It might be good to be able to tell your friends and family (with a swagger and a serious face) that you’re going to be sleeping under a tarp. The swagger disintegrates when you do it on a cold and very windy night. I slept badly, between the teeth (no I hadn’t got them in), between the gum chattering shivers.

The day broke cloudy and cold. I packed and picked up the Coast Path where I left off. A 9.35am start isn’t too bad and within an hour I’d walked to Porlock Weir across the salt marshes. Sporting a petrified forest.

And looking back along the grey pebble bank, the sea is to the left and the salt marsh to the right. At very high tides the bank gets breached and the salt marsh floods.

A lone tree stands amid the pebbles, defiantly growing gnarled and wizened. But still with a heart of oak. Thanks Richard.

The fence, which used to stand on the top of a small range of cliffs, has seen its base washed away, as it still swings defiant of gravity.

After a bacon sandwich and a coffee in Porlock Weir I started the ascent. This path goes up and up, then down and up. But not insignificant heights. Today I’ll climb well over half the height of Ben Nevis. This is an old toll cottage, stopping carriages in the old days and charging for the right to use the roads passing through the arches.

It had been cold since setting off, and I had my waterproof top and jumper on – maximum heat layers! It was still cold, until I got under the canopy of trees on the coastal hillside which sheltered the path from the wind. The woodland is set on a very steep hill and is very dense, too dense to walk through. But I heard someone walking above me. I couldn’t see them. And then I heard a deep toned flute. It was impossible for a person to be there. I’d like to think that it was an elven flute. Please be the elves.

Certainly, the children have seen them, in quiet places where the moss grows green. Thanks Robin.

The path was festooned with ancient building works.

Including the smallest complete parish church in England, Culbone church. Miles from nowhere. Thanks Cat.

Just down the path is an idolatrous image of the Virgin Mary that can only have been placed there by a Catholic person. Should I inform Thomas Cranmer so that he can inform the King?

I had a thirst, walking mile after mile on a rough undulating path with a heavy rucksack. So I took advantage of the Exmoor streams to top up my water bottle. Sweet tasting water.

Until I came across a dead deer, which might leak horrible things into the water ecosystem. Oh God what have I done? I may become ill!

Some bugger sawed its horns off.

All of a sudden it got cold again and started raining. I got my rain gear back on and rain-covered the rucksack.

I wasn’t too preoccupied with the weather to ignore the beauty of wild primroses!

I was getting tired now, and there was a long way to go. Mercifully the weather improved quickly and dramatically.

I had been walking for nearly six hours before I got my first view of Lynmouth and Lynton, almost indistinguishable in the late afternoon sun.

It spurs you on when you see the final destination.

There aren’t many people walking the path at the moment. The weather has been really cold and wet and windy for months, so that’s probably put folk off. A shame because these pleasures are unique in time and space.

Then the path dropped down dramatically to Lynmouth, a small village nestling at the end of a steep gorge which drops down from the top of Exmoor. To its detriment.

In mid-August 1952 there was a massive storm over Exmoor, delivering 9 inches of rain in 24 hours. The gorge down to Lynmouth was blocked by uprooted trees, forming a huge dam which eventually burst. A massive wave, carrying trees and boulders, swamped down the gorge, destroying homes and businesses in its path. Thirty four people died, hundreds were homeless and dozens of cars were swept out to sea.

Prophetically on this sign Exmoor met the sea, catastrophically.

I made it to the campsite, which was up the gorge which had led to the Lynmouth tragedy. By which time the sun had gone in again and the wind was bitter. There was no signal, due to the depth of the gorge, so I went into the pub next door which had Wi-Fi, and got a message from Maggie. She’d found a hotel in Lynton with a room for £30. I ate in the pub and legged it up the hill to Lynton to claim my room. No chattering gums. No sleepless in seattle.

Hooray!

On the path to Lynton I got a great, late evening view of the hills I had yomped over.

For those friends who aren’t familiar with the South West Coast Path this is the UK and Republic of Ireland, with the South West marked by a crayon.

Honing in on the South West, this is the route of the Coast Path. If you look up north to Minehead then that is where I started. To get round to the end, which is down bottom right and just out of picture, will take 52 days walking, but I’m stopping at Plymouth on the 23 May, and then restarting on around the 8 July.

The Path is famous for its undulation, rising up nearly four times the height of Mount Everest, so it’s not an easy walk. However it doesn’t have to be finished in any timescale. Some people do segments over many years. I talked to a man yesterday who was going the other way round to me and finishing in Minehead. He had taken 26 years! When you work you can’t give it too much time each year. But he did it!

