I saw a shooting star. I’ve never seen one before and this was so clear. It was amazing. My birthday gift maybe?

I’d just finished setting up my tent after a hectic couple of hours in the dark and was putting my backpack in. I happened to look up and notice how clear the sky was and how bright the stars, and then I saw it. It was so bright. Incredible. Made me less miserable about the fact I’d put my tent away wet from condensation that morning and was having to dry out the floor before I could put my bed up.

That star was definitely the icing on the cake of a memorable day.

A solid sleep

It felt so great to have had a good nights sleep and a shower. I had sore parts of my body as well which I’ll not cover in detail and I’d managed to sort that out.

I was in no great rush to get going although in the back of my mind I thought I probably should as I had a vague memory that getting around Portland was quite hard work.

Deciding not to dwell on that I went about sorting my stuff out and getting ready for the day. I was feeling pretty good about it. And I was determined to keep myself fuelled properly this time.

So once I set off I was on the look out for somewhere to buy breakfast. I’d missed this step last time and, although saving time, I think had cost me in other ways.

Further than I thought

I remembered Weymouth being just next to the campsite, and then the road to Portland being just next to Weymouth. Wrong.

Weymouth was about 4 miles from the campsite, where I decided to stop and eat, and then the road to Portland was another 4 miles. So I’d done around 8 before I’d even got onto the island. I’m not sure if it’s actually an island as it’s connected to the mainland by Chesil Beach. But it feels like an island.

It’s a nice walk round but is quite hard work. I was speaking to a couple before I got there and they were telling me that it didn’t used to be part of the coast path so was optional. I couldn’t miss it out though. Another thing they said though, which I liked, he said walking the coastal path was hard, and if it wasn’t, everyone would do it. Made me feel proud of myself for at least trying.

Toilet water

At Portland Bill I suspected that I was going to be very late to where I wanted to camp. I could feel the anxiety rising inside so I decided to just get on with all the things I needed to have in place for a wild camp.

I knew I was running low on water so went into the public toilets hoping to find a tap. There was no tap, just those clever wash, rinse, dryer type things that don’t really work. So, being resourceful, I used the water out of the toilet cistern. I’m not proud of myself but I did filter it.

It was then a case of getting some food thanks to the 24 hour petrol station, and I was then set up for the night. No need to panic. Just get back to the mainland, use your head torch, get as far from the town as possible, and then pitch up. Easy.

Better for it

And it wasn’t totally easy but did all work out fine. Some of the path wasn’t great for night walking as it went round little beaches at high tide so a bit of a scramble. But it all worked out. I probably walked about 2 miles in the dark before I found a spot. And it was well worth it.

Now maybe I won’t be so scared about things like that. Which would be useful as I seem to insist on getting myself into those situations.