Day 27 - Penfro, Picachu & Pizza !!

Day 27 - one of my easiest scheduled walks (12/13 miles) from Milford to Pembroke. Cracking weather today and most of the walk was on proper footpaths (and not too many inclines at all).

Plus I had the pleasure of being accompanied by Amy & her friend Picachu (aka Katie).

Amy and her family (inc Kate Byron, her dad Brene, mum and Amy's mum Jane) have been great supporters of the walk and are also participating in memory of Sam. 

The scenery on this walk was somewhat unique to the others, as we past the oil & gas refineries that the area is renowned for.

(No dolphins or seals around here !!)

What was similar to previous routes was the danger of bumping into Boris' relatives :-

Luckily we didn't encounter the beast!

After taking in a much welcomed Magners break at Neyland, time seemed to fly by along the route as Picachu seemed to have a song for any occasion !  Some strange looks from the locals and passing traffic along the way though :) 

The girls did tremendously well to walk the entire day but they may be aching in the morning! (Thanks for the company both!!).

We arrived at Pembroke in good time and in high spirits.

The bonus for me was that I had a couple of hours to chill out before the boys came to pick me up! Where did I go ? Take in the sights of the castle etc? Have a wander round the town? Get a picnic down by the river? NOPE - I found the Royal George !! Job done !

These early finishes are dangerous mate, don't want to walk any further than necessary so the obvious place for me to take refuge is the beer garden ;) !!

Mr Jenkins & Mr Job had arrived and we made our way to Rhians. 

She then showed us the delights of Narbeth and literally got stuffed !! Humongous pizzas washed down with a few cheeky pints. 

(Needless to say me & Rhian kicked the boys ass on the pool table!!)

Unfortunately, someone let Jenkins loose on the jukebox ! 

(Any song that had 'Walk' in the title got played - inc Aled Jones ;)

Twas a great night and we had a good laugh reminisencing about the old Brynteg days - yet more stories about you Mr Hayes ;) - I'll save them for when I get back!

Rhian - you have been a star. The support you've given me along the way and the assistance you have provided me with has been massive. Thankyou is not enough really - but thankyou!

Rumour has it tomorrow I don a pink nuns outfit !! Please don't rain !!

Tomorrow I'm hoping to send Henley and Job home in pieces .................

Heard you've had a good day mate, which is great. Hopefully the pics tomorrow will make you chuckle !

For now here's a cheap joke:-

Now that Suarez is leaving the scum for another club who will be their designated diver?  ;) 

Goodnight mate.

"Enjoy every moment you have. Because in life, there are no rewinds, only memories" 

Day 26 :- another good day !

Firstly an update on last night!

Took me 40 mins to walk back to the hostel in a dark country lane and I was bricking myself !! Bats flying everywhere and then out of nowhere from behind I saw some animal hurtling towards me!! Could've been a stray dog, a fox or even a bloody big badger !!! Either way I wasn't waiting for it to get to me so I imitated a snake (for some random reason!!) and hissed at it - it then started running back the other way!! 

But it kept doing this for about 10mins!! I did try upping my pace but flip flops don't really allow for that!

Eventually got back to the hostel! Tiptoed in, not to disturb Parky but failed miserably ! About half hour later of answering another 50 questions of his, I pretended to be asleep - I think he kept talking for at least another 10 mins before dropping off himself ;)

I awoke this morning to more scrutinising, but did eventually get back on the road! 

A dryer, more pleasant day today - buoyed along with news that I had passed my Welsh Exam too !!! Get in there! (Da Iawn to rest of my class too!)

The first 2/3 miles of my trip today were very familiar - oh yes ! That's right, I bloody walked it yesterday too whilst lost!!!

I did get to take in the views of Skomer & Skokholm islands - Bill Oddie would love this place, as its a bird-watchers paradise. Now, to me, a bird is a bird ! 

Random Cr@p joke alert:

What do you call a bird that's always out of breath ? - A puffin !!

I didn't fit in round here anyway, as i didn't own a pair of Binoculars! 

