I'm finding it difficult to always find a WiFi connection and the time to write an entry so I'm changing my approach. From now on I'm going to write for each day with just my daily progress and then I'll add more detals
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Once again the weather was beautiful but with a strong haze if you had a view into the distance. The walk was uneventful except for an English fact that defies the laws of physics. According to Newton what goes up must come down. So how is it possible on the SW Coast Path that you can start at sea level and end at sea level but have walked up hill all day? Probably because you walk up along a quite steep path for hours to then descend precipitously for just a few minutes only to start the long steep climb all over again. And at this point I was carrying a pack which weighed somewhere around forty pounds. Apart from the physical effort needed to complete this segment there wasn't anything much of significance except visiting the smallest church in England. I sat in the churchyard to eat my lunch and I took the pictures below.

I stayed with Tony and Christine from May 4 to May 7 when my cousin, John, came and picked me up and took me to Camberley. I also managedto meet up with Chris, Jenny's nephew, and his girlfriend, Anastayia, in Stepney on the Saturday morning and then spent the evening with June Sayer and June Veal and their husbands and enjoyed a takeaway curry meal. In Camberley John and I decided that I should take advantage of the opportunity to start my hike early so, after doing some very efficient shopping with Dee, John drove me down to Minehead on May 9. We arrived in Minehead in the early afternoon which gave me plenty of time to do the 9.5 miles (15.2km) to Porlock. It was a good start with blue skies and warm sunshine. The path goes along the edge of Exmoor which is a UK national park. Much of it is moorland as you can see in this picture.

Just before I reached this point I had a sign that I must be on the edge of Exmoor. Sheltering under a tree away from three of his friends I found these Exmoor ponies that roam wild on the moor.

My first day ended after 9.5mi (15.3km) of hiking up and down the coastal hills and valleys at the village of Porlock for a total cumulative elevation gain of 1824ft (556m). I knew my next day was going to be more strenuous so I opted to look for a B&B for the night. I checked at a pub but they were full but recommended a B&B just down the street. So that was where I stayed for the night. A great night and an excellent breakfast the next morning.

I should mention that the wind got progressively stronger as I completed yesterday's paddle and now, when I had left my sleeping bag, it had increased in strength. Nevertheless, after a breakfast of porridge I packedup and set off on my way. The most memorable events of this my third day on the Thames were passing by many nesting swans, being passed by several long boats and negotiating the locks by myself. Once you get the idea, operating the locks is simple and easy. As you turn the wheel that opens and closes the lock sluice gates two metal rods move up or down. One rod is marked with red paint and the other is marked with white. When the red marked rod is up the sluice gate is open and the water can flow through. When the white rod is up the sluice gate is closed can the water is held back. As you can see in this picture the lock gate is closed and no water is entering the lock so the white tipped rod is up.

On the way down the river the wind gained in strength and my progress was very slow. I finally listened to Jenny's admonishments and decided to exert only a reasonable effort and not drive myself on to a goal too far. So after a full day of paddling I reached Shifford Lock but had only travelled six miles. I camped by the lock and settled down for the night. The next day the wind was still whistling through the willows so another night at Shifford seemed expedient. During the day I asked the lock keeper what the weather forecast was and he told me it was expected to be the same for four days. That was enough for me to call Tony and ask if he could come and pick me up the next day and that's what he did. So after three days of paddling for a total of 23 miles my canoe trip was over. And the wind did blow for four more days. I would never have finished the canoe trip on schedule and that would have jeopadrized my SW Coast hike.

I got a good early start after a night sleeping in the car. I was in the canoe and starting down the river by 7:00am after walking back to where we had left the canoe the night before. The weather was reasonable but a little bit windy.

All along the river bank there were these concrete fortifications that were built during WWll. My immediate thought was, "Homeland Security, UK WWll style." As I paddled along, the river began to be more active with narrow boats and cabin cruisers moored along the bank and the occasional boat travelling along the river. I passed through several locks before I reached my destination at The Swan Inn in Lechlade where I camped for the night, a paddle of 13+ miles.

The original plan was to have an early start and to drive to Cricklade to launch me on my way. Unfortunately, Tony had forgotten that he had a church wardens meeting after the morning service and we would not be able to leave before noon. Then I made things worse when I realised I didn't have any isobutane fuel canisters and they were essential if I wanted any hot food and drinks when I was camping. So when Tony returned from church we made a quick trip into Watford to buy three fuel canisters. By the time we got back to the house it was definitely time for lunch so we eventually left Kenton around two o'clock. As a result it was quite late when we arrived at Cricklade. Now it was decision time. Should I start now or wait until the next day and where was the launch site anyway? We needed local advice and what better place than the local pub that was nearby. The pub had a group of locals standing at the bar so we asked them for the advice we needed. They were really helpful and after much group discussion it was decided I should leave quickly but I shouldn't go any further than the Red Lion pub at Castle Eaton because it would be getting too dark. So off I went as many of you will have seen in Tony's video. Full of confidence with only 4 miles to go. The problem was the fallen willow trees I had to navigate along the way. They slowed me down but, apart from one which I had to haul over a tree trunk, I was doing ok. Then I came across a huge tree completely across the river and completely impassable. And now it was getting dark. I started to search for a place on the river bank where I could haul the canoe out and possibly camp for the night but the banks were too steep for me to do it by myself. It was getting darker and darker and my spirits were sinking when I heard a voice on the bank calling, "David, is that you?"  Tony was going to meet me at the Red Lion but he decided to walk along the Thames path to meet me (find me).  Together we hauled the canoe up the bank and portaged it and my equipment to the first place that was suitable to relaunch the canoe.  By this time it was completely dark so we headed back to the pub where the landlady had very kindly prepared two ploughman's lunches for us as the kitchen was already closed.  After eating our meal and drinking the obligatory pint of ale, as there was no room at the inn, we retired to the car for an uncomfortable night's sleep.  Not a very good start to a long journey.  No pictures for this day I'm afraid. 

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