Author: Tim

It was a strange evening ceremony in Temple 6 last night. But first we enjoyed another inadequate dinner made upContinue Reading

Sorry for losing your comments yesterday. Something got switched off by mistake. This is a very weird feeling, reaching TempleContinue Reading

Today there were mini mountains with steep trails and urban highways with nothing of note. I told Blanca that myContinue Reading

What a relief to set off this morning and to close the door forever on that awful Momo-ya ryokan. OneContinue Reading

As you might have gathered by now, choosing accommodation on this pilgrimage is a lottery with mostly winning tickets butContinue Reading

The day opened with a 6am morning service in Temple 75. The few benches were already occupied by the busContinue Reading

It was like arriving home, turning the corner and seeing Temple 75. I came here four years ago only toContinue Reading

As I opened the door this morning there was an enormous flash of lightning followed by a loud crash ofContinue Reading

I crept out of the hotel before dawn this morning and took a deep breath to get in the mood.Continue Reading

There’s a gap in the map between Temples 64 and 65 of some 50 kilometres with little of interest andContinue Reading

Sometimes on this pilgrimage I find it difficult to plan a day and today was one of those days. TheContinue Reading

I only had a very short walk from my hotel over the road to Family Mart for breakfast at 6.30.Continue Reading

As I walked through dilapidated Hojo yesterday afternoon looking for my accommodation I was prepared for the worst. But asContinue Reading

My expectation for today was an interesting walk around the city to the coast and then a beautiful walk upContinue Reading

I have the luxury of a 2nd rest day in Matsuyama. It’s the perfect place for a rest because there’sContinue Reading

Everything you want to see seems to be covered in scaffolding at the moment. Long gone are the days whenContinue Reading

Autumn has finally arrived. The temperature has dropped from 30 degrees last week to a more reasonable 21 and theContinue Reading

Today felt like a day off after yesterday’s marathon. First there was a return walk up the road to TempleContinue Reading

I was ready to leave at 6am this morning and I set off at 6.05. That’s how long it tookContinue Reading

I was happy to depart from the dreadful Fujino-ya ryokan this morning. Somehow they charged me 8200 yen, the mostContinue Reading

A 6am departure from the pleasant Ailin hotel in Yoshinoya. I wasn’t hanging around for breakfast because a short distanceContinue Reading

For the first time my 5.45 alarm awoke me from a deep sleep and an hour later I had draggedContinue Reading

I was happy to reach Sukumo last night even if it meant staying in a business hotel. A business hotelContinue Reading

Actually I enjoyed my stay in the Tatsukushi-en minshuku last night. It was right on the beach. I had theContinue Reading

I’ve left Sandrine behind at Cape Ashizuri because she has to return to France for work. Last night’s accommodation wasContinue Reading

I left at 6.30 this morning clutching my bag of croissants and set off down the coast for the lastContinue Reading

If you’re used to paying for your cappuccino with a slight flick of your Apple Watch you’ll struggle in Japan.Continue Reading

Sure enough there was chanting at 6am in the temple but I was already awake from the first train pastContinue Reading

No winners of yesterday’s photo competition. I thought it was a breakfast cereal factory but the owner of the ryokanContinue Reading

If you struggle to get started in the morning try walking out into Typhoon No 18. Mercifully it is followingContinue Reading

The little town of Tosa, where we stayed last night, scored highly on my list of essentials for the walkingContinue Reading

Summer is back. 31 degrees (88F) and humidity at 125%. It was a hard walk from Temple 31 to 34Continue Reading

It was only good fortune that I should be in Kochi on a Sunday for the weekly market. The centreContinue Reading

I marched across rice paddies visiting temples 29 and 30 today. On the way I caught up with a largeContinue Reading

Back at Temple 11, as I was walking to my ryokan, a kind man called over to me, gave meContinue Reading

A night of total luxury, last night. And this morning I was expecting a light breakfast of coffee and bread,Continue Reading

The sun returned but the temperature is a more modest 26 degrees; plenty warm enough. I left the hotel andContinue Reading

Life couldn’t be better. The mighty Pacific Ocean pounding the shore, endless beautiful beaches and a surfers heaven. Great bigContinue Reading

The Pacific Ocean is my view on my left side and the hills of Shikoku on my right side. AfterContinue Reading

Such a pleasant day yesterday, who would have thought a typhoon was in the neighborhood. Mercifully it steered itself awayContinue Reading

We had a good stay in Panda House last night. It’s surrounded by bamboo. The house looked like it mightContinue Reading

Just the two temples today, 20 and 21 but each was on a different mountain and our accommodation was aContinue Reading

After breakfast in Starbucks, Tokushima, I set off along the straight and rather tedious main road out of town withContinue Reading

Last night’s accommodation next door to Temple 13, “Myozai” looked less than impressive but once again the owner couldn’t haveContinue Reading

Last night’s guesthouse, the Farm Morian Loft, was a truly excellent experience. I enjoyed a superb dinner and a massiveContinue Reading

Today I had my first proper Japanese breakfast and it slightly exceeded my expectations. Miso, seaweed, rice, egg, ham, picklesContinue Reading

I ordered chicken for dinner last night but it turned out to be chicken sashimi. I sent it straight backContinue Reading

I caught the 06.37 train from Tokushima back to Temple 3 with S&E to meet サラ and continue our pilgrimage.Continue Reading

I’ve had a very pleasant last couple of days in Kyoto viewing 3 more [insert adjective] temple gardens and aContinue Reading