I then got to the picturesque little village of Dale. Perfect spot for coffee & carrot cake !!

The sun decided to surface this morning too (must have smelt my carrot cake!), but it was a welcomed ally - after the last few days.

No one walking with me today, so I took the opportunity to blast out a few tunes and bring out my air guitar ;)

Oh and Headley is still around too. Just doesn't like the rain ;)

The rest of the walk to Milford was pretty uneventful really. Even the sea views now are getting ignored ;( I could the see the industrious town of Milford in the distance most of my way around the peninsula which always helps. Having the end destination in sight somehow makes me walk a little quicker!!?

My abode this evening (Lord Nelson) is now free too, thanks to Jane & Amy Jones!! A nice bath, some pub grub (definitely putting weight on, not losing it as expected !) and a wide screen TV ! Luxury!

And to continue with the 'Justins getting spoilt' trend - Rhian has kindly offered to launder my kit !! Which is very much needed ;) I opened the ruck sack yesterday and I swear I saw one of the tshirts walk out of it on its on !!! Febreeze is too heavy to carry :) 

Ill treat myself tomorrow and wear a different top to that I've worn for the last 3 days !!!

We've reached the £8000 mark too mate, which is great. People are talking about MND - all we need now is for it to make a difference ! 

The hope remains, that one day the world will be free of this grotesque disease. We need to hold onto that hope.

Day 25 - Long road home

Probably bored you stupid yesterday mate with the moans & groans (again!!!!) - sorry.

Today was a tad better lol !!

In fact today started off with me cursing the hell out of the skies ! More rain !! Someone up there is playing funny bu**ers with me ! Burn me to a crisp one day and then flood me the next !!

I didn't have chance to dwell on the negatives today though as I was joined by some lovely people!

This morning, Luana and her daughter Laura braved the elements to join me from Solva. I had met these amazing women at the cake sale I attended yesterday - from which by the way they raised approx £200 !!!

These two get involved in a lot of fundraising for MND in this area and raise a hell of a lot of money in the process, backed by a very active South West Wales branch. 

Today's terrain resembled an ice rink at times ! And doing a 'bambi on ice' impression isn't recommended when perilously close to the cliff edge !!

When we got about 2 hours in we then met up with some more fabulous fundraisiers ! Kate Byron, Amy Jones and their wonderful families came along to support me too. Kate and her father walked the next 3/4 miles with us and joined me in cursing the weather ;)

In fact all my fellow walkers and supporters today helped tremendously in lifting my spirits from yesterday. 

There's a lot of very good people out there doing a lot of incredible work for the charity. Again it was humbling to hear their own personal experiences with the disease and how it's affected their families.

So far so good !?! Great company, no moaning about my blisters, no sun = no sunburn, even the rain stopped this afternoon ! But......

I was alone for the last hour or so of my journey - which only meant one thing !! Yep I GOT BLOODY LOST again !!

All I had to do was take a turning off the coastal path towards the village of Marloes. Simple instruction. 

2 and a half hours later I found myself

In Martins Haven at top of the peninsula with nowhere else to possibly walk !! Cue mild panic. 

I text Kirsten for postcode of YHA (this info was in my backpack which Mrs Jones had kindly taken back for me earlier in the day!!). Text reply came back with a postcode that was 25 miles away !!! Cue extreme panic !!!!

Luckily, the postcode was wrong and I was only lost by 3.5 miles !!! Which, with my feet was still not a great prospect ! 

Some kind-hearted folk took pity on me and offered to take me to my hostel - extremely generous of them and for which ill be forever thankful! - today was an approx 23 mile slog which could've and should've been less & easier !

(They also kindly donated £5 !!)

So by now, I'm knackered (as usual!) and in need of shower, cider, food and bed (preferably in that order......)

Who do I get roomed with in the hostel !??!?? Marloes' equivalent of Michael Parkinson !! This guy is a nice enough chap but my god can he talk !!! 

Took me 20 mins to get past him and out the door for a shower, another 20mins to get out and past him to get into he local pub! I've started writing this blog in the pub to delay my return and hopefully avoid another inquisition when I get back there !!

