Blogs from Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 19

OK so this is not going to be the stroll in the park I thought it was going to be. Today was one of the hardest days of my life... not the worst, just the hardest physically and emotionally. Today I discovered that walking by yourself is not easy... you have only yourself there to motivate you and only you there to ask "What do you think about this?", only you... only you. I got to where I planned to have lunch today and there were the picnic tables, as the map had indicated, but they were in the sun with no shade, no good at all to a very tired, sore walker. So I decided to ring home then, since I am calling in every lunch time to let them know I am OK. Dad ... read more

After a full english breakfast I found I could still walk and headed out along the canal. Today I was followed all the way along the canal by one herron or there are about 5-6 herrons living along the canal between Berkhamsted and Aylesbury... are there any wildlife experts out there who could tell me whether there are that many herrons around or if it was probably the same herron??? Walking was fine and I got through the 99 green bottle song over about 2 miles but I think I mis-counted a lot and it may really have actually been about 127 green bottles. I am also glad to report Elvis is still alive and driving a canal boat down the Grand Union Canal in the direction of London at the moment. This chap had Elvis ... read more

Since we last wrote we have absolutely fallen in love with Scotland. It is a beautiful place with friendliest people you could hope to meet. We continued to have a wonderful time with Bonnie and Graham and can't thank them enough for touring us around and showing us all the area has to offer. We went for a few hikes which was always an adventure due to the ever changing weather, but hey we are from Vancouver if we can't handle a little rain who can? We very much enjoyed the day Bonnie and Graham took us up to Braemar for a hike although thanks to the now-legendary map-reading skills of Nick and Graham it really is lucky that Bonnie and Sarah survived. What was meant to be a short, relaxing two hour hike turned out ... read more

Graham and I have a very different approach to preparations for our big trip. I'm up to my eyes in planning and administration wondering where the last few weeks have gone and how we're going to get everything done before we depart. Graham is pacing like a caged beast desperate just to pack our bags and leave on the next plane. We've never done this kind of thing before and I'm hoping our combination of organisation (me) and action (Gra) will be a winner. He's great in a crisis and able to make decisions and stick to them. I'm worried about a million things and hopelessly indecisive, but we're both keen to see what's out there and have some adventures together. We're hoping to make it to all these countries, taking our time in some and ... read more

Sorry about not having put up a blog for a while, a lot has happened with me getting settled and starting work. I have found a new home. It's called Olney and I had never heard of it untill a day before I arrived. It's a nice little town that is stereotypically english. Quaint, quiet, beautiful, cold, grey and raining. In fact it was raining as I typed this. The whole town has more of a little village feel to it as everyone knows everyone and the township is hidden away in the midst of large rural areas. I have heard population estimates of 2000 - 11000 people but I think 9000 is more realistic. The main street, High Street (bet ya didn't see that one coming), is a beautiful small road with cobblestone walkways flanked ... read more