Me and my mate Andy got a lift off my Mum, well I drove us there, to the local train station at Kemble. After a while we arrived at Reading station and found our way out onto the street. I'd been to Reading before a long long time ago for a training course when I worked in computers but didn't know the town well at all, we walked in the general direction of the town centre to look for somewhere to get some food bought to keep us going until the afternoon, and I saw a sandwich shop with an offer on and went in. I'm guessing by the fact that their sales patter wasn't up to scratch that both of the people in there hadn't worked there long. It's amazing how many people, especially in towns I suppose, seem to have come from abroad. I make no judgement in this case, just noticing the situation. So I had a hunch as we walked on that if we went down a particular alley we'd be going the right way and we popped out onto the towpath and straight over the first bridge over the Canal, as for part of the city centre there's nowhere to walk alongside.
From there it's easy to keep on towpath so we followed it right along through and out of the town, finding the surface easy walking, tarmacced and once we were out into the countryside it was really tranquil. The main train line from the West to London does follow the canal quite closely, as does the M4 Motorway at times and also the old A4 main road so there is often traffic noise or trains passing by but apart from that the canal provides lots of opportunities to see nature, from ducks, geese and to my great surprise and delight three sightings of Red Kites by the end of the first day! I'd never seen one before, not so close that I could say for certain, and not as close as just above the trees over our heads. The day passed smoothly, the weather was cool and cloudy so not a big struggle to make progress and not getting too hot under the collar. We took our time and got to a pub by just after 5, called the Butt Inn, stopping there for a natter with some locals and a fine Steak and Ale Pie.
So the first day had gone very well indeed, the first night however was a disaster. We didn't plan very well, or test out camping equipment enough times or in a variety of locations. The woods to the side of the canal are swampy to say the least, the ground was already soft and I could put that down to the rainiest June on record but I'm guessing that's the case as there are rivers running through it and alongside the canal. Our campsite was put up in good time, in a place we were able to find by wading through the tall weeds, however the trees were quite small so our hammocks weren't as stable or as comfortable as they could be, mine seemed to create a banana skin effect, where I couldn't find a nice way to lie there, the trains going by seemingly hourly, noises in the woods or people going along the towpath closeby, the mozzies attacking me through a growing hole in my hammocks built-in net and the fact that our tarps weren't setup in the best way and created a growing pooling of water right above my head. Basically everything that could go wrong did.
I don't think I got any sleep, my mate got a bit here and there but between my efforts to remove the growing flood waters above us, and some water going over him in the process and the weight of the water messing up our setup, it was a pretty disastrous night. By the morning morale was not good, in fact between the aches and pains associated with carrying quite heavy packs, sore shoulders, sore hipos, knees and other hurty bits, we were both suffering. My legs and ankles were covered in bites and a few elsewhere on arms and head and goodness knows where. The main thing I learnt from walks in the past is rest, rest, rest! Even if you can't sleep for whatever reason, take the weight off, rest your weary body...
We walked into Newbury and there's a lovely tea shop next to the canal. Full of memorabilia associated with the life and times of the canal and decorated in a lovely style by the owners. Sitting in there eating breakfast while we waited for the Tourist Information Office to open at 10am, just yards away, across the car park. Discussing our options, the idea was to ask the people in the T.I.O. to arrange rooms at a B&B further along the towpath so that we could both get a decent nights sleep and get that well deserved rest. There is a situation that happens when you are walking long distances over a prolonged period. The aches and pains of the first few days soon respond to the rest you get in the evenings and also your body gets accustomed to the effort. However my mate had hurt himself which is easy to do when you've had no sleep and bad decisions and mistakes are easily made, he decided he couldn't continue and to go home. I considered my options and thought it best to travel back with him. We got the train back to Kemble, via Reading in a peculiarity of the rail network, also stopping at Swindon to change onto the branch line.
I went to sleep and got two nights worth in the hours available, and despite lots of aches and pains woke up with the idea of carrying on the walk as I felt much better physically. Got the train from Kemble back to Reading and from there back to Newbury, retracing my steps from the previous day to find where I'd left the towpath. So onwards I went, following the towpath out of Newbury and back into the countryside.
