TraceysTrek

Best bits: enjoying the bluebells, transport links worked

Worst bits: feeling cold at the end of the day.

Distance: 26.3 miles

I spent last night doing logistics for the next couple of days. It’s a bit complicated as I’m on my own and so I need to be able to get from Priscilla to my start point and from my finish point back to Priscilla.

Today that meant getting a bus at 7.45 am from Priscilla to Hastings and then a train to Eastbourne. It was absolutely pouring down and so I had to get my waterproofs on. It’s ages since I had to wear them.

The bus and train were full of kids going to school. A man at the station was having great fun dancing. Everyone was ignoring him but I watched him as he made me smile. The young woman opposite me on the train was drinking a can of Monster at 8am!

It stopped raining while I was in McDonald’s at Eastbourne having breakfast at 9am. Then the sun came out for a while making me too hot and I had to strip off my waterproofs. I hadn’t anticipated storing my waterproofs today so that was a bit tricky. I took a last look at the view of Eastbourne.

The sea was grey and angry looking with big waves. I stood and watched the waves crashing against the groynes for a while before turning off onto the road.

Then this little train came past. It had a few passengers on. I could have been tempted to jump on but it was going in the opposite direction!

I was about 3 miles into my walk when I walked past Asda at the Crumbles where I parked up yesterday afternoon and the marina where we had dinner.

The clouds parted and the sun became quite warm, I was down to just a T-shirt and luckily I was wearing shorts.

Then the heavens opened and it went quite cold. I got soaked through to the skin and it wasn’t pleasant walking for the next couple of hours.

I was really glad by the time I got to Bexhill. I called into the De La Warr Pavilion for a lovely bowl of soup followed by a massive scone and a pot of tea. 

The pavilion also known as the ‘people’s pavilion’ is an iconic modernist building from 1935 and is beautiful space and has galleries and other rooms for activities.

I took the opportunity to dry my waterproof the hand blower in the ladies toilet. I had my back to the door and my head under the dryer when a lady asked if she could come in. She thought I was the cleaner. I was highly entertained by that, but she was very embarrassed. 

Back outside it had stopped raining. I then walked about three miles between the railway track and the beach. Occasionally the path was flooded from the rain last night and this morning.

The route was lined with beach huts which were mainly white for most of the way.

I have come across a great many piers but Hastings pier lacks lustre, at least it’s free to go on.

I decided to cut through Hastings Old Town and I was glad I did. The streets are full of quaint little shops and cafes.

I stopped in a lovely coffee shop to rest my legs and get ready for the final stretch. The walls were floor to ceiling bookshelves complete with shelf to shelf books. It looked fantastic.

I popped into a convenience store and bought some ibuprofen and a big bar of chocolate to help me finish the final section.

The signage was a little bit confusing, but eventually I managed to find my way up through some narrow alleyways and steep steps to the top of the cliff. There is a funicular that runs from here but I climbed up instead.

The route was now along the grassy open space of the cliff tops, then down winding woodland paths before climbing back up again. The woodlands were full of bluebells which were in bloom. I thought about Angela and imagined her walking with me holding my hand as we looked at the amazing vibrant display of bluebells.

Then the sun came out again briefly and illuminated white buildings in the distance. I realised that it was Dungeness nuclear power station, my direction of travel tomorrow.

Now I was under pressure to complete the remaining distance, just over 4 miles, in time to get the last bus back to Hastings in one and half hours at 7 pm. I decided that I should jog/power walk some of the way. Not a great idea when I had already completed 22 miles and my foot was painful.

I managed it with a little bit of time to spare, but where was the bus stop! There wasn’t one! The caravan park where it was supposed to be was closed for the winter season and was having major building work. So I just stood and hoped for the best. I stuck my arm out and the bus stopped. This bus also took me all the way back to Priscilla with no changes. Result!

I was freezing when I got back at 8pm so I made a cuppa and jumped into bed with a hot water bottle. I spent many more hours of exploring logistics for tomorrow’s walk! Then time to write this blog. It’s 11pm now so time for sleep.