Day 1

Day 1: Gravesend to Vigo

The path starts at Gravesend Pier on the Thames. We drove to Vigo Village, parked the car and caught a bus to Gravesend. Clearly a picture to mark the start was needed so here it is...

This was 9-15am on Monday 19th March and the weather was beautiful after a cold frosty start.

The Pier and the River Thames at Gravesend.

The Statue of Pocahontas in Gravesend Churchyard

The guide says that the first two miles are not at all attractive and it wasn't wrong! The path walks through the town and up to the M2 Motorway and the Channel Tunnel rail link. We were ready for a coffee when we reached this first "target"

"TollGate" called after the old A2 road Tollgate but now a major roundabout and service area adjacent to the A2 / M2 / Rail-Link.

From here onward everything improved massively. We could hear the birds sing for a start! The path was well marked and the surface firm. We pushed on and made good progress through some great rolling countryside...

 Getting close to Lunchtime we needed a watering hole. Luddesdown was the next village, really pretty with a great church but no Pub! A look at the map and we realised that Lower Luddesdown had the Pub so we had to make a small detour off the path to find refreshment. Nice Pub but it doesn't do food on Mondays! Still we needed the liquids and the beer was good.

Trevor walking away from the Golden Lion - at least he was heading in the right direction after his beer for a change!

The village of Luddesdown is really pretty. This is Luddesdown Church....

And is this the "Dunny with the best view" in England!

Stats for the first days walk were...

Date	Steps	Distance (mi)	Time	Calories Used	Average speed (mph)	Average pace (min/mi)	Average Calorie using rate (Cal/min)	Average step rate (steps/min)	Elevation gain (feet)	Elevation loss (feet)
19/03/2012	22,833	12.0	5hr 56min	1,426	2.2	29.7	4	64	2,067	1,601

Legs tired and a hot bath needed but an excellent first day. Now to plan Day 2 next Monday.