Day 19 Part 1 - Walkers everywhere

It's funny how I've bumped into things during this walk. I'm speaking metaphorically, in case you have visions of me in perpetual collision as I trek.

The Isle of Wight is currently in the middle of a walking festival, which accounts for the numbers of booted and anoraked walkers (more than you could shake a Leki pole at). I hesitate to encourage readers to visit www.isleofwightwalkingfestival.co.uk as my phone reports that this is blocked unless I can verify that I'm over eighteen. I assume this is a bug in the system. If not and you've found yourself somewhere you didn't expect, please accept my apologies. Next Sunday is the climax of the festival as over eleven thousand people will "Walk the Wight" in aid of the island's hospice. The full route is twenty-seven miles and it's a tough challenge. Apparently the event has been held for about twelve years and attracts a growing number of walkers.

So within minutes of leaving Ryde on the Coastal Path, I'd seen more walkers than during the whole of my 175 miles in France. Come to think of it, I didn't see a single recreational walker before I got to the UK, just a few dog-walkers.

The path took me to Binstead, where a friend from Bristol days, Nick, is vicar. We were originally to meet but Nick had to change his holiday plans and is away in the Mediterranean. Still, I enjoyed reading his parish newsheet sat in the porch of his church.

I met Nick when he hosted my placement in the inner-city parish of Barton Hill, as part of the Urban Theology Project that I undertook. Binstead couldn't be more different - gorgeous views through the trees to the sea and thatched cottages next to the church.

(Continues in Part Two)