Short walk to Angle Tarn

 I spent last weekend camping at Side Farm campsite with my sister and nephew, and a friend and her daughter, right on the shore of Ullswater Lake. It was a fabulous weekend, great company, the weather was lovely- perhaps a little hot but it made playing in the lake more fun. I would recommend Side Farm, as long as you are not of a nervous disposition as they don't take bookings and so it was a little scary hoping they would have a pitch free. (I had many back up plans!)

On the Saturday morning my nephew asked me if he could come camping on a mountain with me, he just turned 7 so I think that is the perfect age to begin. We were planning on climbing up to Angle Tarn that day so I figured that would be a good test of his stamina - turns out that he can out pace me by a lot uphill! In fact he complained more coming back down- I'd maybe overdone my safety talk about being careful on the way down but I didn't want to lose him over the steep slopes of Place Fell!

We took our time on the 2 miles up to the tarn, I find that at the moment I struggle with hills and have to take them really slowly in order to survive. The two kids were at the top well before me and were getting a little frustrated - I blamed that I was carrying a heavy bag with way more water than we would need but I was paranoid after last week!

Once we reached the tarn we found a quiet spot and stopped for lunch, we had a paddle and Emma nearly lost her foam sit mat in the water- with some team work (i.e. Gem holding on to Emma's legs while I laughed and took photos), it was successfully retrieved.

I gave the kids a talk about going back down carefully before we set off back down, Rowan then promptly took a tumble, luckily not near the sheer drop part of the path - thus proving my point and resulting in them heeding my wise words for the rest of the way.

I was a lot more tired than I feel I should have been considering that the walk was only about 5 miles in total but I guess that is due to my general weight gain and lack of exercise recently. I did manage to recover enough to go paddle boarding the following day, a new love of mine!!

Offa’s Dyke Mini Adventure, 49 hours and 40 miles - Knighton to Four Crosses

I found myself with a couple of days free last week and have been struggling with a melancholic mood so took an impromptu decision to head out for some headspace. 

My very first backpacking trip was back in August 2010, Dad dropped my brother and me in Knighton to complete the southern part of Offa’s Dyke, camping at campsites all the way. I’ve always intended to go back and complete the rest but there’s been other hikes to do and somehow I just never got to it. I didn’t weigh my pack back then but I think it was probably well over 15kg, my pack this time weighed 10 kg including food and water, going as light as possible has kept backpacking fun even as my body ages.

I got dropped off in Knighton and began walking at noon, straight up a hill! Within ten minutes I was sweaty and out of breath, wondering what on earth I was doing- I’ve put on weight and not been walking or running much - why did I think this was a good idea? I got to the top slowly, reminding myself that there was no rush and I was supposed to be doing this for fun. 

The walk out of Knighton is undulating - you get to see the path ahead up the other side of the valley as you saunter down to the base. I came across a shady spot by a stream after about 8 miles and took the opportunity to have a paddle. I’d decided to try trail shoes instead of my usual boots for this trek - I want to wear them for my 26 mile charity walk in August as they are so much lighter! My feet ached a bit and I got some hot spots over the walk but no blisters and it was so much nicer putting them on rather than boots in the morning! I continued on after a 30 minute break and at 6pm I started keeping my eye out for somewhere to camp- I knew there was a campsite at 15 miles if I got desperate but I was tired and hoping to stop before then. I came over the hill after Middle Knuck down into a little copse and found a spot just about flat enough to camp. I settled down on my groundsheet and decided to sort out dinner before putting my tent up, I do my best to follow the stealth camping rules- pitch late, leave early and leave no trace, I don’t get scared when I wild camp anymore - except the fear of being asked to move on! I’d put my tent up (as best I could on the uneven ground) and was settled down when I heard huffing and puffing outside- poking my head out I was greeted by a bloke, aged about 80 carrying what looked like gear from the 70s, if I believed in ghosts…. We exchanged pleasantries and he explained that he was planning on camping behind the church about half a mile on, he figured that if he was seen a ‘holy man’ couldn’t turn an old bloke away! I hope that I’m still able to be backpacking in 40 years!

