{"id":4396,"date":"2012-08-16T14:29:26","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T14:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/?p=4396"},"modified":"2012-08-16T16:03:09","modified_gmt":"2012-08-16T16:03:09","slug":"walk-2012-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/?p=4396","title":{"rendered":"Walk 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"
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28th July, Portland, Dorset<\/p><\/div>\n

Smells of sun-cream and the sea; glittering light on the water; expectation, excitement and goofy hats.<\/p>\n

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28th July, Welcome to Portland!<\/p><\/div>\n

Memories of perfect ice-cream from the day before (Rossi’s); talking to BBC Solent; taking to the hills in a sociable, laughing, friendly group.<\/p>\n

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28th July, Weymouth seafront<\/p><\/div>\n

Hills! Aching limbs; incredible, thirst-quenching wonder of water; the surprising way that the sound of surf can travel all the way up to the cliff path from the water; seagulls and crickets; feelings of triumph all round.<\/p>\n

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28th July, Durdle Door<\/p><\/div>\n

Our first night in the tent; the hoarse and noisy exuberance of a rookery above us; beanfeast and boiled potato dinner; oat so simple breakfast; Mark’s little camping stove roaring; all the nylony swooshy sounds of turning over in the night in a tent.<\/p>\n

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28th July, campsite at Durdle Door<\/p><\/div>\n

Scrunchy pebbles underfoot; scrutinising the ground for a pretty piece of sea-glass.<\/p>\n

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29th July, Lulworth Cove<\/p><\/div>\n

The Jurassic Coast! Walking where dinosaurs walked; remnants of ancient forests.<\/p>\n

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29th July, The Jurassic Coast<\/p><\/div>\n

Shaking legs; laboured breath; collective victory; the most delicious rocky bar I’ve ever eaten (thanks, Helena); and a well-earned view.<\/p>\n

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29th July, The top of the killer hill at Lulworth<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking along the Purbeck Ridgeway; vistas of sea and sky replaced with the wide, swooping curves of arable land; a patchwork of greens and yellows; the occasional blush of a field full of blooming poppies; the happy chatter of relatives and buddies.<\/p>\n

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29th July, Grange Arch, The Purbeck Ridgeway, Wendy, John and Milly<\/p><\/div>\n

Corfe Castle looming spectacularly into view over the horizon; lost lamb bleating on the pathway; the promise of a Dorset Cream Tea in the near future; white noise of crickets in the grass.<\/p>\n

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29th July, Corfe Castle<\/p><\/div>\n

Childhood memories of exploring this castle; a well-deserved scone smothered in clotted cream and strawberry jam.<\/p>\n

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29th July, Corfe Castle<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking through sun-dappled woodlands; coolness of leaves; twisting branches and insects hovering like dust in slim, golden slants of light; the soft tread of mud underfoot, barely audible.<\/p>\n

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29th July, the way to Wareham<\/p><\/div>\n

Dog-tired at Wareham; putting up the tent and showering; blissful change into sandals and thick, woollen socks.<\/p>\n

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29th July, Poppy and Hodge’s rucksack at Wareham<\/p><\/div>\n

Best bowl of Penne Arrabiatta I’ve ever eaten; the particular hunger that follows walking 18 miles in a day with a rucksack on your back; a haze of tramadol; sweet soft clinking of the masts of the boats moored along the river; stars and moonlight on the wander home from the village.<\/p>\n

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30th July, La Trottolina, Wareham<\/p><\/div>\n

Lunching at Woolsbury Hillfort; a surprise slab of bread pudding for Mark; finest West Country Ham for Poppy; lying on the ground for all of us; a beautiful view from the hill; Poppy throwing herself on the ground; many types of grasses.<\/p>\n

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30th July, Mark relaxing at Woolsbury Hillfort<\/p><\/div>\n

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30th July, Hodge and Poppy at Woolsbury Hillfort<\/p><\/div>\n

Miles of anonymous, winding pathways framed with wildflowers and crops; wading through razor-sharp fields of dried and brittle rape; enjoying the shimmering effect of wind sifting through barley; becoming too tired to be bothered about nettle stings on bare legs; feeling too strong to stop walking or to care too much about how much further it is to bed; becoming quiet and settling into the timespace and headspace of The Walk.<\/p>\n

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30th July, walking to Wimborne<\/p><\/div>\n

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30th July, the way to Wimborne<\/p><\/div>\n

The dead-straight trail where the Castleman Railway Line used to run; excitement of a newsagent selling sweets; creating alphabets from items espied on foot; surreality of wandering into Ringwood and contemplating the world of The Supermarket vs. the world of The Walk; winding little streams and pathways leading out of Ringwood; the beauty of the first silken wild pony arse espied in the bracken and the gorse; the pleasures of a Spotted Dick and Custard at Red Shoot; a rosy glow from one illicit beer.<\/p>\n

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31st July, ponies in the New Forest<\/p><\/div>\n

The roar of the little camping stove; the fun of sharing beans, bacon, bread and fried potatoes out of a few pots; the way food tastes when you are famished; the ache of a body remaking itself in the presence of an unfamiliar exercise pattern; the lovely promise of a day full of ponies and laughter.<\/p>\n

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1st August, breakfast at Red Shoot<\/p><\/div>\n

Walking through the New Forest; cathedrals of trees; the quiet presence of animals.<\/p>\n

