Tag: England

H E C T I C    E N G L A N D

I’ve been back in England for a week now. I’m writing from Sheffield, where I arrived yesterday for a little visit before Huddersfield tomorrow and Ireland on Monday. I’ve got flights booked for Ireland, because the ferry from Liverpool takes 7 hours and I’m running out of days before Christmas now! I also got a train here yesterday – yes that’s right, a train, actual public transport – for no other reason than I was feeling a bit too lazy to hitch. I felt like a cop out. I had intended to write my blog on the train, but instead I fell asleep, so then I felt like even more of a cop out. Admittedly I was in need of a nap though, after an early morning trip to the hozzy to have an x-ray on my (still quite painful) ankle, which confirmed that nothing is broken. Apparently sprains take a long time to heal, and I’m not doing very well at resting it because there’s just so many things to do and places to walk to!

England is eating my money, and making me aware that I will have to try to earn some more, relatively soon. This doesn’t coincide well with my recently re-found joy in freedom, and desire to stay on the road, but I’m still riding that wave of thought pretty well, and trying to formulate a plan of action for the new year. I don’t have a clue what to do, but I’m still feeling positive and living in the moment. 

I arrived in England just after posting my last blog from the ferry, last Thursday night. My Uncle Bernie picked me up at Portsmouth, and I spent a few nice days with him and his wife Lorraine at their place near Winchester; during which we tried to get into the festive spirit by generally drinking a lot, and spontaneously buying a Christmas tree, which we decorated whilst listening to some festive tunes. We had a lovely time, mostly because we have the same sort of low-key attitudes towards Christmas, and they are fantastic, easy-going and generous people. 

In general I’ve decided that typical Christmas in England is not for me. I’m not enjoying the adverts and the materialism and the crowds and Christmas music everywhere. Everything seems very false and stressful, especially in such contrast to my recent experiences, working in the garden and living in poor but happy conditions. I had been really looking forward to returning to (some aspects of) the English culture, but the novelty of cosy cafes, a pub on every corner, and being able to speak to people wherever I go, has worn off very quickly amongst all the festive-consumerism. I feel a bit frustrated with the way things are, and I miss hanging around with lots of like minded and challenging people, which I get to do a lot of the time when I’m travelling. It is, however, great to see my friends and family. 

I hitched back up from Uncle Bernie’s house in just one lift, after being picked up by a bunch of Westham football fans heading to the match in Liverpool. This was quite unbelievable, as I didn’t even have a sign for Liverpool, so I was very lucky. They were not my type of people at all, but clearly very kind and sound with me. It was around 9.30am when they picked me up, and the Jagermeister shots commenced quite shortly afterwards. Needless to say by the time we got to the pub in Anfield (of course I joined them for a pre-match pint) I was slightly tipsy. By the time I left the pub in Anfield to get home to my mum and dad’s, I was very tipsy. I even managed to lose my lovely coat which Lorraine gave me, on the bus to the city centre, which I regret terribly. So all in all, this was one of my most hectic hitchhiking experiences to date.

One of the men was a sort of semi-professional snapchatter for the football. He had 7000 followers and was permanently on his phone, snapchatting everything. As a result, I’m now a famous hitchhiker, at least in Westham. I even got recognised by some away supporters in the pub in Anfield! ‘Look it’s the hitchhiker!’.
It’s all a laugh.

I was delighted to get back and see my Mum and Dad, my Nan, and then my little sister Kate. Me and her boyfriend Anth had a pizza and then a pint together, and then went to pick her up from her work’s do; I crashed the last half hour to have a dance with her, which was fun! On Monday I went to see my (amazingly courageous and inspirational) best friend Alex in the hospital, and then had a lovely catch up with my friend Chelsea before bobbing by Leaf, the cafe where we used to work, to say a quick hello to Becky. On Tuesday night I went round to see my ‘God Mother’ (this is a title we have a little joke about) Donna, who is my reiki master, and we did a reiki exchange. I feel like I benefited a lot from this, to slow myself down a bit after the hectic homecoming and last few days! I had a nice coffee and lunch here in Sheffield with my friend Gez yesterday afternoon, and then a few pints with Paul and Toby last night.