Hello from Kyoto, the former capital of Japan and home to numerous Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples with their tranquilContinue Reading

There is no finer way to end a pilgrimage than to receive a Papal blessing. I hurried along to StContinue Reading

Three months and three days after leaving my home in Weybridge, Paul and I arrived in Rome. Does the VaticanContinue Reading

Campagnano di Roma celebrated the feast of its patron saint, John the Baptist long into the night. The bishop ledContinue Reading

Paul and I had an action packed 32km walk today. Everything one could wish for on the Via Francigena. ThereContinue Reading

I’m fast approaching the end of my Via Francigena guidebook. Flicking through the pages I see that Rome is justContinue Reading

We were the only pilgrims in the convent last night; I doubt there were many nuns either. What do youContinue Reading

Our accommodation last night was a sterile B&B in San Lorenzo Nuovo. All very nice but it’s the sort ofContinue Reading

I was lucky to find a stone slab outside the hostel by the church from where a faint G3 signalContinue Reading

We are coming towards the end of Tuscany. This last section feels the most remote with rolling hills far intoContinue Reading

Our diet is alternating between pasta and pizza in a desperate battle to eat enough calories to sustain the nextContinue Reading

We shut the door on our fabulous apartment in Siena this morning and headed just far enough out of townContinue Reading

I slept the sleep of the just last night in the master suite of our palace overlooking the Piazza delContinue Reading

Another short hop of 20km today has brought us to Siena. We had a bit of a lazy start byContinue Reading

“One of the most beautiful routes along the Via Francigena” says the AEVF app, referring to today’s 31km stage fromContinue Reading

From afar, San Gimignano looks like a modern high rise slum city. Tall grey tower blocks dominate the skyline. AndContinue Reading

The sun beat down mercilessly on us poor pilgrims yesterday afternoon in the main square of San Miniato. Our 1600Continue Reading

More Tuscan landscapes to melt the heart today. It’s glorious. The sun is shining, there is a light breeze toContinue Reading

A few hours can make a lot of difference in a place like Lucca. Last night the town was jammedContinue Reading

Sssh I’m in the Basilica of St Frediano sheltering from the sun but not the tourists. Travel is, of course,Continue Reading

We spent last night in a pleasant but rather expensive B&B in Camaiore, a former farm house. The young manContinue Reading

We planned to skip breakfast this morning. The hotel largely caters to holiday makers for whom 8.00 on a SundayContinue Reading

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside. Paul and I couldn’t resist drifting slightly off course to reachContinue Reading

A splendid stage today, from Aulla to Sarzana. Just 16.2km apparently, according to my guidebook. It felt more like 50km.Continue Reading

Many fellow British people come to Tuscany for their summer holidays and you can see why. The landscape is magnificent,Continue Reading

The short 22km walk and the cool weather lulled us into a false sense of security. We didn’t bother toContinue Reading

A lovely walk today. We are properly in the Apennines. You know that when you ascend 1870m and descend 780mContinue Reading

We waved goodbye to the mosquitoes and they waved back as we climbed out of Fidenza into the hills ofContinue Reading

Sundays in Italy are still fairly sacred, just like Britain 40 years ago. Sunday is the family day. Church bellsContinue Reading

Danilo Parisi is a legend on the Via Francigena. He is the ferryman who takes pilgrims across the mighty PoContinue Reading

Today was a “challenging” 28km from Pavia to Santa Cristina according to my guidebook. I set the alarm for 4.30Continue Reading

Pavia was founded over 2000 years ago. It is famous for its churches and I love to spend some timeContinue Reading

First of all a big thank you to Margot of the AIVF for sending me a new set of credentials.Continue Reading

I suspect Italian mosquitoes don’t work on Mondays because this morning they were waiting for us fully revived and readyContinue Reading

A lovely 33km walk from Vercelli to Mortara today. It’s described in my guidebook as two stages but for PaulContinue Reading

Mario recommended a nearby hotel for dinner so we went there, the hotel Vittorie. They offered a pilgrim menu, theContinue Reading

It was back to a pre-dawn iPhone alarm call this morning as we faced a gruelling 33km walk in theContinue Reading

Goodbye Vallee D’Aosta. Last night’s hotel Clara was right on the border so we crossed into the region of PiemonteContinue Reading

All good things have an end and today we reached the end of the Vallee D’Aosta. I can recommend ourContinue Reading

I had my first ever pizza in Italy last night. The menu had several pages of every type of pizzaContinue Reading

I was pleasantly surprised to find the three of us present and correct at 6.30 this morning. We had aContinue Reading

Our reward for reaching Aosta yesterday is a rest day today. Aosta is worth exploring because it dates back toContinue Reading

I didn’t sleep too well last night. Was it the altitude or the film about my neighbours in the adjoiningContinue Reading

Here we are on top of the Great St Bernard Pass. Fortunately there was a short window of opportunity inContinue Reading

We have now reached Camp 2, Bourg-Saint-Pierre at 1632m. It was a long climb over 14Km from Orsières at 887m.Continue Reading

I’ve been looking forward to crossing the Alps since Paul and I started our walk to Rome. Many consider itContinue Reading

We met at 6.30 for breakfast this morning in the excellent Hotellerie Franciscaine, St Maurice. Breakfast was excellent and includedContinue Reading

We five pilgrims enjoyed our banquet in the apartment last night including the fresh fruit dessert. Not only was itContinue Reading