I awoke early and after breakfast of coffee and porridge I was walking by 6am, I knew it was forecast to be hotter today and so I was concerned about getting water, I was carrying 2L and had refilled not long before camp at a random tap on the path, so it wasn’t too desperate. Even though it was really hot I was hoping that, since the weather only just turned, there wouldn’t be a problem getting water from streams. However, it seems that my optimism was not to be rewarded this time, streams were dried up already so I was rationing water and hoping that each stream I saw on the map would materialise. I considered a detour into Montgomery to buy water but it seems that I am too stubborn to change plans- even when I am in danger of dehydration. I pushed on to Forden, there was a decent size stream marked on the map so I was sure I could fill up there- however when I got there it was impossible to get down to the water. I stopped for lunch- rudely interrupted by cows - and finished the last of my water. Just 1 mile to Forden and there was a pub there, which, according to their Facebook page was open from 12. I made it up another very steep hill and arrived a the promised pub. Closed!! There was another couple of walkers sat despondently outside waiting for a bus to get out- the heat had proved too much. They suggested I tried asking at the mechanics 200m up the road if they would refill, I set off in the direction they indicated and on the way passed a church and cemetery- a tip for walkers, where there is a cemetery, there is usually a tap! Sure enough I spotted one on the side of the building and hurried towards it. Just as I was about to start refilling I noticed the vicar sat just behind the church and so thought I’d better check if it was ok, he was ver
y kind and let me refill from the indoor tap, use the toilet, AND gave me a bottle of cold water from his fridge. Forget self sufficiency - I took the help!! I had a vague plan to reach Beacon Ring Hill Fort as it looked like a nice place to camp, it was only 2:30 and about 3 miles so I took an easy slow walk up a forest track that seemed to go on forever and arrived at 5, a perfect place to camp, there was even a bench, a luxury for preparing dinner! As much as I wanted head space it was a little effacing when I realised I had 5 hours to kill before sleep time, I took my time choosing a camp spot and preparing and eating dinner, then it was just me, my thoughts, the view and 3 hours before sunset. Rather than sit with my thoughts for too long, I did a little writing, spoke to Damien and then settled to read a book on my kindle app, the good thing about a short trip is that I don’t have to ration phone use! There was a hairy moment went a Landrover drove up the track right up to within 10 metres of where I was sat on the bench- I was convinced they would tell me to move on but luckily they just waved and drove on. Phew!! Once I’d watched the beautiful sunset I was glad to get to bed and fell asleep quickly, I slept well - just waking a few times in the night as I usually do camping.

Waking at 5:30 I leisurely packed up camp, even ‘unflattening’ the grass to leave totally no trace, and then went to the bench to sit in comfort and make my morning coffee and porridge. I had 10 miles to cover and had arranged pick up at 1, I was planning to walk pretty fast initially as it was downhill to the river and then a nice flat route, I wanted to cover as much as could before it got ridiculously hot (it was already 17 degrees at 6:30). My main concern after the previous day was still water, it was set to be even hotter today and I had realised that I should have carried capacity for an extra litre at least. I set off with 3/4L left, fairly confident that, as I was spending much of the route alongside the river or canal, I would be able to refill. However, it turned out that the route followed along an embankment and the river was impossible to get to for much of it. I wasn’t convinced that canal water wouldn’t cause more issues than it solved, I was even tempted by a cattle trough at one point! (Note: I do carry a filter- I wasn’t intending to just drink from it!). Luckily I was saved, I noticed a break in the trees on the bank and sure enough, there was a little beach that I could get down to. I threw down my pack, ran down the bank and threw myself into the river in thanks. (Ok, so I carefully climbed down the bank, took off my pack, laid out my groundsheet, took off my shoes and socks and went for a little paddle). I still had the little bottle the vicar had given me so I used that to filter water into and carry in my hand so that I could take regular sips to rehydrate slowly. I’ve read about the dangers of over watering, especially as sweating flushes out salts from your body so was cautious not to just down a litre at once. I also stopped about a mile later in a nice shady rest stop (with table, chairs and cake!) and had something to eat. The guy who ran the rest stop even came out and offered to fill my water bottles, nice to know I wasn’t too far from death after all! The last three miles were hot and slow but I reached Four Crosses at precisely 1pm and still had water to spare.

