Almost made it....... to Cathedral Cove

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14th November

Got up and decided on a second night at the site; 2 reasons, my washing had got wet in the overnight rain and I was planning to walk to Cathedral Cove.

I had company for breakfast, slowly waking up with a cuppa and breakfast of bread and jam, and this sparrow keeps landing on the table and flying off again. Eventually he goes in for the kill and starts tearing chunks of bread of the bread on my plate. Cheeky got comes back a dozen times or more in the end.

It is still a bit drizzly, so decide to wait til the rain eases before I head off for my walk. I fill my time by moving my washing to the drying room on camp in the hope that it will dry out before the end of the day. I also put my phone on charge in one of the lockers in reception and buy a coffee and head back to the van to read my book. The sparrows keeping popping over to see if I have anything for them.

The route to Cathedral Cove is about an hour from the camp along the beach. When I go back to reception to pick my phone up I ask if there is a route that goes passed the local shop so I can pick up supplies on the way back. Yep, follow Grange Road she says.

Get back to the van and get myself sorted for my walk, water, walking pole, glucose tablets, banana, Apple. Off I head.

The receptionist said that Grange Road was a steady walk and probably safer than walking along the beach and up through a track in the bush, particularly as it had been raining. What she failed to mention is that Grange Road was uphill for about a mile and a quarter, being brought up in the Fens means I am not a great hill walker, and my foot drop do not make this an easy walk. I make it to the car park at the top of the hill and Cathedral Grove should be 45 minutes from there.

This journey seems to be a lot longer than the hour each way indicated by the signs at the campsite. I carry on, thankful that I seem to be bearing up better than on my last hill walk, no huffing and puffing, no pounding heart and no jelly legs.

I carried on for another twenty minutes or so; and then it all suddenly caught up with me; sweating, tingly lips and feeling a bit shaky. All the signs of a hypo, I sat myself down on a rock and shoved some glucose tablets down me, just as I was doing this a couple came round the corner and asked if I was Ok, I explained that I had diabetes and just taken some glucose tablets and that I would be ok in a bit. They stayed with a while and kept me company and I started to feel the glucose kick and carried on walking with them behind me, to be fair they had slowed their pace to stick with bless them.

Another 5 minutes and I rounded a corner and saw a clearing a realized we still had a way to go; I was really not sure If I could make it to Cathedral Cove and back to camp under my own steam the chap tried to convince me that I was almost there and he stopped a couple of people who were on the way back to find out how much further. I had to disappoint him because I knew in my heart of hearts that this might turn in to a medical emergency if I carried on. Bless him, in a bid to keep my spirits up, he offered to take my phone and my stick and take a photo at Cathedral Cove to prove I had done it.

I relunctantly turned back and headed for the car park at the top of Grange Road.

I tested my blood glucose levels and the were low considering I had already had some glucose tablets. I bought a coffee, with sugar, and a ham and cheese salad sandwich and waited 'til the carbs kicked in.

About 30 minutes later I felt revived and headed off back down the hill to the shops.

Got back exhausted, too exhausted even to make tea, got my chair out put by feet up until I felt human again.

Finally time for tea, when I get back the campsite cat, Poopsie, makes an appearance, we have a few minutes while she sits on my lap watching the birds. The she jumps off, in search of birds I assume. I reach over for something in the van and she has made herself at home in a sunny spot in the van. I leave her to it whilst I drink tea, she spies the milk and comes over and gives a nudge, so I indulgence her with a splash of milk on a plate. Then she’s off on her wanders again.

I summon up the energy to gather my washing from the drying room and think about food for the night. Sausages, carrot and potatoes out of a tin, not sure about the tinned potatoes, they seemed a good idea when I bought them, but they were too salty for my taste.

I have come to the conclusion that I must be walking miles a day without my planned walks, everything at the campsite involves walk, toilet, kitchen, shower, laundry room. There is no wonder I am tired, all this walking and sea air.

After food and a tidy up I write my blog and climb into bed once it starts to get dark.

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