LeMusicalJog

Postscript 2 - Presenting the Money!

2009-07-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lindsey and I went down to Cornwall on July 17th and met John and Yolanda at Precious Lives where we formally handed over a wad of cash, representing the £11,047 plus £1195 GiftAid that we have raised.

We saw the plans for the new hospice, which will be on a hill overlooking Truro and looks like it will be a very nice building indeed. It will be great to know that we contributed when we see it being used.

Niether of us has suffered ill-effects and memories of the dark days yomping along under leaden skies are fading. In fact, John is getting decidedly euphoric about it all! Well, I'm very glad he has happy memories. So do I.

Post Script

2009-05-28T01:35:00.000-07:00

I have taken over 1,000 high resolution photographs, some of which are very beautiful and will be making the best of these available in due course. I also hope to publish something based on the whole experience and will keep anyone informed who is interested.

If you would like a print or copy of a photograph, or for further information about our walk, please contact Doug Kennedy on dgkennedy@alloverde.com.

Day 51 - Last Stage to John O'Groats

2009-05-27T02:59:00.000-07:00

The Pics from the top:

* Doug, Yolanda and John at the finishing post just after we'd arrived;

* Ackergill Tower in Sinclair's Bay (a castle offering very luxurious accommodation);

* A deserted croft in the bleak countryside during our last day.

Day 51 - Monday May 25th. Our final day dawned dull and damp: dreich as the Scots say. We set off by car after breakfast, returning to The Old Smiddy pub and were on our way, for the last time, before 9am. Physically, we seem to have managed well: our legs and feet have become hardened to the task and hills are little effort. John's shin splint pain has gone and there seems to be no sign of wear taking it's toll apart from some small aches that would be cured by a day or two's rest. We were accepting of what was to be a pretty boring day, what with the dull weather masking the distant views, and the countryside becoming more level and bleak.

For some time now, we have walked separately most of the time, meeting at odd points during the day. My natural walking speed is a bit faster than John's,but then I stop a lot to take photographs or check out some flower or bird while John tends to keep a steady pace going. In fact he said that he felt he had become a 'walkamaton', and it is true that, once we have got a rhythm going, the feet just seem to step out one after the other for as long as necessary. Today we were set on walking together and finishing as we started, together, and it made a pleasant change. We somehow had more to say to each other, reviewing the previous weeks, commenting on our surroundings and joking. However, as we approached Wick, the weather closed in further and it drizzled steadily.

At Wick, John saw Yo and the car in the Tesco carpark as we passed, so we sat and had a cup of coffee and Yo said that she had visited thegolf clu which was right by the beach and there it seems you can walk along it. We checked with a local who said that we could go a few miles towards the village of Keiss on it, which would be much more pleasant than the road. So we got to walk on a sandy beach with the grey sea gently lapping at our feet for about half an hour and were feeling really happy. We were hopeful of reaching Keiss this way, but were stopped by a broad stream that emerged from the dunes in which the water was brown with peat, and you couldn't see the bottom, and it looked too deep to wade anyway. I did go in above my knees and hadn't got to the deep bit, so decided to go no further. We were therefore forced to follow the 'stream', which looked more and more like a river, and to find our way around and over deep drainage ditches, tussock grass, fences, gates and finally a field of oats before getting back onto the road. Sadly this has cost us about half and hour, but we had enjoyed the change.

Now it was a solid and boring yomp to the finish. The last 9 miles seemed to take a very long time and for part of it, we were in a thick, damp mist. Eventually, after 4pm, we saw the little tower of the old John O'Groats Hotel in the distance and knew our challenge was almost over. We didn't skip down the last mile, but were certainly elated and relishing the fact that we had done it.

The finish is the old hotel with the signpost pointing to Lands End in place whilst the photographer is there: as at Lands End, they take the top off when he's not. John and I touched that post at the same moment, then the photographer put LEMUSICALJOG 1,024 MILES onto the sign post and we had our photo taken. We thanked Yo for her days and days of support, then went to the cafe for a celebratory toast in good Scotch Whisky.

Tomorrow, I will hitch a lift with John and Yo to Inverness, then take the train home whilst they drive on back down to the south-west.

In conclusion, we feel that we have succeed in completing the challenge and done it well. We kept up 20 miles per day average, finished 9 days in advance of our original limit and have experienced some of the most wonderful countryside in the UK on the way. Our route had been overall a good compromise between scenic and direct and everything had gone to plan. We had certainly demonstrated that 60 is no limit to physical stamina and strength. Personally I have proved to myself that the long walk I had talked about and thought about for a long time was within my capabilities and, although it is not something I would want to repeat, is an experience that I will value forever. It has not been one of John's ambitions, but he seemed happy to have succeeded in the challenge and was making noises about finding another, very different challenge for the future.

If you have not done so, please do SUPPORT OUR CHOSEN CHARITY to build a children's hospice in Cornwall. This can be easily done by logging on to www.justgiving/johndrinkwater. This makes our efforts worthwhile in the wider context and is the main reason that I put so much into the Twitter and Blog.
If you HAVE already supported us, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Finally, I would like to dedicate my walk to my lovely wife, Lindsey, who so readily agreed to my doing it so soon after our marriage at a great cost to herself in terms of spending weeks alone. She has been brave and supportive throughout, so thank you my darling.

Day 50 - Newport to Thrumster

2009-05-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

The Pics: Dunbeath Castle; The way buildings were around here in Caithness; Typical coastal view.

Day 50 - Sunday May 24th. It was a lovely morning; clear and sunny with whispy clouds. We had been staying in a holiday-let place in Tain for 3 nights, so cleared everything out and set off before 9am. We drove back up the A9, 46 miles to the spot where we stopped yesterday above Berriedale and were underway before 10. Our goal today was a pub called The Old Smiddy at a village called Thrumster. Many of the place names in this region end with 'ster', which comes from the old Norse for homestead. Apparently Thrumster means 'homestead on the hill'.
The second from last day is not the last day, so ends with another day to go, so it was something to be got through before we could finish. We are both pushing our bodies in order to finish earlier - we really should have taken a rest day at Fort William or Drumnadrochit, but we will manage 2 more 20 mile days. The countryside gets flatter from here, so the walking won't be difficult but it is all on the road, and will become less interesting, but we have the end in our sights.
The views all day were pleasant, with rolling green fields containing cattle or sheep leading to the expanse of the North Sea, and the huge sky to our right, and to the left, fields leading to brown heather-covered hills, the foreground usually dotted with houses. Settlements were becoming smaller and more and more remote. Life up here must be very hard in winter: I'm told that, in fields on the cliff tops children minding the sheep were tied to stakes in the ground so they didn't blow away during storm.
We came across another large castle, hanging onto a cliff at Dunbeath, but there really was not much else of note. But at least it was sunny, so what we saw looked its best. I have been surprised, and a bit disappointed, that we haven't come across any other End-to-End walkers going the other way: in fact there have been no walkers, but lots of cyclists on the road.
I reached the Old Smiddy at 4:30pm, greatly relieved and pretty tired, and John arrived a bit later in a similar state. The pub is homely but a bit run-down, but it has an atmosphere and in the bar a few local men were drinking, listening to the football results and also getting into little arguments about odd things: whether Sunderland was south or east of Newcastle (it is both), or whether the Harris accent is stronger than other Hebridean accents. We had supper there before Yo collected us at 7pm. I found it rather dispiriting to drive the 21 miles to John O'Groats to our hotel as we now know what is coming tomorrow - it gets flatter. When I got to my room I felt too tired to do anything but go to bed and watch the TV till I went to sleep.
One day to go.

Day 49 - Brora to Newport (Caithness)

2009-05-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

The photos: Brora Harbour; Two oyster-catchers at their post; a beach near Brora; Helmsdale Harbour.

Day 49 - Sat May 23rd. The 0ver-riding thought in my mind as I was preparing to depart on another 23 mile day that there are only 3 of them left. With Yolanda's support, carrying the gear, cooking and meeting us we are in a very good state, considering that we've walked nearly 1,000 miles. But we are getting weary and need a bit of serious rest and are set on keeping going for this last few miles to our goal.
We were out of the house at 8am, and Yo drove us 24 miles north, up the A9 to Brora and we started walking under a cloudy sky. We walked away from the A9 down to the golf course and the beach, where we were able to pick up a footpath for a couple of miles. Walking on the links golf course next to a beach reminded John of his home in Cornwall. On the beach there were lots of oyster catchers and gulls, flying around and making quite a racket. In one place they had a favourite perch on a series of fence posts an sat there, all in a line.
Once we were back on the A9, that was it for the rest of the day, however, the road was not busy and there were few trucks and vans. The farmland began to be replaced by heather moorland and buildings less frequent: this is a hard country and very far north. A lot of the time, on either side of us, were dark rounded hills which stretched away to the west as far as you could see. To the east an south was the North Sea, grey an quiet today. You could see the dim outline of the eastern peninsula of Scotland in one direction, and in the other, far out to sea, were some oil or gas platforms and a couple of huge wind turbines.
As has become normal, going each at our own pace, we soon split up and I just kept walking the 12 miles to a little town with a harbour called Helmsdale, where I stopped for rest and refreshment. I didn't expect the cafe owner in a place as far north, and out of the way, to be English, but he was. Ran a nice place though and had wifi, so I was able to load up the latest Blog instalment. Other customers kindly expressed and interest and promised to log on an contribute to Precious Lives (www.justgiving/johndrinkwater), which was very nice of them.
John and I both like the feeling at these little places that they are at the 'end of the road' . Every settlement has its own distinct character and, usually, a lot of charm. Of course, it can't be easy living here in the winter, when the weather can be appalling and daylight is very short. But in the summer, even on a dull day like today, there is always something of interest. Helmsdale has a harbour, which looks like it has been beaten about a bit by the sea as one sea wall is only half there. There are several cafes and restaurants down the pretty main street and it sits in an attractive river valley.
There was a steady climb out of Helmsdale on a new EEC funded road (but still no pavement or cycle way), and the road stayed high until the hamlet of Berriedale, where it plunged down to sea level, only to rise up again to our finish point at the top of the hill. Berriedale is deep in a river valley which it follows out to towards the sea, but ends where a huge cliff face with many seagull nests separates the valley from the sea.
Tomorrow we do another 22 miles, then it will be the last day.

Day 48 - Tain to Brora

2009-05-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Pics from the top: The bride across Dornach Firth; Swans on Dornoch Firth; Galspie High Street; Dunrobin Castle near Golspie; A seal on a rock.

Day 48 - Fri May 22nd. John set off early at 7:15 in order to be able to take his time and get an earlier finish. I took advantage of the fact that we were in self-catering accommodation and made myself breakfast, then set off at 8:30. We met up several times in the day and finished together at 4pm, which was perfect. The guide books tell you that there is really no alternative on the eastern route but to yomp along the A9: well that is the case sometimes, but there are some excellent escape routes, one of which we found today.
The A9 Tain bypass is a fairly new road, but no provision has been made anywhere on the road here and elsewhere for cyclists and pedestrians. You can walk safely, but it is on grass of variable condition or on the road gutter. Since this is a recognised cycle route and long distance walking route, and there is NO other way to go, I feel it is a disgrace that this has never been dealt with. It is not uncommon: the Lovat bridge over the river at Beauly is decidedly dangerous and has been for many years, and the A82 near Lanark is horrid to walk on to pick just two examples. But what is really disappointing is that when roads are resurfaced or improved, the authorities still completely ignore pedestrians and cyclists. The A9 has room to spare but pavements are only provided across bridges, then stop: why? The government talks about needing to get people out of their cars but execution is patchy at best.
So we had to walk on the noisy A road with big vehicles rushing by, but at least the scenery was gorgeous. On a luminous day like today, with complex cloud patterns and lots of sunshine between the odd shower, the light is fantastic on water. And there is plenty of open water around to display the beauty of our planet. Crossing the bridge over the firth one was treated to views towards the hills, where the waters narrow, to the west and out over the shallow shoals to the sea and the huge sky to the east. On the way I encountered a charity boat push by which the sign said was 'sponsored by the Applecross Inn', but I'm not sure what they were raising money for. The Applecross Inn is an excellent pub on the West coast, opposite Skye.
The walk along the A9 was not very nice, and John found a good alternative route for part of it, using his GPS. I continued on the road to Golspie, where I stopped for a break. I did meet up with John and Yo at another piece of the ubiquitous Thomas Telford's work in the form of a causeway at Loch Fleet. This is called The Mound and its building separated the river Fleet from the salt Loch Fleet (which is a National Nature Reserve now) and shortened the journey north by many hours.
I rested for a while on the Golspie sea front, eating a sandwich, then continued along the road to Dunrobin Castle, but John had realised that a pathway ran all the way from Golspie to Brora along the beach! The castle is the seat of the Earls of Sutherland and from the sea, looks like it was constructed for a fantasy film, or fairytale, with its tapering towers. Below it is a strip of woodland with the densest and bluest bluebells we have seen I think, and then the sea an the clouds. There were lots and lots of birds - mostly oyster catchers, gulls, terns, cormorants - and also seals sunning themselves on the rocks. And there was the sky and the sea and the distance. I took loads of photos and it turned into a really nice afternoon's walk for us. We got to Brora together and Yo was waiting with the car as usual, and we had yet more treats in store.
She took us back to a small road that runs along the south side of Loch Fleet, where we saw lots of seals on a sand bank, and others playing in the water. Then we went on to Dornoch, which is a delightful little town with it's own small cathedral, founded in the 13th century. This is a simple cruciform building of stone, with a single central tower. It is very simple and gracious inside with the most gorgeous stained glass windows. We had a drink and some delicious hors d'oeuvres in the hotel opposite then set off back to our accommodation.
We had taken for granted that the last days were going to be a simple 'yomp', but today we have been bowled over once again by the beauty and magic of this country.

Day 47 - Dingwall to Tain

2009-05-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

Pics from the top: Oil platforms in Cromaty Firth; Typical countryside with a church, an oil platform top and The Black Isle in the background; a lapwing in flight; the Still Room at Glen Morangie Distillary.

Day 47 - Thu May 21st. Another bright start to the day, and we set off in the car before 9 to drive the 25 miles to Dingwall. It was interesting seeing our route from this angle, and it didn't look very inviting for walkers. However, the countryside was looking nice in the fair weather and visibility was good. Showers were forecast. We had about 23 miles to do during the day, following the length of the Cromarty Firth to Tain, on the east coast. Unlike yesterday, the route was on minor roads defined as a cycle route, so it was a great deal more pleasant with lots of variety.
The route took us up through some suburbia, the out onto farmland a couple of hundred feet above the Firth and the A9, affording us great views of the water and the Black Isle. The Isle is not an island and is not black, but a very fertile peninsula stretching out to the North Sea between the Moray and Cromarty Firths. Cromarty Firth is a centre for servicing the oil and gas industry, so you could see huge platforms standing out in the water. The countryside here is gentle and varied and very pretty. Down low, it is farms with cattle, sheep and horses, then higher up the hill, there tends to be forest, and at the top, at about 1,000 feet, heather moor. So there was much to enjoy as we put one foot in front of another for yet another day.
We started walking together, and Yo was waiting for us at around 11am by the road with some peppermint tea and biscuits - luxury again! I wanted to visit the Glen Morangie Distillary at Tain and had to get there by 4.15 to get onto a tour, whereas John was more concerned with completing the day at a reasonable pace. So I set off to see if I could do it in time apart from a stop in Alness for a bowl of soup and a roll, walked solidly and fast, arriving in Tain just in time.
One blemish on an otherwise enjoyable walk was that a farmer had decided this would be the day he would move tons and tons of extremely smelly muck about 3 miles along the road we were walking on. There was little other traffic, but the huge tractors thundering up and down the road with big trailers were not only intimidating, but left a foul pong in their wake! Between tractor loads, however, we could enjoy the big skies with ever-changing cloud patterns, the views and the lovely azaleas and lilacs growing in peoples' gardens. Azaleas do particularly well in the damp Scottish climate and we saw some magnificent specimens. I also encountered lots of birds: some lapwings, lots of finches and tits, a yellowhammer, some buzzards and a sweet little bird with a long tail I didn,t recognise, as well as the usual sparrows, pigeons, crows and so on. I attempted to get some action photos with mixed success.
John's slightly more leisurely pace still got him to Tain at an average of 3.1 MPH, including stops: we really are fitter! Tonight we are staying in a holiday let house with plenty of room so can do as we please, rather than fit in with B&B rules.Tain is an attractive and solidly built town of grey and red sandstone. It seems tidy and well managed and has lovely views out to sea and to the northern hills.
Only 4 days to go! This is putting a spring in our steps even though we are both quite tired.

