Looking for Direction Along the North Downs Way
Thank you for your recent application for the above position. After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we will not be taking your application further on this occasion… We would like to thank you for your interest and wish you the very best in your job search…
I’m sure most of us are well familiar with those friendly yet soul-destroying words, especially when you just sent off another application which will probably reap similar results. Looking at the bright side though, at least I did get an answer that day. I can probably count on both hands how many rejections I actually received in writing, whereas my little digits are not enough for the applications not even worthy of a response — 94 at that point if you’re curious, good thing there are spreadsheets.
From Bubbly Celebrations to Unemployed Deliberations
That was in October when I decided that I needed a little — let’s be real, a big, a massive — confidence boost to keep going and not totally drown in self-pity, doubting any skills I might have believed in before. I’d been searching for seven months by then, something that was definitely not part of my 2020 plan, a year that looked rather promising at the start. In fact, I actually had a little party-for-one in early March to celebrate the successful completion of a contract just before heading off to snowy Tromsø, a trip that was initially only meant as treat to myself for turning another year older (if not wiser).
In addition to that, having left behind a rather happy customer, doors were supposed to be wide open upon my return, another reason for bubbly-infused celebrations. Well, we know by now that these doors closed swiftly. It made me think of the German tradition to never congratulate anybody before their actual birthday, a superstition* people tend to wave off with a smile but probably should take serious in order to avoid upset Germans or worse outcomes (if there are any). I know I will remember that one going forward — note to self: no celebratory drinks until everybody signed on the dotted line.
*The same applies to New Years by the way, just as a heads-up depending with whom you’ll be celebrating this year.
Fast forward to October, the anticipated projects still hadn’t come through, neither did any other attempt to make myself useful. I did start writing again at that point by capturing my wild camping adventure and finishing my Shetland story, a step in the right direction, or at least in any kind of direction. I was not quite sure yet where I was heading with it, so I kept searching, outdoors, indoors, offline, online. I was continuously browsing job boards and started to notice that I was becoming less and less interested in what I came across, leaving me rather lost and confused. It reminded me of my original plan for 2020.
Ironically, I was planning on taking a timeout after my last project in March to figure out what’s next having carried that feeling of confusion about my purpose for quite a while by then. As the outdoors does me quite well when dwelling on such thoughts — the awe of nature comes to mind — I wanted to complete the North Downs Way, one of 16 National Trails running through the UK without a lot of people knowing. As mentioned before, sometimes you don’t have to go far to get that travel fix. To experience new environments, meet new people, or simply embrace some time away from the daily thought patterns we tend to get stuck in, and let that ‘back burner’ work for a change.
Where and What Is the North Dows Way?
The North Downs Way (or NDW as I tend to shorten it) is a 153 mile (245 km) long distance path from Farnham to Dover, including a Canterbury Loop, passing through the counties Surrey and Kent. Calling Surrey my home (for now at least), I followed the call of the NDW last year and started tackling the path in sections on several weekends during the summer, often doing one or two at a time depending on the distance of each section.
Now that I’m thinking about it, I did those hikes in preparation for the National Three Peaks Challenge I completed last October, which in itself was meant as preparation for the Everest Base Camp endeavour I mentioned before making it my second cancelled try this year. Will I try again? You betcha — third time lucky, no?!
But back to the NDW which is made up of 15 sections in total (listed at the end of the post). I managed to make it through the first 5 all the way to Otford on 4 weekends before hitting Kent where train tickets became too pricy to justify a day trip. Based on that and in preparation for a well-needed timeout, I was planning on doing the last 10 sections in one go staying at hotels, hostels and B&Bs along the way. Once March came around, that plan was no longer an option and did not cross my mind until October when I was in need of some nature-based (de)liberation. As I had the skills to work around the hotel situation by then, it would have been silly not to get myself out there again, so I packed up my tent and went.
Not quite as idyllic as the Lake District, the NDW is still a perfect place for a social detox. You can walk for hours without meeting another traveller, except perhaps an occasional dog-walker, local cyclist or horseback rider, even in the height of the summer. Comparing last year’s and this year’s walks, I did notice a few more people out there, especially around viewpoints probably due to these travel-less times forcing us to appreciate and (re)discover the natural gems we’ve been surrounded by for decades, more than four in the case of the NDW.