I must mention the hostel, they have been great, given me a towel and the manager drove me into the village ! (Obviously could see the desperation on my face !!)

Tomorrow I head for Milford Haven - 25

Days through it now mate - feels more like 25 years ;) 

Another faux-pas before i publish this ! I thought I could get taxi from pub to YHA - oh no !! Don't be silly Justin !! Absolutely no chance - no taxis here ! So as I try and type these last few words, I'm 'Walking' (!!) back to the hostel (about a mile away!) - in flip flops !!!

God I pray Michael isn't still awake when I eventually get back there ;) 

Day 24 - Torture !!

I think this morning was the first time I've seriously thought 'i cannot do this today' - lack of sleep, blisters, sunburn and rain!

As expected, didn't get too much sleep last night as my back and shoulders felt like they were on fire !!!!! Still ruing the massive schoolboy error from not applying any sunscreen whilst donning my nice little purple number !!

If i thought the t-shirt tan was ridiculous then what greeted me in the mirror this morning was bordering on the insane !!!

The new blisters that I acquired yesterday were also proving troublesome today, so all in all this morning was a complete nightmare (I resembled John Wayne walking through the fields !!) - oh, and, as you know I'm not one to moan - it was also hammering down with rain !! One happy chappy........ ;(

Having not had a phone signal for the last 24 hours further dampened my mood !!

Anyway, as with most of this challenge so far, happier things were around the corner !! 

And Liz Cousens (a member of a local MNDA branch) was the bearer of said happiness !! 

(See how well I'm masking the pain of the last 3 hour walk !!!)

She treated me to a much needed latte and provided me with a packed lunch! As well as taking the backpack to Solva for me (my raw shoulders screamed with delight!!) 

(Thankyou Lis - this really perked me up).

With renewed vigour I plodded on for the next 3 hours before arriving at the Solva memorial hall, where the South West Wales branch had held a coffee/cake afternoon to raise funds to contribute to our challenge !! I got to meet some great people, some of which I'll be inflicting my moans & groans on tomorrow as they walk with me (I have pre-warned you guys!!!).

I was then picked up by my host for the evening, Jon, who together with his lovely family have taken me in, suitably fed me and provided me which much awaited comfort for the evening. (Many thanks !)

So, in truth mate, this morning I was prob my lowest since the walk began, but again thanks to some great people, the afternoon was much more positive - it re-iterated the reasoning behind it all! 

I never forget about the objectives of this walk, it's just sometimes numerous little narky (doubt that's a word!) things combine to screw with my head !!

My feet are now literally in bits and the sunburn will take a few days to subside but my enthusiasm, although tested at times, will not diminish! 

2 weeks today I'll be done - there's still a long road ahead, but that just means more time to raise more awareness and more funds !! This carthorse ain't done yet! 

On a more cheery note for you, looks like Liverpool are resigned to the fact they'll lose Suarez, which means they'll definitely win jack all and finish below the Toffees again !

Goodnight Gar. Hope you didn't take too much pleasure out of seeing me in that dress !!

PS - word has spread so much these last few weeks they've named a place after me ;) 

Day 23 - Dressed for Success !

Hi mate - I'm lying here in the bunkhouse dorm sweltering and burnt to a crisp (you'll see why now!) and also in possession of a few new blisters !!!

Unfortunately unable to publish tonight's blog because of the severe lack of any telecommunication signal whatsoever!!!

I'll start with last nights events. After chillaxing for a few hours, the boys (Hicky, Stu and Tiff) arrived at the YHA with all the essential rambling necessities - cider and Pringles ;) They, like other guests I've had on my walk, had no idea of the arduous task ahead ;)

(By the way as I lie here, the rest of the boys are already kipping, also burnt, battered and blistered !!)

We had some good pub grub and the usual combat on the pool table ! 

The morning arrived and with slight (very slight !) hangovers we set out on our mammoth 22 mile journey !!

