Don’t you all love those security lines at the airport? While we will all being doing some serious hiking once we get to the coast, first we have to get to the coast and for most of us that means flying. My understanding is that international fights are generally the cheapest around 4-6 months before the trip so I’m probably going to by a ticket in the next few months.

My current plan is to make my flights easy (meaning direct for me since there are lots of flights from Boston->Heathrow) so that means just flying into Heathrow airport in London and taking train/bus from there. So with that in mind I asked Google maps for public transportation from Heathrow to St Bees and it said 11.5 hours!. I then found if I first go to Euston Bus Station in London and then take a train to St Bees the total trip is 8.5 hours (Google you failed me). Driving this would take about 5.5 hours (making driving an option to save time). I also ask for public transit from Robin Hood’s Bay (end point) to Heathrow. That takes about 5 hours and driving is just slightly less at 4.5 hours (I’ll just take the train in this case).

We’re on the trail from June 6 – June 22. This means I will plan on getting to St Bees June 5th. The options I have are a red eye to get me to Heathrow around 9am June 5th and then go to St Bees. Or I can arrive in London June 4th around 8pm, sleep, and then go to St Bees. I’m probably leaning towards a red eye to get to Heathrow around 9am on June 5th and then the train to St Bees to get me there in the early evening, but if others prefer a car I’d be fine renting a car for a small group to do a road trip on this leg. The trip back is easier. I will just catch the train from Robin Hood’s Bay to Heathrow on the morning of June 23 and then catch a flight back to Boston in the afternoon.

What do others planning? Anyone want to collaborate on travel?

Back in November, Laura suggested I pack my boots when coming to visit Batheaston. I was betwixt visiting my recent hire in London and a standards body meeting in Chertsey. We were fast approaching our 6-month countdown to Wainwright, and planned to undertake a rigorous walk around Bath. Boots would be a necessity.

The boots gained some decent mileage around London first. Whilst traveling light, the savvy jet setter knows that a versatile collection of shoes cannot be accommodated. I wore my boots to the West End 3 times in total (Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Mathilda), which may be 3 times more than they’ll ever attend theatre again.

And so it was that Laura took me climbing up on Solsbury Hill. Boots/wellies were donned. The rain was falling hard. We were determined. Laura and I climbed Solsbury Hill (yes, THE Solsbury Hill) in her Škoda on our way to see ‘Allo ‘Allo! in Bath. Wainwright practice would have to wait for a less rainy day. After all, weather changes, and we’ll see nothing of the sort come June.

I received the tentative list of inns booked for June! This is getting real. An average of 12 miles per day still seems like just a number. Maybe it’s best if I keep it that way as long as possible.

Meanwhile I have a few months left to be thirty-something. Then I’ll need to buckle down and start doing something with my life. I still have time if I act now, right? RIGHT?!

2015, you are the first chapter of the rest of my life story. Long or short, comedy or tragedy, I have a feeling it will at least be a page-turner. Now where’s my corkscrew?