I feel that I have learned a lot from this little trip- it was my first experience of hiking in such heat, I wore a wide brimmed hat and was uncharacteristically good at regularly applying suncream but I let myself down with looking after my water needs and I will definitely carry an extra bottle next time. I am happy that I got back safe and had enjoyed the experience, it was the ‘mental reset’ that I needed and has given me confidence that in 3 weeks I will be able to complete the 26 mile walk for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Pennine Way Preparations Part 2 - The Kit

 Wow. I have spent hours and hours researching kit and trying to get my weight down as low as possible and my bag is still way too heavy! Just packed everything in and it weighs a mammoth 14.8kg! This is just touching the 20% rule (You should only carry up to 20% of your body weight) and I know it is too heavy for me to manage if I want to cover more than 6 miles a day....

To be real this weight is not much different from any other trip I have done, in fact it may be the lightest yet. I didn't weigh previous packs. I think maybe because I am older and generally more achy I will struggle with it more this time though. I am trying to think of ways I could reduce my pack weight without compromising too much on comfort.....

After looking through all my gear I have managed to take out a few things, I have decided I don't need my flask, I can manage with a coffee in the morning and then have water during the day, I can stop and buy a coffee in towns. My main saving is with food- I have decided that I only need to carry three days worth,  and as I eat it the weight will reduce! I have also taken out my thermal top, extra lantern (my head torch will suffice) and the sit mat. I did take out my camp shoes but then put them back in! All of this has saved me 1 kilo. This puts my base weight (weight of pack minus the consumables) at approx 8.5 kg.

Food before the cull! I now have three dinners, two lunches and four breakfasts (I have put porridge in ziploc bag to save space)

My pack now weighs 13.8kg, 1kg less might not sound a lot but I can feel the difference, it puts me the right side of the 20% rule, and knowing that as I drink water and eat food the pack will reduce is making me feel better. Ideally I need to reduce this further- not much I can do at this stage but take extra painkillers!

Here is my final list with weights in grams, I don't think I am missing anything and if I am then tough, nothing else is going in this pack now!

Pennine Way Preparations Part 1- Route Planning

 I have wanted to hike the Pennine Way for a long time, I almost did it a few years ago in April but unfortunately that year we had late snow and decided to do a closer trail (St Kenelms Way) which we could complete as day hikes thanks to 'Dad's Taxi'.

It has been 3 years since I completed the Coast to Coast walk, which means 3 years since I began writing a blog about it and never got round to finishing it and publishing! For various reasons, life has been pretty difficult in that time and I haven't been able to complete much of anything. The Pennine Way is my opportunity to reset the clock, take some time out and hopefully figure out what I want to do.

I began seriously considering getting out and completing the Way during lockdown. I had been working pretty crazy hours and caring for my Dad who has mixed type dementia, and suddenly it stopped. After I had my mini breakdown (which I think was coming lockdown or not) I realised that I needed to make some changes. So far I have changed my working hours- down to 'not much', got a live in carer for Dad and have begun to tidy up my home (I hate clutter but am also incredibly disorganised). This has freed up some brain space so that I can really start to think about how I want to make a living; enter two weeks of thinking time!

I was not intending to write all that but I'll leave it in- it gives you some context to my journey! 

My preparations began with purchasing two Harvey maps (North and South) and the Trailblazer Guide - I tend to use Trailblazer as they are updated regularly and I like the hand drawn maps- feels more personal. Using these I came up with a rough itinerary.

I then started looking at possible camping spots, I knew right from the start that I wanted to included some wild camping in there as I missed my opportunity on the Coast to Coast and I feel ready to give it a go now. Also, with the coronavirus there are some campsites not open or not accepting tents so I will have go wild. 

I then went through the route using OS maps and blogs to come up with more options to allow for short or longer days as required. I don't want to get stuck in a schedule and am quite happy to take the chance of campsites being full as it seems possible to walk the entire route wild camping. While researching I also stumbled across a Pennine Way walkers group on Facebook which I think will be invaluable for up to the minute information. I have done a more detailed spreadsheet with landmarks, campsites, restock points etc which I will share in a blog once I have completed and refined it. I have planned mainly campsites as I don't know how I'll get on with wild camping- if I love it I can adjust the plan easily.

