The journey

The high – we made it!
The blog / The journey

The high – we made it!

So, the magic circle has been completed and the boundary has been paced. Chico and I are perimeteers – we walked around the whole of Wales, and nothing really terrible happened. We are both still alive, healthier and musclier than ever before, both deeply in love with walking, and fairly […]

Homecoming, jiggidy jig!
The blog / The journey

Homecoming, jiggidy jig!

The end is in sight, literally – we’re in New Quay and can see the lights of Aberystwyth twinkling in the bay, and beyond it some places already seen – the Lleyn peninsula and Snowdon. We’re taking it slowly to savour every last moment, and because I’ve picked up a […]

Could this be love?
The blog / The journey

Could this be love?

“Oh, he loves you!” say sentimental people about Chico quite often. After 850 miles, I tend to think I’ve just worn him down. We’ve both formed habits of nearly five months’ reiteration, and some of them could be mistaken for that most ephemeral of emotions. Everything changed for me at […]

The end is nigh, but not very
The blog / The journey

The end is nigh, but not very

Yet another first of the month – that makes four. For some reason my mum says ‘white rabbits, white rabbits’ rather than ‘a pinch and a punch’, but my long-eared creature of choice is still this funny old donkey, cruising about alongside my tent, pretending not to be interested in […]

Us in the Echo
The blog / The journey

Us in the Echo

We were in the South Wales Echo on the 11th of September, and online here. Nice piece and picture – thanks Echo!      

Home sweet home
The blog / The journey

Home sweet home

It astonishes me every evening how little a donkey needs compared to a human being. Even with my needs pared down to the carryable minimum, making him happy for the night takes a fraction of the things and time that making me happy takes. He sorts himself out with a […]

Sweet donkey music
The blog / The journey

Sweet donkey music

There I was thinking of us as a bit of a damp, shonky travelling circus – a funny one-liner of an idea that’s persisting beyond its best-before date, as I’m still walking around Wales with a donkey, after months and months and months – when a wonderful friend writes a […]

Chico goes to school
The blog / The journey

Chico goes to school

Turning the southeastern corner of Wales coincided perfectly with the beginning of September – new term, new season, new compass point to follow. The middle of the day is still as blazing hot as some of those heatwave days of July, but the dew is getting heavy and the shadows […]

The blog / The journey / Where are we now?

The borderlands are over!

See where we are on a map

Not waving but drowning
The blog / The journey

Not waving but drowning

I thought that this inland bit would be easy. 360 whole degrees of route-planning options rather than the 180 that you get on the coast (unless you fancy getting wet), no particular requirements except to head south as fast as possible, green and pleasant lands to camp in, kind affluent […]