August 7th - Mr Fox and Mr Badger

It has been a while since my last post. The main problem is that I've not really done anything out of the ordinary recently, I have continued with my regular swims and those have been wonderful, I have also continued with the shirtless Parkruns and those have been excellent. But as its summer it is nothing really unusual and not much of a challenge to be out with no shirt on. Summer is always good for being shirt free however there really is no challenge in it and it is always hard to get that cold fix or cooler shirtless adventure. It was time to try and arrange something a bit more of a challenge. 

 Being out for a length of time with no shirt on can be dangerous on sunny days, plus it had been very warm recently so it has been no challenge, so the solution was to be an adventure at night. I am lucky that I have friends who can help at times and so I asked one friend if he was able to set me up a walking challenge one night, he agreed and made the plans. 

In the run up to my adventure I had no idea what was planned however I know that my friend went to great lengths to plan things very well, finding a route for me to walk and researching starting and end points. Eventually the time came and I was directed to park at Richmond, not too far from the River Thames, I then hopped into my friends car and off we drove in a westerly direction. 

Eventually we arrived at a village called Weybridge, it sits on the River Way, a tributary of the Thames. It was time to start my walk, I was told to use my phone for navigation as little as possible, It was not going to be a difficult route so maps were not needed. Other items I had with me were a torch, a bottle of drink, a snack, my walking shoes and my socks, and a pair of shorts and that was all, nothing else, especially not a t-shirt in sight.

I was a bit nervous before I left the comfort of the car, I had been told that it was 20 mile to walk back to my vehicle but I was also feeling quite brave so stepped out of the car with no encouragement at all.

I started walking and suddenly realised I should record the walk, It was literally about 30 seconds from the start so I plucked out my phone and started to track my walk, it was at this point I realised my phone HAD to be used as little as possible anyway because after looking at it I really couldn't see a thing in the darkness, it was clearly better NOT to look at my bright phone and be able to see in the dark.   I did think that as its going to be SUCH a long walk I should take notes, I made a plan to give myself a chance once every hour or so to use my phone to jot down the key events that had happened and use THOSE times to check navigation IF I needed to, so I put my phone away and got walking.

The first part of the walk took me along the banks of the river Wey, a delightful bit of the river with a few amazing houses dotted along the banks, Eventually I crossed the river using a bridge and into a small residential area I saw my first man ahead but he disappeared into a bush, a few alleyways and past 2 pubs with a few people outside, then onto the banks of the river Thames. 

It wasn't long before I found myself a little freaked out when I approached a boat with its lights on and it looked like the blinds were blood spattered, had I encountered a murder scene? or an illegal kidney harvesting operation? . . . . . No, it was a bunch of red flowers leaning up against the window BUT it was the fact that my mind was playing tricks in the dark.  I stopped near here to take a few notes as it had been around an hour of walking. 

I now approached Walton bridge (It reminded me of the Sydney Harbour Bridge) and I passed 2 groups of fishermen, they all looked but nothing was said. Then under the bridge was a group of boy racers in their cars, 7 cars in total I think and one sped off as I passed, again no problems. I always think boy racers are too into their cars to even notice someone like me passing them.

There were a few people as I passed the Walton marina, sat outside having a chat, there were eventually lots of rowing clubs, I passed a chap who was stood there just looking at the river, and another was walking along I overtook, it was also along here I felt I could have taken a dip in the Thames, I DIDN'T do that as I was a little cautious on my own, it would probably have been safe but I just wasn't sure, however I REALLY felt the need for a cool down. 

We now come to the homeless man, As I approached his tent I could see his light on and before he could see me he said "good evening", I replied "evening, you alright?" to which I got no answer, I imagine he does this to relax people as they approach, so people don't freak out when they realise there is someone hiding in a tent, as I passed I guess he saw me and he got up and started to follow me at a brisk pace, I would say he was about 25-30 yards behind me and I don't think he meant ANY harm at all but this again freaked me out a little bit so I went round a bend in the path and started jogging for about 4 or 5 mins, I came to the end of a very long straight stretch so stopped and watched and listen behind me but he was nowhere to be seen. 

I now approached Hampton Court and it was getting built up, I could see I had to walk along a road and across the bridge so I decided that I HAD to walk those bits, no running allowed, When I get to busier places I often feel the need to start jogging to get through them as quickly as possible but I decided to avoid doing this. There were a good few people along that section, 7 or 8 dotted about and lots of cars on the bridge. then along past Hampton Court Palace and back into the trees of the river bank, 

It was along this section of the river I met the Drunk man, I saw him ahead of me, it looked like he was climbing a wall but then I realise he had a bike so not sure what he was doing up a wall,  as I watched him he was all over the place, riding his bike up and down the path ahead and then just riding it around in circles, I waited a few mins and he disappeared and I eventually passed him as he was now asleep on a bench. 

It was at this point I made my friend, I thought it was time to update my list of things happening, I stood there typing in the key words to remind me, put my phone away and there stood in front of me, literally less than 2 metres away was . . . . a little fox. It made me jump but he just stood there, I was in awe that he was so close to me, he was so cute and was just looking at me. anyway I thought if I started walking he would run off . . . no, not in the slightest, for the next mile at least he remained close by my side, around 6ft away just walking along beside me. I was a little worried that I had a new friend for life but after a mile he got to the edge of his patch I guess and stopped, we then said our goodbyes. I saw him as a little guardian angel along that part of the river. 

I crossed the river at Kingston bridge, actually quite nice to have a bit more of a populated bit to walk through, a few more people about and cars passing too. then along the river again to Kingston gardens where I could see a group of people ahead, they sounded loud, at least 3 different voices but I could make out the shadows of more so I guess a minimum of 5 maximum of 8, they were just stood there hanging around and I can only imagine they were in their late teens, so I took the decision to go inland a bit and along some roads, This was the second place I decided to actually check my map to make sure I could make the diversion and it was an easy route to avoid them.

I now met Mr Badger, I am in London and I come face to face with a Badger, literally 2 metres away from me, snuffling about, what a sight that was, I was really amazed. I stopped on a bench for a few mins along here, I had a feeling I was making good pace so I thought a little break would be ideal. the wind came up a little bit and I worried It was going to get cold . . . but actually it was so mild it was a welcome breeze.

Just before Teddington Lock I saw a woman come out of the side road ahead of me, she joined the path and started walking in the same direction, I can only presume she had her headphones on and she didn't see me BUT I felt weird walking behind her so stopped for a few mins to let her go well ahead, I never saw her again. I passed a field and stopped for another sit down, actually I laid down and had a very light nap for about 10-15 mins.

I continued my walk and then walked into Richmond, there were a few loud guys in the park below Richmond Bridge but I knew I could go up to the main road at this point, I was parked across the river so I was now on the home straight. I crossed the river using Richmond bridge and walked the last short section to my car, again it was nice to have that challenge of a bit more populated area to walk through.

And that was the end of my adventure, I had a short nap in the back of my van before heading off home feeling happy about my little adventure. It was a very fun thing to do, I do love a challenge and this certainty was a good one.