Adventure Awaits.
When I was a young man I went to Carlton library in Nottingham quite a lot. I left home at 16 and lived in a very busy bed and breakfast for 12 months, the library was a bit of peace and quiet and a chance to get away from it all.
I read lots of biographies back then and one that stuck with me was Turn Right at Land’s End by John Merrill, The Story of his 7000 Mile British Coastal Walk. John Merrill is a walker of epic proportion. This book stayed with me for years and when in 2006 when I was looking for a new project this came back to me.
I got the wrong bus. I was supposed to be on a bus from London to Nottingham after another acting audition, but the Gods, or fate put me on a bus to Milton Keynes. Peeved, I sat talking to an older man in his 60’s. He told me that he had just completed Wainwright’s classic coast to coast from St. bees to robin hoods bay and his stories of his adventure were fabulous.
This got me thinking. What is I set off across the country coast to coast but instead of doing what every one else did I would make my own route and make a show out of it. I know that when things go well an audience might be interested, but when the shit hits the fan and the gods turn the screw then that’s a lot more watchable. And so the Big Adventure was conceived.
The Plan.
It was very simple, but also very difficult to accomplish. Two actors, Daniel Hoffmann-Gill again after our success with Thick As Thieves and Me (Mark Whiteley) would walk 216 miles from Bangor in Wales to Boston in Lincolnshire. To make it more fun we would have no food, no money and no accommodation, our only commodity was a 90 minute comedy that we had to try and perform each day, anywhere to try and get some money or some place to lay our heads for the night.
Seems I was on the right bus all along, I just didn’t know it.
Monday 1st May 2006.
This is from my diary.
Raining. Rich and Sam took us to the train station. It’s funny that every man who I’ve asked to lift my rucksack has been very masculine and said “It’s not very heavy” Let me assure you it is – 2 stone heavy (12.7 kg).
We left Bangor pier a 1pm and got straight on the A5. To be honest it was just one long slog, tarmac hurts.
The plan was for Dan to go into pubs in Bethesda and offer the show in exchange for shelter. To our amazement he did it. The first said no straight off. The second thought about it, went to ask his wife, then refused. The third (The Bull) thought about it, looked around the room, thought a little more, then said no. Dan is very brave.
We continued. My plan now was to try the youth hostel 5 miles away, if nothing happens there we would have to build a shelter for the evening.
Life is great, one minute you’re down, the next you’ve secured a twin room with en’ suite bathroom and an endless supply of tea. We are staying at the Snowdon Mountain Lodge – we do the show, they put us up and give us breakfast. Bless you Wales!
Show great, the best positive audience you could imagine. They’re all Buddhists types and they love. When we got back to our chalet we found a £5 wrapped in an orange tissue, with a flower on top. I wanted to cry. Such a simple gift, but given in such a great way (we have no idea who gave it to us).
As we lowered our heads to finally sleep an Australian woman we met earlier knocked on the door and gave us each a koala bear (Key rings not the real thing). I sleep.
