#17 OLD SCHOOL HOSPITALITY

Welcome to LEJoG Day 17… make yourself at home Day 17 pre-amble The title celebrates this place, one of the magic circle of just four B&Bs I have ever given a full 10/10 on booking.com. One of the other two appears here, while the third is a couple of weeks north and the fourth is in […]

#16 SUNLIT UPLANDS

Welcome to the sunlit uplands of LEJoG Day 16 Day 16 pre-amble This phrase has been somewhat abused in British political circles these last few years. Here I mean it literally. Today was all about Exmoor, I reached the highest point of Exmoor National Park in mid-afternoon, the header image was taken from there, and the […]

#13 “BIG YELLOW TAXI” SYNDROME

Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone? Another musical welcome… to LEJoG Day 13 Day 13 pre-amble I think most people know this song, so I will assume a passing familiarity with the lyrics. If you do need a refresher, the link is there. No-one, to […]

#12 THE QUAY, THE SECRET (VIA THE POINT)

You are invited to LEJoG Day 12… bring the Europop Day 12 pre-amble You know, when I set out on this walk and later decided to blog about it, I never imagined that Urban Cookie Collective would play any role at all. Yet here I am casually invoking their enormous 1993 hit, which – being […]

#11 TOWERING IN KERNOW; WEARY SOLES IN DEVON

Shortly after you cross the border between Cornwall and Devon, there are – literally – some steps coming up from a bridge. More than three, as it happens. A stairway, in fact. The temptation to use the most obvious pun for the title of this blog is admittedly hard to resist. Indeed, Devon/heaven puns have proved […]

#10 ….. HEY BUDE (REFRAIN)

Don’t be afraid, it’s LEJoG Day 10 Day 10 pre-amble Four dots were originally placed at the end, to make the reader think of “don’t make it bad”. But then I moved them and added one, because “anytime you feel the pain” seemed more relevant. The climbs in the first half of this stage are […]

#9 RICHARD OF CORNWALL

Welcome to LEJoG Day 9 Day 9 pre-amble This is a shorter day dominated by two serious cliff ascents, being Beeny Cliff and High Cliff. The latter is Cornwall’s biggest (highest) cliff, and so I christened it Richard. Well, can you think of a bigger Cliff? Of course you can’t. In fact, I struggle to think of a Cliff […]

#8 APRES LE DELUGE, MOI… SUR MON CUL

Welcome to LEJoG Day 8 (and Year 2!) Day 8 pre-amble Some years ago I was best man at a wedding. The groom and I have a number of long-standing in-jokes. One of them relates to my superhuman ability to find a puddle and slip in it. I think it goes back to me falling […]

#6 MAKING LIKE HENRY VIII

Welcome to LEJoG Day 6 Day 6 pre-amble Making Like Henry VIII… Cutting off two heads – bloodlessly, in order to shorten the walk from Newquay to Padstow – that is. None of the marrying, divorcing, splitting from Rome, dissolution of monasteries, ruling the kingdom or indeed ordering the actual execution of two of your […]

#5 NOT EXACTLY A RUSH

Welcome to LEJoG Day 5 Day 5 pre-amble Newquay. Like Proust’s madeleine, the very word brings to mind a cascade of childhood memories: 1978 – a caravan holiday in St Columb Major. My grandad made a navigation error in Devon on the way there and we ended up crossing Dartmoor instead of using A roads. […]

#4 WALKING ON (IN) SUNSHINE

Welcome to LEJoG Day 4 Day 4 pre-amble Quick music test: did this title immediately bring to mind Katrina and the Waves? If so, how about trying this instead? A magnificent disco cover of an original by Eddy Grant. It’s better. It’s not a cliché. Your life will be better for knowing it. Well, perhaps […]

#3 THE SEA, THE SEA LIONS

First of all, another disclaimer for literary readers: I have invoked the title of Iris Murdoch’s Booker-winning 1978 novel purely because it’s quite catchy, the sea was a near-constant companion for 18 miles, and this stretch was also highlighted by the South West Coast Path guidebook as an ideal location for spotting sea lions. I really […]