape Cornwall to Porthcurno was the best yet. But, Lands End as a place was a bit of a disappointment. I also felt like I was going to miss the North Coast. Through all the many ups and downs I had experienced (mainly ups I must say), I felt very attached to the North Coast, rugged high cliffs, the Atlantic swell, the beautiful coves and the people I met. I had my photo taken with Little George though, although someone at the time did think that Little George looked like a girl!!

It was great to hook-up with Neil & Anna Osborne and young Thomas & Emma at St.Ives. We all had lunch and ice-cream but Anna & I had ours stolen for our grasp by swooping seagulls! I've never experienced 'attacking' seagulls before. They are really very canny and I've got to say highly skilled... albeit also quite aggressive. Next time though.....!

I'm off to Falmouth tomorrow. It's quite a long hop but looking forward to it. Still hoping to see some basking sharks.

Thanks again for the communications and encouragement. Some are really funny and make me laugh a lot. Keep them coming please.

Take care and have a good day. Will post again soon.

Cheers

George

Bring it On!!! The challenge starts now!

Hi Everyone,

Just a short update from the depths of North Cornwall. I'm currently at Pendeen about to go around Lands End! I started this morning here.

Two weeks ago it seemed such a long way away but it's arrived so quickly. I'm really excited about turning the corner. The walk since my last blog has been great. I've come all the way from Portreath to here. The coastline has been some of the most gorgeous yet, the cliffs are really rugged. The wind has been pretty strong which had whipped up a good swell in the Atlantic.
The waves on the coastline had looked spectacular. It must be great to see in the winter.

Thanks again for all the support and encouragement. Well.....Lands End here I come!!

Will post soon, take care all

George
:-)

George is now officially undertaking his walk in the hope of raising funds for the AECC - he's already achieved almost 50% of his sponsorship goal. Have you sponsored him yet? Just visit www.justgiving.com/georgerix to sponsor him online safely, quickly and securely.

And I have walked 200 miles!

Hi again everyone,

Well......I'm still here, moving forward really well now & loving the experience even more. I might even just make it...!!!! You just don't tire of this fabulous coastline. I'm definitely getting much fitter now, losing some tonnage too!

I've had lots of great company over the last few days. Jen Julian and her mum Celia, met me for the Padstow to Mawgan Porth leg on Fri. It was 18 miles in total but the time just flew by - they were so good to walk & talk with, really enjoyed it. On Saturday met up with Jane & Jon Cook & their boys Jacob & Lucas. I had a relatively short hop from Mawgan Porth to Porth that day so was able to spend some time with them on the beach at Watergate - great to see them - had a really good time. Spent Sat night with Neil Osbornes parents (Gerry & Margaret) & his brother Russel at Porth just outside Newquay. They were fabulous. They thoroughly spoilt me & I really enjoyed the stay.

On Sunday I walked to Perranporth. Made really good time. Met Celia again to walk some more at the start of the huge beach at Perranporth. When you come down the cliff to meet the beach it's a great view. Walking on the beach was such a great end to the leg - what coastline walking is about. Stayed at Celia's cottage on Sunday night and was spoilt with some gorgeous roast lamb. Had a fab evening.

Broke the 200 mile mark on Sunday too! Mon was Perranporth to Portreath. This is a particularly nice stretch of the coastline. There is an airfield on the clifftops a little way along this stretch. You can learn to fly here. You take off over the cliff edge & fly straight out to sea. Must be a bit of a sphincter tightener when you're just learning!! At Chapel Porth on Jens' recommendation, had the legendary 'hedgehog' ice-cream. Check this out; a cone filled with Cornish vanilla ice-cream covered in a thick layer of clotted cream heavily sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts - a coronary in a cone. Got to say it was great!

Well..... I'd better hit the sack. On my way to Hayle tomorrow. Thanks again for all the support & encouragement - means a lot. Love all the funny texts & e-mails aswell-I've laughed loads.

Take care & have a good day

George:-)

Remember: George is walking all this way in the hope of raising £10,000 for the Anglo-European College of Chiropractic and is still a long way off his target! Why not make the whole challenge even more worthwhile by sponsoring him for his efforts?! Please visit www.justgiving.com/georgerix to sponsor him quickly and easily online. If you've got any questions regarding sponsoring George, please email rgrail@aecc.ac.uk. Thank you!

My First Weekend A Rambling - 21miles down!

Hello!

I'm now 3 days into my training, and boy I realise now I need it! I knew my ramble would be hard work, but never thought it would be THIS much hard work! There is also a distint lack of mobile phone coverage along the path, so I'm sorry if I don't keep you as informed as I want to!

I have now walked from Minehead, via Porlock Weir and am currently having a rest stop in Lynmouth! I've walked just over 21 miles in total now.

Yesterday was VERY hard work! I walked from Porlock Weir to Lynmouth (12.3 miles/19.8km) It took me 9 hours and I didn't see a soul the entire time I was walking! The rain was relentless, and I was soaking for the entire leg! Each corner I turned there seemed to be another hill, each one bigger than the last, and it was really difficult to keep going and maintain any levels of motivation!

It was the first time I'd walked with the full weight of my bag on my back, and obviously with that being wet too it made it even more difficult! I didn't realise just how heavy all my stuff would be.

Other than the rain though everything is going well so far! My legs are now aching and I seemed to have hurt my achillies tendon this morning, but it's nothing too serious at the moment. Having said that, does anyone know any chiropractors close to me that could possibly come to help me out if necessary?!

I hope I reach that £10,000 target - that might help this be a lot more worthwhile! If you feel sorry for me, please sponsor me - www.justgiving.com/georgerix

Thank you!!

If you want to see where I am on my map, just visit here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=102404412113164124273.00046f3940148620ec4d4&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9 I'll try to update my location daily.

Tomorrow I'll be walking from Lynmouth to Ilfracombe which is another 18miles (30km!) I'm not sure I'll make it that far! I might have to pitch my tent along the way to rest for a bit!

Thanks in advance for all you sponsorship/encouragement! It looks as though I'm really going to need it!

George :-)

Argh - It's all a go!

Argh it's all really happening now! No backing out!

I'm off to start my ramble from Minehead tomorrow! I'll be walking all along the top coast of the South West 'leg' of the UK!

My first day is 10 miles to be walked between Minehead and Porlock Weir! Apart from Exmoor National Park, there doesn't appear to be very much along the route, but I'll keep you informed if I see anything interesting!

I'll also be uploading my location to my google map, which can be found on Google here:

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=102404412113164124273.00046f3940148620ec4d4&hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9

Technology is so fabulous, I'll be able to upload my exact location to the map each day - so you really can follow me along the entire route! (As well as seeing how far this really is!)

I'll try to upload as many pictures to my blog so you can really enjoy the route with me!

Thanks to everyone for your ever-continuing support!

George :-)