We’ve been out on something of a route-march today, from Bude, along the Bude canal bank for a couple of miles, across some muddy, badly signed footpaths across some fields and onto the coast path for the return to Bude. The walk was five and a half miles long, good exercise for the dogs and aside from being really muddy (and me ending up on my arse in it so I got completely coated) was beautiful too.

It was a circular walk from a book that was a gift from my folks for Christmas last year and although we got there, the quality of the directions were rubbish really and the map left a lot to be desired.

I was intrigued by the canal, which clearly was not navigable because its locks had been disabled at some stage, leaving only one gate to retain the water at each one. It’s a shame really because I’d have thought it would have been quite a good tourist attraction if it had been working.

The most bizarre thing about it is that at the Bude end, it meets the sea and this pic is of the very end of the canal and its lock leading out to the sea on the other side, taken just after the sun went down. The photo is of man’s endeavours meeting nature. The canal was built to transport sand from the beach to the farmland of North Cornwall because the farmers used it to enrich the relatively poor inland soil. It was built in the 1820s and closed in 1891 when the railway made it outmoded! Apparently this lock at the sea end was one of its two most important engineering feats.

Anyway, back to my reason to be proud no 5 (oh and by the way, these are in no particular order). It’s this diary. I’ve now posted a new photo and text every day for 981 days – I get to 1000 days on 2nd December. I’ve shared my hopes, fears, triumphs and disasters with the world and I feel certain that my ability to write coherently has improved beyond recognition during that time.

The diary has been an education for me too because, for example, I’d probably never have been motivated to research the Bude canal if I’d not wanted to share a bit of its history with you. So, it’s made me more aware of my environment and more willing to learn the history of our newly adopted home. So, I’m proud of my diary, I’m pleased it’s made me stop and think about stuff and I’m looking forward to the day when this writing practice can turn into that book that I’ve now written three pages of but gone no further. Everyday I write the book of my life.

Two years ago, I was analysing the quality of the coffee in the stations I travelled through to work and last year, the ARSE were causing me grief!