So will I.

Night night.

This is the Somerset coast. It’s not Cornwall, the Caribbean or Corsica. Just Somerset. But it is the corner of the UK that is punching way beyond its level of popularity. It is beautiful, historic, inspirational and uplifting.

My view from the breakfast lounge, after a jolly good night’s sleep.

A great full English, with cereals, toast, marmalade and a pot of tea, followed by a 9.30 departure. But not before I’d walked around the harbour. Seven years working in the docks and it stays in my bloodstream.

The cannons are facing the wrong way, towards the shore, but the message is clear. Britons never, never, never shall be slaves.

Except to alcohol, tobacco, US foreign policy, television, baked beans, social media, self-righteousness, influencers, fear of failure, capitalism and the silencing of free speech.

I set off on the SWCP.

The path meandered down the coast and then cut up into the hills, at the same time as the overly laden rucksack cut into my shoulders. The coast slipped slowly, and painfully, away.

And up on top, 860 feet high, the moor was delightful.

Until it started to peak, and reveal the beauty of the vale of Porlock.

I took my time. It was only an 8 mile walk today, just getting acclimatised to the rucksack and undulation and pain. But the beauty of this part of the world is worth every ache.

The path dropped down steeply.

At the bottom the cattle were wading in a lagoon.

Another couple of miles and I was close to my campsite, looking back at the hills which I had walked over.

And up the lane, flanked by bluebells, whitebells and flowering wild garlic.

The campsite is lovely, and my tarp is pitched.

It looks quite structured from outside!

I’m getting scran from the local Spar for dinner and another early night. Eight miles done and 603 to go.

Night night.

And can David be in there too please?

Well my dear, yes he can, if he takes the 08.11train from Leeds to Taunton and then the 12.39 bus from Taunton to be in Minehead at 13.54.

Maggie saw me off this morning with an Uber to the station. A cold morning, particularly cold for a loser who shaves his head.

The train was on time, and I kept the same seat all the way, despite buying four tickets for the legs from Leeds to Chesterfield to Burton to Bristol to Taunton. Saving over £40.

I was sat next to Maxine, a very smart business woman who was proper, polite and pleasant. She subsequently donated to my justgiving page. There are still nice people in this world.

I was sat opposite Trevor who, coincidentally, was the Treasurer of the Cornwall Prostate Support Association. He had contracted the illness and his Association was linked to/ part of Prostate Cancer UK. This world is getting smaller.

I was too early in Minehead to check in to my room, so I walked to the front and took some photos.

I then had a pint in the Quay Inn, and Collette, the owner, whose dad died of prostate cancer, sponsored me. What a star! Thank you very much.

I’m going to check in now, and start my trek tomorrow. Thanks for reading this. And thanks to all the lovely people who I met today. I know it should be whom,

but it doesn’t feel right.

Night night.

We loafed this morning and got out of bed for a 9.45 am hundred hours start. Another cloudless day, crisp and clear but by the time we emerged it was tee shirt temperature. We made for the station to check the time of trains tomorrow morning, as we expected to return to Tarragona tonight. Unfortunately the timings meant we would have to get up at 5am to be sure to make it to Barcelona in time for our flight to Amsterdam and a transfer to Leeds.

So the new plan was to walk up to Reus, our final destination this trip, and take a train to Barcelona this afternoon. A pity really because Tarragona was a lovely place, unless you were seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go. Thanks Paul.

And the Roman archeology is fabulous. This is the coliseum, nearly 2,000 years old.

Great place.

What a town! And a great bacon and egg breakfast with coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice on Main Street. We reluctantly departed.

The land is absolutely parched. Just dry riverbeds. This doesn’t augur well for the land that feeds Europe.

We decided to take the quickest, most direct route we could. Motorway walking.

When the hard shoulder disappeared and the area behind the crash barriers was unnavigable we decided to force a temporary gap in the fencing and escape to the other side before any coppers showed up. At times we ended up back on the motorway. At one point two motorways crossed and the only way we could carry on was to scale the fence under a bridge and emerge on a central reservation. But we made very good time. It was a fast alternative.

In the end it got too busy and we sneaked under the fence where there was a slight culvert. In to farmland where the local lads were harvesting parsley and vegetables.

We found a stretch where there were tunnels under the railway and two motorways, all intersecting. Luckily we chose the right tunnel. They can be a bit disorientating when they meander.

After another couple of miles we arrived at the entrance to Reus airport. For me this was the completion of an eight year trek across Spain from south to north. It has taken me 5 sections and 1,300 miles of wandering through mountains and following coastlines. It’s been rather delightful.