The North Downs Way was formally launched on 30 September 1978 at a ceremony on the Wye Downs in Kent. The Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, Dr Donald Coggan, did the honours and couldn’t have chosen a better place for it. The pictures below probably don’t do the view justice but hopefully still give you an idea why Wye — because it’s simply gorgeous, most likely one of my favourite spots along the North Downs.
Personal High- and Lowlights Along the (ND) Way
As usual, listening to the requests and recommendations of my readers — keep them coming 🙂 — which appear to align with the SEO advice a recent beginner course gave me, I’d like to sum up this post with a few quick highlights and take-aways and save further detail for the next posts if your interest has been piqued. This approach will also allow me to finish off with an office phrase I never thought I’d miss…
In contrast to my usual adventure stories, this one started off with rather challenging conditions, mentally as well as physically. Only half a day into my wild camping journey, I regretted all of my packing decisions as the weight of my backpack started pinching a nerve in my lower back which got me limping by the end of the day. I was hopeful sleep might fix it. It did not. I had to muscle my way through it whereby rejigging my backpack strap and belt settings, as well as my attitude, appeared to do the trick. I kept going and had experiences along the way making the momentary discomfort all worth it in the end.
Which leads to my highlights, one of them being a lovely elderly couple I met on day two, Ann and Trian Wallace, who made a similar pact and decided to finally finish off the NDW this year. Unlike myself, they started several years ago leaving me rather surprised. But apparently not as surprised as they were when hearing about my wild camping plans. While it explained the massive backpack I was schlepping around, they were still baffled and in awe about the apparently ‘ballsy’ endeavour and by pulling their imaginary hats, they might have just given me the confidence boost I needed to get me to Dover and ultimately here telling my stories.
On top of that empowering encounter, I recall a rather special moment while camping at Turnham Castle. It was the middle of the night, mother nature called** and it was just me, the castle ruins, and the full moon lighting up the landscape around me, houses in the far distance, most people probably tucked into bed, us out there, just one of many under that star-lit sky.
** Yes, I do realise that my bathroom habits are becoming more prominent in those posts than initially intended. I shall try to have epiphanies in more inviting environments going forward, although it might be a universal thing: “In awe, I watched the waxing moon ride across the zenith of the heavens like an amber chariot towards the ebony void of infinite space wherein the tethered belts of Jupiter and Mars hang, for over festooned in their orbital majesty. And as I looked at all this I thought… I must put a roof on this toilet.” (Les Dawson)
I think that’s probably when the shift from self-pity to appreciation started to set in making me more aware again of the beauty around me, of everything I had and actually needed to be content. As mentioned before, I’m a happy camper (that expression makes so much more sense now) when out and about, when experiencing the world rather than ‘owning’ it. Waking up in a tent having everything I need on me, reinforced such realisation I mentioned when talking about my hostel life in Australia. But that’s another story for another time as I should really wrap this one up now — so much about my good SEO intentions.
Inspirational Notes and Quotes
As Plato once said: “The greatest wealth is to live content with little” — be it possessions, making a wild camper one of the wealthiest individuals out there, or nature’s little surprises such as a ‘bouquet’ of pheasants scarily running off as you unzip your tent in the morning. Plato probably would have loved the North Downs Way as much as I did, and I have an inkling, he would not have said no to our mulled-wine infused Christmas Lights walks either. The little things in life, that’s what it’s all about.
Despite being full of motivational words and clever quotes now, I do have to admit that I started this post on quite a low, hence the delay. As it appears, the pandemic rollercoaster is in full swing these days making it too easy to get obsessed with what’s wrong rather than focussing on the many things that are right.
Interestingly enough, putting my NDW experiences and epiphanies into writing helped reshifting my thoughts, and also inspired me to look into the next adventure I could throw myself into, because clearly, I’m overdue for another one. Having had momentarily lost confidence in my writing as well, I guess this is proof enough that the blog concept works and shall simply remain some kind of reminiscing diary for now to get us through these dire times, keeping up the traveller spirit while professional and personal lives are momentarily on hold.
“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude,” William James once said. If this blog helps me, and potentially some of you, chase away those dark thoughts, if it helps us to not be passengers of our lives but steer our own thoughts and actions in the right directions, this blog is worth all the occasional doubt-related sweat and tears, we’re all human, ey?!
So, What Next?
Well, in that spirit, time to take back charge! As for me, I shall revisit my bucket list and see what inspiration I can find on there. Do feel free to send me suggestions. I might just have a look at the other 15 trails listed below potentially being useful for you as well. If you try any of them, do let me know how it went, drop me a note through my contact form or comment below.
