28.4km (101.10) – Thursday 7th July

Today has been the hardest so far. I’d slept badly and didn’t feel well, it was raining and there was a lot of ascent anticipated. We started with a very steep climb and I somehow managed to sprain my knee. This resulted In very slow progress. Pauline struck the right balance of sympathy and encouragement and I kept going with chemical assistance. We didn’t see any of our fellow walkers today, but when we arrived at our B&B at 7pm (having set off at 8.50 am), we were pleasantly surprised to find that Adrian and Andy had already checked in, having travelled by bus for 5 of the 20 miles. The couple who were our hosts were really lovely and welcomed us with tea and lemon drizzle cake. We went out for dinner (filo parcels with Mediterranean veg), Pauline had my wine as I didn’t want to fall asleep with my face in a plate of dauphinois potatoes. I slept brilliantly and, after a fine breakfast and more ibuprofen, felt much more positive.