Day 46 - Drumnadrochit to Dingwall

2009-05-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

An old oak at Beauly Priory, and the view over Kiltarlity from the Beauly road

Day 46 - Wed May 20th. 6 days to go and counting. Today we faced 26 miles of road walking, mostly on A roads, which Alistair told us would mostly be pretty quiet and easy to walk on, but it is much nicer walking without traffic. We set off in bright sunshine, down our road with its neat houses, many of which are B&Bs. Then onto the main road and across the bridge over the River Erick next to which lies The Loch Ness Monster Centre and Exhibition. This is garishly advertised with huge bill-boards and we weren't tempted to enter. I had found a route that avoided a dog-leg on the main road which would be a difficult walk without a pavement. The route took us up the hill at this point. In Scotland, you have a 'right to roam' anywhere that there is not a good reason to do so, but it means that 'rights of way' as such are not marked on the map as they are in England. We have found, in fact, that you cannot rely upon paths on the map that are not actual routes: they may be over-grown, or closed, or have changed. So in this case, all we had to guide us were lines that more-or-less matched the ground. The first bit was a path that had shrunk from a route you could drive to a woodland path. However, we navigated this OK, then it should have carried straight to take us to the main road. HOwever, things had changed and there had been some new housing developments so the road went through to those, up a steep hill. At the top of this I realised that we had gone wrong and my back-up route had been obliterated. I will need to inform the Ordnance Survey on my return!
Once we got back on the main road, all we had to do was follow it to Beauly. There was no actual pavement, but there was a grass verge for most of it and it wasn't busy until we got close to Beauly. The countryside was pleasant but all you really wanted to do was to get the miles done as quickly as possible.
Beauly is a nice little town on with a ruined priory and a pleasant stretch of river, however the afternoon's walk was not enjoyable at all: just a lot of road with enough traffic to mean that you had to stay very alert in the sections where there was no footway. There wasn't a lot to see, apart from passing through two villages, crossing a couple of rivers and the light and clouds on some hills to the west. We are very far north now, and the weather can be very unpredictable; there was some snow remaining in streaks on the hills, and at one point late in the afternoon it got very cold and started to hail heavily. Luckily we were inside a pub at Dingwall at the end of our day, but you never take the weather for granted.
Dingwall is quite a sweet town with some fine stone buildings and a real character of its own. It is on the Cromarty Firth (we entered the county of Ross and Cromarty today) and has the huge Ben Wyvis (1006m) as a backdrop to the north-west. I will not be climbing this, however, as it is too remote and difficult to access. The weather forecast is also not very good.
Yolanda came to ferry us back to our B&B and tomorrow we decamp to a self-catering place at Tain on the Dornoch FIrth. Tomorrow's walk will take us over this firth on minor roads, following a cycle route.
Finally, we are into our last few days, and working hard to see the challenge through: this isn't easy! So, if you haven't made a donation towards Precious Lives, and are not planning to do so when we complete, PLEASE COULD YOU CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION NOW, or once we've finished by logging on to www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater. Thank you very much.

Day 45 - Bridge of Oich to Drumnadrochi

2009-05-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

The pics from the top: View of Loch Ness; Walter Baker and his son Geoff; Canoeist on rapids at Invermoriston

Day 45 - Tue May 19th. We set off after breakfast by car back to Bridge of Oich on a bright morning and were walking before 9:30. We had anticipated a day rather like Monday but our B&B host, Alistair, told us that the walk from Invermoriston, involved a lot of climb and was longer than advertised. The first part of the day to Fort Augustus was along the next section of the Caledonian Canal where the channel seemed to link up a series of small lochs as it was often very wide, and marked with buoys. There were a lot of pleasure craft coming through the series of big locks which was quite an operation as the height climb from Loch Ness is about 80 feet and the lock gates are huge.
For most of the remainder of the day, we would be walking through pine forest on the north side of Loch Ness where you are hemmed in by the thickly planted trees, and get occasional views out across the loch. The hill on this side rises straight up to nearly 1,000 feet and the forest road generally holds a level, it rises and falls, sometimes quite steeply. We encountered quite lot of foreigners walking the Great Glen Way, and I felt that all these pine trees were not a great introduction to Scotland. However there are also long sections of the trail in more interesting and scenic terrain, so it probably works out ok. The W.Highland Way is far more interesting and characteristic however.
Loch Ness is very big and long and doesn't alter much during its length, but in the sunshine it was pleasant enough walking and quite easy when it wasn't climbing. During the morning we came across two men taking a break and got chatting to them. This was Walter Baker and his son Geoff. Walter is 79 years old and doing LEJOG in honour of his deceased wife and in aid of a cancer charity. He left on March 23rd and is looking to finish by the end of May and Geoff has joined him for a week for company. Amazing what people can do if they try!

We met Yo at Invermoriston, where there are some big rapids, and I watched a couple of young men in little canoes going down them. Not easy, and one turned turtle but amazingly righted himself in the midst of the swirling water. We had a very civilised lunch, without rain this time, although there was a big black cloud to the east.
The afternoon involved a great deal of climb, eventually rising to the top of the ridge 1,000 feet above the loch. My computer map system says that it was about 12 miles with 1,300m (4,500 ft) of climb but John's GPS says we did far more. Suffice to say that it was a long and tiring afternoon, but the weather was lovely so we got great views when they were available.
I finished a bit ahead of John, choosing to finish the day on the road which ran steeply down into Drumnadrochit, but he stayed on the Great Glen Way. There was a bridge marked on the map to cross the little river into the village which was no longer on the ground, necessitating a 1.5 mile hike back along the river to the main road. This is a horrible thing to happen after a long and tiring day. Alistair told us that the reason was a neighbour dispute. A London QC bought the land on one side, and that on the other was owned by a property developer. The owner of the bridge objected to the other using it for access so bulldozed it, and since then, the maps have not been updated even though it was several years ago. How stupid people can be!
We finished the day with a little barbeque provided by Yo once more, by the river in Alistair's delightful garden.

Day 44 - Fort William to Bridge of Oich

2009-05-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

The top two pics are looking back to the Ben Nevis range, then the pub barge.

Day 44 - Mon May 18th. Starting the Great Glen today, and we really feel we are on the homeward run now. We are going to up our mileage from 20 to 25 per day, which should get us to John O'Groats next Monday 25th! Yolanda has arranged accommodation till the 26th and will carry our kit, ferry us to and from our start and end points and meet us at lunchtime with picnics. This makes life a great deal easier than it otherwise would be, of course, but the challenge is to walk the distance and this simply mitigates the endurance required. If we wanted to spend more time on it, for instance, stretch it out to 60 days or more as we had originally planned, then our goals would be rather different, but we both want to get back to our lives as soon as we can. In particular, I want to get back to my wife of one year!
Grey skies today and showers were forecast. I set off at 8:30 and walked the couple of miles to the canal where John met me. The Caledonian Canal links Inverness in the east with Fort William and the Atlantic Ocean in the west via the Great Glen lochs. It is a much bigger affair than the narrow boat canals that criss-cross England so was built to take bigger boats and cargoes. It brought a great deal of employment and improvement of access to this region when it was built, which must have been a herculean task considering the amount of hard rock that had to be moved without machinery. There are extensive lock systems which, at Fort William, are made up of 9 huge sets of gates. All of this is well maintained but seems to be used for pleasure boating and other leisure activities now. Later on in the day we were to walk on a redundant railway line that was another great 19th century project at the time, to build a mainline standard railway from the east to the west. This failed, apparently, because of competing railway companies not being able to agree and combine their efforts, so it was never completed.
We walked for several miles along the canal, then followed the length of Loch Lochy on the north bank through a pleasant mixed forest. Most forests we walk through are dense coniferous commercial forests, but mixed woodland is far nicer for interest, beauty and wildlife. We were aiming for a hamlet called Clunes for lunch. This was arranged around a very pretty part of the loch and we were surprised to see some rather large houses being built as it s very remote. In fact there seems to be quite a lot of new development in this part of the highlands. Yo was there in the car waiting for us with lunch and, having set up picnic chairs and enjoying some soup, we felt very smug, until the rain stated to fall. However, we did get a little rest and some proper lunch which we will need now we are doing more miles.
Just a few yards down the road, we were greeted by a lady who said she was warden of the trail, offering us a cup of tea or coffee! Had we known, we could have avoided the rain, but as it was we had a chat the continued on our way. The route continued through the woods on the Loch Lochy lakeside for several miles, then turned east and crossed a road and the canal at Laggan. I was hoping for some refreshment, and we found a barge that advertised itself as a pub. Going down into the interior, we came upon a very jolly scene, with lots of hikers and cyclists enjoying a drink and the atmosphere. We had a pint and a toasted tea cake, which were both very welcome indeed and got talking to some people in the bar who donated £25 to our charity - what a thoroughly worthwhile stop! In fact we were in such a good mood, we didn't really mind that it was still raining outside.
The remainder of the walk was the length of Loch Oich along an old railway track that has been long defunct and who's sides are now completely covered with very deep layers of moss. Loch Oich is quite small and pleasant to walk along with some islands and shallow reedy places. There were a few campers trying to get fires going in the wet conditions. We, however, were met by Yo in the car and whisked off to our B&B in Drumnadrochit.
We had a very nice dinner at a local pub/hotel and then I made an attempt to play in the bar, which rather fell flat, so I stopped and we went back to our lodgings. Disappointing for the second time, but surprising as in Scotland in my experience live music goes down pretty well.
I did about 26 miles today and John a bit less as I had the extra bit at the beginning.

Day 43 - Kinochleven to FOrt WIlliam

2009-05-17T12:09:00.000-07:00

Pics from top to bottom: Looking West over Loch Leven to Glen Coe mts. ; The West Highland Way 1 hour from Kinlochleven; me having a glorious time on top of Stob Ban (I walked around the ridge that is seen behind me in the photo); View up to Sgur a Mhaim (nearest) and Stob Ban from Glen Coe.

Day 43 - Sunday May 17th. Today was great! What a bonus, getting an TOTALLY rain free day in this part of the Highlands, particularly with an inffy weather forecast. I had a blast, walking up 1,000 metres, then doing an entire ridge and 2 Munroes in beautiful weather. Magic.

John is happy because Yolanda has joined us and is going to be our fairy God-mother for the next 8 or 9 days as we complete this. She's a real hero for doing this.

All of the peaks were clear of cloud and standing out proud. We had a leisurely start at 10am as we only had about 14 miles to do to get to Fort William. Yolanda was coming up to support us in the final week and was expected at around 4pm, so we werent in a hurry. The Way climbed steadily up to the north of Loch Leven and we began to get some nice views of the water and the mountains beyond. In fact, it became apparent that all of the peaks were clear of cloud, the weather seemed settled with light winds and it was a perfect day for going high. I checked the map and decided to take the high road; that is, to climb up to the Stob Ban peak and ridge which ran parallel to the Way, but a about 2000 feet higher. I checked with John and told him my plans, and to expect me between 4 and 6pm, and set off climbing steeply up through the moss and heather.
Stob Ban is a 999 metre Munro that stood out directly above where I started, and there were no actual paths up to it from this side, so I did what I normally do in such situations, which is take the direct route up. Luckily, the ground was fairly even and the vegetation not too high so although steep, I made good progress. As I climbed, the views opened out and more and more peaks were to be seen disappearing into the blue distance. After about 40 minutes of steep climbing, I reached the col below the summit at about 2,400 feet (680m) where the Glen Nevis path comes up - this is the normal route. There was a fabulous view here down to Glen Nevis and also f the huge cliffs on the north side of the mountain. The final pitch was great - following a rough pathway up the white quartz rocks which made for easy climbing. I reached the summit alone and was treated to a 360 degree panorama of mountains and lochs, with every single top including Ben Nevis, Glen Coe and the endless ranges to the north all clear. As I sat there, three other walkers arrived, one of whom moved very fast over rough ground and seemed completely at home up here. I started northward, descending quite steeply across the white rocks to the ridge below. I could hear the wind swirling underneath the cliffs, and at times it burst up, over the edge pushing me sideways. The along the cliffs below the ridge and across to Ben Nevis and the other nearby mountains was awe-inspiring - rock tumbling thousands of feet down to the valley below, and huge bluffs and ridges rising up to the slithers of snow remaining on the tops. The entire ridge was about 2.5 miles, ending at a second 3000-foot peak, Mullach nan Choirean. I walked the entire ridge, picking up the second Munro, then continued north on a descent that should take me back to the Way and Glen Coe. The descent was pretty steep and soon I realised that this was not the normal route as there were no paths at all. It took a bit of navigation and a lot of hard leg work over very steep slopes, but I eventually reached the forest. It then was going to be difficult to get to the Way so I decided to continue north down into the Glen. This was also steep and rough but quite quick and I was soon walking along a forest road in the direction of Fort William. I was surprised to find, on the way down the mountain, quite a lot of anenomes, primroses and violets growing in the boggy rocky ground among the cotton grass and moss - these are flowers I associate with gentler habitats.
There was bit of a road walk into town, but as I got there, our rucksacks arrived in the van and John and Yolanda came over to collect his. My B&B was very close, then I spent the evening in a couple of pubs writing my blog and talking to people I'd met and re-met on the way. There was some traditional Scottish dance music on but I was too tired so didn't stay long and retired to dream about mountain scenery. John & Yo had their re-union night in a hotel by the Caledonian Canal, a bit further on.