I feel so happy to see everybody.

It’s nice to see Sheffield again, but I don’t feel really compelled to spend lots of time here as I sometimes do. Neither did I feel a current connection with Liverpool, or any desire to stay there at the moment. I want to keep moving and feeling free. (But I do need soon to stop going 100-miles-an-hour in my actions and thoughts!)

Huddersfield tomorrow, and then back here to Sheffield Saturday night to watch a gig by Paul’s band The High Hazels. I’m excited for this because we organised it spontaneously last night, and I’m enjoying spontaneity at the moment! 

I’m sure I’m going to slow down a lot after my trip to Ireland and after Christmas, but I’m hoping that I’m going to hold on to my current positive and open-minded feelings. Writing my blog, and reading it back, definitely helps me to do this. 

I have been told by a few friends recently that they read and appreciate my writing. This makes me feel so happy, and a little bit more purposeful and/or useful in my travels and experiences! I really am glad that some people take something from my reflections. Thank you for reading them! 

Updates from my (very first ever) trip to Ireland soon! 

Amy 

A N G L E T E R R E

I’m currently sitting in a cafe in Ouistreham waiting to try and hitch the ferry to Portsmouth. It’s been a bit of a long journey since I last wrote about my ankle in Lyon! I’ve had a couple of hitchhiking adventures, and have been back in La Creuse.

In the end I stayed with my friend Laz and his fiance Louise in Lyon for over a week, waiting for my ankle to improve. I managed to go out for a walk a couple of times, and on the weekend after I arrived we had a little party with some of their friends which was fun. It was a bit of a pain with the ankle but I passed a nice week there, it was great to spend lots of time catching up with Lazare. I was supposed to go back to Christophe’s in Millau to help with a big art exhibition, but with my ankle the way it was I was unsure I would be able to help efficiently, and so were Christophe and Jacqueline. They were super busy and doing everything very quickly to prepare, so I might have just got in the way. So, we decided it wasn’t a good moment. I was disappointed, but I know I will return again next year, and maybe exhibit some art and photography in the gallery in the centre of Millau.

I had to leave Lyon last Friday, because Louise’s dad was visiting, and I was able to walk okay-ish by that point. I wasn’t really ready to go directly back to England, so I decided that I would pass by Sam’s again. My original time there was really special in lots of ways, and I felt a bit strange after leaving feeling so content and ready for my travels, and then suddenly having to stop because of my ankle. It was a strange contrast. I decided I wanted to return and somehow attach the place and the people to reality a bit more, rather than just a very special moment which seemed somehow detached from everything else. It’s hard to explain, but it was maybe something like waking up from a strange dream too quickly. I think I learnt a lot about myself and my outlook on things during my time at Sam’s, and I took on a lot of very positive energy. It was incredible, but bizarre in contrast to then being stuck inside the apartment in Lyon for 8 days. I didn’t feel very clear about my time there and my feelings, so I wanted to go back and say bye before England.

Four volunteers arrived just after I left, so they’d been working on the land for just over a week, there’s lots of progress. Sam was taking them to the Moulin (the community at the old mill, I visited last time) for the weekend to help Pascal clear some land that he recently bought, so we arranged that I could also go there and help too. I hitched from Lyon to a village close by. I was surprised the day I left Lyon that my ankle was actually okay carrying my bag, I was walking relatively well, and over the weekend at the Moulin I helped with the land with the others. I just did things which didn’t involve too much fast walking! I hurt it a bit helping to jump-start Sam’s car, because I got a bit confident wearing an ankle-strap thing that someone offered me, and thought for a moment I was miraculously healed and I could help to push a car (?!). That was a bit of an error. I need to try and rest it a bit more once I’m back in England.

My journey back to La Creuse from Lyon was great because I passed through Clermont-Ferrand and out the other side over the old volcanoes where the countryside is really beautiful, and the weather changed within the space of about half a kilometre to glorious sunshine. I got a great lift with two really kind men who bought me a sandwich in Clermont and put me on a good road. Its so good to always try to keep an open mind to all sorts of different people.