Unfortunately for me, shortly after this photo I had to change my attire for the day! Cue complete embarrassment :-

(With thanks to all you cruel people who contributed to this one-off masterpiece!)

(The lengths I will go to for awareness ;)

Some of the reactions I got along the Pembrokeshire coastal path were hilarious - it's not everyday you see a bloke adorned in a purple dress scrolling through the bracken !!

The route (Goowick to Abereiddy), took us on a long winded 11 miler up and down countless coves. After 4 hours we had reached the hostel (yep our starting point again !!). This is because our hostel was miles away from where I finished yesterday with Nerys and as tempting as it was to skip this extra mileage, we plodded on !!!

As usual, we shared some great banter and at one point we had a 'Sky Cycle Team' peloton effect going, as we traded places for the lead walker !

The terrain seems to be getting worse !! Who decided to make the path out of jagged stones and include cross-beach pebble trails ???? 

We had the privilege of spotting seals, as well as some strange scarecrows !! ;)

For the last few miles of the walk, we were all completely knackered and the infamous Sloop Inn was in our range ! For some sadistic reason the pace seem to quicken in anticipation of a pint !!

There were some extremely aching limbs when we did eventually reach the end! Even the usually vocal Hicky seemed to be half the man he started out as ;)

(My support crew for the day!)

Got to our accommodation - Celtic Camping & Bunkhouses - who deserve a massive mention! The propreitor Ian, kindly donated our room fees and matched the amount to give to the fundraising - he also allowed us to cook or own BBQ (cheers Chef Stu!) and bring our own refreshments (alcohol!) etc 

Needless to say - all of us were extremely tired and in pain after a hard days slog so a somewhat unexpected but much needed early night ensued!!

What's the downside of having to wear a dress all day in the sun ??? This is :-

Red raw shoulders and back ! As well as some ether fetching strap lines !! I won't be using communal showers for a while - will get some strange looks for sure !!

I thought it was a good day, it was great to have the boys walking with me, we had great fun despite all the aches and pains ! Tomorrow is going to hurt though.....

Day 22 - Near miss 4 little sis ;)

Cannot really believe I've reached Day 22 ! Today was Newport to Goodwick - nice easy low mileage, moderate terrain day. 

I was joined today by your little Sis ! Nerys arrived sprightly and eagerly at the crack of dawn and looking forward to her little stroll along the coast ;) 

Within a mile of the 'trek' I could hear strange squeaky sounds from behind - I don't think her knees and hips had experienced much exercise for a while mate ;) and they needed WD40 lol 

It was hilarious but fair play to her she kept plodding on and did a great job.

And being a well-organised female she also brought copious amounts of snackage !!!!  

About halfway into our walk, we had the pleasure of meeting Janet & Dave (a MND sufferer for last 12 months). The couple, from Kidwelly, were holidaying here and came to greet us. A perfect boost for us - coffee and welsh cakes! A lovely couple ho I hope to meet up with again when on the Kidwelly leg.

(I won't mention the little shortcut they found for us either !!)

The coffee must've gone to Nerys' head mate -  I wasn't going to alarm you, but we nearly blooming lost her !! In a half-hearted attempt to avoid the smallest of stingy nettles she decided to scare the beejeebies (new word!) out of me by stumbling towards the cliff edge !! 

I'm probably over dramatising things a little, but a couple of more steps to her right and I would've had some gruesome material for the blog ;)!!! 

But don't worry she's safe and hopefully soaking her weary legs by now ! 

It was really nice to have her company though and I think she kinda enjoyed the pain really! 

Although she is flagging in this photo:- 

(Were a few nasty little inclines !!)

She told me a few stories about you too, some of which I didn't know about ;) but we won't publish them don't worry !!!

So we had reached our destination and found a suitable watering hole for a much deserved beverage and some food. Unfortunately they didn't serve food so we improvised and visited the local chippy !! Luckily it started raining just as we had finished our walk ! But again the MNDA umbrella came in handy as a shield for my Bulmers!!

Gratefully, she was able to then drive me to my hostel for the night, cos that was another 6 miles away from where we stopped.