With Gary, we’ve covered 480 miles together, from the south of France down to Tarragona and inland, across the Ebro valley, to Zaragoza.

What will you do now? I’m a-goin’ back out ‘fore the rain starts a-fallin’
I’ll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
And the executioner’s face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the color, where none is the number
And I’ll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it
Then I’ll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin’
But I’ll know my song well before I start singin’.

Oh! OK.

Last word to Gaz.

We managed to find a restaurant that rang a taxi for us, which took us to the station, where we took a train to Barcelona, where we found a reasonably priced hotel. And the most incredible restaurant at a bargain price (in Barcelona!) which served up the best Asian cuisine either of us had ever etten!

Home to our sweethearts tomorrow.

Night night.

Thanks John (and Paul).

We had another great day’s walking today. Long and hard and it’s just the way it changes like the shoreline and the sea. But let’s not talk of love and chains.

We got up late, again. We didn’t set off until 9.45 am hundred hours. We’re not children of the morning. The morning was lovely.

After a long dap along the coast we found a place to eat bacon and eggs, with two coffees and two fresh orange juices each. How pleasant it is!

We strode with purpose and …… something else. Not sure what, but certainly with purpose. Maybe toilet roll. We had that in case of emergency. Yes, that’s it. We strode with purpose and toilet roll.

The Costa Dorada was beautiful.

After a while it dawned upon us that we were falling well behind our Tarragona target And pragmatism was necessary to save the day. And I’ve got tons of that. So has Gary.

We sat down, looked at the map, and decided to cut away from the coast to follow a direct road towards Tarragona. We would cut off down to the coast where the road joined a motorway, and then pick up the GR92 to finish the last 7 miles along coast path. In that way we would restrict the day’s walk to 19 miles.

The road walk didn’t merit any photos, but when we cut back down to the coast, through a pine forest, we saw some stunning vistas.

In the far distance we could see our destination. Tarragona!

The route through the woods wasn’t easy to follow. Even if it had been it would still have been a struggle, due to the fallen trees and other detritus covering the path. But in the late afternoon sun the woods were awesome. Then we arrived at the last beach, and managed to cover the two miles along it in 30 minutes. Looking back was right good.

By this time we were tired. Very tired. We’re not young, fit lads. But we keep going. Our advantage is that we’re tough and from Yorkshire.

We made it into the outskirts of Tarragona, but couldn’t make it further. The sun had set, it was getting colder and we were exhausted. Nowt wrong with that. Exhaustion is a virtue. Well… no it isn’t. It’s a state, or a condition. Whereas virtues are matters showing a high moral standard.

We pulled in to the first hotel we saw. The bar was open and Joe was the guy in charge. We loved him.

He said the hotel was closed, but his bar was open, so we took advantage. He recommended the Hostal next door, rang the owner and got her to come down to check us in. It was a Hostal cum restaurant cum supermarket. The owner, Beatrice, was lovely and had a daughter at boarding school in Bath. She took a shine to us and gave us a suite. How kind. We had a decent meal, between the aisles.

I had a bit of a tumble, a few days ago. Nothing worth recording at the time but the bruising is wearing off. The effects of treks.

It’s on my upper thigh for those watching in black and white.

Gary’s asleep now.

But if he wasn’t, then I’m sure he would join me in saying:

Night night.

For your information our final leg is Gary’s left one. All three others are knackered!

We had a really good day walking today. No disappointments, no surprises, great weather and beautiful coastline. We’re relaxed and making a good pace, covering 18 miles from sunrise to sunset.

Another early start with breakfast at 7.30 and off before 8.30. That’s an early start by the way. Sitges was an attractive town and it was nice to walk through it on a crisp and bright morning.

Last night Gary was feeling a bit under the weather.

But this morning he was up for the challenge.

Sitges is a classy place.

It was great yomping through it. Passing the Passed.

The road along the seafront eventually expired and we had to choose whether to go inland or stumble on the very rough cobbled shore. SHORE!!!

And it paid off. We cut a big corner and ended up alongside the main Mediterranean coastal railway line. But at least we’d found the Polish flag way-markings for the GR92 again.

The track meandered on and off the side of the rail-line. Down towards the sea and then back to the iron horses. Which passed us frequently at high speed and hooting their hooters! Hoot hoot! A bit like that.

The coast was lovely.

It got tight at places between rail and sea, until at one stage we looked at each other in a little disbelief at the size of the drop if we slipped. But we made it without incident.

