My Dad is a keen horse rider. He doesn’t ride so much now but when he was younger he used to take part in cross country competitions which invoked some quite serious jumps made out of solid objects like hedges and fallen trees. The sort of thing that doesn’t move when you crash into it.

I remember him telling me how, before a jump, the technique is to hold the horse back, try to time its stride to match the distance to the jump, and when all set up loosen the reigns and allow the horse to power over the jump.

I may have remembered all that wrong but I understand that the timing is important but also, holding the horse back a bit, gives it some extra, pent up, energy to negotiate the jump.

I wonder if that’s what has happened to me. I know I could have completed these last few days quicker. Maybe the last 5 days could have been done in 3. But I know from experience that I wouldn’t be so strong at the end. Today, as I neared the finish line, walking the last couple of miles into Minehead and towards the SWCP monument, I felt so good. No aches and pains, I felt like I could almost run. My pack felt so light. It felt amazing.

If I’d wanted to, I think I could have turned around and done it all over again. A little part of me was tempted but my other life does need tending to. So I did wonder, was the difference this time that I’d held back. I’d tightened the reigns a little during those last few days, and now that they’d been released I’d found a load of energy. Whatever the reason, I think this was my best finish so far.

One last dream

I enjoyed my last night in camp. There was a guy who’d just set out on his journey to Poole, full of nerves and not sure what to expect, and a lady from Holland who was exploring the path and enjoying travelling and writing. She was a little like me, although a lot younger so ahead of me in the discovery game, as she was finding a route for herself through life.

I talked to them both at length. I was trying to offer encouragement to the man heading towards Poole, but trying my best not to influence him. We all have to work out what works for us on these walks, one size definitely does not fit all, but he’d struggled to sleep so I did offer that I’d been like that when I’d started but soon got more comfortable in my tent and I was sure he’d be the same.

He did make me proud when he said he hoped he’d be in as good condition as me when he finished. I’m not sure I’m holding up that well, apparently I’ve become quite tramp like, but I was at the time jumping around trying to dry my tent bag, so maybe looked energetic.

What I didn’t tell him was about the dreaming. I’m still not sure why this is happening, but again I dreamt that I was walking on the path. This time I was walking the last section, but it wasn’t going to count because I was in my tent, and I’d have to do it again, and I’d forgot to film it. It was a relief when I woke and I realised none of it was real.

The final path

I planned to finish in Minehead at about 1pm. This gave me a nice easy morning and I had plenty of time to update my blog and get ready.

As I eventually headed towards the path I met two dog walkers who chatted to me. One told me to do what makes me happy – but not to hurt others by doing it. The other told me to enjoy the big hill. It was a morning of good advice.

I felt so refreshed that the last bit wasn’t worrying me at all. The only slight issue was that I’d been so laid back that I was unlikely to get to Minehead by 1pm. I decided I’d try to keep the chatting down to a minimum and not make Jenny wait too long for me.

And it all started so well. I did have a short chat with a couple as I started to climb the coastal path up Bossington Hill, but they were going in the same direction so we walked and talked. No impact to ETA.

I even followed the path correctly this time. Last time, although I didn’t realise at the time, I’d gone the wrong way and ended up scrambling up the side of a cliff. No such dramas this time, just an easy to follow path. I’ve no idea how it went wrong before. I probably went the wrong way because I was rushing.

I chatted a bit to a couple of guys walking towards Minehead. They looked a similar age to me and quite fresh and I worried that they’d walked all the way from Poole. I wondered how I hadn’t seen them before. I annoyingly compared myself and it seemed to diminish my achievement. Which was really stupid of me and I told myself that my achievement was what I made it.

They were wild camping as well. I told them I’d stayed at a campsite in Porlock and they said they’d camped in the woods just before Porlock Weir. When I expressed my shock at how they’d managed to find anywhere they told me they wished they’d gone to the campsite because it had been a struggle and there were lots of ticks. They had multiple ticks attached to them in the morning. I’ve been so lucky to avoid the ticks, I’d heard a lot about them over the last few days, but I did suspect that it was because people had been camping in the woods. I think I made the right decision to go to the campsite.

Oh, and I know it shouldn’t matter, it turns out they’d been walking the path over multiple years, so even though I shouldn’t compare, it wasn’t comparable anyway.

We won’t talk about the young German man who passed me who’d walked it in 32 days and was then heading off to do a similar walk in Wales!

Kept Jenny waiting

The weather forecast for the day was dry but cloudy. Half of this was right. There was no rain but I was also gifted with occasional sun. This was another reason why delaying the end for a day had worked out well. Yesterday it’d been raining most of the day so the last few miles would have been a little damp. Not that it would have mattered but a dry, sunny day, is definitely preferable to a wet misty day.

I was making good progress but I still estimated Jenny would beat me by about an hour. I then bumped into the lady I’d met the night before at campsite and we chatted for a while. I knew I should be getting myself to Minehead but I was enjoying this one last chat on the trail so time slipped some more.

I then got my hurry up as Jenny called to say she’d arrived. I was still nearly 2 hours from the end. Whoops. I hope I wasn’t rude to Lesley as I rushed off. It was so nice to meet her. Jenny told me no more chatting was allowed!

The best feeling

The last hour or so flew by. The path wasn’t nearly as difficult as I’d remembered it and I built up some pace. I was really excited to get to the end. I probably was going faster than I should have, wizzing down the final slopes towards Minehead. Normally my knee would be telling me to slow down but I was powered by adrenaline now and couldn’t believe I was going to get to the end.

I thought about some of the issues I’d had. Some minor but some where I thought my trip would have to end. The times when it was too painful to walk. And now, here I was, rushing along, feeling good, just minutes from the end. I’d got really lucky – my body had held up.

I saw Jenny standing a few metres from the end. I sped up a little, just to show off, pretending that the last 640 miles hadn’t taken their toll. I’m not sure I could have kept that pace up for long though. I’m pretty sure she saw through the fake fitness as well. It was so nice to see her.

And then, like all these walks, it was over. We stood at the monument for a while, but then it was just a case of getting in the car and leaving. Apologising about the smell. It was a strange feeling. Walking so far, achieving my goal, probably completing my biggest challenge yet. Now done. Now back to normal. I did feel proud of myself though. I think I did OK. Definitely worth the effort. I think I’m a better person for it.

And after

The boots made it. My uncle joked that I should contact the manufacturer for a refund. Maybe I should tell them what they’d managed as I think I’ve walked over 1300 miles in them. Possibly even 1500. I got lucky they held together.

My knee made it. I was so close to giving up twice but each time a day off walking made the difference. A big difference as well. Each time it went bad I honestly thought it was over, figuring there was no way that something that hurt so much could recover so quickly, but it did. There is a lesson there. Our bodies are quite amazing. I’m not very spiritual, I don’t really know what that means, but I am grateful that my body allowed me to complete the course.

I’ve still got Jenny despite leaving her for 6 weeks with my children – who are many things but tidy is not one of them. I’m very lucky to get the type of support I get. It’s not that she lets me do these things, I don’t need permission, it’s that she encourages it. She knows it does me good, keeps me on the straight and narrow, and cares more about me being ok than the hardship it causes her. I got lucky.

After charging the car, stinking out a McDonalds, and buying some strawberries, we headed to Porlock Weir to our hotel. I showered and put on clean clothes. Banishing my walking stuff to a couple of bin liners.

The best bit was getting rid of my beard. I don’t think I like beards, but I don’t like carrying extra things either, so nature dictated I have one.

We then headed to dinner for a celebratory meal. This really was the perfect end to my 6 weeks out on the trail.