Day 30 of the Walk to the World Cup – JUNE 8th

Frankfurt am Main

We saw the Commerz-Bank Arena in the distance today. We went with Mrs Schoelske and students from the Goethe-Gymnasium to the headquarters of the Deutsche Fussball Bund which is close to the arena – it's a stadium in the woods, unlike any setting for a football ground I've ever seen before – and met a representative of the German FA, the largest football association in the world.

Before that we had travelled into Frankfurt with Tristan and met more of the students and the Principal, Mr. Wirt, at the Gymnasium. It is a city centre school that badly needs the planned refurbishment but the state of the building did not detract from the warmth of our welcome and the fantastic support they have given us – thank you to so many people but especially Rosella and Oleg.

It's been an up and down day, feeling tired, emotional, elated and a sense of anti-climax in almost equal measures. I am fairly shattered and run out of energy very quickly but a couple of days and I'll be back to normal.

After the visit to the DFB we went into downtown Frankfurt and had lunch in the sun at a café near to the Hauptweche station. Frankfurt is beginning to really come alive for the World Cup and there was a game of 3-a-side football going on and lots and lots of people walking around with football shirts from every nation in the tournament. There are tents and information centres and huge pictures of famous players everywhere. The England fans are beginning to arrive in numbers and the noise levels are rising. We took some time out in the stark beauty of St Katherinen church with its beautiful stained glass windows and lit 2 candles and said our silent prayers.

Then it was back into the atmosphere of the World Cup. We wandered down to the Main, saw the Riesenrad and walked up to the Romer Platz, full of football fans, singing, signing the huge flags on the ground and soaking up the occasion. A German lady said that she has read about us in the paper and made a donation and various England fans asked – ‘have you really walked to the World Cup?' – we took out the collection tin and the euros flowed.

After the confusion of getting on a train going in the wrong direction, we are now back with our hosts, enjoying an ice cream and a cup of tea and passing time with the family. This evening, we are meeting up with Tris and Will Ishmael, back in the Aldstadt for a quiet drink. Tomorrow, interviews for Radio Leeds and 5 Live. Dan is driving in from Prague and we will walk the final 2K to the arena – the end of this journey.