Tonight's hostel isn't as bad as yesterday's !! They have power sockets here for a start!! 

As I type this I await the arrival of some the boys, who are staying here too tonight in prep to walk with me tomorrow. But for now I think it's best I try and publish this blog when I have some limited Internet access etc. Any further stories ill add to tomorrow's ;)

It's been great today walking with Nerys and getting to hear her perspective of the entire situation etc. She, obviously, is very proud of her big brother and in awe of the strength both yourself and Tracy are displaying each day. 

You have a wonderful family around you mate.

Huge mention needed again for Rich Robinson today, his monumental beard-growth and head shave etc raised a fabulous £1600 towards our total. 

£10k is within touching distance now. Thankyou to everyone who has contributed. 

Day 21 - I Keep going ! - the wrong way

Hi mate,

Before I start, I'm writing (typing) this as I lay in a YHA dorm with 3 other complete strangers occupying the other beds ! - it's eerie and a bizarre scenario!! 

Anyhow, about 4 hours ago I thought today was a great day and that today's blog would be full of positivity ! But, as usually I take a little detour !! - more about that in a bit!

Today started much much better - dry skies to wake up to and I got to visit holly & Lucas' favourite sweet shop ! Yum Yums in Cardigan.

(And yep, by the look of this photo, I still haven't woke up properly yet!!)

I also got to meet a twitter follower before I set out on todays journey!! - proof that social media aids awareness !! Thanks Christine !

Today's route was much more bearable !! Plenty of things to see, wildlifeand got to walk through some lovely villages.

(Found it odd to find that horse on top of clifftop alone !!)

Loads of people promised me spectacular views on what was now the Pembrokeshire part of the coastal path - and they weren't wrong !

I walked past something the locals call Witches' cove (depicted above). I (and I guess you) could think of a few people who belong in there mate ;)

I got to Newport Sands - which I assumed was my destination!

(Inappropriate positioning of umbrella!!)

So I stroll along the beach and headed for the village I could see in the distance (literally 10 mins away !!)

As I got closer I could see the tide was in and the Estuary seperating me from my bed was duely flooded !! Cue 2 hour diversion around it and onto the next village !!! 

I was now 3 miles the other side !

I got to the first pub I'd seen for 7 hours.

I walk in and this old man came up to me straightaway and said "I hoped you'd come in here !!" - Alun (a local & MND sufferer for 2 years) had been waiting for me to arrive !!! - again more proof that this walk is getting coverage and awareness across Wales !! Made my little detour worthwhile for sure!

I found out later, had I taken an earlier right turning at the beach car park - I would've been on quick path!! but then probably wouldn't have met Alun. 

So I eventually get to my hostel and oh boy, what was I thinking !! It's like being in prison mate (the closest I got to that was when you drank me under the table in a Whiskey competition circa 1993 !!). 

Four bunk beds (I shot-gunned a lower one !) and four complete strangers ! I daren't breathe in case it was too loud!

They don't do towels either !! So my OCD is at a critical point right now !! 

Got another couple of these places to stay in along the route home(inc tomorrow night). It's not exactly the Hilton. 

Tomorrow, your little Sister joins me (she chose an easy/low mileage day obviously !!)

And Saturday, some of the boys will be joining me - so should be a good couple of days ahead. Edging towards single figure days now .........

I had the iPod at full strength today and tunes were flying out - everything from Thin Lizzy to Emeli Sande lol!  

One song came on and instantly pulled a cord with me - the lyrics are spookily appropriate. Sat down for a little while and listened to it over a few times.

I've always said and will continue to do so - if I could take away any of the suffering & discomfort you are feeling right now - I would do so immediately, I would bear that pain for you and I know alot of people who would do the same to alleviate somewhat, the cruelty of this disease. 

The song :- Bridge over troubled water by Simon & Garfunkel. I haven't got wifi to post the lyrics now.

Just know this Gar, if I could - I would.

Speak to you tomorrow, if I get to survive the dorm and my new cell mates!!!!