As the day wore on we found ourselves on a very long promenade stretch, covering maybe ten miles. This was a blessing as it was by now very warm and we needed an open stretch to allow the minimal breeze to flow up our shorts. Ooer missus!

The worst thing about Catalonia is the graffiti, even on historic buildings. Absolute disrespect for humanity. Gary and I would put them down for life to deter others.

A metal bull sculpture graced the seafront, below a flying saucer.

The views were great.

It was so uplifting after previously grim days. We found a cheap hotel, checked in and walked miles in the dusk light to find a really great, value restaurant. Steaks all round!

Tomorrow is our penultimate perambulation.

Night night.

Thanks again Bob. Although we might thank Lord Randal. Dylan’s song structure was based on a Scottish Borders folk ballad from the 1600s, where Lord Randal comes home from visiting his lover and his mother asks him ‘Where have ye been all the day, my own dear darling boy?
Where have ye been all the day, my own dear comfort and joy?’

Lord Randal has been visiting his lover. But Bob (can I call you Bob?) turned it into an observation of nastiness in the world. And he protested against it. Sadly, Lord Randal had been poisoned by his lover. The ballad doesn’t reveal why.

We were reluctant to get out of bed. Well, out of our respective beds, to clarify matters. I washed my dirty clothes last night and they had dried on the radiator. Gary has brought a lot of clothes and doesn’t need to wash them.

We set off in the sun, walking down to the marina en route towards Tarragona. It was a cold wind but the marina was sheltered against a hillside and it kept the heat of the sun.

We ended up on a beach that we couldn’t exit from, so we had to turn around and retreat a few hundred metres, before climbing up the hill.

This is a playground for the rich, and me and Gaz. The problem is that there are very few paths, a lot of very steep cliffs and the land between the paths is covered with very sharp gorse bushes. The only realistic route for this section is to follow the coast road, but that is very narrow, made by blasting into the hillside, and it winds around the coast. The difficulty is that it winds a lot and it is frequented by big HGVs. As they turn around a corner they can crush poor Lord Randal against the rock face. Or push him over the wall and down a sheer drop to the sea. The poor bugger’s already been poisoned by his lover. Don’t let it happen!

So we crossed over the coast road and climbed up the mountain behind it.

We wended our way westwards. Well, south actually but alliteration is my game, and Desmond Decker is my name. Oh, I’m so funny!

This was a Nativity scene left high on the path!

After a decent 5 mile slog we began to drop down towards Garraf, a tidy little marina town.

Then we got stuck. The cliffs dropped vertically to the sea and the gorse got thicker. We had to go along the narrow coastal road. It worried us but we covered 5 miles and were then desperate for space and safety. After three quarters of an hour of searching in dense woodland for the GR92, which had dropped down towards the coast, we actually found it. It sounds simple, looking for a footpath, but the vegetation is so thick that it’s a struggle. And then we’re there.

The GR92 doesn’t go around mountains. It goes up and over them. For another three hours.

We were far short of our target of Vilanouva, but the walk had been stressful and quite ridiculously meandering uphill and down dale. My lungs were packing in and Gary’s hip was well out of pain relief.

We’re not tip top today (alliteration). Maybe we pushed it yesterday. Sitges appeared way down in the valley. Six hours but only 15 miles covered.

The path was rough, and then we made it to a road, which hair-pinned down to Sitges. We’d had enough. We’re done for the day.

I booked the Hotel Port Sitges and we rocked up in the marina.

Just as the sun was setting.

A good meal and an early night.

Night night.

Thanks Bob. Twenty three miles of pain in Spain today. We got up at 6.45 am hundred hours and set off in the dark. Bitterly cold too first thing. It was an urban Odyssey today from Badalona, through the centre of Barcelona, out past the airport and down the coast to Castelldelfels. Strange apartment block in Barcelona.

I’m not a big fan of the place but it’s ok. Not the best city in the world, or in Spain. Cadiz, Seville, Malaga, San Sebastián and Madrid comfortably eclipse it, but then they are exceptional. Some impressive corners here though.

And seen from the other side.

We’re a bit broken. But we’ve both got the capacity to keep going when we’re exhausted. It’s what we do, even though we’re old bastards. Urban walking really hurts your soles. I’ve ditched me boots and switched to me Salomon walking shoes. Comfier on hard surfaces but you need to get a UK size bigger than your actual feet. I’m 8.5 but I need a 9.5 Salomon.

I’ve never seen as many coppers as there were in Barcelona this morning. Closing roads and warding off traffic. We thought it must be some Palestinian protest but it turned out to be a marathon speed walk.

