Day 17: The Penultimate Blog

The penultimate blog for the penultimate day… can you even believe it?! It feels completely surreal that it’s already here.

This morning felt quite strange, as for the first time in 17 nights, we all woke up in our respective homes. Although the home comforts were certainly lovely, it was also bittersweet. After living with all your belongings in the back of a car for 2 weeks, you get used to a more simplified routine each day –and it’s so much easier to find what you need when everything you have is in the boot (and back) of your car...!

After a bit of disorientation, we all headed down to Maidencombe to start the day. And what a start it was. We were very blessed to be joined by Bishop Mike, the Bishop of Exeter, who not only led us in prayer to start Day 17 but also laced up his walking boots to join us for the full 11-mile walk! After a quick photo-op, the walkers made their way to Holcombe Beach for not only the final aid station of the day, but for the whole walk…thankfully, as emotional as it was for Katie and me, the spread of homemade brownies, cupcakes, flapjacks, millionaire’s shortbreads and the occasional ham sandwich, was an easy distraction.

Ailie and Bev joined the team at Dawlish Warren to walk to Starcross, met by Adam and Katie in Cockwood – a true lime green t-shirt dream team powering through Starcross! If our T-shirts aren’t fashionable, I don’t know what is.  

Of course, one last impromptu aid station was in order. Where might you ask? The pub, naturally. I mean, hydration does come in many different forms… right? All jokes aside, the team got to their end point at Starcross car park a whole two hours early – just before 1:15 pm!

Now that we’re all back in our homes, it certainly feels odd: not planning what’s for tea, not gathering around the table for prayer, not working through tomorrow’s schedule, not hearing Jon and Jac compare blisters (…although, I have to say, that I could probably do without), and not reading the blog out loud to each other before we post it live on the website. These little routines have been such a joy – and for a group that’s spent nearly 24/7 together for 18 days, we’ve somehow managed to avoid falling out – praise God! Katie explained it yesterday as a family of friends, and that’s such a great way to put it.

On the topic of family, I feel like this whole experience has been just that. Julia and Richard explained it perfectly on yesterday’s update when they were asked about why they joined us on the walk – “we’re family. A Cranbrook Church family. And that’s just what family does”.

That one got to me.

For me, when Jac and I moved to Devon three years ago, being someone who worked from home, I didn’t know anyone. It was a brand-new place where we had no family or friends, and not having the typical “going to work” experience, it wasn’t like I was going to meet anyone there either. But then I found Cranbrook Church, and my life has completely changed. Cranbrook Church truly feels like home, not only for me, but so many people, and that is what we want by building a church building. Having somewhere that no matter who you are, or where you come, when you walk through our doors, on any day of the week, you feel loved, known, cared for, and at home, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.

So, if you’ve prayed, donated, shared our posts, joined us on a leg, baked a brownie, or cheered from home, you’ve contributed to building that kind of home that we’re praying for.

Thank you.

Tomorrow will be the final blog, in which Katie and I will write together, to sign off from this wild adventure. Although if we’re honest, we don’t want it to stop. We’ll just have to keep writing… “Day 264: We’re still at work. Nothing’s changed. Someone please bring cake”.

11.5 miles, 480m of ascent and 27,696 steps.

A morning update from Bishop Mike!

Go Jac and Jon Signs!

Impromptu aid station!

A chat with the Bishop of Exeter, Bishop Mike!

End of Day 17.