I intended to just set out and 'wing it' initially but for two reasons this didn't happen; first, with the coronavirus pandemic I needed to know it would be possible to camp in campsites if necessary (it is, with the exception of the first night) and second, I love planning!!

I am looking forward to writing up my adventure- procrastination allowing!

Next: Preparation Part 2 - The Kit!

Walking Continued- Blogging Hesitated.

I am preparing a blog about my recent Coast to Coast walk, it's been a while since I wrote anything for this site although I have been on a few walks. In 2015 I completed what I thought would be my final long distance backpacking/camping walk-Hadrian's Wall. In fact I have been quoted as saying, as I rose from my tent on the final morning- "I am never b***** camping again!"  The following year I was as good as my word and we completed the Ridgeway staying at B&Bs.

My memory is not what it used to be and so I began planning another long distance 192 miles - this time due to it being a two week hike and the state of finances I had to go budget and carry my camping gear. My new found strength apported to the old back from countless exercises I was sure would get me through. Spoiler alert: It worked and I completed the whole thing on schedule and with minimal discomfort.

In the meantime I have 2 projects on the go- The Monarch's Way and Shakespeare's Avon Way, Both of these I plan to walk in sections- day hikes or weekends with the odd week thrown in on The Monarch's simply due to the distance I have to travel for the most Southerly section. You will be able to click on the links to the right in order to follow my progress on these.

Happy Walking!!

Primrose Hospice Midnight Walk

Last night I completed a half-marathon for charity. It's the first long walk I've done for a while, I did walk 10 miles around Tardebigge in the snow the week before christmas and I have done a couple of short treks up the Malverns, one with Dunk the week before he died and then again two weeks later in his memory.
So last night I was a little apprehensive about my fitness levels but I'm not one to let that that stop me. After a quick nap I set off down to Sanders Park where I had been told the walk would begin at 11:45. Arriving at 11:35 I was met at the gates by a marshall and told that they had started 20 minutes ago!!! What?!! He assured me I would catch up and so I went to register and was given a card with three boxes that I needed to get signed at checkpoints. I was excited and a little bit annoyed as I set off to the start, I had prepared well with a headtorch, lots of layers, ipod, food, water, coffee and my emergency kit. I was pretty sure I'd catch them up although a little worried that I had no route map, I cursed myself for not asking for one because it would have prevented what happened next......
I had just overtaken a guy and exchanged pleasantries and then I turned left, where it appeared the route went. Reaching the edge the park I could see two possible ways to go, no-one in sight and the guy I had overtaken didn't appear so I rang the number on my card and was told the walk was self contained in the park and she had no idea where I was. I WAS FURIOUS! So I headed back and rejoined the route, which followed the boundaries of the main body of the park which I happen to know is 1 mile. So I rang Damien so I could rant about the walk starting early, the route not being marked properly and the fact that I now had to walk 13 times around the park before I could finish (I even threatened to forget the whole idea but I am no quitter), I finished my rant by inflicting a curse on the organisers and their descendants and carried on.
I reached the checkpoint and had a cross marked in the first box and then put two and two together and realised that on top of everything else I had been given the card for the 5K walk which is 3 times round the park. Having already inflicted a curse there was really nothing I could do so I asked the marshall the second time round if I did have the wrong card, she confirmed it but I said I would just collect all my crosses on the card anyway. Third lap: Damien rang me asking where I was - he and Buzz had come to join me for a lap! I had chilled out by this time and was happy to see him. We had a pleasant walk round and I showed him where I had gone wrong first time, he confirmed it was an easy mistake to make! We stopped at his car where I drank my coffee and gave him my rucksack, no need for all that emergency gear weighing me down anymore!! I set off again feeling lighter and happier!!Lap 6: Damien rang again and I told him I was half way (unless the 'organisers' thought 8 laps was the finish). I was really enjoying myself now, listening to Anthony John Clarke on my ipod and making good steady progress overtaking lots of people. Lap 7: Marshall: Oh well done, three to go! Me: Eh? So now it's a ten mile walk? I nearly got mad again but was feeling too jubilant, and besides walking ten miles is pretty cool too.
Then I decided that actually I might be wrong because the route did wind around a bit and might be 1.3 miles a lap (which I confirmed was correct when I got home on my running measurer site.) Although this did mean that the 5K was really 6K!
Damien came and walked some of the last lap with me, surprised how fast I'd gone, I was finishing an hour earlier than I'd predicted (I had paced myself at 20 mins a lap- which I thought was a mile but had actually been walking at 16 minute miles).
So I finished, got my medal and certificate and drove home where Damien had cheese on toast and cup of tea waiting for me..........

