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In case you WG people thought I'd forgotten.  A canal and a railway station!

Stage 8: Viverone to Santhià and beyond. Magic woods and rice fields. (Part 2).

Then on through gentler country, with barley fields stretching away between farms, the green only broken by this splash of colour from an Acer plantation.

and my first sight of the rice fields I'll be with for the next few days. 

Acacia trees in bloom perfumed my passage, 

and, after making use of a pilgrim "oasis", 

I reached Santhià in time to watch The Simpsons in a bar, then pushed on another 7km through flat fields and irrigation channels, to San Germano Vercellese, where I caught the train back to Santhià and a weary, sore-footed trudge back to the apartment. 26km today, but a slightly shortened stage tomorrow as a result, increasing today's 16km by 10, and cutting tomorrow's 30 by 7.  

Stage 8: Viverone to Santhià and beyond. Magic woods and rice fields. (Part 1).

This morning I took a taxi back to Viverone, picking up where I caught the bus yesterday. The rain gods were once again in evidence, along with their friend the cuckoo. The first few kilometres take you up to Roppolo, where hopes of coffee were dashed, as there wasn't a bar, but I did pass an unexpected wood workshop in an art Nouveau house. 

 Then into lush woods, dripping and fragrant, leading into Ugo the Elf's magic chestnut and beech woods, 

where no cuckoos called, but a chestnut doe bounded silently across the track ahead of me. There's still a long way to go.

 Once out of the woods two cuckoos called as I approached Cavaglià, Ugo clearly bans them from his woods. In Cavaglià no pilgrim stamp was available as the Via information shop was closed while its staff carried out path repairs. But I did find a good coffee and a stamp elsewhere. 

 

(Cuckoos and) Other gods are available. Stage 7 Ivrea to Viverone (Part 2).

After Bollengo, San Martino's bell tower built in 1300

and some ruined churches were the most notable historical monuments, as the Via continued over quiet tarmac back streets, where cuckoos still kept pace.

I eschewed an invitation to take a damper path, preferring to stick to the road.

 Then on to the faded splendour of Palazzo Canavese where even the project to convert the enormous palace into flats seems to have stalled. The grandiose was much more evident in the grand villas on the outskirts of Piverone, one at least making a bold statement.

 

My hopes for a solid pasta lunch in Piverone were dashed, and I settled for a packet of crisps on the church steps, the cuckoo soundtrack continuing. Then at last onto poppy-lined mule tracks overlooking lake Viverone vineyards,

 with the Alps just making an appearance behind me through the mist. 

 Finally, I flagged down a bus en route to Santhià, with a fabulous chatty driver who gave me a free ride, an enforced pitstop for gelato and coffee in Cavaglià, which will feature tomorrow, before another free bus ride, and yet another chatty driver, back almost to my door in Santhià.

(Cuckoos and) Other gods are available. Stage 7 Ivrea to Viverone (Part 1)

Italy has laid on the rain for me; new readers should know that bringing rain to wherever I go is my forte, and the rain gods had answered my summons today with torrential rain in Ivrea when I arrived this morning.  So into a cafe for multiple croissants and coffee, via a small Via Francigena booth where I finally got my Ivrea stamp for the pilgrim passport, and was photographed for posterity by the lady who ran it.

By the time breakfast was over, the rain had eased off and I soon cleared the town, passing through barley fields and lush woods;  rowan and acacia blossom have been the perfume notes today.  It was good to be moving again after a couple of weeks' pre-expedition rest.

The Via wound past a pretty lake and through more woods, along tarmac lanes, while a cuckoo called loudly, and then into Bollengo, where, curiously, Neptune guards the crossroads. (Was he to blame for the rain?) Here I stopped for refreshment, meeting some damp French pilgrims who had been caught in the earlier downpour.

The journey to Santhià

A fairly flawless journey, apart from some poor Google map reading at the very end, leading to an unexpected tour of the town before reaching my Airbnb flat.  Before I left the UK I had to get a broken tooth fixed on a bank holiday weekend, and managed to fall over on a London street, alarming a passerby rather more than me.  But a great send off at a Japanese restaurant from family members.

 

A welcome and a few thank yous before I start.

 Welcome to my blog, if you are new to the story.  I should explain that I started blogging in 2011 when my brother and I went on an epic trip around Patagonia.  During the course of that trip, I began to write about my brother with an increasingly ironic tone, teasing him for his interest in all things mechanical (aka "winding gear", now abbreviated to "WG") and his known propensity for thrift.  The Bro became more and more fictionalised, and now exists in a space entirely separate to the real brother.  You should bear that in mind when you read this blog and the "Wrinklies on the Road" blog about our Patagonian adventure (see the tab above).  I hope it makes you smile.

With 11 days to go before I leave home this time, the training has come to an end, and I'm resting and eating for the next week or so, with some Pilates and maybe the odd run.  I've walked more than 850kms since the start of the year, and it's funny how my focus has become more about the training than the eventual walk in the last couple of months.  I have had the great good fortune to have the glorious Tal y Bont Forest as my training ground.  It's stuffed with paths, tracks and gravelled roads, similar terrain to that I'll be walking on the Via Francigena, and has offered an abundance of circular walks ranging from 8km to 30km, absolutely perfect for building up my fitness and stamina.  So thank you Tal y Bont Forest, you've been a great friend these last four months.

Thank you to Meggy Moos and her human, Martine, who have offered excellent and enthusiastic walking company and entertainment periodically, and been an invaluable support.

Thanks also to Whalley Warm and Dry, for their amazing post-purchase customer support with replacing, quickly and with no fuss,  new boots which were causing so much pain that I feared I'd not be able to do the walk.  I now have much happier feet.

Huge thanks to The Other Half for his patience and support, particularly during the above boot issue, and for putting up with my tedious updates on planning and progress.  It is very much appreciated.

And to the Pyjama Party girls, Mazza, Cazza and Sazza, for much needed laughs.

And to every person who has or will sponsor me, I am immensely grateful.