Breakfast was early, but leaving was late. We were at a lovely B & B in a little hamlet outside Shepherdswell run by an absolutely lovely couple, Jackie and Daryl Colret. Breakfast was lovely, topped off with Jackie's home-made, prize-winning Seville orange marmalade. We lingered....
Daryl is a Ranger for the North Downs Way and a mind of information. He plotted us a route to Dover that avoided the muddiest bits of the NDW (going should be easier on the continent, he told us, as the trails are mostly on metalled roads).
He also told us a great story from 2007. Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister wanted a big splash in Canterbury to publicize the Via Francigena. A fervent European and a devout Catholic, he had made reviving the Via Francigena part of his election platform (The idea of an Italian alternative to the successful Camino in Spain obviously appealed to voters. He said: “The pathways of our ancestors are a great heritage. It really makes me angry that we do not have pilgrims walking to Rome any longer. To rebuild the pilgrims' path we do not need grand investments, but heart”.)
An altar made of Aosta marble was sent to Canterbury Cathedral. A fast walker set out from Rome to Canterbury with an entourage of Italian reporters. Daryl met him in Dover for the last dash to Canterbury where they were to meet the Italian deputy Prime Minister, the Dean of the Cathedral and the Lord Mayor of Canterbury. Unfortunately, they were held up leaving Dover by some Italian ladies with inappropriate footwear. The result was they were half an hour late getting to the Cathedral and the party was over and the dignitaries gone. And this poor guy had walked all the way from Rome.
Once we got going our day was misty but pleasant enough. We were looking forward to visiting a little chapel where Lord North, the prime minister who lost the American co
lonies, was buried. Alas, I screwed up the map-reading and we missed it.
Still, the final walk into Dover, ending at Dover Castle was very dramatic.
And now we're at the end of England ... the sea.
Tomorrow, sight-seeing in Dover. Tuesday, France
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