It has been a rewarding day but also brutal, 38km the longest day of my planned routes for this Camino.
I was up at 0550h. I didn’t get much sleep from noise of the traffic outside and fellow residents walking up and down the corridor all night, over very creaky floorboards. But you get what you pay for – £40 for the night.
An hour later I set off. The sun was out, blue sky could be seen between the fluffy clouds and a fresh wind at my back – perfect walking conditions.
Mostly quiet country lanes with the occasional jaunt across some fields, sums up this stage. By 0900h I arrived into Hundon, 10km in, too early for the church to be open – no stamp.
I had some snacks on a bench in the yard then moved on. I passed through little villages and collected the stamps from the churches – St. Mary’s at Hawkedon was a cool one.
I ploughed on in the glorious sunshine. Again immersed in the countryside, skylarks singing above and enjoying every minute – the skylarks are becoming a symbol of this pilgrimage for me.
At 1040h I arrived into Stansfield taking a break at All Saints church – unfortunately no stamp. If you follow the guide book, this is the stage end, but there are no BnBs here, hence me doing two stages today.
For such a grand building it is very modest inside – another victim to Cromwells puritanism. The churchwarden commented that it once had elaborate stained glass windows, now only one remains.
Fuelled up I continued on, the path very much in the same vein as this morning. More little villages with tiny churches, fields of sprouting crop swaying in the wind.
At Whepstead I had another break, sunning myself on a bench, only 9km to go at that point. My legs were feeling tired and feet a little sore with all the road walking – they were thankful for the rest.
The kilometres slipped away, as did my energy levels. I was popping my Haribo stash like they were going out of fashion.
The route joins the ‘St. Edmund Way’ into Bury, making it easy to navigate without my map. Soon the city came into view and the central tower of the cathedral.
At 1530h I arrived, welcomed by one of the volunteers. Impressed with my long walk today. She showed me to a seat to rest my legs.
My legs and feet took a beating today but everything was on my side. Considering today was originally forecasted to rain – it just reinforced one of my mottos on pilgrimages, when looking at rain on the weather app, “it may never happen”.
I also think there is another lesson in there.
Stu's Camino 