Coast to Coast: Hertfordshire to Richmond, 220 miles, Sunday 6th June (by car, obviously, as the Long March doesn’t start until Tuesday)

Just south of Pontefract, in a field by the side of the A1, there’s a giant poster, stuck to the side of an abandoned articulated trailer. It says, somewhat alarmingly:

“PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD.”

I’m not sure how to take this statement. Is it a (rather accurate) comment on my driving style? Is the apocalypse just north of Catterick?

Underneath, in slightly smaller writing, is the statement

“JESUS IS COMING.”

To which I like to add “…look busy.”

Well that was the highlight of an otherwise uneventful drive up to Richmond, where we will be leaving the cars before heading off to St Bees, first thing tomorrow morning.

We’re staying in a charming little B&B called “The Old Brewery.” No evening meals served, so we headed into town, not only for a bite to eat, but also to check out the town’s hostelries, as we’ll be back here for a couple of nights in eleven day’s time.

Well the hostelries all serve Black Sheep ale, which is a plus point. And there’s an awful lot of them, which can’t be bad. Sadly we only sampled a few, as it’s an early start tomorrow.

Halfway though my Sunday roast, it dawned on me that the distance we’d driven – 220 miles – wasn’t that much more than the distance we’re about to walk over the next couple of weeks. Lia and Amanda were well pleased when I shared this observation with them.

So tomorrow we’re off to St Bees, where we’ll meet up with Spike & Emma, and the team will be complete.

Blister count: 0