Day Nine

We are at Vers, pronounced to rhyme with Bears. Strangely, one kilometre before Vers is a village called Bears, which is not pronounced to rhyme with bears. I walked here this morning from Concots. Our original estimation of the distance was 30 kms, but after Gay finished sorting out shortcuts – using the new policy of ignoring the GRs if they wander about too much, it had been whittled down to 22. So I actually walked past Vers, where Gay had booked into a very pleasant campsite next to the River Lot. We had met by arrangement at La Truite d’Orėe – the Golden Trout – in Vers, for a coffee, before I walked on to Marty (Jeez! Frasier!). I left the rucksack with Gay, which really put a spring in my step. Unfortunately, I also left the bottle of water she had just bought me to carry the last 5 kms. Some people are just born to be plonkers.

The reason for walking past Vers, even though we are camping here, and making the 22 kms up to 27, was to take a chunk out of tomorrow’s planned route, which would otherwise be well over 30.

So my walk today was 27 kms, the same as yesterday. But what a difference. Yesterday, the shortest walk so far, was also the most tiring, possibly a delayed reaction to the very hard day on Thursday. I was really dragging my feet the last few kms, and was feeling a strain in my back. Gay walked out to meet me and asked why I had such a list to port. I hadn’t realised, but I was suffering from something I have seen discussed in walkers’ magazines – so called “leaning over syndrome”, where there is an involuntary leaning over to one side or the other, which comes on during a long walk. That’s what was putting such a strain on my back, of course. Apparently we all tend to lean a little, which is why, when blindfolded, we always walk in a circle, and why people get lost in woods when they think they are walking in a straight line.

Today’s walk, the same distance as yesterday, felt like a stroll in the park, and put me up to 295 kms for VBW so far.

Blackpool won the day at Wembley, by the way. I know that because two of my daughters and one of my brothers texted me excitedly with the news.