Day 42 - Bridge of Orchy to KInlochleven

2009-05-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Pics from the bottom: Bridge of Orchy view; Rannoch Moor; Entry to Glen Coe

Day 42 - Sat 16th May. We had a disturbed night; being in the bunkhouse did not lend peace to our slumbers. In the bar, a group of young people arrived after 8pm absolutely sodden as it was raining and blowing hard outside. They had some refreshment, and then went out to pitch tents! In the conditions, this must have been a horrendous task, but half way through, it turned out that an 8 bunk room had become available in the bunkhouse, so they gave up and came indoors. In the meantime, John had gone to bed very tired, and I followed about 30 mins later, just as the group got themselves installed, very excited. There was lots of commotion, then they went off to the bar. Bunkhouses have noisy doors that slam a lot and people talk in the corridor and we were restless. I went to sleep solidly after 12 and John apparently woke up before 4 and didn't really sleep after that, so got up before 6am and got underway soon after. I dozed on till 7, then sorted the packs out for the fantastic people who are carrying them to the next destination and checked out.
The weather was cloudy but pretty dry and NO WIND, which made the walk very enjoyable. I climbed out of Brdge of Orchy with fine views back over the glen, then into a forest and out over a ridge. There was a lovely early morning view of the tranquil Loch Tullah before descending to the haven of the Inveroran Hotel. This little establishment sits alone in its glen, among some trees and looks very inviting, so I walked in and asked if I could have breakfast. John had missed out on his by leaving so early, but didn't seem to mind when I talked to him later in the day. After bacon and eggs, I joined other West Highland Way walkers on the Parliamentary Road, which was engineered by Thomas Telford as a better alternative to the Old Military Road. This rose up steadily to the bleak expanse of Rannoch Moor, which stretches away to the horizon, a buff-coloured morass of serious bog, pools, lochs and moss. As I walked, two runners probably in their 50s caught up to me - they were running from Tyndrum to Fort William that day - a distance of 54 miles! Then I was passed by an elderly gentleman doing only 35 miles, and later met a lady who was running from Orchy to Kings House and back - 26 miles - just for some Sunday amusement! It puts fitness into perspective, but John just commented "Each to his own.".
Topping a rise, the start of Glen Coe hove into view, looking as dark and forbidding as it can. This was the site of terrible Scottish defeats and massacres and seems to me always to be brooding and remembering. HOwever,it was grand scenery on a cloudy day like this. The main FOrt William road runs through the Glen, and the Way crosses it and drops down to King's House Hotel on its own little side road. I met John there and we had a coffee together. After our disturbed night, we were not in the best of form, so John set off to enjoy the scenery on his own. I chatted to the lady runner, then set of a bit later and had a nice time taking an easy pace and talking to people I passed in the way. One group greeted me saying, "Are you Doug Kennedy who's doing LEJOG with a guitar?" then "We saw your friend John being picked up by a taxi." I said that it was more likely a helicopter. They were a very friendly jolly group of Glaswegians and John had primed them of course.
The route climbed and climbed up 'The Devils Staircase' offering great views of the huge Glen Coe moutains and the start of Glen Etive, which is a much more open aspect containing the 15 mile Loch Etive. Then it went over the top of the ridge, where a whole new panorama of lochs and mountains opened up, and you could see rain showers tracking towards you from the distance. Very dramatic and constantly changing countryside which made the walk very enjoyable
Kinlochleven came into view a long way below, and once you passed the start of some huge hydroelectric water pipes, the descent started. This was a lot less severe than we'd anticipated, which was very helpful to John as his leg is still painful especially downhill. A patch of blue sky came across and I though this might be a change, but sadly it started raining soon after.
We stayed in separate rooms for the sake of getting a good nights sleep, but met for a very nice dinner and catch-up in John's hotel. The owner offered me the opportunity to play but my hotel had done the same and there was folk music on the PA, so I had agreed to play there. In the event, that was a mistake as my hotel just got noisier and I couldn't compete, so gave up after 5 songs - a first on this trip. However, slept well.

Day 41 - Inverarnan to Bridge of Orchy

2009-05-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

The Pics from the top: Looking back over Glen Falloch from the Old Military Road; A lochan which apparently is associated with 'The Legend of the Lost Sword'; A wagtail.

Day 41 - Fri May 15th, Oh what a sad change in the weather! The horrid rain and wind that has been plaguing the south and the east has arrived, and we set off with lowering clouds and intermittent drizzle. The cloud was high enough at first to see the tops of all but the highest hills, and it wasn't too misty, but normal service has definitely been resumed. And the forecast for tomorrow is worse - more windy and rainy.
The West Highland Way follows the route of 82 road to Fort William for much of this part, often using the Old Military Road which mostly clings to the hillsides. This is unsealed and more of a farm track now, but is still quite usable. Luckily, the track avoids sticking too close to the A road, which is very busy and noisy, and does afford some great views of the enormous mountains and glens of this region. We are in the land of Munros now - mountains over 3,000 feet in height, and some seem to rise like pyramids directly from the glen bottom to their full height, so would be a tough climb. Today they looked massive and brooding, and you could see the squalls and rain showers rushing up towards you, blotting out any view. When such squalls hit, the wind is strong, but they weren't too wet today, and also the wind tended to be behind us which is enormously better than a head wind!
We climbed for most of the morning, at first alongside a small river that had cut some spectacular gorges through the hard rock. Then we were in a big pine forest that was very restful (no wind) and sometimes broke open to afford distant views. Eventually we dropped to the pretty Tyndrum wood that has been replanted with mixed woodland, then arrived at the village of Tyndrum for lunch. It always seems to look this way when I pass through it - damp and windy. The afternoon was all on the Old MIlitary ROad, which made for easy walking but the wind and rain picked up and the views suffered, so we were glad to arrive at the Bridge Of Orchy Hotel after 19 miles and our stop for the night.
The scenery in this weather is still majestic, but you miss so much with the cloud over the mountains, and it is very bleak.

Day 40 - Rowardennan to Inverarnan

2009-05-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Day 40 - Thu May 14th. Another golden morning with blue skies and puffy clouds, and just a cool breeze. I shall try not to repeat the superlatives of previous days, but again, Scotland couldn't have looked better at a most lovely time of year in a famously beautiful location; enough said?
Our hotel continued to be a bit disorganised, and everything seemed to revolve around two very hard working ladies: one chinese and the other east European. Some places just have the touch that makes one's stay a real pleasure and this doesn't need all the trimmings - it can just be a matter of style and attention to detail. The really super places are not that common, but those who run then should be out there training the rest!
Rowardennan is in a gorgeous position, and as you can see from the sunset photo on the loch it really is quite special. It is difficult to get to, requiring a long drive up a tiny road, or a ferry trip. So from the start in the morning to arrival at 5pm, we were felt like we were walking through a Highland Calendar with something to gladden the eye at every turn. There are bluebells covering the slopes around Loch Lomond, in great densities and over huge areas, it is quite astonishing.
We had thought of climbing Ben Lomond, but decided against it on the day as we had 18 miles to do anyway, and the path is rugged and steep in places. To add 3000-plus feet of climb and an uncertain descending route to this would have been very exhausting and we have another 19 miles to do tomorrow, and more the next day. In the event, we thoroughly enjoyed walking at our own pace along the lake banks and slopes and taking full advantage of a special day.
We are now becoming familiar with the group of people who are doing the Way at the same time; they are mostly in their 50s or above, and some seem quite elderly but very spry. The mood on this day was quite euphoric of course, and people were able to amble, sit on beaches and enjoy a drink in the sunshine. It is quite different when the weather is poor.
We stopped for a snack and for me to update the Blog at the Inversnaid Hotel, which is next to a sizeable waterfall, and is also the docking point for a ferry from the west side of the loch. The afternoon included some quite rugged sections, involving steep and rocky climbs and drops, but it is well set up these days and there is nothing very difficult. I sat on a beach a couple of times, just taking it all in, and cooling my feet in the loch water (very good for them and refreshing).
We were staying in some cabins an a campsite at Inverarnan which turned out to be brand new and rather nice, set among lawns with a grove of mature beech trees. We had a relaxing evening having a drink and dinner and talking to people in the bar before retiring quite early.

Day 39 - Croftamie to Rowardennan

2009-05-14T04:07:00.000-07:00

The pics from the top: View from pine forests above Drymen; Doug in high winds atop Conich Hill; Bluebells by the Loch; View of Ben Lomond.

Day 39: Wed May 13th. Goodness, we are lucky when we need it! Another brilliantly clear sunny day and we are heading for Loch Lomond. We had breakfast at a big table with two retired ladies and a young couple attending Glasgow University: the boy German and the girl American. This mixture resulted in some lively conversation. John and I were driven back to the point where we were picked up last evening, and walked on to Drymen. This village is full of hotels and pubs being a main access point to the East side of Loch Lomond, but has plenty of character. Unfortunately the walkers shop which is right on The Way had closed down: it must be difficult to keep a business going with such a seasonal trade - the ironmonger shop in Milngavie that provided services for walkers and also was a greengrocer probably has the key to successful business - diversification.
The Way is very busy, particularly at this time of year as the weather tends to be good, the days long and there are no midges yet, so we encountered LOTS of people during the day. Having walked several long-distance routes on this journey, this is the first that has been anywhere near busy. We climbed up to a mature pine forest and the route rose steadily up towards Conic Hill, breaking out of the pines onto open fells and great views of Loch Lomond and the hills. Conic Hill is in line with a series of islands in the south end of Loch Lomond: this is the fault line that divides the Highlands from the southern lowlands of Scotland and is particularly obvious at this point. We walked to the sound of the cuckoo calling - there haven't been very many this year. The Hill is made of conglomerate and is steep on all sides with several tops, the highest of which is 361m (about 1,200 feet) high. There was a strong breeze blowing us along - much better than a head wind, and it actually helped you get up hill! The Way skirts the hill about 200 feet below the top, but I and two other LEJOGers climbed to the summit, and walked along the ridge, which was extremely windy, but fun.
The views today were fantastic because the air was so clear - we are VERY lucky. I have been to Loch Lomond many times and never seen the top of Ben Lomond! We then descended through forests to Balmaha, which is a major leisure facility and very popular on a day like this. There is an old community, including a pub where we had some lunch and chatted to fellow walkers. From Balmaha, the path follows Loch Lomond for its entire length - 23 miles - sometimes on the loch shore, and at others higher up. It is mostly oak and silver birch forest, with some coniferous, and at this time of year mostly carpeted with bluebells: it is an incredible sight. For the entire afternoon we were treated to this fabulous landscape of great beauty both within the woodland and across the loch to the mountains beyond: the pictures give you some idea of what we experienced. The path is well made and maintained, and follows the lake shore to start with, where some college students were having a beach party!! The loch was glinting in the sunshine and hills behind looked warm and reachable, unlike their normal shrouded state. Then it climbs into the woods, and you get a particular atmosphere from the silver birches and oak trees with young leaves on a descending carpet of deep blue: quite remarkable. When the view opens out, you get vistas that could grace any Scottish calendar of the loch, hills beyond, or Ben Lomond towering up into the blue.
The afternoon past quickly, and we arrived in great spirits at the Rowardennan Hotel, which was full but also being refurbished, which made it a bit confusing at times. HOwever, the bar was very efficient, and we sat and had dinner with Andrew and Dave, our fellow LEJOG walkers, who are raising money for THe Princes Trust. There was a big soccer match on TV which half the people were watching, but once that finished, I got the guitar out and played a set of songs, and most people joined in lustily at the choruses. It was quite hard work, but rewarding, and we picked up another £30 for the Cause.

Day 38 - Glasgow to Croftamie

2009-05-14T03:59:00.001-07:00

The pics from the top: The start point of The West Highland Way at Milngavie; Glasgow University; Drumgoyne Hill in The Campsie Fells; John walking with Ben Lomond on the horizon.

Day 38 - Tuesday May 12th. Another sparkling day of clear skies and warm sunshine. John walked to Kelvin Grove from the Central Station and we met on the bridge over the Kelvin River just under the imposing towers of Glasgow University. At this point, the river runs in a remarkably deep canyon, considering it is in the middle of a city, and as a result is hardly noticeable excepting from the bridge. We walked past the main university buildings then up the streets past the bourgeois houses and tenements of Kelvinside, the poshest part of Glasgow.
My mother was brought up in a Glasgow tenement, which was a terraced block, well built usually of red sandstone, but for high density housing with communal washing and toilet facilities. Whole families lived in a very few rooms and a tenement was forced to be a very close community. People lived on very little and drunkenness was a big problem. Out of this environment came the aphorisms, 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' and 'the demon drink' both of which could have been bywords for my mother's early life.
We joined the Kelvin Walkway which follows the river northwards to Milngavie. Again, following rivers and cycle/ old railway tracks makes for easy walking as such ways are level, well surfaced and normally attractive, and we were on such ways for most of today. The Kelvin Walkway is quite pleasant, winding along through the woods at the bottom of the Kelvin valley, generally within sight of the peat-brown river. But there seems to be little attention to the vegetation in the area which is rarely interesting and often infested with swathes of Japanese Knot Weed, a noxious invasive plant that is proscribed by Defra and which local authorities are supposed to try to eradicate. John tells me that there has been a big campaign to do just that in Cornwall, and if nothing is done about it along the Clyde and its tributaries, it will completely take over.
We took a small diversion up the Forth & Clyde Canal where there is a series of large locks at Maryhill and one was struck again at the energy of the Victorians in engineering such large projects which remain to today. The cycle way rather peters out at a science park, and there followed a street walk followed by a very muddy bit where we re-joined the Kelvin, that looped Eastwards before turning back towards Milngarvie (pronounced Mullgie - don't ask!). As we followed this, the views open out and we began to get a taste of what was to come as the Campsie Fells came into view.
Today is a 'luxury' walking day as we had coffee at 11:30, then on reaching Milngavie, we left our packs with some people (located extraordinarily enough in an Ironmonger shop that also sold vegetables) who undertook to transport them to our overnight accommodation each day until Fort William for £30. We walked out of there, with little day packs on, feeling like we were walking on air! It is SO much easier, especially on a long day. We had soup for lunch at a pub, then also at 4:30pm had afternoon tea with scones and jam! We reflected on Saturday when we sat in the rain on a cold stone bridge with a strong wind blowing and had some water and trail mix - there have been many. Also in the days to come, it is unlikely we will encounter such luxury as settlements become few and far between.
So, The West Highland Way starts at Milngavie, and we started at about 1:30. We were amused that, after the photographs under the large and handsome portal that marks it's beginning, you go straight down into a carpark! However, very soon you are walking through parks and woods which were looking lovely at this time of year. The going all through this afternoon was very easy and very beautiful. The Campsie fells, dominated by the small but impressive peak called Dumgoyne, open out in front of you. There were great swathes of bluebells, marsh marigolds, gorse and other flowers, and the trees were looking gorgeous with their young leaves thrusting out in all shades of green.
There is a lovely view across Craigallain Loch towards the Campsies which is famously spoiled by yet another power line. There is now a proposal to construct a huge new power supply line from the north coast of Scotland through the Highlands to where it is needed in the south: there has to be a better way to deal with our energy needs. A large proportion of the power is lost in transit, and they really do industrialise otherwise pristine landscapes. Unfortunately, the UK Government has been hopeless on energy policy for a great many years, and as a result matters tend to revert to the known option, opportunities to capitalise on British expertise are lost, and we are ill-prepared for the future.
From Craigallain Loch on, the walk was quite magnificent, with constantly changing views of the Campsie Fells and great panoramas of the Highlands, dominated by Ben Lomond. I have never before seen this magnificent peak so clearly, towering above all else around it. With easy walking, no packs, great views and plenty of refreshment we were happy walking bunnies, even after 20 miles.
The day finished off watching a heron fish, then views of a huge castle-style mansion called Dalnair House.
Tomorrow's forecast is excellent - hooray!

Day 37 - Lanark to Glasgow

2009-05-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

The pics from top: My start on Clyde Walkway where M74 crosses the Avon; my shadow whilst walking; First sight of the Highlands across Strathclyde industry; landmarks seen as I entered Glasgow city centre.

