Lots and lots of walks

So, walking has become my new major activity. I've been at it most
weekends since my last blog - and I'm powering through Time Out Country Walks Vol 1.

Today, Simon Till and I conquered Walk 27 - Milford to Haslemere: it's supposed to be 11.6 miles, but I think we might need to add on an extra mile or so after finding the book's directions a little vague at one point, and making them up. The morning was gloriously warm, and then the afternoon moved from a light shower to proper full-on rain. Go England! However, despite the damp, we enjoyed Bagmoor Common's heathland of wonderful purple moss and heather; Thursley Common's eerie barren feel, post- a terrible fire in 2006 which has left it looking rather like an African savannah; and views down onto Devil's Punch Bowl after a steep ascent. The latter apparently received its name when the Devil scooped up earth to throw at Thor, the God of Thunder, who lived in Thor's Lie (Thursley). Not something I learned at Sunday School.

I opted to start at Milford after last weekend's fab walk - Walk 20 - Milford to Goldalming. Although helped somewhat by bright blue skies all day, all 11.1 miles of this was beautiful. Lots of beautiful old houses and mills, the village church in Hascombe with its remarkable Moorish wall decoration, and Winkworth Arboretum's blossom trees and daffodils together all made for a walk where the definite challenges of steep uphills were very much worth it.

Other walks have been plentiful - around the Lee Valley; Borough Green to Sevenoaks; and several more. The early starts on Saturday and Sunday mornings are still a little painful, but I'm glad to be spending so much time training for the big walk in July. My boots still give occasional blisters (generally in the same place), but just thinking about how much money we will hopefully raise for the two charities always keeps me going!

A walk to work.

As I've not done any walking lately - or indeed made any blog entries,  I thought I'd better rectify that.  So this morning, I dismissed my normal form of transport (my bike) and set off on foot.  I wasn't even swayed when I went past East Finchley train station.  Then it was up the hill to Highgate, skirted around the cemetery, and then down past Tufnel Park all the way to Kings Cross.  An easy route to follow and not totally unpleasant.  Waterlow park in Highgate (I couldn't cut through the cemetery) was very nice, especially on such a beautiful morning (bright, cold + frosty).  That said my hands were freezing by the time I got to work and I could feel the different use of muscles in my legs.  It gave me a sense of acheivement (albeit minor) and a nice feeling of having done something useful!  I think I'll have to do that a few more times before July.  The distance was just under 10km - so repeat 9 more times to match the distance we'll be covering in July...  Mmm - some work to be done I think...

Great Missenden to Amersham

I'm very pleased with the purchase of the Time Out guide to walks near London. Last Sunday, we got up at an unspeakably early hour (those who know me well will know that I value my lie-ins dearly), and took the train to Great Missenden. It was then a 10-mile walk - across fields, through woods (as pictured), over stiles and through a surprisingly large number of kissing gates - to Amersham. The walking itself took about five hours, and luckily we weren't graced by rain. Towards the end, we even enjoyed some blue sky.

I've done a walk (and I say this having just checked my diary) every single weekend since the New Year; even if it's just 90 minutes around Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, it's been good to get into the rhythm of regular training...

...Although there's a small difference between 10 miles and 100km...

An accidental trek

Dan's solo training #2, Sunday 23rd Jan:

Somehow a planned nice countryside loop, starting from our front door and taking in a decent pub or two, ended up being a 15-mile hardcore training hike that took around five and a half hours. And the pub was closed. It felt like a very long way and it's still only around a quarter of the Trailwalker distance.

The good news is that no long-term injuries were sustained, and we didn't have to call out the St Bernards. We even managed to resist the siren call of the two Gurkha restaurants on the way back through Winchester. On balance, promising. Although, seriously guys, 66 miles?!

Truly Grim

Dan's 1st solo training outing: The Grim

It had seemed like such a good idea when I signed up for it...

'The Grim', which I took part in on the 16th January, involves running 8 miles through an army 4x4 course, splashing through mud and water-filled canyons and crawling under cargo nets. What better way to spend a weekend?

It was stupid and painful, but I was entertained by some of the crazy fancy dress (I was well beaten by the guy in a full suit, who managed to be both fast and stylish, unlike me!).

Probably not the most relevant preparation for our mammoth TrailWalk, but at least it showed me how unfit I am. Now for the serious miles!

A walk in the Lee Valley

Just back from nearly five hours of walking in the Lee Valley. Kept snugly warm with about 25 layers, big duffel coat, thick scarf and my bright red leather gloves - important to make an effort, I think.

This is my third weekend walk in as many weekends - building up the time each walk, as I managed to get tendonitis in my right Achilles heel just before Christmas when out walking with Chris. So far, so good!

The last two walks were also lovely - only one in the pouring rain - so have been very lucky with the weather.

Towards Hour 5 this afternoon, I started to have *minor* concerns about The Big Walk in July - it's a long, long way... We will need all the support we can get!

Our First Donation: Just £2,800 to go!

Thank you to Geoff and Cherry Till for their wonderfully generous donation of £200 to get our fundraising started! Giving at that level they'll get invited to our post-walk thank you dinner and, as a small gesture of how important they are to us, on the big day we'll be scrawling their names over various members of the team. Thank you!