Snowdonia with the LDWA

I recently joined the Long Distance Walking Association (LDWA). I figured it was as good a way as any to get to know other walkers close by and now that John has moved all the way to Durham to escape my whinging maybe I might find someone else crazy enough to accompany me on my adventures. I was invited by the leader of my local group (Mike) to come along on their weekend in Snowdonia during the August bank holiday. Going away with 9 people I had never met before was a little daunting but I figured that by the laws of probability there was bound to be at least one person I liked, if if not I could always run home and never leave the house again. So on Friday afternoon of August Bank Holiday Damien dropped me off at a house in North Bromsgrove, as we were staying in a B&B I had decided on a 35litre backpack, taking basically what I had taken for for Offa's Dyke minus the tent, sleeping bag and mat. Plus some luxuries - a hairbrush, change of underwear and t-shirt for every day, binoculars and a bit of make-up. I had my food for the three lunches I would need in a stuff sack - trail mix, beef jerky, satsumas and kendal mint cake - so almost paleo! The others in the group were quite amazed at my lightweight packing, I think Mike was worried about my apparent lack of preparation, I am sure he was thinking of solutions for when I realised I didn't have enough stuff. The mood was jovial as we set off and I spent much of the journey getting to know the others a little better and sharing our basic life stories etc. By the end of the evening I had met everyone except Ruth who was only walking on the Saturday. They seemed a nice bunch, Mike was evidently in charge and I wasn't surprised to find that he is a teacher! There were 3 newbies including myself, Jonathan and Dave (who later became Bob to avoid confusion) Chris and Cathy were my fellow women, I was sharing a room with Cathy (I'm not sure what I did or said but she dreamt I was a zombie and spent the first night running away from me and screaming!). There was a lovely gentleman called Robin and, later in the evening David and Nick arrived, they confused me by having the wrong names, Dave looked like a Nick and vice versa - I had to concentrate hard on getting their names right all weekend! So that was it, 10 people and all seemed sane. (except me evidently - I had an undead aura about me...)

The whole group ready to set off up the Nantlle Ridge

After a fortifying breakfast and lots of coffee (I hadn't slept well and ended up pulling my mattress onto the floor at 4am as the bed was too soft - maybe I should have brought the sleeping mat after all!!) we gathered under low cloud at the car park at Rhyd Ddu ready for adventures over the Nantlle Ridge to Nebo. I had no idea how close we were to Snowdon, my knowledge of the area amounted to what could be written on a matchbox at the time. Luckily we had Mike, and he knew everything, I am taking a notepad next time! As we set off up to the first peak (Y Garn) we were treated to beautiful views back down the valley, the cloud still shrouded anything above 1700ft so we also had the luxury of not having to look at how much higher we still had to climb. After reaching the summit of Y Garn, we stopped and gazed at the view for a few seconds (we could see for metres!) before moving on to Drws Y Coed and Trum Y Ddysgl, this involved a fair bit of scrambling and ridge walking which was fun though I was glad I couldn't see down through the cloud. I remember nearly freezing to the spot on the ridge up to Hellvelyn a couple of years ago because I made the mistake of looking down! At some point we stopped for coffee, I only had water, it didn't cross my mind to bring a flask so Mike offered me a sip of his, which I promptly finished off, I am converted to coffee and plan to go and buy myself a flask. Too late for Mike though, I am surprised he spoke to me ever again. We lunched alongside a large group of Welsh walkers underneath the towering obelisk on Tal Y Mignedd, luckily Ruth is from the area, once they knew we had a welsh speaker they refrained from insulting us. The afternoon consisted of bagging Craig Cwm Silyn, Garnedd Goch and Craig Goch before descending to Nebo to await the slim chance of a man named Hugh picking us all up in a minibus to take us back to the cars at Rhyd Ddu. On Sunday morning we had a relaxed start, setting off straight from the B&B, no scary rides in minibuses today (Hugh had made good on his promise but had sent Michael Schumacher to pick us up instead). We walked the solitary Northern Rhinogs which are just two mountains: Rhinog Fawr and Rhinog Fach (translated as 'big rhinog' and 'little rhinog' respectively), in reality they are part of a range of peaks, I am not sure how many we did but it seemed a lot! It had started out raining so I put on all my wet weather gear stuff, after ten minutes it had cleared up but I didn't trust the clouds so I stayed wrapped up. I was glad of this when we reached the top, (after a repeat of the coffee drinking incident - Mike is just too kind) it was freezing!! The sun was shining and it appeared to be a gorgeous summer day, however the wind made it feel like the dead of winter. Jonathan had a gadget which measured the wind chill which I think was 3.5 degrees or there about, resulting in a 10degree overall temperature. Actually between the men they had gadgets for everything, we could have completed a total survey of the area and probably built a palace to live in had we wanted to...... Mike regaled us with more information about the area, including a village down by the old nuclear power plant where the residents are 'genetically challenged', apparently the group had stayed there one year and narrowly escaped being chopped up and eaten.

