To 650 and beyond!

At last, the 650 km are done. Today I walked down to Killiney Beach and across to Whiterock Strand which is an easy 3 km. Then straight up to 'the castle' (once a semaphore station) via the 238 step Cat's Ladder and across to 'the obelisk', local landmarks at the top of the 200 m hills.  Lots of steps. I stopped into the source of dogwalker's latte at Victoria Gate for a bottle of water and then headed to Coliemore Harbour via Sorrento Park. It was very, very humid today. Not hot, tropical humidity but the chilling, temperate version that leads to illness if you don't get dry and warm quickly. And then it poured rain, but that was OK because a car named Buzz had come to photograph and collect me at the 650 km point (thank you). I was getting comments from my Facebook stalkers via Walkmeter as I was walking - I learned that the iPhone touch screen does not work with sweaty fingers nor in the rain so sorry if (any) replies seemed terse. 

While this walk, my 53rd,  was only 8.5 km, I feel the need for a rest before we start Trailwalker 2010 this day next week. Which matches the Oxfam training guide quite well. I've lost almost no weight over the last three months in doing all this walking but I've benefited in many other ways. It's made me get out and about more and while I regret a few missed opportunities (Bordeaux, Los Angeles), I managed to rack up some klicks in New Zealand, Spain, England and Ireland. Fantastic. Lucky.

Work out how to follow me in Facebook (Walking Commentary). You are invited to stalk us virtually next weekend across the South Downs, assuming the iPhone battery extenders I've borrowed work. A Gurkha curry in Brighton at 7 am Sunday will be our goal.

YES, YOU CAN SPONSOR 8.5 KM ANY TIME 24/7! 

Killiney and Bulloch

Bright blue skies and unusual clarity; a tanker anchored in the glistening sea, the odd yacht sailing slowly in the light airs and lots of stiff winged fulmars gliding in the foreground, Killiney Bay resembled The Bay of Naples. A bit colder perhaps as we walked Vico, Sorrento and other Italian grand tour memorial roads. Watchful magpies patrol, basking pigeons listen on telegraph wires as we discuss 1916 and far flung destinations like Quebec, Denver, Bordeaux, London, Barcelona and Auckland.

The whole 8 km walk was an explosion of May colour; droopy yellow laburnum catkins, proud copper beeches, lilac flower heads and multi-hued varietal maples adding tree borne colour to replace the fallen cherry blossoms that litter so many pathways. From Bulloch Harbour where boats were for hire, crabs and lobster on sale, we returned past suburban houses with their differentiating motifs - an ecclesiastical gateway eventually leading to a window-hung wooden dinosaur and a faux Roman mosaic of Neptune or was it Mars?

Rushing Leinster flagged German cars and Jaguars passed too close with their distinctive designer features; the smiling aspect of the new Audis, the horseshoed good luck lights of the BMW and the low throated burble of the XK. Their paced and perhaps carefree comfort discomforted us, inconvenient, squishy pedestrians.

We returned via the planning denied Barnhill (half) Stores and the Reservoir Park that has none, overtaken by the double decked 59 bus without a passenger, to continue life in a surreal world where the council soon won't collect any rubbish bins because they can't afford to support those who can't afford to pay.

Sponsor wanted: 8km