I recently completed a LDP walk on my own. St. Cuthbert's way. It was a challenge for me to walk unlead and unlost and find my way just by map (with compass handy if needed). I also had a basic GPS just for ensuring where I was if I was not sure. No fancy software mapping though. Now I know lots of you ladies have done it and with much longer distances and that is what made me go for it!

Anyway, on the first section I did 30 miles and none of the villages had tea shops/pubs/cafes! Luckily I had emergency rations-chocs,sweets and nuts/raisins to last 30 miles. But the lady at Mount Hooley Bunk house that I stayed at before starting the walk gave me 2 muffins for the first day- they filled me up fine!

I reached Lindisfarne on the last day very late at 1800 hours because I had to look in a walking/running/climbing shop in Wooler that had a sale on,and it didn't open until 1000. Needless to say only extra large and extra small items were left! Anway, all the shops/cafes and hotels on Lindisfarne had stopped serving tea and were shut by the time arrived. I found what I thought was cafe open and asked for tea please only to find it was a retreat! Called Opengate, a St.Aidan and St.Hilda retreat. Anyway, a lovely lady said " a weary traveller needing tea" and brought me a whole pot of tea plus homemade shortbread . No money wanted, suggested me putting my offered money in the collection box. How kind- thta revived me.

A little anyway, I then had a 6 mile hike back to the car in a village on the A1 and a drive back to Scarborough (3.5 hours) and work the next day!

I was shattered so I stuck my thumb out (thank goodness it isn't a rude sign!) and within 2 seconds a white van appeared (what else?) and a lady with her newly Uni graduated -on holiday and bored-son picked me up and transported me to the A1. They saved me 2 hours!

As I say- the kindness of people is great!