Day 37 Monday May 11th. I had greatly enjoyed my rest day with Lindsey in the beautiful surroundings of New Lanark - everything had gone beautifully. John had walked half way to Glasgow with his pack, then taken the train in and relaxed in his hotel overnight. He then returned today, without his pack which is a lot easier on his legs, to the half way point and completed his walk.
I was held up till 8.30 as I needed the OS map of Glasgow for the route, but bought one at Smith's, then LIndsey dropped off, a little tearfully, at the Crossford Hotel fifteen minutes later. The first few miles were along the A72, which wasn't very nice, but there wasnt a lot of traffic and there was enough of a footway, or grass verge, that it wasn't dangerous. It was very difficult finding a way into Glasgow that would avoid too much urban and the first half of this walk was mostly on streets and main roads. I just yomped it, walking fast with hardly a break until I got to the RIver Avon (the Scottish version) which had a path along it that joined the Clyde Walkway at Motherwell. The Clyde Walkway tracks the twists and turns of the river, so I had worked out a route that leaves the river where there is a more direct and acceptable route. The Walkway is not as attractive as some paths we have been on by canals or rivers, as it is surrounded by industry for much of the way and the vegetation is very weedy, including Japanese Knot Weed in quantity. However, at MOtherwell, the path goes through past strathclyde Loch which is now a huge aquatic centre with lot of people running,cycling and walking as well as sailing and rowing. My route then took me through Bothwell and Uddingston, which are rather nice: red sandstone towns with lots of attractive buildings and a nice atmosphere.
There followed a bit of country, with views to the hills of the north over an industrial landscape, then a stretch of urban mess before I rejoined the Clyde Walkway at Cambuslang. The weather has been beautiful yesterday and today and got quite hot - it is extraordinary that on Sat afternoon, it was very cold and sleeting!
I suddenly got a call from the Baccleugh Hotel, where we stayed in Moffatt, saying they'd found my iPHone charge that I'd left there. It was Clint, one of their managers, who called and he said that since I was in Glasgow, he'd bring it to me! We arranged to meet an hour later on the A74 at a railway station. This meant that I had to divert from the relatively scenic Walkway to the main A74 trunk road into Glasgow which is anything but attractive. HOwever, it is very direct,so saved me a couple of miles. Clint arrived at the same time as I did, and gave me the charger, and I offered profuse thanks.
The walk into Glasgow along the A74 was very ordinary: a lot of redundant buildings, seedy looking bars and bookies and the Glasgow Celtic football ground. However, there was also evidence of quite a lot of urban regeneration in this east end of Glasgow that has always been the 'hard' end of town. As I approached the centre, however, things became much more vibrant, and there are a lot of very fine and interesting buildings throughout the city. Since it was cleaned up around the time when Glasgow was one of the first European Cities of Culture, Glasgow has really come alive and is now a lovely vibrant city with a sort of fun atmosphere - very different from its dour and industrial past.
By 5pm, I was at Central Station, where I located a B&B at Kelvin Grove right on our route for tomorrow and walked the last couple of miles there. Later on I happened on an Indian restaurant on Sauchihall Street called 'Mother India' that was extraordinarily good. Downstairs it is quite smart, but upstairs, it verges on the gothic, with dark wood and candelbras on the tables. The food is quite unique and excellent, so if you're in Glasgow, worth a visit.
The day was one big yomp - hard work and not a lot of fun, but I covered the 24 miles in 8 and a half hours which at least got it over with. Now we can look forward to The West Highland Way and some great scenery.

Day 35 Abington to Crossford and New Lanark

2009-05-10T06:47:00.000-07:00

The pictures from the TOP: On the moor above Abington; Coffee with Lee; power station where we crossed the Clyde; the Clyde walkway; New Lanark.

Day 35 - Saturday May 9th. This is my first wedding anniversary and it seems rather incredible that Lindsey and I will be reunited this afternoon, but wonderful. However, the morning did not look wonderful, infact, it looked a muckle drich (very bleak). The sky was leaden, rain was falling steadily and the trees were swaying in the wind. Another annoyance was that I had lost my iPhone charger - I thought I must have left it in the wall at the Moffatt hotel, but they said they couldn't find it, which is very odd and more annoying. I use it a lot to keep in touch with family and friends, and to post Twitters, find accommodation, pick up my emails and send them. It means I'll have to buy another in Glasgow. The trouble is that I have so many bits of wire and plastic for the technology I'm carrying that it is very difficult to ensure that I have everything when we leave a place. Must be more careful!
We set off in reasonable conditions - intermittent showers and a wind mostly at our backs. Even the Scots think it's terrible weather for May, but they do say that it will improve at from this afternoon. We continued up the Clyde valley for a while on the A73 Lanark road, more nice views of the windswept river winding into the grey distance. There were a couple of brave souls fishing. We turned north, climbing up onto the moors of the Douglas and Angus Estate where sedge and heather covered the boggy hillsides. We climbed steadily on a very quiet road up to nearly 1,200 feet, where the wind was cold and strong. We tried to take a break on a bridge looking down a wide valley to grey hills beyond but it started to rain. Soon after, we turned north, and the wind and rain really picked up, so it was a bit of a slog for a few miles up the little road until we reached a pine forest which lent some protection from the wind. The views were at times extensive, and had their drama, but we'd have seen a lot more had it been clear.
Borders farms and villages tend to be very well maintained and tidy, so it was surprising to come across some junk, fly tipping and a house surrounded by junk in this remote location: we wondered why someone bothers to move to a location like this only to trash their immediate vicinity.
We turned north again, descending towards Douglas Water, a tributory of the Clyde and a small town called Rigside which seems to be associated with an open-cast coal mine in the valley. Our route took us to the east of these, over attractive farmland, but the weather got worse: colder, with sleet among the heavy rain and more windy. We had done 12 miles and really needed a rest, particularly as John's leg was continuing to niggle. We crossed Douglas Water on a bridge, beside which was a property with a veranda and two comfortable looking chairs that were protected from the weather. I went and rang the doorbell, and I asked the lady if we could take a rest on her seats. She immediately said yes, and followed it up with an offer of a drink. We were very relieved to get out of the wind and rain for a bit and take the weight off our feet, then Lee MItchell came out to us with coffee, which warmed us and refreshed us considerably. The veranda we were on was within a holiday home that they let out over the summer, looking right over the river. She and her husband work in Hamilton and both love walking, in fact Ian was contemplating doing LEJOG.... one day.
We left there with lifted spirits, which were needed as the weather was by then atrocious. This was very unfortunate as the countryside is quite lovely with lots of variety and colour and good views. As the afternoon wore on, John's leg was really troubling him, but he kept going, albeit little gingerly. We had to descend to the Clyde and there was supposed to be a footpath across a farm which was not apparent. The farmer, who looked and sounded a bit like a better looking Rab C Nesbitt, said that it was there but probably too slippery in this weather, so we took the road. This joined the busy and twisty A72 which we had to follow carefully for about 600 yards before turning off steeply downhill to the little hydro-electric power station at the bottom. There was a bridge across the river, which was flowing very strongly, but I couldn't find a way out. I rang the bell on the main entrance, and a kind man said that we could get through by climbing up some steps then following the fence around to an 'unofficial' access point onto the Clyde Walkway. As we climbed, the rain stopped and the sun came out! The last two miles were walked in brilliant weather, with the sun shining through the beech trees that were just coming into leaf. Beech trees in the sun in springtime are one of natures wonders, with their smooth grey trunks and leaves that seem to fluoresce with a lovely warm green against a blue sky. The river, fields and bluebells were sparkling and we were surrounded at times by sheets of white wild garlic.
We finished a bit later than planned because of the weather and giving John's leg a chance, but Lindsey was waiting for us in Crossford and we were soon driving down through gorgeous scenery to New Lanark, where we were booked for the night. Lindsey and I were staying in the hotel, which is quite smart, whilst John had booked himself into the YHA as he was heading off again early in the morning (he wasn't too impressed by the experience!) New Lanark was essentially a cotton mill harnassing the power of the Clyde, built in the nineteenth century by industrialist David Dale. His son in law, Robert Owen, enlarged the place adding tenemants for the workers and a school, medical centre and other facilities. He was very enlightened and made it into a real mutually dependent community. The mill only closed in the late 60s, but the buildings are well designed and constructed in a really lovely location, surrounded by forest in the deep Clyde valley, next to some spectacular waterfalls. Therefore, the site was renovated and new, mostly leisure, uses found for the buildings which now include our accommodation for the weekend.
I was very happy to be with my wife, even if only for a short break. No walking tomorrow: hooray!

Day 34 Moffatt to Abington

2009-05-08T23:48:00.000-07:00

Pics from the bottom up - Wet start in Moffatt; Damp morning in the borders hills; first view of the Clyde River.

Day 34 - Friday May 8th. The weather forecast was for heavy showers and rain in the morning, becoming increasingly windy during the day, and it was bang on the nail! This turned what we thought would be quite a tame walk into a bit of a battle with the weather as we struggled against a north-westerly head wind for much of the way: very tiring. After a very nice breakfast, which included haggis, we set off just after 9am through a rain-swept Moffat, then keeping to a minor road at first that was very quiet. John's leg was a bit sore but not getting worse as long as he kept to his own pace and we made good progress. All of the streams were running fast, and the wind was swaying the tree tops, but it wasn't too bad for us at this point. There was a short stretch on a farm track which became less defined as it wandered into the grassy hills, but it wasnt too long before it took us up to the A701. A minor road left this and took us between dark pine forests over the hill tops and it was rather a nice change of scenery for a while, with the sound of the wind in the trees in the background.
Our route then descended gradually into valley that contains the M74, main rail line and the old A74 which has become a bike route as well as a B road, and the noise grew as we got closer. The wind also grew, and from that point on, walking alongside the M74 was at times very hard work, with a head wind pushing us back and buffetting us, and longish rain showers, mixed with hail at times. Not very pleasant. Around lunchtime, the rain started to clear and we got some sunshine, but the wind picked up so it was sometimes quite difficult to walk. However, we both made steady progress along the cycle track. The first part of the walk up the valley was gently uphill, and the sides were covered in pine plantations, but as we entered Lanarkshire, these petered out and we started to go downhill with high bare hills with big valleys going off to the east and west. We had at that point come over a col into the Clyde Valley, which we will follow into Glasgow now. The Clyde is a young river here, fast flowing and shallow, through a countryside with wide open views.
After 15 miles, Crawford was the first settlement sitting between the motorway and the river where local services were signposted. However, this is a village that has not gained business from passing traffic as the the two hotels were closed, there was no fuel, but it did have an open shop where I bought a pie to keep me going. It was a couple miles more to our destination, Abington, which has a bit better set up, with an open hotel and situated in a wooded valley. The hotel is nice enough but was very quiet, so in the evening I spent an hour or two practising Scottish songs instead of playing for others.
Sadly the weather forecast for tomorrow isn't very good.

TOMORROW it is our first wedding anniversary and Lindsey is coming up for us to celebrate togther at New Lanark, so I'm have a DAY OFF!!! Hooray! So no post for Sunday.

John is going to walk on to Glasgow on Sunday and spend monday relaxing in a very good hotel, then we'll meet up on Tuesday morning to start the West Highland Way.

Day 33 Lockerbie to Moffatt

2009-05-08T00:38:00.001-07:00

These pics are (from the bottom): In the hills above Lockerbie, Moffatt, Scenery en route to Moffatt.

Day 33 - Thu May 7th. The rain continued into the evening, but the morning brought broken cloud with no precipitation, but it was still windy and cold for May (mind you, the Scots always say that - "Och it's offa cauld the day: ye should've been here...."). After breakfast I went on a hunt for a new fleece - mine was very old and it had suffered on this trip and Lindsey hates it . The only place open that sold them was the agricultural shop at the end of town, but the only one that fitted me was a ghastly brown. I bought it anyway as the best available,and it was cheap, but Lindsey will hate it even more. Lockerbie centre is built of read and grey stone, very much in the Scottish style, but has a rather dark atmosphere. It sits in the broad valley of the River Annan and has one of the most northerly Roman camps on its outskirts. It has the misfortune of having gained fame because of the aircraft bomb, but is otherwise a centre for this agricultural area and a staging post between Scotland and England.
We walked northwards out of town following a stream gradually uphill through attractive farmland with hills rising behind. This is charming countryside with views ever changing from fields to little woods, to great dark forests, tumbling streams and high bleak moorland. It is quite sparsely populated and all habitation in concentrated in the valleys with wide areas of inhospitable hills between. However we have learned that, although people are not concentrated in villages, there is a great sense of community and quite a lot going on if you can be bothered to find it.
The roads we were on got smaller and higher, and the land rougher, until the tarred road petered out and became a farm track. At that point, we met Willie, a huge local farmer who was setting up some pens on his land. He had an accent more akin to Donald's in Longtown than to Scotland and he told us that most of the farmers in the area came from England or Ireland! The farm track led through a hill farm who's fields were broken up with ponds and boggy areas, and the hills rose up steep and round in all directions. Sadly the views were somewhat disrupted by power pylons again that crossed and dominated the landscape sometimes.
A pain in John's left leg had been niggling since yesterday, and I was quite concerned. He was taking ibuprofen and continued walking at a good speed, but was not comfortable. We stuck close together in this remote country in case it became a serious problem, but I can now report that he did finish today's walk and feels a bit better, so fingers crossed for tomorrow!'
The weather cleared up as the day wore on, so we had a really beautiful, if breezy, afternoon descending back into the Annan valley towards Moffatt through a lovely combination of little corners of charm and beauty and wide landscapes rising up to distant hills. It was quite fun looking down on the M74 and mainline railway from a the calm of a quiet country road. Most of the farms in this region are beef, milk and sheep and some of the beef cattle are extraordinary - great beasts of pure muscle quietly sitting in muddy field chewing their cud. There are also some enormous commercial softwood forests that stretch for miles and miles, casting their dark stain over the high hills, dense and silent.
Moffat is a nice little town on the banks of the Annan, full of very Scottish buildings and shops with amusing names, like the cafe called 'The Rumbling Tum' (it does excellent scones or toasted tea cakes with a pot of tea). It is much more open and lighter than Lockerbie and the large number of hotels is testament to it's popularity. Our starter at dinner was Arbroath Smokies, apparently done in the authentic style. This is small smoked haddock cooked in a creamy sauce with an egg on top, and it was rather good.

Day 32 - Longtown to Lockerbie

2009-05-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Day 32 - Wed May 6th. The day dawned brightly, but was to deteriorate. Longtown has a lot of character and is quite different in appearance from the stone-built Cumbrian towns further south, being comprised of little painted houses neatly arranged along wide streets. After breakfast, we were off at 8.30 across the Esk on the Graham's bridge. You can see how shallow the Esk is here, but when it has been raining it flows fast and there are folk songs about people getting swept away. A short way up the A7, we left it joining a minor road that headed for the Scottish border at Sark House where a bridge crosses the little River Sark. We were very disappointed that there was no sign at all of the border, which may reflect the uncertainty of the 'Debatable Lands'. Anyway, we walked in step to ensure we crossed the border at the same time and felt it to be a serious landmark on our journey.
The countryside was still flat farmland and not very interesting, but gradually started to rise as we passed through the hamlet of Chapelknowe. We reached a place called 'Kennedy's Corner' which consisted of a road junction and 3 houses, one of which had a covered seat in the front yard. I knocked on the door to ask for permission for us to sit there for a bit, and the lady, who's name turned out to be Kate Johnson, immediately invited us in for coffee! This was brilliant as we had done 10 miles and it was exactly what we wanted. We sat in her kitchen and chatted with her - she is an IT instructor for teachers in the region and recovering from illness, which is why she was at home. It absolutely made our day.
The countryside was now lovely - hilly with stretches of woodland, moorland, fields and rivers. It was a bit spoiled by the deteriorating weather, which turned what could have been a very enjoyable day's walk into a serious yomp against the elements. As we turned towards the west on a B road with 10 miles to Lockerbie, we were hit by a rain driven by a strong head wind that gusted strongly enough to knock us sideways especially in the more exposed places. There were no villages with anywhere to sit down and rest in the rain, so it was very hard work. At least the scenery was pleasant, and one bright point was a pair of gold finches that flew around each of us as we battled the elements. We were very glad to arrive in Lockerbie.
This evening we met some Californians who are doing LEJOG in instalments, coming over twice a year to do another section. They have followed a route with a lot of similarity to ours so we had some fun comparing notes, then early to bed very tired.