Stopping in pubs for food, in shops to buy provisions for those times when I would want to eat something first thing in the morning before getting somewhere to have breakfast, the towpath is quite rough in places, the weather this year surely not helping that situation with some very muddy sections. The best thing about the towpath walk is the peace and quiet, there are very few other people walking or even using this route. Cyclists more than anything and the occasional people where the towpath has become well used by dog walkers and by locals who live close by, some commuters to work who would rather walk in which is brilliant to see and by the people who have a boat on the canal and travel into the towns along the way from their moored vessels.
Walking through Hungerford, stopping at a hotel in the highstreet for some good eats, through Pewsey finally arriving on the Friday afternoon, after walking in the midst of a daytime thunderstorm and torrential rain, I arrived at Honeystreet, the Barge Inn, and right into the middle of Crop Circle Country, I find myself rained off, amongst a group of people gathered there, all memers of the David Icke Forum... ;)
I was trying to while away a few hours and hope the rain would stop so I could continue on to Avebury or at least in that direction. My original plan was to walk with my friend Andy onto Bristol or at least to the outskirts where his girlfriend lives and from there travel back home. However I'd been contacted by an old friend and boss and was now headed back home via a northwards stint and a lift to be back and recovered for work on Monday morning. I was approached by a woman, she just came and sat next to me and started to make conversation. I don't know her name, but the chat was open and interesting and mind expanding and just mad, but in a nice way. The more I travel in such circles the more I find myself drawn to, drawn by, next to, involved with, connected to, energised and made to feel better by, people who much as others might find them a little off, are nonetheless quite sane, if a little altered by their experiences.
We talked on such subjects as 'them', the weather this year, all sorts of subtle and less so differences in our outlook. The afternoon turned into the evening and the rain didn't let up enough for me to get away, I setup my tent and resigned myself to staying there and making my way onwards the next day,weather permitting.
The other members of the Icke group were more interested in talking about black panthers near Stroud, survival and military techniques, self defence and combat, guns and all sorts of variously less interesting things. However my own resistance to and undoubted shyness when it comes to hanging out with new people lead me to sup quite a few pints of Croppie Ale and end up avoiding a mission to their part of the water logged grassy carpark / campsight for a late night barbeque, instead opting for something off the menu and a while spent people watching instead. Retiring to my tent and making the best of it there, having ditched hammock / tarp combo for the ground based alternative to save any part of me suffering further insect bites.
A pillow will be a must have the next time I try this sort of camping, although my soggy rucksack did the trick and I awoke at 8 oclock feeling pretty fresh considering the level of noise from other tents and camper vans the previous night. So getting onto the trail, I left Honeystreet and headed north away from the Canal and the towpath for the first time, direct to Avebury via Alton Barnes, famous hills called Walkers and Knap, the White Horse, a Crop Circle above Alton Priors, leavin the main road and rejoining to take on part of the ridge way, following my nose and instincts (and some choice directions given via text message from home) to walk through, now quite painfully from the first arriving blister and heavy legs, East Kennet, West Kennet, Silbury Hill and to Avebury Stone Circle. Made the most of my stop there, by avoiding even more rain, that to be fair to them didn't seem to put off the tourists, more people watching and taking in the atmosphere inside the Red Lion, some more cider and black, more food and walked on to Yatesbury and The Silent Circle Cafe. Filled with middle aged, mostly, and boring sounding folks all perusing prints of Crop Circles, books on the various subject, and it really goes out there I can tell you. From information from channeled entities and videos on dvd, with a sticker on the back that says 'after putting this disk together we now refute the reliability of the Galactic Alliance and put our faith in some other channeled disencarnate entity...'
Let's just say as the world seems to get madder and it is nonetheless undeniably fine and sane for people to believe in all this stuff somehow and continue to lead more or less normal lives, I find it feels so similar to the times gone by, a past when all sorts of prophets and people held wide ranging beliefs and all sorts of possibilities seemed quite likely. These are strange days indeed, who knows what the future will bring?
I hope for something new to emerge, I still hope for transformation, even if that means an end to some of the possibilities that seem likely to make way for something more sensible, more sustainable, more desirable.
As for now, all I can do is keep on working hard, trying to extracate myself from the things I thought I had done with already, thoughtforms, habits, greedy ways, so much old stuff that is no longer good, or has been corrupted and yet so many new green shoots, new chances, ways in which things are getting better despite or because of efforts, mistakes, who knows but these are surely the most interesting times ever!
Light &
Love
Jon
x
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