I felt really happy to arrive back in La Creuse, and especially to be back in the countryside working in nature. It was really nice to meet the other volunteers. We stayed at the Moulin until Monday afternoon, helping Saturday and Sunday with Pascal’s place, and on Tuesday we worked all day on the land at Sam’s. The weather was lovely and we even ate lunch outside in t-shirts, on the 6th of December. I was delighted to see the progress in the garden and to help a little bit more there. I just love the place and feel really connected to it. All the beds are nearly finished now, and Sam & co are going to start planting the trees over the next few days. I’m hoping to return in the spring to help planting out the veggie garden.  

I left early yesterday morning. Sam drove me to Montlucon, again. After a really long wait at first, I got on my way to Le Havre. I chose there because I wanted a connection for Portsmouth so I can visit my Uncle on my return to England. I went without much of a plan, thinking there would be a few ferries a day and I’d just see what happens. I made fairly good progress, met some nice people, spoke a bit of French, and arrived close to Le Havre before dark. My last lift was with a lorry driver who had to stop to deposit his shipping container, so we waited at some of the docks for over an hour in a big queue, and during that time it got dark. Once he had put his lorry in for the night we swapped for his car and he took me to the ferry terminal, but the ferries were finished for the day. The lady there told me the next one wasn’t until 5pm the next day, but that one was leaving at 11pm from Ouistreham. I decided to attempt to catch it. I never hitchhike at night, not because it’s more dangerous with people (I think in the end it’s the same), but because it’s dangerous with the cars if they can’t see you. I need a high-vis. However, everywhere round there was lit up like a Christmas tree, and I thought I had a good chance. I did have a good chance. But it didn’t work. I ended up off the highway on a little road and quickly decided it wasn’t a good idea because I wasn’t so visible and I wasn’t really on a good road for catching people going to the right place. I told the last person who stopped for me, Daniel, that I would search for somewhere to sleep for the night in his town. It was going to be really expensive, so I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do, but Daniel very kindly invited me to stay in his home. His family were very welcoming, they seemed to find it completely normal that I was there, almost to a strange degree! But it meant I didn’t feel awkward at all, and them either, so that was nice. I checked the ferries for today, and found that the next one from Le Havre is actually not until 10pm tonight, but that one goes from here, Ouistreham, at 4.30pm. So that’s the one I’m waiting for now. I got one lift all the way here this morning, after Daniel left me in a good place, because the man who picked me up had a bit of time and offered to bring me to the port. So I’ve been passing time since 10.30am, but at least I know I’m here! If I can’t manage to hitch I’m going to buy a walk-on ticket.  

So, hopefully, this evening I’ll be staying with my Uncle Bernie and his wife Lorraine, and in the next day or so I’ll be back in Liverpool. I’ll just be passing, because before Christmas I’m going to visit Ireland, Sheffield and Huddersfield to see various friends. I’ve never been to Ireland before so I’m super excited. It’s strange that a couple of months ago, when I wasn’t feeling sure about my travels, or about anything really, I wasn’t sure I’d pass the time until Christmas, and now it seems it’s come around too quickly! The perception of time can be a weird thing.

So I’m going to try and post this now, but the wifi doesn’t seem to exist so maybe I won’t post it until I’m on the ferry or even in England!

Time to try and hitch.

^^^ In the end I’m posting this from the boat! Got picked up by a nice lady from Surrey, but I had to pay 9 Euros to add an extra passenger to the car. Much better than 30 for a foot passenger ticket though. I’m sitting in the bar at the moment, we’ve just started moving, and already I’m not looking forward to this 6 hour crossing! I might try and nap.

Back on the road

I am writing this from a bar in Ghent, Belgium, after requests from a few friends and family to re-start my blog now that I am travelling again. 

For now, a quick overview:

I set off from Liverpool to Sheffield on Tuesday. Me and my friend Adam hitched over. It was quite a smooth journey apart from a long wait at the M60. On arrival, obviously, we went to the pub. The next day I tried my best to give him a good tour of Sheffield, as he’s never been before and was only visiting for just over 24 hours! This tour included more pubs, cafes, quirky shops, and food. All my fave Sheffield things. I fell back in love with Sheffield again and it broke my heart a little bit! 