Day 31 - Southwaite to Longtown

2009-05-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

Day 31: Southwaite to Longtown. We were up and out of Southwaite as soon as we could be, planning to have breakfast in Carlisle, 6 miles or so down the road. The weather was dull and a bit drizzly, just like yesterday and we continued on the same straight road for a further 3 miles, so iPod music came in handy again. Walking in through the suburbs of Carlisle I was struck again with how similar places look wherever you are - I suppose it means that these sorts of streets and houses work. John and I don't like that fact that it is also the shops that often look identical, with the same logos wherever you go. It's nice that many smaller towns we are coming across do still have their locally owned shops, which gives a place more of a character.
It wasn't a very good day to see Carlisle, which looked grey like the weather, and we didn't have time to explore the castle and so on, but this is a very historic city and was a centre for the Romans, Scottish King David I, and possibly for King Arthur (see below). A question that was turning over in my mind was, why are there so few villages to the north and south of Carlisle - we had walked for many miles encountering a single small village and there are none to the north until Longtown.
We had breakfast in a cafe in the centre then continued on our way, leaving the city on the A7. John has had a persistent cough since his cold earlier on the walk and it was getting him down a bit, so we managed to drop into a medical practice as we passed it, and a doctor saw him straight away! Very fortunate. He's OK, which was reassuring, and has a prescription in case it gets any worse.
Walking on A roads like this is not pleasant - the big trucks are very noisy and rather intimidating and you get a huge wind as they pass, along with the diesel exhaust. Eventually, we left the town behind on a lane that went past an enormous National Grid relay station, with power pylons striding out from it in all directions. Again there were almost no footpaths, villages or settlements apart from farms and isolated houses, and little to look at apart from fields, sheep, cattle and the odd horse. (there are an AWFUL lot of sheep in Britain!). I asked four people I encountered and asked them if they knew why the area was so empty, and got no satisfactory answer. It wasn't until the approaches to Longtown that we came across a church at last, and rather a handsome red sandstone one. This was St Michael and All Angels at Arthuret, and here answers to my questions started to come. The church brochure says that it "was sited in a very troubled area and sufered through several centuries mainly due the lawlessness of the Border Reivers between 1300 and 1600, and the battle of Solway Moss took place in 1542 near the church. It was only unification under King James that brought peace to the area. This, and arguments about exactly where the border between Scotland and England should run meant that people kept clear of the area and it was left largely alone. The name of the Parish of Arthuret seems to be associated with a battle in the 6th century when the Chistian King of Cumbri defeated the pagan King Of Scots, and St Mungo became bishop in Glasgow. However an alternative legend is that Carlisle was in fact Camelot, and Arthuret is derived from King Arthur's name, and was strongly associated with Merlin. There is an effigy of King Arthur rather strangely placed in the church, which otherwise is rather magnificent, with gorgeous stain glass windows and a huge well-maintained graveyard, where all the old grave stones are of red sandstone.
We stayed at the Graham Arms Hotel in Longtown, which is a nice unpretentious place. The Grahams are the big local family and have been responsible for much of the development of the place over the years, including the bridge over the River Esk. The reason Longtown is here, and is the only settlement, is that it was the first point at which the Esk was crossable. The border is generally situated on the Esk, except here where it runs north-east along the tiny River Sark, then south-west on the 'Scots Dyke', which was specially built for the purpose: these are the 'Debatable Lands'. People told me that if you were on the English side of this border, you speak with a Cumbrian accent, but anyone on the other side will speak with a Scottish accent. I was helped greatly with this, and other, knowledge about this region by Donald Benson in the bar that evening - fascinating stuff.

DAy 30 - Bampton to Southwaite

2009-05-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Day 30 Mon May 4th. A dull and damp bank holiday Monday was forecast, which we didn't mind too much as we had two days of relatively flat, low terrain to come. In the event it drizzled for most of Monday and was very overcast, but the forecast heavy rain didn't materialise, in which we counted ourselves lucky.
John was refreshed after a long sleep, but still coughing, and I felt fine in spite of a relatively short night following the evening's activities. The countryside to Penrith was pleasant, with dry stone walls and villages built of limestone, but any views of distant hills were shrouded in the grey blanket of cloud. Penrith is high up above the Eden Valley on the edge of the Eastern Lake District: its climate tends to be cool and damp and today was no exception. However, the town was in the midst of the Mayday Fesival and there was a fairground, mummer's plays being performed along with other local performances, and preparations for a grand procession in progress. We enjoyed an amusing play about Robin Hood, and an excellent brass band performing in the lovely church, and also the line of vintage cars.
After a coffee and tea cake, we set off for a very uninteresting afternoon's walk on very very long straight lanes through fields of sheep and cattle to Southwaite services on the M6. We both had our iPods at work, keeping us entertained as there was precious little to see as we tramped away the miles. I stopped and talked to a lady who was walking her playful labrador, who runs a day nursery in Penrith, but otherwise met no-one.
We were relieved to arrive at our destination, but were fairly appalled at the services offered - the only reason I had selected this was that Carlisle was too far for a day's walk and I couldn't find any alternative accommodation in the vicinity as there is single village and farms, and nothing else. The Travelodge was even worse than the last: they only had 'family' rooms, which turned out to have one double bed and a sofa with bedding supplied. The place looked quite scruffy and everything is stripped to the bone: they even only supplied 2 hangers for clothes. We felt that the company had lost sight of it's original purpose, to provide good value, pleasant places to stay and instead the accountants were running the show looking to make money out of it's customers wherever it could. It was clean and adequate, however, but we were further dismayed to find that the entire site was alcohol-free with no pubs nearby, and the only food was Burger King, a small range of cafeteria food and an M&S outlet. So dinner was an M&S salad followed by a burger eaten out of its bag at a table in the services.
After that, we retired to our room and occupied ourselves with planning until 10 when we turned in. As mentioned before, we have developed a clear vision of what we are doing, which is to complete this challenge as quickly and pleasantly as possible, but that means that, rather than always taking the scenic route, we will take the direct, boring route where there is a clear advantage. As a result, it now looks as though we can complete the journey before the end of May, which we, and our wives, will be very pleased about, and days like this are just part of getting the job done.

Day 29 - Kendal to Bampton

2009-05-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

No photos today as I've left my camera connector cable somewhere - possibly at last night's hotel. Either I'll get one tomorrow at Carlisle or hopefully someone will send it to me.... If you have found it, my email address is dgkennedy@alloverde.com

Day 29 - Sun May 3rd. Our normal routine is to have breakfast at 8am, or earlier if it can be done, then set off about 9am, finishing between 4 and 6 depending upon distance and difficulty and have a big dinner. However, today we were on the road at 6.30, glad to be escaping the awful pub in Kendal. It was cool with a NW breeze, but nice weather after a wet night. We headed north, through the village of Burneside then out through fields that were positively sparkling in the early morning sun and, being Sunday, there was almost nothing on the roads. Dinner had been quite substantial so we didn't miss breakfast, but had some snack reserves to keep us going. We hoped to reach the Haweswater Hotel (17 miles) at 1pm for a bit of lunch - a meal we normally skip.
The road gradually climbed, following the babbling River Swift through sheep farms. We stopped on the bridge of the charming hamlet of Garnett Bridge, watching the river rush down through rocks that it was carving into strange shapes and hollows. This road continued into Longsleddale, running for 7 miles between increasingly high dale sides before it petered out and became a rocky track. At this point, it became steeper and climbed hard, right by the tumbling stream, to the top of the dale at about 1,500 feet. There the path split, with the main branch going even more steeply up to Gatescarth Pass at nearly 2,000 feet. The views back down the dale were tremendous, and then we came over the saddle and the ground fell away to reveal a vista of mountains and the lake to the north. We were hit by a rain squall which came in on the cold northerly breeze, and for a while conditions were harder. However it passed quickly, to be replaced by a rainbow and sunshine as we dropped steeply down to Haweswater. We got to the hotel at 1:10, (where I saw a red squirrel and several chaffinches on the bird feeder), very hungry and enjoyed CUmberland sausages and mash. We felt we deserved it after 17 miles!
The northerly wind continued to push against us, but the sun shone as we got back on the road for the final 6 miles. The countryside changed quite dramatically from steep high fells to a rolling limestone farmland with outcrops, which will continue now until Carlisle. Our 'B&B' turned out to be more of a hotel, but was really good value for a very comfortable room and public areas: a total contrast to last night! I had a shower and did a lot of washing by hand before catching up with a little sleep. Malcolm, who runs Beckfoot with his family, runs guitar courses through the year, which was a total surprise - who knows, but I might end up back here one day helping out on one!
John's cough is quite bad so he decided to have an early night, but I had an engagement to play at The Mardale Inn. Malcolm took my by car down to Bampton village where I met Sebastian, the publican who had invited. It is a really super country pub that makes efforts to cater for locals and visitors so it has a great atmosphere, excellent food and beer and the people staying there seemed very happy. I was plied with beer and excellent food, and waited for the time to play, talking to various people and watching them try to knock 3-inch nails into a huge tree stump with the SHARP end of an axe - a local sport apparently. The pub was heaving with people, all talking loudly, so I was very concerned that I wouldn't be heard, however when I did start, everyone clapped and joined in and we had a great time. I was very touched by the good-hearted people I met, their generosity and the ovation they gave me - Thanks to Sebastian and his friends at the Mardale Inn.

Day 28 - Bolton to Kendal

2009-05-03T05:36:00.000-07:00

The pictures, from this magnificent day are:

Morcombe Bay at Carnforth; swans flying; the coast near Silverdale; view towards the lakeland high fells from south of Kendal.

Day 28 Sat May 2nd. Our landlady, Gayle at The Blue Anchor very kindly got up especially to give us an early breakfast, so we were on the road by 8.30am walking down to the A6, then through a caravan park to the.... beach? sea front? the sands? It is none of these, but when you step down from the actual land, you are on a marsh that is grassed with sudden water-filled holes and channels. Further out, this turns to sand, and there is flat sand as far as we could see in all seaward directions. We could see Morecombe to the south, and the cumbrian hills to the north. We were able to walk on the grassy marshy bit, although it was often very wet. We could see some oyster catchers and shell ducks further out and later saw some lapwings from a distance. We managed to pick our way to where it was drier and followed this fascinating coast round past Carnforth and Warton, joining a lane that ran along the shore. The path then left the road and crossed another marshy area on which a large flock of brent geese were grazing, to the Siverdale peninsula. Here we climbed steeply up through some woods and came out at a gallery and coffee shop, where we stopped for refreshment.
The wonderful coastal views continued through Silverdale, after which we turned inland to cross more low lying land to Arnside. There are a lot of caravan parks in this area, but they seemed mostly to be fairy discretely placed and weren't offensive. Arnside is on the huge estuary of the River Kent, which passes through Kendal. This is another expanse of sand and mud with fine views of the hills beyond in all directions, but we could see that the tide can fill the estuary when it is in, and the water must race in and it would then would look very different and hard to imagine from where we stood!
We walked up a lane to our 15-mile stop, sitting outside a pub in the sunshine, then on to the next phase of this special walk. Let me explain something... Walking 20 miles every day is much too much of a good thing, and on some days it is a real trial to the point that you ask yourself why on Earth you thought it could be a good idea. We are definitely both looking forward to completing the walk and getting home, so at the end of a long day of tramping miscellaneous lanes through indifferent countryside or worse, you feel tired, sore, and every step seems to take an age. However, here are days that shine out and pass much more easily and, somehow, with less pain at the end. We have had a good mixture, but this day was a real joy for endless wonderful scenery, good paths well sign-posted, not too much climb and variety. We had already been spoiled, but as we climbed on footpaths above Levens, we were treated to an extraordinary vista across the fields and peaks of Cumbria, climaxing at a popular viewpoint. The weather was perfect - clear, cool with puffy white clouds, the birds were singing and it was perfect.
So we were very happy as we descended into Kendal having walked 23 miles and were looking forward to the pub I'd booked whilst walking. I have an iPhone which allows me to find any business I want using Google Maps - this can be great. So I typed in Kendal Hotel and got 5 results. Now, I like to stay in pubs - they tend to be inexpensive and are often idiosyncratic, but that can be fun. They certainly have character, which many hotels and B&Bs don't. One pub came up in the Hotel search - the Dun Horse, which was in the middle of Kendal and had a room. The price wasn't very cheap at £25 each sharing, but it MUST be good if it was the only pub listed as a 'hotel'.. mustn't it? The appearance wasn't promising and, crucially, we didn't ask to see the room before handing over £50, because it was appalling. Dingy, rather small, shared shower and loo down the corridor - we weren't pleased but too tired to argue with the landlady. It was also quite noisy, then the karioke started. We got our showers and went out for a rather poor pint and rather good meal in an Italian restaurant nearby - best pizza I've had in the UK I think (really crisp and thin). When we returned to our room, the noise was deafening and because it was bank holiday saturday went on till 2am. Then there was a noisy extractor fan and our window didn't close. We both were awake a lot but managed to sleep enough to get up at 6am capable of going for a walk. Horrible place, and the owners were not helpful or nice.

Day 27 Catterall to Bolton-le-Sands

2009-05-03T05:32:00.001-07:00

Day 27 - Up the Lancaster Canal. We set of on a beautiful morning up the road to Garstang, who's town sign announces it to be Britain's first fair trade town. We wondered what this actually meant, but didn't have time to find out. However, it was an attractive place with lots of character and did seem to have a lot of local shops rather than recognisable logos. The centre was crammed full of cars and delivery vans, which was a pity. We bought some trail mix - the nuts and raisins we nibble on the road - then continued on the road for a mile further to rejoin the canal. We are doing quite a lot of walking up waterways during this journey and, having now planned our approach to Glasgow in detail, will continue to do so. The reason is that they are level, easy on the feet and quiet. When you walking somewhere, you want views, or a climb or some other objective, but ours is to get distance behind us as attractively and painlessly as possible, and waterways going in the right direction are the business.
There were lots of ducks with big broods of tiny ducklings, a few coots and I saw a water vole swimming on the other side of the canal and tried to photograph it, but not very successfully this time. As the morning wore on, the cloud cover increased and by noon, it started to rain. We stopped for a bowl of soup at a popular craft centre cafe on the A6 then after that, the canal was in a large cutting most of the way to Lancaster, with woods on either side full of wild garlic and bluebells.
We entered Lancaster on the canal, but then were on it's noisy streets - there seemed to be a lot of trucks and other heavy traffic going through the centre, which we didn't enjoy after the tranquility of the canal, but we passed many fine stone buildings and a huge and very grand memorial to Queen Victoria with her sitting atop it on her throne looking very stern.
We crossed the River Lune which is quite wide through Lancaster, and the canal once more, then followed a rather grubby lane up into the hilly farms to the north of the city. A steady drizzle was falling from leaden skies, and it was a dark and dreary afternoon after the glorious start to the day. Walking in these conditions is very dull, so we decided to stop at Bolton-le-Sands (19 miles) instead of continuing to Warton in the hope of better weather tomorrow. We immediately found a pub that did B&B, and were able to get dried off. The bar was full of noisy local men having a few drinks on the eve of a long weekend. We we walked out later on to get a meal at the local chinese restaurant the sky had cleared and it was a lovely, if cool, spring evening.

Day 26 To Catterall

2009-04-30T11:01:00.001-07:00

These pictures from the bottom: Preston town centre, the Lancaster Canal near the centre of Preston, ducks on the canal, and 2 of a heron on the canal.

