The final day of our UK Camino. Frankly, we're just delighted to be able to get the chance to finish it, as if we'd believed the weather forecasts earlier in the week we'd have been swimming it. Nevertheless we awoke at 6.30 to skies the colour of Ribena. The revised forecast promised an entirely dry day. Wrong! We started in what could be best be described as mizzle.
The first place we arrived at was Shawford, and its slightly famous Bridge Inn. Only slightly famous as it is where kindred spirit Victor Meldrew died in One Foot In The Grave. Indeed, I still "don't believe it!".
Where poor old Victor snuffed it
Next stop from Shawford was Allbrook, a mere 3 miles and just 1 hour away. Wrong again! The rain from the previous evening and night had severely impacted the path. Yet again much of path seemed to have a river/stream on either side of it, and consequently it was prone to either flooding, or standing water. It was pretty bloody awful.
The 4.5 miles to a leisure centre near Eastleigh should have taken 90 minutes. It took nearly double that as we battled through puddles and did limbo to get under fallen branches and bushes. At one point we had to divert away from the River Itchen as the path was flooded. Not a problem, as according to the OS App, there was a path, and then what looked like a lane back to the river. In fairness, there was a lane, but there were six feet high gates and a fence between it and the River. The only way was to go round it, and through a bog. I got through, but only after dipping my foot down into a quagmire that went down about 10 inches. One very wet foot, boot and socks. Cate had the advantage of seeing how I fared, so at worse she would get one damp foot, but did have waterproof socks on. Wrong again, as her foot sunk she wobbled and consequently got two for the price of one! Obviously I should have laughed, but thought better of it. With a bit of help she was pulled out, and thanks to her socks and gaiters she was relatively unscathed.
The next issue happened as I tried to limbo under a fallen tree, but got my rucksack caught on it, and then got cramp in my leg. This resulted in my first meeting with the muddy floor of the day. Shockingly, I did exclaim slightly, but luckily it was something along the lines of "what a bally nuisance", so there was no embarrassment when a jaunty young chap appeared immediately from round the corner!
On a positive note, the previously inclement weather had made for fantastic colours, with beautiful vibrant greens set against tree trunks that looked almost black.
Eventually we had teetered to the edge of Eastleigh, where we sat in a children's playground and took stock of the fun during the previous 3 hours. Thank heavens we had walking poles to help us balance as we went through and around puddles, and used fallen logs to get through some bigger floods.
Still, we were through the worst of it, as we approached more urban areas! Stupidly over-confident I was looking at the route book as a I walked, and next thing I knew I hit the deck, landing on my arm. Fortunately, it was just a case of being caked in mud, and no broken wrist. Obviously there was a repeat of the "bally nuisance" outburst. Although words beginning with the 6th and 3rd letters of the alphabet may also have been used. Yes, actually they were. "Foolish Chap" I think!
Next up was a walk along the perimeter fence of Southampton Airport. Now, I have to say that I was looking forward to seeing a few planes taking off and landing at relatively close quarters. What a bloody disappointment. Firstly the path was surrounded by trees and bushes, and secondly it was the mid-morning lull, where there were no aircraft movements. Disappointing!
We got to the M27, and had to walk along the edge of it for a quarter of a mile, before going underneath, and trudging the same distance back along the other side. Rubbish, and bloody noisy.
We were, at least right on the outskirts of Southampton. The sun came out, and the world felt a better place. We crossed Man's Bridge, before stopping for a welcome coffee and cake at an Outdoor Activity Centre. The River Itchen quadrupled in width here, and with seagulls audible, we really felt that we were nearing journey's end, i.e. the sea.
Man's Bridge
The sun has put its hat on.....
We crossed back over the Itchen at Cobden Bridge, and soon St. Mary's Stadium, home of Southampton FC, came into sight. Obviously, I offered my finest regards...something along the lines of "you,re going down with the Scousers" as we passed. It was the least I could do; after all they play in red!
Cobden Bridge
We got to the heart of the city, and walked through Bargate before heading down to the River Test, and the port area.
Bargate
Journey's end was God's House Tower. Our passports were stamped and we got certificates as proof of our endeavours. To be blunt, Southampton is an ugly duckling, and not a patch on Santiago. However, it must be remembered, that this was really only halfway. The Spanish adventure from Ferrol to Santiago is still to come. But for the time being, it's "Job Done", and a great few days.
Journey's end - God's House Tower
Our final treat was the mile plus walk to the station. Along the way we saw the Cunard flagship Queen Mary 2. Absolutely huge, and rather magnificent.
That's it for now. But there's much to ponder regarding a "UK Camino", so there'll be another post to reflect those thoughts in a few days time.
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