On the Thursday, I decided half way through the day to ‘pop’ to Scunthorpe to visit my friend Tom. Hitched there easily after getting a long bus ride to Aston and then a lift with an absolute legend of a man called Russ, who took me all the way to Tom’s road! 

We had a lovely couple of days that involved drinks at a gorgeous pub right on the river Trent two nights in a row, and a nice bike ride on the Friday. 

I set off for Europe on Saturday morning. Half way down the M1, there’s no easy / non-embarrassing way to say this, so here it is: I realised I didn’t have my passport with me. Amongst the many various things a traveller must remember to pack, their passport is clearly a top priority. But, I forgot mine. So that was how I came to be waiting in Birmingham Airport for two hours (Oh the irony – a hitchhiking trip to Europe via an airport), for my legendary parents to drive it to me. 

After that small detour, I got back on the road, and ended up catching a lift with a great guy named Danny. We detoured to a Morrison’s when I mentioned that I needed some foody supplies, and then he helped me to pick a camping spot near the M3. Then, he decided to sleep there as well in his van, until 4am when he had to continue to his next job. This helped me to settle in my tent! After 4am I have to say I was a bit scared but I got a decent enough rest.  

I continued my journey yesterday, which I have to say was a pretty successful day’s hitching, via central London – this part was unintentional! To head towards Dover I had to get back up onto the M25, and my first lift Darren suggested that because of the terrible traffic on the M20 I head to the start of the A2. He was amazing at trying to find me a good bus stop to catch a bus to the right part of London, but after waiting at the bus stop for 15 minutes I realised that perhaps his travel checker app thingy had been a little off, as I think I was in the wrong place. After studying my map, I caught the train one stop from my place at Streatham to Tulse Hill, on the A205, and hitched from there. I have to say I wasn’t incredibly optimistic about the success of this plan, but some lovely ladies picked me up after only about 10 mins of waiting and put me on the A2! I am offically quite impressed with myself for managing to hitch out of London.

From there, I got a lift with the lovely Amy, who took me way past her turn off all the way to the outskirts of Dover, just because we were getting on so well and enjoying a good chat! Then, I didn’t wait too long for a Romanian driver heading to Luxembourg to pick me up, skip the queues at the ferry terminal, take me on the ferry no probs, and then on to a service station well on my way to Ghent. This was a fabulous achievement, and I’m quite pleased to have proved that hitching out to Europe is certainly not impossible. On a side note – I saw nothing of the ‘increased security checks’ at Calais. This wasn’t just because I was with a freight driver, because I was watching all the public cars driving freely out as well. 

After this great success, I then got stuck at the service station, and had to camp there. I got a good rest because I could settle well in my tent knowing there were so many people around. This morning, I was still struggling to get away. Many people were telling me Ghent was in the other direction, even though there are a couple of good turn offs to it along the way to Brussels. By this point I didn’t have my phone map to look at, so I had to rely on my very very small road map of Europe. I jumped in with a driver heading to Brussels, and then accidentally passed the N60, which I wasn’t sure I even wanted anyway because of the tiny map, whilst my driver insisted I should stay in until Brussels because that was a better option for getting to Ghent. I couldn’t see that myself so I jumped out, crossed the road, and hitched all the way back along it again – my first lift being two girls that were also telling me to go via Brussels! They took me half way back along the A8 and then advised me to cross the road at the services they put me at. Whilst I was slowly losing the will to live, a nice couple dropped me on the N60, and I easily caught a lift with a nice family who dropped me right here in the centre. 

Unfortunately, as I have arrived a day later than I intended, I have missed the festival that happened here over the weekend. I have had a nice walk around though, and the city is really gorgeous, with lots of old architecture and rivers. I walked all the way to the big Art Gallery, only to find it closed (as are most places, unfortunately, as it is Monday). So I have been killing time waiting to meet my couchsurfing host in a little bar where I can use the wifi and try out my new travel laptop, which I am enjoying. 

I will try to post regular updates and also some photos from now on.