Day 26th - Thu 30th April. Rain was forecast and we awoke to grey skies and drizzle which remained with us for most of the day. Our B&B was a large and unusual stone-built house with a Loire chateau-style turret at one end. Our landlady, Lisa, had inherited it from her parents and had one wing set aside for B&B where she runs a welcoming and efficient operation. She kindly donated £5 to our charity as we set off. We walked over fields and lanes northward until we reached the River Ribble a couple of miles from Preston. I have walked along the Ribble Valley up in the Yorkshire Dales where it is a pretty stream, whereas at Preston it is a big river and has been used to bring large cargoes to and from the city. The tide was out and it looked rather sad on this grey day. The flat countryside was littered with power pylons as there was a large electricity station which we passed. I wonder why people are prepared to accept these so readily but have such a problem with wind turbines, which would be fewer in number and are less unattractive?
Preston has changed a lot over the years and is a clean and lively city where we did some bits of shopping and had a coffee. We found our way out of the centre and onto the the Lancaster Canal, which is hidden away behind the houses. After a couple of miles we turned off the canal onto a pleasant cycle path that took us out to the countryside. As we found before, this was a charming way to walk through an urban area: it is restful, leafy, there is wildlife and it is easy walking. These sorts of routes have saved us from walking through miles and miles of suburbia,and we are very grateful!
We crossed the M55 Blackpool motorway, then north of Woodplumpton, rejoined the Lancaster canal which we followed for the rest of the afternoon. It rained steadily but the miles passed quickly, and our feet felt the benefit of not walking on concrete! John spotted some huge mushrooms growing out of a willow tree - about 50cms across the cap! It looked rather like a parasol mushroom (Lepiota) but they grow from the ground, not from trees. We had seen herons on the Ribble and lots of ducks, swans and coots, but there was a heron standing on the canal bank which stood long enough for me to get some great shots of it, including one of it taking off. Apparently there is a large heronry - a collection of heron's nests - nearby which is thriving.
The canal, main West coast rail line, the M6 and the A6 all come together at Bilsborrow, where we counted 5 open pubs and a canal boat marina, along with other services for travellers. The only reason must be the confluence of transport at this point as there is no actual town.
We stopped at a pub with nice rooms in Cotterall having done exactly 20 miles where, after dinner, I got to perform in the bar. It was quiet at first, but became quite busy later with locals who seemed to enjoy the experience, and we got to meet some people and get a better feel for the area and also pick up some donations. In spite of the day, we felt this was a successful and rather enjoyable day.

Day 25 - Towards Preston

2009-04-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

Day 25 - Wednesday April 29th. I was planning routes until 11.30 - right up to Glasgow in order to get timescales and distances into perspective, and I was awake before 6am, so it wasn't the best night's sleep. I have forgotten what it's like to just wake up, have a cuddle and turn over and go back to sleep till... whenever. Anyway, job done and I was awake enough to tackle the day. We had breakfast in the Little Chef over the way, which was what one would expect. Why does everything have to come wrapped in plastic? Can you imagine the cost of that in resources and waste, all for 1 man's crappy meal?
We walked a bit to traffic lights to cross the busy St Helens - Liverpool road, then walked up a lane through an industrial estate where it was still gritty and oily and industrial. This is good because it means people are working, but the poor stream that ran behind it actually had rubbish embedded in it's bed - the remains of bits of plastic and metal. We were then out onto a landscape that was now beginning to show signs of rolling, rather than being completely flat, comprised mostly of huge fields of green grass, or wheat or some other grain - very different from the sheep of Wales and the small fields of Devon. Being Lancashire, there is usually some sign of industry, but we were keeping out of the towns and industrial areas. The path took us into a wood and became very narrow and muddy at and we slopped along this for several hundred metres before emerging back onto fields again. Luckily the ground was firm under the mud and water so it was passable. Although the land was rising, it seems to have been very marshy at some time because there are drainage ditches around the fields and woods tend to be boggy. A watery bonus was the Orrell Water Park which is a large area of woods and ponds with well laid paths and bird watching points: it was busy with people out taking their exercise.
From the point we entered Orrell, we were walking on streets, past houses for several miles as one village led into the next. It was not unpleasant because the places were well looked after and we were climbing a hill, so began to get some good views east. We didn't find anywhere to stop for refreshments until noon, when a pub was just opening that was well run and provided some excellent soup. Spending day after day for weeks on end in the exclusive company of one other person, other than one's partner, is an unusual situation. Even with a partner, you usually go out to work rather whereas we are together pretty much all of the time. We both seem to be adaptable, and happy to give each other space and haven't had any serious problems or arguments, but I was feeling that John was having some problem with me. We are both finding this challenge tough and not relishing the prospect of more weeks doing the same: we want to get back to normal life with our wives. I have done a directional walk like this before, albeit in stages, so was better prepared for the fact that some days are just boring and hard work, but John had not so had a rather different expectation. We discussed the situation over our soup, and it transpired that there wasn't really a problem, but John's silence was his way of coping with a situation he wasn't enjoying very much. We agreed to make the best of it, and enjoy what we could and try to be a bit more responsive to each other, and continued our walk in better spirits which were enhanced when John got news that his old employer, Xerox, were contributing £5,000 to Precious Lives (www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater).
We are approaching the 500 mile point today (ended the day at 498.4 miles!) so I reckon that, if we stick to the planned route and keep the pace going, we are close to half way! And we are still walking, with no injuries and no serious problems.
We emerged from the villages onto paths on top of the hill with great views to the East: considering the view included the industrial heartlands of Bolton and Chorley, it looked very green, and the trees are particularly lovely with the new leaves coming out. The remainder of the day was long lanes and minor roads through land that was flat again so was easy walking but not very interesting. Croston was an attractive, older village with an intriguing area around the church, a pretty green and 5 open pubs, but completely choked and spoiled with parked cars and traffic. We reached our B&B at 5.30, very relieved to be able to get off our feet as usual.

2009-04-29T23:51:00.001-07:00

Day 24 - Tuesday April 28th. This was a day we had been rather dreading as we had to get through the towns of Runcorn and Widnes in order to cross the Mersey, and in addition, the countryside would be flat and less interesting. The weather was suitably drizzly as we walked down the hill on winding streets towards the A56. It was the rush hour, and there were traffic jams along the road, children going to school and people rushing to work all around us. The A road was the only route across the River Weaver and the Weaver Navigation which is, or was, a ship canal. The couple of miles into the edges of Runcorn were quite interesting with the bridges over the water and the marshy countryside leading up to them.
We soon joined a cycle route and from that point for a couple of miles hardly saw a house! The route was tree lined and separated from the suburbs around us, which made for pleasant easy walking. We did have to walk up the side of a large road and through some housing estates over the last bit, but it was a great deal better than we'd expected. Runcorn is mostly a new town, but there is an old bit by the River Mersey, however we only saw it from above as we climbed up onto the bridge that crosses the Manchester Ship Canal and the river. The Mersey is very wide, flat and sandy, and with the tide out, the actual river looked quite small compared to the size of the channel.
On the north side, we went down into the area called 'West Bank', made up of older house in the Coronation Street style, then followed the streets through the east side of Widnes into Halton, one of the suburbs. There were a lot of business and industrial buidings, but most seemed to be empty and there were plenty of To Let signs. Quite depressing. We had coffee and a tea cake in a cafe on the main street of Halton, then continued through the suburban streets and out into the flat countryside. This part of the day was dominated by the huge power station which sits with it's 8 cooling towers to the east of Widnes, so each time you looked up, it loomed large until the mid afternoon.
We trudged along roads, lanes and the occasional footpath across mainly agricultural land and the occasional small settlement or industrial area. We passed through part of the Merseyside Forest, which is new forest planted over the past decade in order to replace forest chopped down in previous years. It was good to see large numbers of young trees growing, which will be very lovely in years to come. We took one small diversion through a marshy nature trail area that looked rather dry and had to circle a field to get back to the path. Then we passed an extraordinary property just south of Haydock where the first thing we saw was a rusty field gun pointing out across the fields. There was a lot of scrap metal, vehicles, wood and rubbish and a smallish stone-built house in a compound surrounded by a high fence, with barking alsations inside and two women incongruously sitting in the garden. What an odd place!
The lane took us into new housing developments, and then into the streets of Haydock where we found a Travelodge to stay in at 4pm - we had done our 20 miles, but finished early for a change - a benefit of walking on flat country with no stiles!

Day 23 - Marford to Frodsham

2009-04-27T23:42:00.001-07:00

Day 23 - Monday 27th April. It was dull and drizzly as Annona drove us back to Marford, but hey, it makes a change! The day was to be mostly on streets and lanes over the level north Cheshire countryside - a lot easier but less scenic than recently. We walked along the B5445 out of Marford, then through a few villages lying to the west of the Duke of Westminster's estate. A lot of houses were painted black and white with rather gothic windows, but not very old, that seems to have been a local style. We turned onto a long straight country lane to Eccleston, a pretty brick village just south of Chester. Here we could see that we had left the limestone behind and were back onto an old red sandstone geology as we passed through a cutting; this rock has been used to build many of the cities in the West of Britain, and Chester is no exception.
The entry to Chester was on another straight country lane, then along pleasant streets with some very impressive houses: there seems to be a lot of money in this part of the world judging by the homes and the tidy state of the countryside. This as my first visit to Chester, and I enjoyed the real and mock-tudor architecture - although there are a lot of original tudor buildings, in Victorian times, much of the city centre was re-developed in a tudor style. We had a sandwich in a pub and took a bit of time to look around this attractive city, then set off northward through less prosperous suburban streets. There followed a long walk along lanes and a main road towards Helsby, but then decided to take a more scenic route to the east. There was another long lane walk to a range of hills, where we joined the Sandstone Trail: this was well marked and very pleasant, winding through the fields and woods and worth the few miles xtra on our day. In the last mile, the route started to rise, and we climbed up and up to about 450 feet before it levelled out. Then the signpost pointed to a further short sharp climb and some steep steps, or an easier route to the left. We made a bad mistake in taking the latter as we were, in fact, within a few hundred yards of the hotel we would be staying at. However the easy path took us downhill to the village of Frodsham (where we thought we would be staying) whilst the hotel was right at the top of the hill. So we descended to Frodsham, doing a circuit of the hill and woods and then had to climb steeply once more to arrive half an hour later at the hotel! We were very annoyed with ourselves - the end of the day practical joke again. The Beatles and lots of other Liverpool groups played in the club that used to be at this venue apparently and we had dinner with a spectacular view overlooking the Mersey river and the towns and factories along it.

2009-04-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Day 22 - Sunday April 26th. John drove us back to Craignant where we had ended yesterday, and we bade him farewell and set off for a delightful morning in the sunshine, walking up and down the hills of mid Wales. And the hills were very steep at times, if only a few hundred feet high, but the views at the top were great. The dyke was quite high at this point with a well-preserved ditch - it's amazing how it has stood the test of time, running mostly through farmland and with trees growing out of it.
We descended into a deep valley to get good views of Chirk Castle from below. There followed a 400 foot climb through woods and fields, and we found ourselves on fields looking down on the same castle. The air was sparkling clear,so the views over England to the east and over the castle to the south were huge, and we could see back to some hills we had been on in previous days. There followed a more gradual descent down to the Llangollen Valley and you could see why Offa had put his dyke along here as his guards would have had uninterrupted views over all the country below.
We wound down through the little hilly streets of Froncysyllte, reaching the Shropshire Union Canal (again) just below the village, but still high above the valley floor. The canal unusually took a 90 degree bend to the North at this point, and was very busy with canal boats and people watching and walking. The canal then crosses the Llangollen Valley and the River Dee 165 feet up in the air by an Aqueduct! It is just wide enough to enable canal boats to cross with about 6 inches to spare on each side. There is also a footpath on the east side which was busy with walkers. It was built by Thomas Telford in the nineteenth century, and is an extraordinary construction, especially since it is still useable 150 years later! The Llangollen branch canal continues on the north side of the aqueduct.
We stopped for a pint of shandy at the Telford Arms and heard the locals talking about jobs being lost and exported as factories closed down. We were now in an industrial development on the approaches to Wrexham and the countryside we were walking through changed dramatically. We were in maze-like streets of little houses between large factories, and there was the usual mess associated with such places, vacant lots, litter, dereliction in some places. Our route took us up the hill and out of the urban sprawl back onto fields and farms on the east side of Eglwyseg Mountain - this was very different from the soft grass-covered ridges we had been on during previous days, and was a high rounded moorland covered in heather. After about 6 miles of country lanes, we dropped down to villages that lie to the West of Wrexham - these have sprawled into housing estates that are utilitarian, and far from interesting. Lower down, we were amongst older houses, normally terraces of small stone houses on steep winding roads.
We started to tire as we walked up and down miles of these streets - it's much more tiring than attractive fields and woods! For a while we had to follow a path between a railway and a high fence, which opened out into a strip a rough woodland. This ended at a railway bridge over the A483 dual carriageway which we had to cross safely. We thought the path would then continue along the railway but were disappointed because it dissolved into scrub, and we were forced to climb a high steep bank, which was far from easy with tired legs, and take the lane above into Gresford. Only a couple of miles to go, and we were now in streets that were much easier, being flat, and prosperous than those on the north side of the tracks.
We were being met at Marford to which the most direct route was through a wood on a footpath. We found a path and it was a pleasant last section through the trees, but then it transpired that this particular path went the wrong side of an old quarry, which added 15 minutes to our walking day and made us late. Thus the last part of the day turned out to be the most difficult once more, and I felt as if I'd put my body through the mill. However we were in Annona 's car before long, driving through the sunlit Cheshire countryside. She treated us royally, and I had a wonderful bath followed by the most delicious home-cooked meal. We also met Annona's neighbours, who were curious about these two 'gentlemen' who were suddenly spending a night with this mature single lady.

Day 21 - Near Oswestry

2009-04-26T14:19:00.001-07:00

Day 21 - Saturday 25th April. After breakfast, John F drove us back to The Powis Arms at Pool Quay. It was cool and rather grey as we crossed a stile off the main road and onto the banks of the Severn river. One week ago, we had just crossed the mouth of the same river at Chepstow, where it was a mighty, but very muddy, estuary. Here it is a modest little river winding and twisting through the green fields, but it is still muddy! This was the Offa's Dyke route but the dyke we were walking on was a flood control dyke that runs for some miles in this area. It made for easy walking with pleasant views of the hills around and we occupied ourselves with chat, jokes and the odd song: John F is a great fund of jokes and having his company made for a lively and pleasant couple of days.
After about 6 miles, we arrived at Four Crosses where we thought we might be able to sit down and have a coffee; the sun had come but there was nowhere for elevenses. A largish pub called the Golden Lion advertised all sorts of things including coffee but was firmly shut and even had a nasty guard dog in the yard at the side, but was firmly shut. We then had to yomp along the main road for a mile to Llanymynech - this is always noisy and rather intimidating, so to be avoided if possible. We quickly found a pub that was open and with a great welcome - the Bradford Arms. Bob and Kath Headley run this pub beautifully, and we had a good cup of coffee whilst talking with the locals, then decided to have a toastie as lunch to keep us going for the afternoon. The pub is decked out in red and white with lots of St George's flags. This is because the village is both in Wales and Enland, and the Bradford is on the English side of the border. People used to cross the border for a drink on Sundays when Welsh pubs had to close by simply crossing the road!
We alse met David Beeston who keeps the records of animal movements at Dudley zoo, where they breed rare species.
After lunch we set off in high spirits, climbing up a limestone hill, past a quarry to the first of several great views of the day, (each with it's climb of course) with the best above Tyn y Coed where the Rotay club had placed a plaque showing distances to the places around. We were delighted to see that we were only 40 miles from Liverpool, which made us feel we were making serious progress! Also interestig was the old Oswestry horse racing track which is now just an open space and ruin, but with an interesting history.
This was a delightful day of views and lovely valleys, but we were happy to descend at last to a hamlet called Craignant to be met by my old friend Caroline and taken back to our start point to collect John's car. That evening we took John out to dinner in Shrewsbury as some return for all his hospitality, generosity and company. Thanks a million John!

