Day 60 of the End to End in 2019 was a damp day in Cumbria. It was preceded by 59 other days of walking and would eventually be followed by a further 57 days of walking. Initially we’d estimated 120 days for LEJOG but actually it only took 117.
Day 60 was a day of junctions and intersections, some of the most unexpected kinds. One of those intersections was with the C2C. This demanding long distance walking route from one side of England to the other is not one I’ve contemplated. It seemed long and very physically demanding (says she who was walking LEJOG at the time) so I’d opted for other routes: Hadrian’s Wall path was my preferred way across the North of England. I met folks on the section of C2C I encountered and most admitted it was gruelling, each section quite long. Whilst our way to doing LEJOG was to break it up into small doable sections and have some support and assistance on hand if needed. Maybe the C2C could be done like that too but I’ve not investigated it.
Hannah had walked this section in 2012 so I knew there were lots of references to stone age remains in the landscape. Surprising though it may seem, our forebears have lived in these hills for a very long time. There were other stone things to see: the limestone pavements with their worn and fractured surfaces for example. That reminded me of geography trips I used to help out on when I was working as a school Chaplain.
There were also large boulders in the landscape. Later we got close to one called the Googleby Stone at Shap, near the tiny Keld Chapel. I’d visited the Chapel before, possibly in 2012 when Hannah was walking LEJOG. Its simple interior is the kind of place my forebears would have used. I was reminded of the story of Ruth and Naomi: Wherever you go I will go.
Our ways do overlap, sometimes planned, sometimes unexpected. So too our thoughts and prayers make an overlapping web, and our stories weave in and out of each other’s lives. Though distant, we are connected; close enough, we are meshed together.
From the remembered bible, Ruth 1
Wherever you go I will go.
Your people will be my people.
Your God will be my God.
Connecting One, weaver of memories,
author of stories, originator of thoughts,
carver of stones, marker of routes,
confirmer of origins and focus of goals:
I am still walking.
Your company makes me who and what I am.
Your people are my people.
You are my God.
JAL: 05.06.2020 in Longdendale.