Friday 6 September 2013

Day 2 Seaham to Hartlepool

Hello from Hartlepool. If you are hoping to see more photo's of my trip, I am very sorry but there are none tonight, except for these three of my soaking wet belongings draped around my room. Boy oh boy, what a day I've had today. The camera didn't come out of it's pouch which was buried deep under my clothing. Pity I didn't think to put my phone in a safe place, it now doesn't work. 
I was intending to leave the Harbour View pub at Seaham at 8am and get myself a breakfast, but I had some food in my room, and it was pouring with rain, so I thought I would make a start walking, and eat later. I didn't get away at 8am however, as I sat talking to the new owner of the pub for an hour. She had some good stories to tell, been in the Territorial Army for some years, ex night club bouncer, took part time jobs so she could go to university, and then worked in drug rehabilitation. A very varied career. Now she has this pub and is planning to completely refurbish it. It would be interesting to go back in a year and see how she is getting on.

I decided to modify my route a bit. The rain was lashing down and it would have been foolish to try and walk along the coast road. I would have got blown away. So, it was tarmac bashing today, at least I could keep up a good pace, despite hanging onto an umbrella which kept blowing inside out. Sadly I had to ditch it half way between Peterlee and Hartlepool.

 I stopped for food when I got to Peterlee. Luckily I came across an Asda, I thought, that will do, into the cafe for something hot. I dripped my way up the escalator to the upper floor and ordered a jacket potato with baked beans. When I got up to leave there were pools of water all around me.

There's not a lot you can do when the weather is determined to give you a thorough drenching, just get on with it. I walked as fast as I could, every step meant a step closer to home. It's about focus, I might have had a crap day today, but that's only part of the overall trip. You have to take the rough with the smooth. I will not give up like I did on my long walk a year ago, because I am not going to come back and do this at a later date.

Tomorrow is forecast not to be so bad. It is supposed to be showery, let's hope that is right. So, tonight I am in the Travel Lodge at Hartlepool. I've checked the mileage for yesterday and today, and surprisingly they are both about the same. 15.5 miles each day. I would have liked to do a bit more, but I have to stop where I think I might get a room. I am close to the Harbour here, and it looks an interesting place from the bits I have seen. I will try and get some pics before I leave, though I think I ought to buy a new phone first. Someone is wanting to meet up with me tomorrow and I have no way of communicating with him. Also Brenda wants to speak to me. Why didn't I check my phone was safe, I thought the pocket was waterproof. Nowhere stays dry with that amount of rain, even inside the bottom of my rucksack had a pool of water in it.

I'll get off now, need to move the wet clothes nearer the heater.
Toodle pip.

26 comments:

  1. Oh my, I do hope you will be able to stay dry enough for your walk. I guess that mortgage pay off came right on time. Now you have a bit of flexibility to buy the phone. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

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  2. Well that's just miserable!
    Hope tomorrow is better...it really can only get better.
    Jane x

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  3. You are one tough cookie!! Good for you :) x

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  4. Got to hand it to you Ilona. Strong when wet- that's you. I wish you dry weather tomorrow and nice dry clothes in the morning!

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  5. oh dear I hope you get your phone dried out. I always find a zipped up food bag works wonders :) Thanks for the photos enjoying walking with you via them. Take care and be safe

    Sue R

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  6. Talked with my friend in Redcar, lots of flooding apparently, the Black path, part of the Teesdale way is closed due to new cables being laid but you should be able to get back onto the road easily enough. Will try to see you in the morning . he has recommended a couple of places to stay in Redcar

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  7. Wow, what a day, huh? I'm glad you're safe and dry for the evening. Maybe tomorrow will be a dry day (or "drier").

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  8. Ilona, pity you don't have a bag of dry rice. If you pop your phone in there overnight, it absorbs the water. Supposed to work well. Hope tomorrow is drier.

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  9. So sorry the weather turned so bad but amazing that you were able to keep going and do so many miles!

    Hope the weather improves for you

    xx

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  10. I do not know if this is of any help, but I have heard that placing a wet phone in a bag with dry rice will sometimes dry it out and get it working again. Perhaps that is an option.

    Good luck with the rest of your adventure!
    Lisa

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  11. Oh what a horrible day :( I hope you get everything dried out ok. Your phone might work again once dried - i have managed to revive mine by opening it all out, wrapping in a towel and putting on top of a radiator (not too hot) - it took a few days but it might work for you when you get a chance to do that. Might be worth purchasing a canoe dry sack at some point for your big walks - i have a phone sized one and one that acts as an inner for my rucksack - keeps everything perfectly dry even if i should fall in a lake lol!

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  12. I don't know, you're never going to get home chatting every morning, although its nice to have an intelligent conversation that you just don't get in a traffic office.
    I was hoping you'd taken a coat and a jumper when i saw the weather forecast. I bet it was a bit brass monkeys.......ooops...shouldn't mention monkeys in Hartlepool.
    I bought a phone for £12, just calls and texts, its ok for work etc.
    Hope the rest of your walk goes well and the weather is kind.
    Dave.

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  13. Well it takes more than a drop of rain to get you down Ilona. 15 miles is amazing. Well done you. The sun is shining here this morning and we are hoping it will keep you warm and dry today. Hope the new socks are holding out ok. Sorry about your phone. I dropped mine in a cup of tea and it sparked and smoked for ages. Scary!

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  14. You did amazingly well considering the awful weather. I hope all your things are dry this morning; its horrible putting on damp clothes.

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  15. Sorry you had a dreadful rainy day, but at least you have somewhere safe and warm for the night.
    You should definitely get a new phone, since you shouldn't be out walking alone without some form of communication. You can take your old phone to the repair shop when you get back home.
    Safe travels.

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  16. Hope you dry out by tomorrow.
    Love from Mum
    xx

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  17. Sorry to hear you were getting a thorough soaking.
    Just a quick tip for future trips like this: Keep belongings tucked into a thick layer of two black bin liners you feed inside your rucksack. This might save your new phone from damage next time around. I read about this tip on another blog. Sounds good advice to me.
    Good luck with the rest of your trip. I`ve sent a message to the weather god to hold off the rain for you!!!

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  18. Why didn't you ask the owner of the B&B if they'd pop your clothes in the dryer?

    But don't let them see the dirty marks your boots will have made on the wall - glad you're not staying in my establishment! You might be paying to stay there but surely you could have some respect for other peoples property.

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    1. It wasn't a B & B, it was a Travelodge. And I didn't leave any marks on the wall.

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    2. What a rude comment of Jilly Jogger! Anyone that knows you also knows that you have the upmost respect for others and their properties. Don`t let her remark throw you!

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    3. Jilly where are the marks you are seeing cos I cannot find any and I think its rather rude the way you spoke to Iona :(
      Sue R

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    4. I don't know about dirty marks but I did wonder about the hygiene aspect of those boots. They may have looked clean on the bottom but think what there could be traces of!!
      I hope you have a safe journey home with fine weather.

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  19. Oh no, hope you get all you bits(?) dry by morning. Fine here all day in Suffolk! Always dryer here

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  20. Jilly Jogger if you have nothing nice to say, why comment?

    good luck MQ!

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  21. Oh dear, what a job to try to dry out all that stuff. That's happened to me so many times too. Hope you enjoy the rest of the walk and the weather improves.

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  22. You did really well to walk so far in those conditions.

    And I think we all know you well enough to know that there is no way you would have left any marks on someone else's wall :-)

    I hope everything dried out in time to be repacked again.

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