Day 20 Fforden to Craignant (Oswestry)

2009-04-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Day 20 - Friday 24th April. We had a relatively leisurely start to the day, and first went to Welshpool for some essential items, then on to John F's office so I could post the latest blogs. So it was after 10am that we set off from Woodlands farm, down the road to the cross-roads where we had finished yesterday. It was dry again, but more cloudy and breezy. The first part of the day continued over farmland but was fascinating for John F because he has lived and worked around here for 20 years but never seen Offa's Dyke nor walked these paths and seen Welshpool from this perspective.
It is good to have some company for a while: John and I have been together all day every day for nearly three weeks, and conversation inevitably becomes more stilted and predictable. There are some strains, centred around our different walking speeds (I tend to go on ahead and then wait for him) and shear over-familiarity combined with missing our loved ones. Overall, we are getting on well and don't argue but cooperate well, and this will have to continue for the next 5 weeks or so. Therefore having another's company for a couple of days is a pleasant diversion and John F is always lively and amusing.
Our route then climbed steadily up to 1,400 feet through pine forests, then over open grass with great views over Welshpool. We might have seen the mountains of Snowden had the weather been clearer. 'Our lunchtime destination was a pub on the main Shrewsbury road that we crossed just after 1pm, but it was closed. We then made a rather silly decision, to walk towards Welshpool where John thought we'd find another that was open. This took us a couple of miles out of our way and meant that we would not reach our target for the day, and also involved some walking on the main road. We did get our beer and some food and enjoyed it, but had we continued on the path, would have found a better, open pub without the diversion.However there was no way we could tell - you just can't rely on pubs to be open at lunchtime any more. One benefit of our diversion was that we got to walk along more of the Shropshire Union Canal that runs through Welshpool. It is quite delightful - a peaceful gentle waterway running through the woods and fields and only a few yards from the trading estates and main roads.
At 4.30 we finished at The Powis Arms, a pub by the canal run by a local farmer's wife as a sideline, and very nicely too. We had walked 16 miles and were still 4 miles short of the day's objective, but it was a varied and amusing day. Vera who is John F's business manager, collected us from the pub and took us first to a supermarket in Welshpool where I did some food shopping in order to cook us a nice dinner, rather than going out again. So after I'd had a shower, I got everything out and started chopping. I put some chicken stock on to boil, but couldn't work out how the hob worked - it was just a glassy black plate. John came in telling me it was an induction hob and showed me how to press the invisible buttons, so I waited for the stock to heat and continued chopping. After 10 minutes, I realised that the hob wasnt heating the stock and we then spent about an hour trying to get it to work. It was now 8.30 and I had prawns and a boned chicken and veg to cook. It was rather late to go all the way into Shrewsbury and we had spent quite a on food, so what to do? Well, I cooked garlic prawns in the oven, which worked OK, so we had a starter. Then John called someone he knew who was living in another flat who kindly said I could use their kitchen. I decided to knock up a stir fry and rice and carried everything out of John's flat, along the road in into his friend's flat. 20 minutes later we were sat around the dining room table eating our main course, and I went to bed early.

Day 19 Knighton to Fforden Nr Welshpool

2009-04-24T02:16:00.000-07:00

Day 19 - Thusday 23rd April. Our full packs were waiting for us in our pleasant rooms at The George and Dragon pub, so packing was a bit more complicated than it had been for a number of days. We also had some reservations about how the day would go on the hills with all our kit on our backs. It was cloudy and cool again but with the promise of sunshine later. Knighton is built on steep land and the main street was quite a climb up to the clock tower and beyond. We then passed the Offa's Dyke information centre (closed) and down to a footpath which crossed the River Teme and then joined a minor road northward.
We had decided again to save time and our legs by using the road for the first few miles as it avoided a very steep climb, so it was an easy start overlooking the river valley, then up a valley to rejoin the pathway, which we followed for the rest of the day. Offa's Dyke often follows a pretty straight route north-south and was built up and down very steep hillsides in some places. Where it is still visible, which is for most of it's length in these parts, it consists of a ditch on the west (Welsh) side and an earth wall on the east side. These must have been steeper and deeper in the past as they don't look like much of a defence now, but apparently they were reinforced with spikes in the walls and thorns in the ditch. I could not imagine how men without steel tools could have built something so huge, nor how it could have been defended.
Whilst we were up on the hills, it was very pleasant walking in the hazy sunshine along the dyke or next to it, on a wide track or on springy turf. There were also deep valleys to descend to and climb from, sometimes on a very steep incline, which were hard work with our packs. However we managed OK, so perhaps are getting fitter.
We encountered a handful of walkers during the day but the byways and paths are really very empty; Offa's Dyke is walked regularly however, and is well maintained currently. This is much less likely to continue when government spending dries up in the years to come - I suspect it will result in general neglect as there are too many other priorities on spending.
At a hamlet called Mainstone in one of the deep valleys, we encountered a very pretty little church in a well-maintained churchyard in which there were writings on display by a certain vicar named C.Drinkwater. There was a stone that had been placed on a bit of carpet near the pulpit, but I have yet to discover its significance except that this seems to be the source of the settlement's name.
After some 15 miles, we climbed to the summit of the last hill and from there could see a long way north into Shropshire and Clwyd, with the Long Mynd to our right. After that, it was a long steady descent from the hill to the fields and villages below. We passed through the grounds of Mellington Hall, still on the actual dyke but through some very pretty woods with wild flowers in abundance. Mellington seems to be set up as a leisure park, with a caravan park, restaurant and other facilities provided.
The last 5 miles were rather long, still following the visible dyke, but over flat intensively farmed fields with endless stiles in our way. We finally arrived at our destination after 6.30 and were very glad to be picked up by John Frost and whisked off for a couple of pints of beer, followed by showers and dinner. 21 miles and over 4,000 feet of climb today.

Day 18 Nr Hay to Knighton

2009-04-24T02:12:00.000-07:00

Day 18 - Wed 22nd - For the first time in many days, it was grey and misty, but very calm. We were on day packs again as Yo was taking our main packs to Knighton before driving home, so we packed everything would end up in the right place. After breakfast, we bade farewell to our kind hosts, and Yo drove us to the start point on the A438. She was going home to Cornwall and we won't see her until we get to Fort William, when she is coming up for the last 2 weeks walking to act as backup again.

This was to be a grey and green day: a calm, cloudy sky and the vivid green of the fields and hills. We started steeply uphill on a lane, which we left to follow the Offa's DYke route pleasantly up lanes and over fields and heaths to 'LIttle Mountain' - a bit OTT for a 1,000 foot hill - but nice walking on the springy turf. The air wasn't clear enough to see the distant views, but this hilly country is very attractive and remained so all day. The path joined the road at Newchurch (in Powys) where do-it-yourself tea, coffee and biscuits were on offer along with a picnic bench in the churchyard. We took advantage of this, put some change in the honesty box and sat happily outside to enjoy their generosity.

The Offas Dyke route then left the road to climb into the hills, but we decided to stick on the road, which was very quiet and easy walking. Roads are harder on the feet, but quicker than footpaths and where they are also more direct we have to consider our overall objective and the length of the day's walk. We stopped at a wayside inn at noon for a pint of shandy and got talking to the friendly local couple within. My first impression was that here were two people drinking early in the day and being rather over-friendly, so I thought they must have a drink problem. It transpired that they were on their way home from a key meeting with their solicitors, and were celebrating the outcome which, apparently,was that they were no longer under the thrall of Barclays Bank. They ran a small machine hire business in Presteigne, and were sorry that we were not passing that way. It is so easy to jump to wrong conclusions just by appearances!

We were walking mostly on roads for the rest of the day and made good time. From a hamlet called Whitton, where the school was coming out, we had a long climb up to the final section of path, over the hill to Knighton. I had gone ahead - I walk faster than John, and prefer to go at my own pace then have a rest while I wait for him - but am not carrying a map. The reason for this is that John as a sophisticated GPS device with all the maps on it. I did have my little laptop in my bag (it is quite light) which also has the maps but I obviously don't use it while walking. So I had memorised the route, and when I came to an intersection I couldn't see an Offa's DYke signpost pointing away from the road. The next road junction was 100 yards further on, where there was a signpost, so I went on and waited there for John. He seemed a long time, and after about 30 minutes I got worried. A van driver said that he had seen no-one on the road, so I actually got my laptop out and checked - I should have waited at the first intersection. John, of course, had seen I wasn't there and assumed I had gone on so did the same as there had been no mobile phone reception for some time.

The final bit of the day was on Offas Dyke, over a last bit of hill then steeply down to the little town of Knighton, where are housed in very comfortable rooms and got a good dinner. John has been walking with a cold, and tomorrow will be a longer harder day with many hills, so we both hoped he would be feeling better!

Dayn 17 Llanthony to Hay

2009-04-24T02:07:00.000-07:00

Day 17 - Tuesday 21st. Dry and clear yet again. I was up early checking and planning routes: it turns out that we can get to the Welshpool area, where John Frost is joining us, in two 20-mile days if we omit Hergest Ridge and Kington. This is a pity as I would have enjoyed it, but it makes for a very big day with packs, or would mean ending a day in a remote area. So we will focus on Goal 1 and make the distance.

After breakfast Yolanda drove us back through Hay and up the little mountain roads to Llanthony, where we set off at 10am; an hour later than normal, but this would be a shorter day. We stayed in the valley and walked up norhwards up the valley on paths and empty farm lanes. This is the Vale of Ewyas in which the River Honddu (Honthy) runs between the high ridges of the Black Mountains from Gospel Pass at 542 metres height for 10 miles to Pandy at 200 metres. It is a spectacular and beautiful valley populated by small farms and hamlets. It is within the Brecon Beacons National Park, although those hills are a bit to the west and the footpath network is popular and well marked. Our route climbed gradually up the valley on the East side of the river and was easy walking. The main sound was bleating sheep, but there was also the sound of the river and bird song. After a few miles, we reached the hamlet of Capel-y-ffin, where there are two tiny chapels and a few houses, but it seems to be a meeting point as there are people there each time we pass it. We were now on the narrow road that runs through the valley, but it was very quiet and we saw few cars. As we walked and rose above 1,000 feet, the trees started to thin out and the view of the top of the valley opened out before us. We reached Gospel Pass, where the road enters the valley from Hay after a couple of hours and were treated on the north side to a panorama covering a huge area, from the Brecon Beacons in the south to Herefordshire in the north. The descent towards Hay on Wye over springy turf was thus quite glorious, and again, walking is easier than normal because of the dry ground - we are definitely being spoilt!

There was an ice cream van in a car park near the top where I bought a 99. I asked the man whether he got much business in this spot and he said that he comes up there for a rest! The air was cold, but I enjoyed the ice cream anyway. As I walked, as is often the case, I was thinking about earning a living on my return, and getting my finances back on track - this excursion is not a prudent thing to undertake, but if I don't do it now, at 60, when will I? The funny thing is that a walk like this within a defined time is definitely hard work, especially when you add in writing and publishing the blog. In order to record and publish the walk, I am carrying:
* A good camera, spare lens, charger, connector wires.
* A small laptop computer with charger.
* An iPhone with connector and charger plus a solar charger.
and, of course, a guitar. This is all in addition to clothes and camping gear. I don't mind the weight of my pack much and find that I can easily carry it up and down the hills, but there is a cost in muscular tiredness as the day progresses. I havent had to carry the full weight very much on this walk as Yolanda has made it possible for us to leave them in the car on the days she is around so we only have to carry day packs.

The way down to Hay is mostly over open heath, but when the farmland started, we encountered no problems and just enjoyed the walk. Sometimes,when the descent is steep and the ground easy, it is easier on the legs to 'jog' down the hill rather than walk. You have to have strong legs in order to be able to control your speed and stop, and 'jog' isn't a good word as you need to glide from step to step rather than bounce or it is very bad for the knees. Anyway, it gets you down very quickly.

Reaching Hay, we walked into the centre where every other shop seems to be a book shop - literature really has taken over here, and the annual literary festival has become huge. We found a pub and had a pint, but neither the pub, nor the welcome were up to much so we left after one drink. We were going to arrive at our destination only 3.5 miles away early so John called Yolanda to rearrange our rendezvous. The short afternoon's walk was along the river which,at this point, is wide and shallow, then over some dull fields and up to the A438, which we had to follow for upwards of a mile with light, but fast traffic whizzing by. Distances on such roads seem long when you are walking. We were soon picked up by Yo in the car and returned to our base for tea and a bath and to prepare ourselves for a couple of longish days.

Day 16 Monmouth to Llanthony

2009-04-21T12:44:00.000-07:00

We hope that you are enjoying this blog. Please remember that one of our reasons for attempting this challenge to do some good - please visit www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater. Thank you.

Day 16 Monday. I was up before 7 on yet another smiling morning after quite a good night's sleep and was glad to use the shared washing facilities before anyone else was up. I started to pack my stuff away when Yo appeared with Vicky the dog to tell me that breakfast was at 8am. We decided that the wet tent would have to be bundled into the boot of her car and it could then be dried out that evening: she was going on to see friends with whom we would be staying for a couple of nights. Yolanda has taken on the role of supporting our expedition and has been absolutely amazing ferrying us around and organising us. Nothing is too much trouble and she always tries to think ahead. Normally I just get on with what I have and make do, but she makes sure everything is worked out in advance and keeps everything running smoothly. She will be helping in the background until Wednesday this week, then is joining us again for the last 2 weeks in Scotland.

So on another sparkling morning, John and I set off up the road following the Offa's Dyke path signs, climbing up to a large wood on a hill - our first of several climbs that day. We were soon walking in fields and little woods alongside the River Trothy who's course we would more or less follow for over 10 miles. It was lovely pastoral countryside with lots of fine views over hills and valleys and towards the Black Mountains where we were headed. Our original target was Pandy, but as we had no packs and the weather was good, we thought we might go further. The way was never level, so there was some work to do but the great thing was that the Offa's Dyke path is very well marked and new gates had replaced stiles courtesy of Monmouth County Council. In fact all of the paths looked very well marked and and set up and we encountered no problems across the farms. Most of the farms had sheep, cattle or horses and wiith springtime, there were lot of young livestock: innumerable lambs of course but also a number of foals, some very young and looking like their legs are too long to be manageable. We crossed some cider orchards, but few crops in this hilly country.

The cold morning air warmed with the bright sunshine and as the day wore on, we needed to fill our water bottles more than once. We crossed and recrossed the Trothy, passing the site of the Grace Dieu monastry of which nothing remains apart from the field and farm names. Much more significant was the White Castle, in a commanding position high above the valleys which must have been quite a large fort in its day. A substantial portion of the walls and round towers remain, looked after by Cadwr, the Welsh heritage agency. As we strolled down the long field below these battlements, I mused on what it must have been like to march to a place like this from distant parts, then be told to attack the walls with, running uphill with a spear and protected by a helmet.

We walked pretty solidly aiming for a pub at the pretty village of Llangatock Lingoed, which involved a final yomp up a very steep hill to the white painted church. We were very disappointed to find it closed, but sat on the benches and managed to fill our water bottles. It would have been a very nice place to stay had we arrived in the evening - we are finding a lot of accommodation along this route, which isn't the case on less well known paths and lanes.

After a few more hills and dales, we arrived at the main road through Pandy and decided that we felt fresh enough to continue to Llanthony in the middle of the Black Mountains. This would involve a 1,300 foot climb up to the top of the ridge, but we thought it quite managable without packs and in such good weather. The climb was mostly quite steady, rather than very steep, and as we broke out of farmland onto the open heath, a hang glider wheeled down and landed near us with a disgruntled pilot who said that the weather was too calm and he hadn't been able to get any proper lift that day. We quickly got to the trig point on the first summit, and it was an easy walk to the second. I have walked these hills in more normal weather, and the ground is normally boggy with lots of puddles and they are often cloudy and rainy. However, for us the conditions couldn't have been better,and the huge panoramas were enhanced by the golden early evening sun. At one point, a group of ponies wandered towards the path and crossed in front of us. they looked very relaxed and happy.

