Beach of Dreams 2021 Blog
Read the daily reports from the Beach of Dreams 2021 walks from writer and journalist Kevin Rushby.
In addition to his blog posts, read Kevin’s insightful articles about the project via the buttons below.
The Guardian Part 1 The Guardian Part 2 The Guardian Part 3 The Guardian Part 4 Backstory Article
Kevin's Blog
Aug
2021
Grays to Tilbury Fort
Day Thirty-Five. The last day's march is something of a procession: five miles through Tilbury to the fort where
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2021
Purfleet Beacon to Grays
Day Thirty-Four. I almost died of shock. There it was. The pop-up tent abandoned and empty. No sign of Hobblin' John Hogweed...
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2021
Purfleet-on-Thames to Purfleet Beacon
Day Thirty-Three. My legs are zinging like I've just had some kind of extreme depilation. In my hand is a stick...
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2021
Ockendon to Purfleet-on-Thames
Day Thirty-Two. A lot of people have been asking how this 500 mile walk might affect me to which I say I have no idea
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2021
Langdon Hills to Ockendon
Day Thirty-One. I suppose there was an assumption, at the start of the walk, that by the end things would get easier.
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2021
Thameside Nature Park to Langdon Hills
Day Thirty. Hobblin' John Hogweed is up early this morning rubbing ibuprofen gel into his shins and reading the leaflet...
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2021
Benfleet to Thameside Nature Park
Day Twenty-Nine. We left John on something of a cliffhanger last night. He had been ordered to ice his right shin within an inch of frostbite...
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2021
Canvey Island
Day Twenty-Eight. We start the day on a high, a breakfast bagel with coffee outside the Golden Bagel next to Benfleet Station..
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2021
Shoeburyness to Benfleet
Day Twenty-Seven. Thunder is rolling across Shoeburyness as we convene for the next walk, starting on the seafront...
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2021
Rochford to Shoeburyness
Day Twenty-Six. As we move ever closer to the end, there is a growing sense of the importance of health.
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2021
Hullbridge to Paglesham
Day Twenty-Four. Just when you think it's going to be okay, when the aches and pains have faded..
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2021
Burnham-on-Crouch to South Woodham Ferrers
Day Twenty-Three. Today I had a delivery of new socks. This is not something I would normally get excited about..
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2021
Bradwell to Burnham-on-Crouch
Day Twenty-One. There are so many things that we humans collect for fun...
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2021
Maldon to Bradwell
Day Twenty. We are going to hit 300 miles today, but the weather is going to make us work for it.
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2021
Tollesbury to Maldon
Day 19. Every morning for over two weeks now, we have eaten porridge for breakfast, but today..
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2021
Peldon to Tollesbury
Day 18. The day starts with sunshine and a long quiet walk around the vast Abberton Reservoir on a broad grassy path
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2021
Brightlingsea to Peldon
Day Seventeen. Every day we begin again where we left off, not missing a single step. But today we are immediately diverted.
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2021
Mersea Island
Day Sixteen. There are always going to be a few bad apples on a long trek like this one...
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2021
Jaywick to Brightlingsea
Day Fifteen. Back at Jaywick Martello tower this morning for the start of our walk. There we are joined by...
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2021
Harwich to Walton-on-the-Naze
Day Thirteen. We have had a day off. The only day off in the 35 that will take us to Tilbury. But...
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2021
Wrabness to Harwich
Day Twelve. Sit down in a comfortable chair in the dark and close your eyes. I am going to say a word and I want you to allow...
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2021
Dedham to Wrabness
Dedham to Wrabness Day Eleven Some mornings you wake up and the world flinches. It takes a good look and […]
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2021
Shotley to Dedham
Shotley to Dedham Day Ten The rain is lashing down at the quayside in Shotley as the ferry to Hook […]
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2021
Ipswich to Shotley
Ipswich to Shotley Day Nine Some days the wheels fall off. Your feet ache and it spreads to your calves […]
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2021
Sutton Hoo to Bawdsey
Sutton Hoo to Bawdsey Day Seven Some days there is something in the air. In Borneo, when the hunters […]
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2021
Orford Ferry to Sutton Hoo
Orford Ferry to Sutton Hoo Day Six We set out from Orford Quay in sunshine led by Harry, a Scotsman […]
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2021
Orford Ness
Day Five. I wonder what attracted the Ministry of Defence to Orford Ness back in 1917?
Read More ›Jun
2021
Aldeburgh to Orford
Day Four: In a thin drizzle we arrive for the start of Day 4 next to the Jacobean Moot Hall on Aldeburgh seafront.
Read More ›Jun
2021
Halesworth to Aldeburgh
Halesworth to Aldeburgh Day 3 Deep in the reed beds of Walberswick marshes a bird is calling vociferously, but […]
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2021
Southwold to Halesworth
Day Two. The church at Blythburgh stands above a shimmering world of reed and rush, three miles from the sea.
Read More ›Jun
2021
Beach of Dreams Begins
It sits at my feet, a marvel of fragility and camouflage. Just over an inch long and carefully mottled in greys and black on a faintly bluish background.
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