There’s a bit of artistic license in my title because the last few hundred yards I had walked before, but if you consider that I’ve lived in Ratby on and off for over 50 years, to still be on paths I’d never walked in my entire life, right to the end of this adventure, was quite a surprise to me. I will have to go and walk them again, because it was very dark by the time I got home so I didn’t get to see very much. I was using my head torch initially but the battery ran out so the last mile was lit by iPhone torch. Not ideal but got me into Ratby and that was the main thing.

I’m glad I did this walk. It was good on many levels. The first, and obvious, was that I managed to complete it, despite the setbacks, was good for the mind, and a little bit of an achievement that I can add to my list. I think though, what I found more inspiring, is that it showed that even in a world that’s dominated by cars and road, we still have the ability to walk from one point to another. Maybe I just got lucky and other routes would not be possible, but I hope that’s not true. I like that, for the most part, we have a great path network, that navigates around and through the other travel networks, more often than not cutting through beautiful countryside with amazing scenery. Often, even when near cities or industrial estates, the path will find a way to transport the hiker though built up areas, maybe using old train lines, canals, or nature trails, which adds a certain asthenic where you would least expect it.

I think, with better planning, I could have made the experience even better. Maybe if I’d reviewed the route more, rather than leaving it up to a computer program, I could have routed along more national trails, or avoid quite so much walking on roads, but I’m happy with what I did. Despite the odd negative moment I’m happy with the route and I’m glad I did it the way I did.

Now, will I do something like this again? Well, if you’d asked me during the last day, while I was covering 35 miles to get home, maybe not, but I think, knowing me, I probably will.

Who needs poles

I was very lucky with the weather. If there had been a big downpour, or strong winds, I’m not sure the outcome would have been so successful. Although, if that had been forecast I imagine I would have tried something different.

I was a little worried that I’d feel claustrophobic because a lot of the tent material was very close to my face (basically touching) but I was fine. Don’t get me wrong, I’d have definitely preferred the tent to have had its poles, but this compromise pitch wasn’t too bad. Ultimately, it kept me warm and dry – a little too warm if I’m honest – and I got a decent nights sleep. Packing up in the morning was more awkward than normal but still ok. I was relieved though to get moving again, and quite happy with myself that I’d managed to cope and carry on when giving up was definitely an option. It’s a nice feeling when you’ve had to be resourceful. But in short, I’d got away with my mistake, and hopefully this will make me more careful in future with my equipment.

Saying all those positive things, I didn’t fancy another night with just part of a tent, and had decided I was going to get home. I think I would have made this decision regardless because I had 35 miles left to go and knew, if I got home, I’d have the benefit of not having to find somewhere to camp, which would make the day easier. So the decision was made, I was going to get home today. I did a quick calculation in my head – with the use of fingers for multiplication – and worked out I should be home by about 8pm. 12 hours walking. 3 miles an hour. This seemed ok for a final push to get home.

Fast march

The start of the walk was through a golf course but I was soon into Kenilworth and then onto a very long road into Coventry. I had a quick look on the map and saw that I’d be on this road for a good few miles so decided to listen to a podcast and settle myself into a swift pace.

Even though I was on a main road all the way into Coventry there was a really wide pavement that catered for both bikes and pedestrians, so even though a little boring, it was fine to walk on, and because I was listening to a podcast, the time and miles flew by. In fact, by the time I got to the city centre I’d actually gained some time and it seemed that I might get home an hour earlier than I’d originally thought. So sometimes a less interesting path does have its benefits. Every cloud and all that!

After passing through the City Centre of Coventry I had a real treat. The routing took be straight through the centre but then took me down some smaller streets. I really wasn’t sure if this was sensible when, and it really did seem to come out of nowhere, I found myself on the Coventry Canal. I was so delighted as I’d just been walking through city streets and now I was on this waterway that cut through the city. I was pleased I’d followed my route – this was perfect.

I’m not sure exactly how long I stayed on the canal, I’m sure it was a few miles, but it worked out really well. Where I was due to leave the canal there was a small shopping area where I got some lunch, then I was routed on some more streets for a little while, and then back onto the canal. This was now taking me out into the countryside and before long I turned right onto the Ashby de la Zouch Canal. I was absolutely loving how the canal was my little corridor to the next location. I loved how it cut through the country, under bridges to transport me past roads and railway lines.

I was still making good time and knew that soon I would be getting to Hinckley and I knew this wasn’t too far from my home. Well, not too far in a car anyway – I’d never actually walked there. But, this felt like good progress. I was getting tired though. By the time I got to Hinckley I had roughly 25 miles already covered and 10 to go so knew the last few miles would be hard work. I did notice my pace was slowing as well and it seemed that the time I’d gained previously was now lost – so I was back to an 8pm estimate for completion.

Getting better at this

I think it must be the time of year but a lot of farmers fields have been recently ploughed. In the extreme case the day before this was while I was trying to walk over it, which wasn’t ideal, but luckily today they’d been recently done so the path had disappeared but at least I didn’t need to dodge a tractor.

Initially I’d been cautious of walking over newly ploughed fields because it didn’t seem right to tread on the soft soil and ruin the farmers work. But I think the only way that the footpaths are created again is by people walking on them, so I was becoming more confident now in starting at the edge of a field, setting a heading to where I thought the path ended on the other side, and then trying to walk in a straight line. I’ve done this in the past when it’s been wet, and with each step your feet get heavier as mud is collected by your shoes, but today the soil was dry so there were no issues.

Due to the number of fields I had to cross, and the amount that did not have any visible footpath, I started to get quite good a navigating my way from one side to another. As I neared the end of my walk, in the dark, it got even harder to do accurately, so I was glad I’d had plenty of practice. Although, even though I think the route I took each time was perfectly straight, I imagine if one was to look from above they may have been more wonky that I’d have hoped.

Familiar surroundings

After Hinckley I went through Barwell, then Kirby Mallory and then onto Desford. Each place being closer to my home and all places I’ve visited in my car. Every now and then I’d think, ‘oh, I’m nearly home now, I’ll just get picked up’, shortly followed by realisation that this would mean a failed challenge, and that would be daft at this point.

As I got into Desford it was too dark to navigate the paths without a torch, and this would normally cause me a lot of anxiety while looking for a place to pitch up, but today I wasn’t too concerned. I just had to walk the final 2 miles to Ratby and I’d be back to the safety of my home. Even when my head torch gave up and I had to switch to my phone torch I was ok. It did get confusing though as when the torch light was too low down I would instinctively lift my head to raise it, forgetting that now, with the torch being my phone, I just had to twist my hand a bit. It’s funny how our instincts can do the wrong thing.

And that, I think, is pretty much it. I was very tired, it’d been a long day. My legs and feet did ache. I could feel the weight of my pack. But with just a few more fields and paths to cover I was home and dry – even though these paths were new to me and it was dark – but I would have crawled the last 2 miles if required. I was so happy as I walked into Ratby – moving from the dark path to the first street lights at around 8:15pm. It was funny, and quite refreshing, approaching the village from a different angle, not one I expected, but it was a nice change. As I got to the village sign I tried to record a short video and, I must say, this did catch me out, I felt a little emotional and did croak a bit as I talked. No tears though.

You know, this wasn’t a major walk in the scheme of things. I’ve done longer. I’ve done harder. Other people have completed things that dwarf this. But I found it a challenge nevertheless, which I suppose I did underestimate, so I feel proud that I made it home.

And I would definitely recommend it to others – if you like that sort of thing!