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1st August, walking through the New Forest<\/p><\/div>\n

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1st August, walking through the New Forest to Romsey<\/p><\/div>\n

A quick hug at Romsey train station; the banter of new walking buddies; the sadness of losing a co-walker temporarily; blisters; Tramadol; shin-splints; the excitement of being on the way to Winchester; the change in ambience with a change of crew.<\/p>\n

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2nd August, a sad goodbye to Liz at Romsey train station<\/p><\/div>\n

A deer poised silently in the deep green of the forest.<\/p>\n

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2nd August, deer glimpsed between the trees on the way to Winchester<\/p><\/div>\n

Our first sight of the beautiful River Itchen.<\/p>\n

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2nd August, The River Itchen<\/p><\/div>\n

More friends turning up; talking to the press; stealing sausages for the dog at breakfast; feeling perfectly rested after the clean white sheets of a hotel; St. Swithun’s Way.<\/p>\n

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3rd August, Winchester Cathedral<\/p><\/div>\n

Curious cows with their eyelashes; snack-bars; talking; the cool flow of the winding, wide, glossy River Itchen.<\/p>\n

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3rd August, curious cows by the Winchester<\/p><\/div>\n

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3rd August, The River Itchen<\/p><\/div>\n

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3rd August, The River Itchen<\/p><\/div>\n

The Ship Inn, Bishop’s Sutton; chips, fish, and pies; tap-water and diet coke.<\/p>\n

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3rd August, Andover Outdoor Group by the Ship Inn, Bishop’s Sutton<\/p><\/div>\n

A wee walk through woodland and barley to find our beds; comfortable camping pods at Two Hoots Campsite; a delicious sleep; leopard-print bedding; the sad bleating of ewes whose ram-lambs have all gone for meat; the patter of rain on the wooden camping pod; and the luxury of hot chocolate and a microwave to use for our breakfast.<\/p>\n

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4th August, a rainy morning at Two Hoots Campsite, Bishop’s Sutton<\/p><\/div>\n

Baa.<\/p>\n

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4th August, Walk 2012 sheep<\/p><\/div>\n

On the way to Bentley; FAMILY and BEER! A lot of laughing; catch-up; and cake at Chawton.<\/p>\n

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4th August, The Railway Arms, Alton<\/p><\/div>\n

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4th August, buddies, family, Mark and I enjoying a refreshing ale<\/p><\/div>\n

The glorious gold medal wins of Jessica Ennis, Mo Faragh and Greg Rutherford; elation in The Star Inn, Bentley; Blue cheese and slow-roasted tomato tart; dizzy legs; blisters; shin-splints; the heavy drone of rain on the outside of the tent; coffee made in the titanium pot and drunk stood up; and the long walk to Farnham; another sad goodbye after a stunning breakfast.<\/p>\n

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5th August – brunch then train home for Liz at Farnham<\/p><\/div>\n

The strange timing of walks; the age it seems to take to get to Puttenham; utilitarian comfort at the eco-barn; a decent nights’ sleep; the opportunity to cook our own dinner and wash some socks.<\/p>\n

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6th August, Puttenham Camping Barn<\/p><\/div>\n

A deep, rumbling storm as we walked the Wey Navigation; raindrops like golf-balls; soaking skin; the sensation of everything being wet and clingy; a snake wriggling across the top of the water. RAIN.<\/p>\n

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6th August, a storm on the Wey Navigation<\/p><\/div>\n

A shift in the atmosphere of the landscape as we near London; an increased sense of density; industrial buildings; the roar of traffic; the looming spectre of the Capital City; the official visual language of The Olympics infiltrating on every level.<\/p>\n

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7th August, Hampton Court Palace<\/p><\/div>\n

A completely different kind of terrain; concrete and crowds.<\/p>\n

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7th August, urban sprawl at the fringes of London<\/p><\/div>\n

Stealing sausages from the breakfast buffet for the dog; sleeping in a hotel before the last stretch; the sudden sense of stress, busyness, and excitement instigated by the city. <\/p>\n

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8th August, Putney – Liz & Liz have both returned!<\/p><\/div>\n

The cheer of friends; the growth of our small group; the approach of the end; the last ask of battered legs and blistered feet; the final stretch.<\/p>\n

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8th August, Sharon and Monkl cheering on Walk 2012 near Victoria Park<\/p><\/div>\n

Hammered feet and shins; stronger shoulders; a sense of achievement; the bewildering realisation that I just travelled 187 miles on foot; RESPECT for my feet; the glow of pride; and the inspiration of watching the athletics inside the Olympics Stadium.<\/p>\n

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8th August, Olympic Park gate, Stratford<\/p><\/div>\n

And since then? Quite a bit of resting. Thanks to everyone who joined us on the walk; to Mark for designing and organising the walk; and everyone who has supported the project online! Mark has done a lovely write up of the Walk here<\/a>, and if you are especially interested in what Poppy the dog had to say about the walk you can read her diary of events here<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…of walking 187 miles over 12 days, as documented on 2 (incredibly light) disposable cameras.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[688],"tags":[2689,2183],"class_list":["post-4396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-walking","tag-mark-stanley","tag-walk-2012"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/12-cow.jpg?fit=950%2C640","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pmise-18U","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4396"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4448,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4396\/revisions\/4448"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thedomesticsoundscape.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}