Day 5 - Toughest Day Yet

Rhiannon Eaves
Mar 9
5 min read

Hi everyone,

Today’s blog is all about Day 5 of the Walk for Pia. I’m going to be honest – this day was a tough one for me. It was the first time I thought, “I don’t know if I can do this,” but I kept going and that cold pint at the end of the day made it all worth it!

We had 17 miles ahead of us that day. Sounds like a lot, but for us by this stage, 17 miles was considered a “short” day! We were excited, but the walking felt endless. However, the scenery was absolutely beautiful – some of the most stunning views of the entire walk.

The day started as it always did… with blister clinic! By now, the group’s blisters were getting pretty brutal. On Day 5, Donna had to tape up not only my feet but also Dad’s, Uncle Fran’s, and Uncle Kev’s! Let me tell you, some of those feet weren’t the prettiest to begin with, but covered in blisters, they were... something else. Walking with those was agony, and Donna really became our hero for patching us up every day. I’m pretty sure she still has nightmares of our feet!

A big group!

We had another day of a lot of joiners. A lot of mum and Donna’s friends came, Emilia’s boyfriend Ed, who basically did the rest of the walk with us, and some of Emilia’s friends and dad’s work colleagues. So, our spirits were immediately brightened by having another day of so much support. We set off from the hotel in Windsor and I was on a high from the night before - my chill pamper night with Donna.

There isn’t much that went wrong on the walk this day, we made good mileage in the morning, only stopping once in a park for a coffee and some cake. What was always so fun about the days with a lot of people was the conversations. Granted, as the walk progressed, it became harder to concentrate on anything but putting one foot in front of the other, but on day 5, we enjoyed chatting and getting distracted from the pain.

One thing that certainly eased the pain was B's carrot cakes and rice crispy cakes that she had dropped off for us the night before. That carrot cake, to this day, is the best cake I have ever eaten! And because we felt it only fair that the core walkers were the only ones who could eat them, we all had to do it very sneakily so none of our friends would get jealous!

After about 10 miles, we were ready for lunch. And lucky us, we found a gorgeous, posh pub. We were so ready for a break, and everyone ordered drinks – some cokes, water, and even a couple of pints. I don’t usually drink Coke, but after walking all morning, there was nothing better than an ice-cold Diet Coke.

But when we tried to order food, the pub refused to serve us! Apparently, there were too many of us, so no chips or anything to keep us going. After five days of walking nearly 90 miles, we weren’t in the best mood. Let’s just say a group of hangry walkers is not something you want to deal with.

We left the pub in silence, walked a couple more miles, and finally found a store where we could grab some sandwiches and snacks. That food made all the difference – our mood instantly lifted.

At this point, I really started to feel the strain. I felt embarrassed and ashamed that I was struggling, but looking back, I know that what we were doing was incredibly difficult. I’m proud of myself for keeping going despite the pain.

One of my fondest memories of the day happened during the last part of the walk. Dad and I were ahead of the group, and I was feeling pretty emotional. We talked about mum for ages – how crazy she would find us doing this and shared our favourite memories of her. I’ll always look back on that conversation very fondly. It helped me forget the pain, because I remembered I was doing it all for her.

And then, as if on cue, a herd of white deer ran right past us. It felt so meaningful, especially after the conversation. It was a very beautiful moment.

The Final Push

The last few miles of the walk were really hard. We just wanted to get to the end point. Shoutout to all of mum’s friends from that day. They were so supportive of me and kept me going those last few miles. And a big shoutout to Ed and Emilia, who listened to me complaining most of the day but kept me going too!

Then, the youngest walkers joined us for the last leg – my cousin Jonny, his wife Caroline, and their adorable sons, Milo and Louis. Baby Milo’s cuddles gave us all the strength we needed to power through.

The end pub in Henley was stunning, right on the river. Dad really picked a good spot. We all sat down, ordered lots of chips and pints, and finally relaxed. There’s nothing like the feeling of sitting down after a long walk.

But not everyone was feeling great. Uncle Kev wasn’t doing well at all. He was shivering and nauseous, so he was sent to the hotel to rest. When we saw him at dinner, we could tell something was wrong – his legs were swollen and covered in a red rash. Thankfully, we were sitting next to a nurse who told us to get him to the hospital immediately.

It turned out that Uncle Kev had been bitten by bugs, and the bites triggered an allergic reaction. He had to take a few days off to recover, which was such a shame. He’d put in the most training of any of us and really deserved to keep going. We missed him terribly over the next few days, but we were so happy when he came back to join us for the last stretch.

So we all went to bed worrying about Kev, but ready for a good night sleep. I was sharing a room with Donna again (lucky her) and she took such good care of me. She ran me a bath and then we watched some tele before dozing off. Donna was sleeping very peacefully until the morning when my alarm went off, and in my sleepy daze, I accidentally slapped her across the face! It was very funny for me, but I don't think Donna found it as amusing! We still talk about that all the time!

So, Day 5 was a mix of ups and downs – emotional moments, hunger-fuelled frustration, and health scares. But it was also one of the most scenic days of the entire walk. And little did we know, it was also the shortest distance we’d walk until the end! We should’ve appreciated that a little more!