Friday 8 April 2011

Completions.

So you spend five days walking 100-odd miles in order to complete a trail. You are on the last day, with glorious sunshine to see you to the end. You can almost taste the pint of beer that you will allow yourself to celebrate. What is more, said pint will be drunk a stones-throw away from the local brewery.

Everything is good.

Then you turn onto the last stretch of path to be greeted with a 'footpath closed' sign. Additionally, there are obviously people working on the narrow stretch of path. Therefore you had to divert off.

So the question is: can I still say that I completed the trail, even if I missed off the last half-mile? Will it only be complete when I go back and do that stretch? And if so, what sort of diversion constitutes not completing a trail? A half mile? A quarter mile? A step around a puddle? Are diversions allowable if they are official diversions?

The only good side (and it is a very good side) is that it will mean that I will have to visit Southwold again, if only to walk that last half-mile. And, of course, to have a pint of Adnams...


3 comments:

Alan Sloman said...

I did quite a bit of work for Adnams in Southwold a few years back now - a nicer little company you will never meet! Gorgeous beer too...

Ignore the diversions - the trail was done - unless of course you need an excuse to get back to Southwold...
:-)

David Cotton said...

Hi Alan,

I hope they paid you in beer :-)

I think I'll count the diversion as done, but I'll go back and do the relevant section sometime soon. It's only two hours drive from home.

Southwold is one of my favourite places - a perfect seaside town. I was sitting near the pier, scoffing an ice cream, and had a yearning to do another lap of the coast, to spend another year walking. A quick call to the missus persuaded me otherwise :-)

David Cotton said...
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