Wrapped up against the wind chill

Once we began the descent and were protected from the wind the rest of the day was delightful t-shirt weather, we passed some amazing rock formations apparently caused by glaciers or something, or most probably aliens. While passing some rocks Mike heard running water underneath and posed us a problem of obtaining some. After some discussion about the perfectly good stream we had just passed not really being there for the purpose of this challenge, Jonathan fastened some moss to the end of his long stick and lowered it through the gap, the water he retrieved was rather dirty but we decided that after filtering it through some material it would be more than adequate. Clever! I would have died of thirst myself wishing I'd brought a flask of coffee...... This prompted some discussion on survival and whether we could stay out there safely all night if the worst happened, which of course we could given all the gadgets carried, I am sure someone mentioned having a lightweight, fold-up 8 person tent in their pocket.....

Day 3 found us at the base of Snowdon, at sea level - none of this poncy starting at 1000ft for us! This was an exciting day for me and I was in a jubilant mood as we set off up the Rangers path, I have always wanted to climb Snowdon - my Dad took my older brother when he was 11 and I remember being upset that they thought 6 was too young to go. The weather was perfect and I felt recovered from the late night (living in a town has prevented me from being able to see anything but an orange haze in the sky but with the clear sky I saw proper stars, Jupiter and a faint shadow of the milky way for the first time in years so had stayed up late to gaze at the heavens). It was soon warm enough for me to test out the 'detachable leg' function on my walking trousers, which worked fine and were reasonably easy to re-attach later. Mike soon led us off the Rangers path to do some scrambling around the north face, this was much more interesting, we sat at the base gazing up at the intimidating rock face while Mike told us a story involving him attempting to climb the face with his friend Sandy in 1973 and getting stuck on a ledge near the top when night fell. Mountain rescue were called but apparently couldn't do anything due to 'health and safety' so they flew around in their helicopter and brought up a train with a torch on it which lit up the mountain and then waited until morning when Mike and Sandy completed their climb and were whisked away in a landranger away from all the press. While we listened to Mike's story we gazed down at a beautiful pool at the base of the face, it looked pretty inviting for a swim but no-one was brave enough...... I am sure it was very cold! We continued up the left of the north face, over the railway and onto the tourist track.

The North face and inviting pool behind me, I trudge up the hill.

We decided to stop for lunch on the edge overlooking the miners path, it was here that disaster struck when Robin placed his camera on the floor only for it to roll down and bounce over the side, nearly knocking people off the path before continuing to the depths below. This was a real blow for Robin, it was a good camera and he had taken some lovely photos, however he didn't let it get him down and was soon talking about the new model that had just been released, I felt quite humbled by his optimism.

The camera is down there somewhere

A short walk later we reached the incredibly crowded summit, I felt emotional to be finally standing there and spent a little time in quiet reflection before calling Dad and telling him I had made it and I bet I could have done it at age 6 too. So there. Then I got annoyed at the number of people wandering around in flip flops, one of which was overheard by Chris actually saying "well we may as well go to the visitors centre, there's not much else up here!" If I had heard that I would have immediately pushed them off the side. We took the gentle Rhd Ddu path down and went for a well earned pint of Guinness before setting off home tired but very happy.