I shall give you a bit more detail on the North Downs in my next posts. So, as promised… (office voice) watch this space***! 🙂
***While you do, here a little travel memory to lift those festive spirits: Ho ho ho…
16 National Trails:
- Cleveland Way, England
- Cotswold Way, England
- England Coast Path, England
- Glyndŵr’s Way, Wales
- Hadrian’s Wall Path, England
- North Downs Way, England
- Offa’s Dyke Path, Wales and England
- Peddar’s Way and Norfolk Coast Path, England (treated as a single National Trail)
- Pembrokeshire Coast Path, Wales
- Pennine Bridleway, England
- Pennine Way, mainly England with a short distance in Scotland
- South Downs Way, England
- South West Coast Path (South West Way), England (UK’s longest)
- Thames Path, England
- The Ridgeway, England
- Yorkshire Wolds Way, England
If curious where they are exactly, check out the National Trail website — you might have one just around the corner. UPDATE: On 12 August 2022, it has been announced that the Coast to Coast route will become a National Trail as well, …in case you’ve made your way through the above by now?! 🥾
The North Downs Way in Sections
- Farnham to Guildford, 11 miles (17.7 km), through Puttenham and past the Watts Gallery, ascent: 666 feet, 203 metres, descent: 765 feet, 233 metres.
- Guildford to Westhumble (Dorking), 13 miles (21 km), via St Martha’s Church, Newlands Corner ad Ranmore Common, ascent: 961 feet, 293 metres, descent: 945 feet, 288 metres
- Westhumble (Dorking) to Merstham, 10 miles (16 km), over Box Hill and Reigate Hill (two of my favourite places), ascent: 1,450 feet, 442 metres, descent: 1,260 feet, 384 metres
- Merstham to Oxted, 8 miles (12.8 km), via Whitehill Tower and Caterham Viewpoint, ascent: 1,020 feet, 311 metres, descent: 817 feet, 249 metres
- Oxted to Otford, 11.8 miles (18.9 km), over Botley Hill and into Kent, ascent: 1,198 feet, 365 metres, descent: 1,427 feet, 435 metres
- Otford to Cuxton, 15 miles (24.1 km), through Wrotham, and Trosley Country Park, ascent: 1,716 feet, 524 metres, descent: 1,922 feet, 587 metres
- Cuxton to Detling, 12.5 miles (20.1 km), across the Medway Bridges and past Kit’s Coty House, ascent: 1,325 feet, 404 metres, descent: 978 feet, 299 metres
- Detling to Lenham, 9.3 miles (14.9 km), past Thurnham Castle and the Marley factory, ascent: 1,370 feet, 320 metres, descent: 922 feet, 281 metres
- Lenham to Wye, 11.1 miles (17.9 km), through Boughton Lees and Eastwell Park, ascent: 420 feet, 128 metres, descent: 810 feet, 247 metres
- Wye to Etchinghill, 11.2 miles (18.1 km), past Wye Crown and through Stowting, ascent: 1,296 feet, 396 metres, descent: 991 feet, 303 metres
- Etchinghill to Dover, 12 miles (19.3 km), past Folkstone and over Shakespeare Cliff, ascent: 1,329 feet, 406 metres, descent: 1,657 feet, 506 metres
- (Canterbury Loop) Boughton Lees to Chilham, 5.9 miles (9.5 km), through King’s Wood and Mountain Street, ascent: 512 feet, 156 metres, descent: 561 feet, 171 metres
- Chilham to Canterbury, 7.2 miles (11.6 km), via Old Wives Lees and No Man’s Orchard, ascent: 614 feet, 187 metres, descent: 705 feet, 215 metres
- Canterbury to Shepherdswell, 10.4 miles (16.7 km), through Patrixbourne and Higham Park, ascent: 814 feet, 248 metres, descent: 519 feet, 158 metres
- Shepherdswell to Dover, 8.5 miles (13.7 km), through Waldershare Park and along the Roman road, ascent: 499 feet, 152 metres, descent: 879 feet, 268 metres
Above trail information was taken from Colin Saunders’ North Downs Way: National Trail Guide, which I purchased in preparation for the camping adventure to avoid getting lost and having to double back on myself, something that’s okay with a daypack but not so much fun with 20kg on your back, but more on that in future posts.
