A Purely Personal Pilgrimage

God willing, on the 1^st of September 2014, I shall be taking off on a journey around the British Isles.

I plan to explore the quirky, eccentric parts and people of Britain, to have a chance to appreciate its beauties and most importantly, (the theme that links my quest and pilgrimage) to seek out the last remaining second-hand and Antiquarian bookshops.

My plan is to make a base in a particular area, where I will visit friends and family but for the most part, house-sit or stay in vacant holiday homes.

Whilst there, I will support myself by giving talks, selling my books and Vintage collectibles at fairs and of course- by doing some life modelling!

It will be a rather hand-to-mouth existence but it should allow me the time to discover hidden gems of little book shops, to photograph them, interview their owners and their loyal customers and then to write about them-before they disappear.

 I plan to explore The Lake District and the North in the Autumn, Wales in the Winter, Devon and Cornwall in the Spring and as Summer comes, work my way along the South coast 

and then up the Eastern side of England and as far into Scotland as time and funds allow. As yet, I haven't included Ireland but everything remains flexible.

I don’t intend this to be an exhaustive listing of all bookshops in each area, more a gentle time of serendipitous discovery.

England still has strong communities, individualistic people and hidden beauties; I’m very excited about the chance to discover some of them and to visit places that have touched my imagination.

It is an exciting yet daunting idea. Imagine taking a year off to do exactly as I please! 

Yet I have been planning something similar for many years. As a single parent, my life has been particularly wrapped around my children's needs and their care. With Emily now at university, when Sam disappears in the summer of 2014 to stay with his father in Canada and spend a gap year exploring there, I shall have a huge gap in my life. I hate to think that worry about me would ever stop my children spreading their wings, so if I am off on my own adventures, they can fly away with ease.

My favourite picture ' Lucifer and God'

My wonderful partner David is fully supportive and understanding. As I am travelling within this country we have plans to spend many a weekend and holiday together during my time away.

I call this 'A Gap Year' to myself but in fact it will probably turn out to be a series seasonal adventures with me returning to see loved ones in between. Both my Mother and Emily already plan to join me for  little jaunts.

On a practical note, I'm hoping to have weekday lodgers within my home to help cover costs and keep the house happy. I have saved up a little money ( not very much) and if I can find free or very reasonable accommodation I should be able to survive.  Already, people have invited me to visit and those meetings will be part of the joy of this adventure.

 I will need to find places to stay where I can be alone, however, especially if I'm writing. Part of my reason for taking this time off is to allow myself the luxury to be by myself where I only have to think of my needs and wishes. A little selfish perhaps but oh, so necessary sometimes!

I would so love to spend some weeks alone in a cottage at wintertime, by a wild, wild sea...

Friends have asked me how I came up with this mad idea... I can recall two separate occasions which fixed my previously vague and happy dreams into an actual plan.

The first was one of those dazzlingly golden, breezy, sunshiny days you often get in mid September.

 I had just left David's house on Monday morning and decided to drive down to the sea at Sidmouth before returning home. As I bounced along in my little car, map on the seat beside me, and as I entered the town, bought a pasty and sat with it on the shingle looking out to sea, I realised that this was the sort of exploring I truly enjoyed. Not for me the extreme treks to far away places but the gentle exploration of my beloved country.

This idea of an English wandering gained a theme and quest last year. Whilst on a retreat in Wales I came upon a house where an inspired woman had turned her front room into a tea room and bookshop. It was such a find and I started wondering how many other tiny bookshops there were, hidden away, throughout the British Isles.

The idea seeded, it grew and grew and now (excepting any unforeseen disaster) I am giving up my local jobs next summer and plunging into the adventure of a life time. Not a very wild or exciting one some might say but perfectly suited to this eccentric English Book-lady.

 I'm excited at the thought of writing about my plans and preparations and then of the pilgrimage itself. I have yet to decide whether to create a new blog for the adventure or to keep to this one. 

I think I'll just wait and see what happens...