Reflections
In the end it took just less than a year, starting in late April 2021, when I still couldn't book a B&B or take a train without wearing a mask, before I'd had my first Covid vaccination. Compare to mid-April 2022 when the quire at Canterbury was packed on Good Friday and I was at perfect liberty to partake of lunch in a village pub. A journey through extreme times.
Throughout the Old Way adventure there has been plenty of opportunity for musings on the passage of time, the tricks life can play on your perception of it. The preserved-in-aspic landmarks of early childhood contrast with the shifting sands of landscape and season, and whilst this dichotomy can occasionally be disquieting, it also provides a profound sense of peace, a sense of place in the world, particularly in a busy life where deadlines whip past your ears and you always seem to be living by the clock.
Perception of time was not the only tension; the profound quiet and space afforded by such big skies and closed woods sometimes felt at odds with the purpose inherent in a pilgrimage route. The sense of 'going somewhere', setting forth with a goal in mind is pretty fundamental in the context of a path like this. Don't get me wrong, as a card-carrying, dyed-in-the-wool control freak, I wouldn't have it any other way, but nevertheless even whilst the path pushes you on, it also pulls you back, urging you to go slow, tarry in quiet places and linger for bronze age views..... (well, except when it starts raining and blowing a hooley on the shores of Southampton Water, no-one wants to hang around for that).
It all adds up to a significant challenge, physical, mental and emotional, but one that has been rewarding in all these ways as well.
In my conversations with friends and relations, two questions keep cropping up:
Which was your favourite bit?
Did you prefer the Old Way or the Greensand Way?
Both toughies.
My typical answer to question 1 is the view with my back against the beech trees of Chanctonbury Ring from the ridge of the South Downs to the North Downs. The geologial enormity, the atmospherics of such a legend-drenched place and the appreciation of a cool place to sit on a hot day all combined to make it a special moment. But in reality it was just one of many; the pink ferry across the Hamble, finding refreshment at the Shepherd's church, rediscovering Camber Castle, the view back to Arundel as you follow the river out of the town....all were perfect moments that could only be experienced whilst travelling on foot.
I also met lots of people on this journey, and this was the main contrast with the GW, which was largely a solitary experience. Being a pilgrimage route, the Old Way is naturally planned around settlements, places to stay being rather important in the days before easy-to-carry one man tents. The experience of staying in out-of-the-way places has provided me with some dinner party stories, example titles for which might include: 'The Wolf of Steyning', 'The Mystery of the Family-that-was-not-there', 'Do you think this place is a front for a brothel?', 'Hang on, this is a garden shed', and of course 'The Wonders and Perils of 2 for 1 Prosecco'.
But, silliness aside, there isn't really much comparison between the two routes, they were such different experiences, and in such different contexts. I'll admit there is something nice about having meals in a pub, rather than always having to take your own food, and equally something appealing about really being 'in the middle of nowhere' entirely by yourself. I think in 2020 I needed the solitude of the GW to stay sane, and in 2021 was ready to be more sociable and enjoy ramblings with a bit of company. And it could easily have been the other way around. I think you can take whatever you need from the path as you walk it, as thousands have done before.
Top Tips
Looking back, my top tips from the GW still stand and so I won't reiterate them here. Given the nature of the Old Way, transport is much easier than with the GW, but I would still recommend solid advance planning. In addition to those tips, for the Old Way specifically I would also add:
Stay over! You could do the Old Way quite easily as day walks (indeed the 38 stages in the online guide are all half-day walks), but I would heartily recommend staying over if you can, both to get a flavour of the pilgrim experience but also really engage with the country and landscape. The countryside is defined as much by its villages as its open spaces and you won't regret it. AirBnB was my go-to for finding cheap, and occasionally very quirky, accommodation but the Old Way online guide has lots of suggestions including pilgrim stopovers in monasteries and other holy sites.
Mix it up! The Old Way has been drawn to mirror the (err) old way pilgrims followed from the major port of Southampton to Canterbury- lots has changed since the 14th century and you don't have to be slavish to it. I added bits on to visit old haunts, took bits off to fit the walk into daylight hours and took detours when things looked interesting. Don't be afraid to do this, it doesn't make the journey any less legitimate; the route"'tis more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules".
Poke your nose into churches and linger at Canterbury. Whatever your religion, if you have any, small churches are an incredible window into English rural life and history of the past 1,000 years. There are treasures and artworks to be found in unexpected places and, sometimes food, drink and a flushing toilet as well! Some of the most interesting people I met on this path were looking around churches. I'm not particuarly religious myself, but the sense of community and shared experience in these places is palpable. If you can, stay for a service at Canterbury, if only for the transcendant music.
What next?
Excellent question. No idea.
I'm doing a continuous 100km challenge in July 2022 (with some very excellent walking companions) which is seeing some very lovely training walks in Wales (Offa's Dyke path, I might blog that one) and across the Ridgeway in Wiltshire. After that, who knows.... perhaps a coupla days knocking off the Vanguard Way (East Croydon Station to Newhaven), and I'm also very tempted to get back to Kent to take in the Saxon Shore Way. And I really enjoyed my sections on the 1066 Country Walk too..... so much choice, so little time.
Watch this space, I'm certainly not done yet.
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