Some impressive buildings and landmarks here as well.

The only feasible route out of the city was walking alongside a motorway, as we had done first thing when the traffic was light. As we got closer to the airport the hard shoulder disappeared and we had to follow an exit route into an industrial area. It was difficult to navigate as it was attached to the seaport and the airport and most roads ended at factory or warehouse gates.

After several hours circumnavigating the airport we ended up on a direct road to Castelldelfels. Having walked underneath a motorway and exiting through a hole in a barbed wire fence. It isn’t always mountains and waterfalls.

This was farmland now, with leeks being a prized crop as well as artichokes, which we’re developing on the plants.

And there was a big plant by the side of the road. A weed.

After 9 hours of walking we made it finally to Castelldelfels. And into a seafront restaurant. Gary had some cannelloni and I rewarded myself with a rib eye steak. Fab. But as my teeth are mostly not really my teeth it took the best part of 45 minutes to eat it.

Then we found a hotel as the sun went down.

Nice place and we’ll sleep long and deeply tonight.

Night night.

Thanks Leonard. He took music to a spiritual level that lad. Me and Maggs saw him in Leeds at the arena when he was 79. He captivated the entire arena for two and a half hours. Everybody came out smiling. Pure joy by a master at the peak of his powers, but close to the end. So glad we saw him again. I wept at his passing. Still miss him, but I can play his music without bursting into tears now.

Don’t know what state I’ll be in when Dylan goes. I’m still suffering from John Lennon’s murder. I hope Chapman rots in jail. Please David, bury your hatchet after all these years. I will, in his head if ever I was introduced to him.

Breakfast in the hotel was good and we got a taxi back to Vilassar. The sun had returned and we walked in our tee shirts along the coast path. I’ve got quite a debilitating chest infection and as soon as we hit a slight incline I’m knackered. I can’t get enough oxygen. It’s like a fist squeezing my lungs. I’m nearly 70 you know.

Is my head on upside down?

I’m proud to be British. We have to be generous and kind to the people we meet on our treks so that they realise that:

A) Wearing a Union Jack shirt doesn’t mean you’re a racist

B) Brits may not wholly support unelected European political structures but we are still European and love European countries

C) We appreciate consideration and kindness

Catalonia was the core for the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, nearly ninety years ago. They built these machine gun nests in case the Nationalists came in by sea. It’s sad that the graffiti idiots don’t respect their memory.

The Fascists won the war and Franco ruled with an iron fist for over 30 years. Unelected and disgracefully malevolent.

I’ve got strong views today. Hooray!

Then Barcelona appeared over the beautiful horizon. Thanks Freddie.

It was deceptively distant. But we grafted, despite Gary having hip pain and me wheezing like a steam train we made it to Badalona, just this side of Barca. See what I did there? I called it Barca, like a local. Anyway I prefer Madrid. Barcelona is a bit up itself. Madrid is relaxed about what anyone thinks about it.

This photo is my favourite view of the sea. From inside a fish restaurant!

Here we go again.

Finding somewhere to stay is problematic. But we manage. We now have only five days of walking to cover the remaining 65 miles. It should be ok but we’ll see. Dearest readers, thanks for accommodating my dated opinions.

Night night.

Thanks Ian. We have resurrected this trip from the depths of stupidity. Sleeping in and missing a day’s walking. Idiots. But we’re going to make it up over the next few days. The weather has been very much in our favour, but today is overcast, cold and wet. In Zaragoza, where me and Gary walked to 6 years ago, the temperature is minus 13c. There is two foot of snow. We’re lucky here on the coast that it’s just cold and wet!

It is a flat walk along the coastal path with the sea on one side of us and the rail track on the other. Nothing of any note to photo. We ended up in Vilassa de Mar and couldn’t find anywhere to stay. So we took a taxi back to Mataró, which we’d walked through earlier in the day, and got a decent hotel at a decent price. The rain lessened and we set out on the town looking for dindins. The place comes alive at night.

A really nice town. And we had a goat cheese flan each in a small cafe. The owners were lovely, and highly amused that we raved about their pies and hugged the local punters.

We were directed by them to a fish restaurant, but we were a bit too early. So we wandered a bit more and found an Arroceria (Rice restaurant) that was opening in 15 minutes. The waiter bunged us to a table and brought out a bottle of the best Cava in Spain, according to google. Then we ordered seafood paella blackened with squids’ ink. Heaven. And it was ridiculously cheap. We ate like kings for less than forty quid.

Back to the hotel and totally immune to Gary’s cataclysmic snoring skills.

Night night.