After a comfortable nights sleep and a pot porridge (the pub doesn’t do breakfast), I was ready to catch the 8:30 bus back to Holbeach. Walking through Long Sutton I was reminded (I’ve 5 cycled through here) on how grand the buildings are. It must have been a really important town in the past.

I knew I would be unlikely to find a shop today, so I stocked up with a sandwich and a chocolate bar and headed off. The first 10km were nearly all on the road, and to be honest, not much fun. There was occasional traffic, although a bit more around a massive pizza factory in the middle of nowhere, but it’s hard on the feet, and head! One bit of interest was the work going on in the fields and the complexity of the plant (tractors). One massive field had three huge caterpillar tracked tractors, moving in unison each doing a particular task. They were going at my walking pace adjacent to the road on a field that was at least 1.5km long and stretched far into the distance. When we reached the field boundary, I was able to carry on, while the tractors had to turn back and do another run (and another, and another), which gave me a new perspective on boredom.

The day changed once I crossed Fossdyke Bridge, and the route followed something called the “Sea Bank” on the maps. Its not near the sea, and a brief Google said it was either Saxon or Roman. Built to protect the farmland behind from high tides (in olden times). It seems to protect one corner of The Wash (a huge inlet area which drains down to mud in low tide – legend has it that King John lost his jewels when trying to cross it) from incoming water. It’s a long way from the sea now and presumably protected by modern defences. That said I walked along the top of the bank for over 15km and it is very complete. There was plenty of wildlife, birds, rabbits and loads of horses. Another interesting thing was the extensive fields of cabbages, I’ve never seen so many, it was terrifying.

I think I should mention my biggest bug bear of the day. I’d had it in my mind that today would be a relatively easy day, only about 32km. However, as I started walking I found an error in the track on my Ordnance Survey app. Somehow, probably when I was finalising after booking accomodation, some of the route had become straight lines, and clearly the distances had been under estimated. This was a bit of a downer. It was only 5km longer, but when you are walking it is another hour that I hadn’t planned on. Today I started with a good pace, but soon dropped below a 5 km/hr average. It would be easy to blame me for that, but my feet hurt and I was using a walking pole, which saved a few stumbles.

Anyway, my spirits were lifted when I stumbled upon, although staggered may be more accurate, a tea room at a RSPB reserve. After a day of literally no-one a coffee and a slice of Coffee and Walnut cake seemed quite alien. It was a simple walk along The Haven, the tidal river that stretches into Boston, towards the city, and the cathedral Tower that had dominated the skyline for many miles.

I got into Boston as dusk was falling, and was greeted with a brief rain shower. It’s the first rain I’d seen since getting wet leaving home. My main task was to buy supplies for tomorrow as this would be the last chance. Luckily, as it would transpire, I bought a lot of cheese and pitta bread for sandwiches and a few other bits and pieces including a beer for later. I had an Airbnb booked, but it was away from any facilities, but I had a plan. I was going to stop at the Cowbridge Inn for dinner before walking to my lodgings. The pub was shut #!*% !!! In some ways, it might have been a good thing, as in the dark I fell into a bunker as I crossed a golf course. It would have been a bit worse after a pint or two, and it would have been even darker. So I carried on to my Airbnb for a luxury dinner of Cheese Pitta Bread sandwiches and a beer – Vocation, Life and Death IPA. It seems quite apt. This walk has become a vocation, and it feels like it’s killing me by the end of each day!