Walkingman

The rain came during the night. I awoke to hear it falling on the flysheet of the tent. I emerged in the darkness, and gathered up my things. I took down the little tent. There was a recreation building on the campsite, very close to where I had camped, and I brought everything there. I…

The next morning, I was up bright and early. The accommodation did not provide meals, but I had bought some groceries the previous day, and I was able to make a good breakfast. Then it was time to get back on the trail. I went back through centre of Saint Quentin and out onto the…

I slept well at the auberge, and next morning, I was up early, and soon I was on the trail. I was quickly across the Somme at Flamicourt, and then I left the streets as the trail took to the fields and woods. After a time, I noticed that the trail was unusually flat, and…

Early in the morning, I made myself a light breakfast, then gathered up my things, and got ready to go on the trail. I left the accommodation and went back to the centre of Villers-au-Flos. I probably could have gone a little further east and rejoined the official trail there, but I chose to do…

Once again, I was on the trail early, too early for breakfast in the monastery. When I had checked in the previous day, I had asked when breakfast would be available. Eight o’clock, they said, which would have me on the road sometime close to nine. As it worked out, I declined their breakfast, and…

The accommodation office at Parc d’Olhain said breakfast would be available from seven o’clock in the morning, so I was there precisely on the hour. Alas, the breakfast was not ready. I filled my water bottle, stuck it into my rucksack, and went back to the dining room, where by that time, the staff had…

The next morning, I was up early again. I left the overnight accommodation and went back again to Auchel. Once again, I stopped at a boulangerie on the way out of Auchel, andfound a good place to sit and have a relaxed breakfast close to the town war memorial. Then I continued on out of…

The gite where I was staying fronted onto the street, and my dormitory was at the front of the house, with the result that I was woken early by the traffic. I was up well before the other inhabitants of the gite. My plan was not to have breakfast at the gite, but to use…

When I came down for breakfast in the morning, the cat was in the living room. I stroked its fur, and found it wet. It had been raining again during the night. While eating breakfast, I looked outside. It looked like the rain had stopped, but the sky was still dark and grey. The forecast…

I was up and out of the tent before dawn, The rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet. Under the light of a head torch, I packed up the tent as quietly as possible and made ready to go. Once everything was done, and while it was still dark, I headed out on…