Day 537 Saltcoats to Irvine. I was awake at 06:00 wrote my blog as I listened to the rain bouncing down outside then joined Woody in the house for a brew, I packed and said goodbye to Tracie and Maddison and Woody drove me back to where I had left off from. The weather was awful this morning and was raining thicker and harder than Id seen it in a long time. At the drop off point I said goodbye to my mate and set off along the sea wall from Saltcoats. The first section of the coast path ran between the sea wall and a railway line. The high winds had turned the sea into an angry monster and the waves crashing against the wall were throwing them at times 30 foot into the air and down on top of me. There was a really good railing along this section and it was quite safe to walk especially as I had my berghan on my back. The only thing that was in danger was ruining my IPhone to capture footage of it. After I got a quick video I ran the gauntlet trying to time the waves right, although I still got drenched. When I reached the park I walked alongside an estate, the rain was coming down so hard I could hardly see from it stinging my face so much. I must have missed the coast path sign because I eventually came to a dead end at an industrial estate and had to turn back on myself to find it again. This is how the weather stayed for about 9 miles. I had waded through floods and a mile or so short of Irvine the rain stopped and the wind died. Just before I reached Irvine I met up with a lad called Darren who is ex RE. It turns out I had met his Mom and Brother when I was in Clacton-on-Sea. He walked with me into town, my hands were blue and my feet were squelching in my boots. We found a pub and I got a spot inside hidden in a corner that had a radiator to sort my life out so the staff couldnt see me. Darren got us a brew while I took my boots and socks off and put them on the radiator to dry. My original plan was to get to Ayr today but that was only a pipe dream now the way my boots were. The day before I had met a chap called Neil an ex Gordon Highlander who had left me his number and told me to give him a call if I needed a shed. I texted him and he got back to me to tell me he wasnt in the area at the moment but would be with me in a couple of hours. I was in no rush as I had a radiator and the pub had wifi. I sat there for the next couple of hours drinking coffee drying out and chatting with Darren before he left. Neil turned up, I chucked my berghan in his boot and he drove us back to his. He had told me he had a posh shed and he wasnt kidding. It was a proper man cave and had been kitted out like a bar. I joined him in the house and met his wife Julie and Daughter Alex. He made me a curry and was off to work at 19:00. Inside his shed he had a settee and a TV with sky. I settled in and spent the evening watching the discovery channels with a flask of coffee. I had a great night on my own and it only served to reinforce how much Im looking forward to finishing and going back to hopefully a normal life where Im not on the move day in day out and can sit and stare at rubbish on a TV in the warm. Thanks for reading xxx
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:42:28 +0000
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