Day 22: Beyond the wall. Knutsford to Manchester

Josh packed up his belongings this morning and put on his walking shoes. His feet are a total mess and are agony to walk on but he was so determined to get into Manchester today and then recuperate. Sue and I have been getting quite concerned about his deterioration over the last 24 hours. I was monitoring his progress this morning and I could see that his pace had slowed to a crawl and his voice had become croaky and drawn out. He was trying so hard to push himself forward but his energy was almost depleted. We were concerned that on top of the wounds to his feet, shoulders and back he was possibly suffering from too much sun. He wasn't complaining of feeling sick or dizzy but I know that it is too easy to fool yourself, and push yourself into a dangerous state, when your determination to do something is allowed to completely dominate your common sense. I've not wanted to sow any seeds of doubt in Josh's mind about completing this challenge but I did try to get him to see that it would be foolish to continue to punish his body like this, especially as he now mentioned that his knees were painful. He had another 12 miles to go until he would reach Chris's flat and it was about 2:00 PM. At the pace he was moving he just wouldn't make it until the early hours of the following morning and whatever was slowing him down needed attention. I told him that he should try to find a bus to just take him those few miles into Manchester and if he was as drained as he sounded that he should just get a cab to the hospital to get checked over. Of course Josh was completely against the idea and restated that every step of the journey must be on foot but he sounded shattered. About 15 minutes later he called to ask if I thought it would be wrong of him to take a bus. I insisted that if he was feeling as bad as he sounded that he should definitely get a bus but, looking at the road on Google Earth, thought it an unlikely route for a bus. Josh said that he hadn't seen any bus stops and then he asked me to hang on a minute while he asked some workmen if they knew of any busses that passed this way en route for Manchester. By coincidence these workmen where just fitting a new bus stop and they told him that a bus should be along soon so he waited and then took the bus into Wilmsow where he caught a train for the last few miles. I was very relieved to hear that he had made it to his uncle Chris's flat and I could detect some relief in Josh's voice too. But will he allow a doctor to inspect his feet? I know Josh is feeling pretty low right now but I'm sure that seeing Chris will lift his spirit.

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I received this information from a friend:

Hello Paul

"Day 19: Poor reception continues to affect communication with Josh. He is getting close to Jodrell Bank so maybe that is something to do with it."

Nope. Jodrell Bank is a collection of radio telescopes, which are entirely passive detectors - they don't transmit anything that would interfere with comms.

Stuart

Thanks, Stuart! I stand corrected and the good people who live anywhere near Jodrell Bank can sleep more soundly in their beds tonight. Sorry for any misinformation.


Distance walked today: 5 miles.