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A VOICE ON THE ROAD
Wandering, Wondering, Writing
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cherylmurfin
Oct 20, 20246 min read
Lesson from The Pilgrim's Way
The last day of any walk is marked by something akin to awe and anticipation of the joy of arriving, of resting, of having done the hard...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 17, 20243 min read
How did you get here?
Six days in we had two more days of walking—the last day. A fairly short stroll of about 7 miles— before reaching the Island of...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 15, 20246 min read
Too quiet
We made it through the toughest day in terms of walking—about 14 miles by the end of the day, climbing up and over the moors, which while...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 9, 20246 min read
Catching poems and climbing mountains
The fourth day of walking is often the hardest day of a long-distance walk. Suddenly, the body starts to believe you aren't going to...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 6, 20244 min read
Enough
On our third day of walking—which moved us to mile 30 on the path according to the All Trails map for our walk —I noticed something...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 2, 20243 min read
The sounds of a walk
It's always my favorite part of a long walk—and one of my favorite prompts to give to the people who walk with me. Listening to the path,...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 1, 20245 min read
Walking into community
I take long, long walks to gift myself the time and space to give my unproductive overthinking a rest and allow the words of my heart to...
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cherylmurfin
May 26, 20244 min read
Barefoot across the flats
On our last official day of walking St. Cuthbert's Way, we felt excited to reach our destination on the isle of Lindisfarne (dubbed Holy...
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cherylmurfin
May 25, 20244 min read
A cave and a feather
The walk was a short one, comparatively, back to the 7 miles that started this journey from Scotland to England to the island. We rolled...
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cherylmurfin
May 23, 20245 min read
Two Roads
Oh, the build-up I gave to the 13-mile walk between Kirk Yethom and Wooler. I had talked it up before the walk, warned of wind, rain, and...
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cherylmurfin
May 19, 20246 min read
Beautiful impermanence
Our next stroll carried us from Morebattle to Kirk Yethom. Don't even try to pronounce that last name if you aren't Scottish. It's...
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cherylmurfin
May 18, 20244 min read
Dear Wind
The walk from Jedburgh to Morebattle (pronounced Moooor bottle by the Scots) took us through the village of Crailinghall, along the Dere...
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cherylmurfin
May 16, 20246 min read
Nothing is just a sound
With a big breakfast under our daypacks, we continued our walk from St. Boswell's to the beautiful town of Jedburgh. Moving through the...
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cherylmurfin
May 14, 20244 min read
Looking deeply
How can a road already traveled look so different a second time? Part of it for me was the season. I last walked St. Cuthbert's Way in...
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cherylmurfin
May 13, 20248 min read
Beginning again
I was not myself when I arrived this time at the beginning of St. Cuthbert's Way in Melrose. With me was a brand new group of walking...
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cherylmurfin
Nov 15, 202310 min read
Day 8/9: Over and into the sea
"If I could live in a tiny dwelling on a rock in the ocean, surrounded by the waves of the sea and cut off from the sight and sound of...
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cherylmurfin
Nov 8, 20238 min read
Day 7: Learning to stay
One of my favorite talks by the Tibetan-Buddhist nun and teacher Pema Chödrön is about staying: "Learning to stay with ourselves is like...
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cherylmurfin
Nov 5, 20239 min read
Day 5 (or maybe 6): Finding Luck
We arrived at Kirk Yethom with unusual vigor after a 7 1/2-mile walk that was actually 7 1/2 miles. (If you ever visit the Scottish...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 31, 20233 min read
Day 4: You haven't seen them all
Another misty day greeted us as we walked out of Morebattle — which, by the way, has nothing to do with battles but instead means...
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cherylmurfin
Oct 24, 20237 min read
Day 3: Things we pass by
Oatmeal. What is the secret of the Scots? I make it home. I cook it in milk. I add cinnamon, honey, and butter. But it’s just not the...
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