There followed a long descent to the valley which we had hoped to gain by 6pm, but the path was rocky and narrow, and it was 6.30 before we emerged from the woods above the ruined priiory and saw Yo and Vicky coming to meet us. Llanthony is a lovely ruin, part of which is an hotel, in a glorious situation. It has a bar but, to our extreme disappointment this was closed as was a pub a little further down on the road. We had walked that last few mountainous miles dreaming of sitting with our beer and enjoying the evening before heading onwards in the car.

We were both very tired after 23 miles and a lot of climbing, and were glad to arrive an hour later at Ray and Elsie's for a bath and dinner. We were not, however, very sociable and both collapsed into bed rather early.

Day 15 - Tintern to Monmouth

2009-04-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

Day 15 Sunday. Oh how glorious to be able to lie in bed till 9am and spend a morning not walking. I spent a couple of hours updating the blog, but then couldn't get online through our guest house network which was frustrating. However I managed to do so a bit later when we had a farewell drink at the pub, who had an open wifi line I was able to access.

LIndsey was heading back to Bucks at lunchtime and it was a bit of a juggle making the best of my few hours with Lindsey, planning and organising bits of gear and getting ready to o. It was another lovely day however and we sat together over a parting glass on the veranda of the Moon and Sixpence. A couple drove up in a camper van with a wild west figure painted on the side. He had a broad brimmed leather and had a resemblence to the painting. They sat next to us and we struck up conversation. He told us that the figure was Franklin Cody and this was his great grandson, Paul Cody. ?.F.Cody came over from the States and put on a Wild West show. This was not Buffalo Bill, but an alternative exciting spectacle of its times. Cody was an adventurer and he pioneered human flight using kites and was a character in Those Magnificent Men And Their Flyiing Machines. Paul also told me that he played guitar and sang similar folk/rock songs to myself: it's a pity we couldn't spend more time.

Yo decided to stay in the area and ferry our bags about and see some friends. We therefore set off with day packs only for Monmouth, which made it very easy for us. And it was another delightful afternoons walking through woods carpeted with bluebells, which had now come out, anenomes and other flowers. The latter half was all along the river in the warm sun so we were treated to long stretches of the winding Wye with the sun glinting, and the flies dancing in the air and birds singing. After 11 miles we crossed the bridge into Monmouth. I decided to camp that night in a site very close to John and Yos hotel. My little one-man tent hadnt been out of its bag for several years, and although simple to erect, it took a few attempts to get it right. It was very snug, but I managed to fit it all in and went for a shower. It brought back some distant memories of campsites from my youth and was certainly not as convenient as a B&B!

I dined alone at an Indian restaurant then spent the evening in a pub doing more planning for the coming days. By the time I got back to my tent at 10, it was very cold under a clear sky and my washing that had been drying was wet with dew. Oh dear. It was a bit odd, crawling into a tiny tent and bedding down by the light of a torch, and the ground did seem a little hard through my mat, but my sleeping bag, which is new and very light, also kept me warm through to the morning.

Day 14 Chepstow to Tintern

2009-04-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Day 14. Everything changed on Saturday morning: the sky was blue once more, and we knew that we only had to walk to Tintern Abbey, where we would meet Lindsey and Yolanda. Our plan said that we should get to Monmouth, but we both needed a rest, and the girls would not have appreciated us walking all day and coming back too tired to do anything! Now that we are discovering our actual capabilities, the route plan is having to change as our bodies are simply not capable of walking over 20 miles on hills, with packs, day after day. We have been reviewing our objectives and these are:
1. Succeed in getting to John O'Groats
2. Do it by the first week in June
3. Use a route that avoids main roads and is as interesting and attractive as possible.
We have already had to modify our original plans to make the route easier - we were planning to do a loop taking in The Cheddar Gorge, but went for a less interesting, but easier route. We will also not be able to follow all of the Offa's Dyke route, some of which has a lot of climb, but will sometimes take a more direct road route. If we had no time limits, it could be otherwise.

Chepstow is in a great position and in lovely hilly countryside, but the town has been rather spoiled by badly planned development and has lost much of its charm. However, there are still some nice buildings and the castle and old walls. There was a cold northerly breeze, but a bright blue sky, and it was very clear and we decided to take the Wye Valley Walk route out of Chestow, this being more direct and following the river more closely than the Offas Dyke route. The route, as it turned out, had been diverted because of renovation work, and we were sent through the race course, which was rather nice with great swathes of green turf and parkland and good views back to the Severn Bridge. The path keeps to the top of the Wye valley, winding parallel to the river through forests which are rich in flora of all kinds. There were carpets of wood anenomes and bluebells, ferns, and a great variety of trees, many covered in blossom, so it was delightful walking. There was a further diversion that took us through some attractive farmland, apart from one uphill slog across a ploughed field, before we returned to the Wye Valley forests again. There was a long descent down a path that seemed to have been a raging torrent at some time recently as it was stripped down to the rock with boulders strewn across the way. The path narrowed once more, and Tintern Abbey came into view through the trees and we were soon standing by the road looking down on it, with the river behind. We walked on through the village which is strewn for a mile or more along the A466 that runs right alongside the river, finding our guest house at the north end. We left our bags, and as LIndsey told us she would be arriving early, we went to The Moon and Sixpence pub that overlooks the river nearby and ordered a beer. No more walking today.

We spent the rest of the day being lazy and getting some badly needed rest, and enjoying being united with LIndsey and Yo again.

Our absences are not at all easy for the girls, and as the walking is hard for us, the venture seems rather quixotic. Now that we have committed to it, we must see it through in the best way possible. However, with all of this to consider, planning does become a balancing act and far from easy.

Day 13 - Over Two Bridges to Chepstow

2009-04-19T04:59:00.001-07:00

It rained all night and Day 13, Friday, dawned murky and drizzly and cold. Sue returned us to Wraxhall Church, and were soon on our way, steeply up to The Downs School which was traversed by our footpath. The first part of the route was quite pleasant, in spite of the rain, through bluebell woods and over quiet fields. Walking through Prior's wood down to Portbury was actually enjoyable, but we were soon back on suburban streets, winding our way to Gordano Services just off the M5. This place was another world to us after the past days, and seemed totally industrial and ghastly, with cars and trucks roaring past, and the dirt, litter inhuman scale of things. Once we get in our cars, we have a very different appreciation of speed and danger from that when we are on foot.

We had a break in the services and a coffee, then found a footpath that led to the north, just by the M5, through a small wood that was littered with rubbish, then through more streets to find the path that would lead over the Avonmouth Bridge. The carries the M5 high over the Avon, which looked grey and muddy as it was low tide, and the bridge was a long, windy noisy trudge. There followed 3 miles through the huge housing estates to the west of Bristol where many people seemed to look at us as strange creatures from another planet. We got a few cheery 'hellos' though, and the area seemed quite well looked after overall.

Finally emerging onto fields we crossed the M5, then walked on lanes towards the M4 and beyond. This is an odd bit of land, surrounded by the Severn Estuary, and 3 motorways. It is mostly flat farmland with bits of industry and little settlements and villages here and there, but always the hum of traffic. There was one huge truck graveyard with recovery trucks waiting for the call out.

We headed for a pub at Pilning, hoping for a bowl of soup, but sadly it had closed down and we sat in the smokers area outside, with ash trays full of soggy buts. Even liquorice allsorts had started to pall. From there it was long lanes, over the M4, at Northwick where a horse had escaped from a traveller's camp and a man was trying to recover it from the roadside. Then a mile or so across a lot of fields and stiles to Aust and the Severn Bridge. Again, we were frustrated in the fields by the lack of sign posting which caused us to waste time and go wrong at one point. Also the stiles in Somerset and Avon don't have a proper cross-piece on which you step to go over the stile, but rely upon a wider bottom rung only: this makes them more difficult to cross.

At Aust, we climbed up to the cycle path that runs alongside the motorway - this is 2 miles long and seemed a lot longer in the murk of a soggy afternoon. The Severn was brown and swirling, and a long way below us. On the other side, we still had a further 2 miles up through the suburbia and estates of Bulwark into Chepstow. We quickly found a hotel in the centre and it was a great relief to be able to stop, take a bath and look forward to the weekend!

Day 12 - Towards Bristol

2009-04-19T04:58:00.000-07:00

Day 12 - We had decided that 20 miles in one day was enough as after that, walking seems to become a bit of a trial, and we are not doing this journey as an endurance test. Walking a thousand miles is a challenge and requires strength and persistence but we are not in such a hurry that we need to push too hard and risk injuring ourselves in the process. However, days 12 and 13 are going to break that rule as, firstly, we want to get to the Wye Valley for the weekend to meet out wives, and secondly there are few places we could stay between here and there if we are to avoid BRistol.

So we set off accepting that there would be 2 long days through more urban and often less interesting terrain, followed by a bit of a holiday to follow. For the first couple of hours we were continuing through the lanes and fields of The Levels, getting frustrated once or twice when a footpath was hard to find. As we approached Axbridge, we met a gentleman walking with a large dog; he had a very lean face and a hat with a feather and as he greeted us, we stopped to talk. He was Nick Newton who lived in Axbridge and new the paths well and outlined all the best ways to get to the town. He saw my guitar and told me that he was a drummer, and wished us luck on our journey.

Axbridge is a little town with a lot of character as it has retained many of its old buildings and streets, centred on a delightful main square with butcher, newsagent and pharmacy on hand. We had a break sitting on a bench, drinking water and munching our trail mix (nuts, dried fruit etc) and liquorice allsorts, which are John's favourite.

The sun came out as we climbed out of the village and, crossing the A371 Cheddar road, joined the Strawberry Line Cycle Path northwards. This is an old railway line that has been restored to an excellent cycle path for much of its length. This section runs from Cheddar, through Axbridge and then through a gap in the Mendips to Congresbury and Yatton Station. It makes for easy and pleasant, though not always interesting, walking without any car traffic. Some of it was very pleasant indeed, through woods and fields and skirting urban areas. At one point, the route was blocked with signs telling people to keep out and pointing to an alternative. We thought that it might just be some repairs going on and we could walk through, which was a mistake. We ended up climbing a series of gates and yomping through a couple of boring fields before we got back onto the route as it crossed a smelly water works. There followed a long section of old rail track across more levels and rheins, through farm land.

Every farm we pass through has lots of rusting vehicles, machines and other scrap metal lying about, sometimes in large quantities. This is not only very unsightly, dangerous but also seems like a terrible waste. It is a problem for the farmers but there must be some value in the metal, whcih should be cheaper to recycle than to smelt new ore.

We left the cycle path at Congresbury and immediately passed a shop called 'Country Inspirations' which sold coats and hats and BRASHER BOOTS! Just what I needed, and he was doing a special of £20 off, so I bought a pair of lighter boots with softer heels than my hill masters at a great price and my old ones went to the bin at last. Hooray.

Our destination for the day was Wraxhall Church, which was going to be 23 miles, and as we trudged on we watched a mass of black cloud over Bristol edge closer. Luckily we remained dry, but the last stretch up the hill through the streets of Nailsea, then on up the busy B road to the church were interminable.

But we did get there, and quite soon, John's sister-in-law, Sue arrived like the cavalry and whisked us off home for a bath and delicious roast dinner with the family.

Day 11 - The Somerset Levels

2009-04-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

Day 11 - At 8am we were given an excellent breakfast by our host, Baron, who also said that they would be making a donation, then we set off on a cloudy day for a long walk into the Somerset Levels, and our first objective was Bridgewater. Most of the villges we have passed through have been alive, almost always with a pub, one or more shops and an active church. Nether Stowey is a large attractive village with a lot going on and a nice position just at the foot of the Quantocks. We walked out through a rather industrial 'farm' making dairy products and there certainly wasn't any of the livestock, muck or any of the usual paraphernalia of a working farm. The one person we saw en route didn't acknowledge us and we were a bit surprised to find that the footpath wasn't clearly marked and that it could easily have been blocked with a huge galvanised gate. The marking of footpaths through farms is very variable: it would seem to a farmer's advantage to have the way marked to prevent people from wandering around off the path looking for it, but all too often you have to guess. The muck on both sides of gates and styles can be very nasty and deep and I do wonder if it isn't more than just carelessness. Gates are not supposed to block paths but be capable of being opened, but this is often not the case. We have spent too much time on this walk wasting time seeking out obliterated footpaths and having to retrace our steps because of blockages or missing signs. The worst was Trevisker Fam on day 4.

We were now walking in very different countryside from previously: flat and intensively farmed with more buildings than previously. Also, we had lost the lovely wild flowers almost entirely and these were replaced by nettles, dandelions, cleavers interspersed with a few stitchworts and violets. The path went over fields to Fiddinton, with it's whitewashed tower; one of a few whitewashed buildings remain in this part of Somerset. At Cannington, we walked through a huge holiday and caravan park, exiting it along a path that looked like a stream and soon turned into one! Luckily there was a way off to the side, taking us through the agricultural college. We joined the River Parrett trail for a while which took us to the church at Wembden - an imposing red sandstone building - then entered the suburbia of Bridgewater. GPS devices are a great help when you need to get through unknown places easily, and in towns with new developments, the streets can be very confusing. Ours took us on paths through large developments to the canal basin of the Bridgewater and Taunton Canal, then into the Georgian old centre of the town the high street. Here we stopped for a coffee and did some bits of shopping which took up an hour - far longer than our normal stops!

The route out was along a main road past a huge closed down industrial site, and the rain that had threatened all morning started. On leaving the road we were soon stumbling over huge clods on an enormous ploughed field. John took a mobile phone call about accommodation as we tried to puzzle out the exit point from the field. We went past the point where it was worth turning back to look for the exit and as the field was surrounded by a deep ditch, we had no alternative to continue right around it for a very long way until we found a gate near the farm, then retrace our steps on the lane on the other side of the ditch. Not a high point! The Levels, or Sedgemoor, were once flooded and the first significant drains, or 'rheins' as they are known, were dug in the seventeenth century to enable to monks to get to their land in the middle of it. Since then, a system of drainage channels, some very large, have been dug and they, and the water levels, are now maintained by the Environment Agency. Thus there is a lot of water about and you can never assume that you can get from A to B as your way can be easily blocked by a rhein.

As we continued along byways and lanes, the weather improved with a misty sun breaking through in the late afternoon. There was not a lot of variety, so the day did begin to drag a bit as we trudged on, but one highlight was a swan sitting on its nest in the midst of one of the small rheins. We were surprised to find that accommodation was quite rare and felt lucky to be offered a room just outside the village of Mark. Our original target had been Blackford or beyond, but when we arrived at Burnt House Farm, we were very glad indeed - 22 miles was plenty!

I set off on this journey with my very excellent, but rather old Brasher Hill Masters, but these had now reached the end of their lives and each evening it took an hour or two for my feet to stop grumbling, and after all the roads today, I walked like a 70-year old into the village for supper.

Day 10 - Exmoor to The Quantocks

2009-04-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

Day 10 - Luxborough to Nether Stowey - Awakening to the beautiful surroundings and the lovely farmhouse of Wood Advent was quite special: everything felt like it belonged where it was somehow. Diana served us a full breakfast that would sustain us through the day and we were in the car, heading back to Luxborough to start walking by 9am. As we set off, John realised that he had followed my example of leaving things behind and had left his GPS navigation device which we would rely upon in days to come so had to call the farm who said they'd leave it at the Valiant Soldier pub in Roadwater for us - luckily we were heading back that way. The road seemed an awful lot easier and more pleasurable than last evening and it was a pleasant walk down the valley, named Druid's Coombe, through pine forests following a stream. The air was loud with bird song and at one point I stopped and watched a little warbler a few feet away on a small tree as he sang. As we passed through the pine forest, the sound became that of machines and chain saws as trees were being harvested and the wild flowers were fewer.

After a few miles, Roadwater came into view, a pretty little village huddled at the bottom of this deep valley and straddling the stream. We turned right and left the road, climbing steeply up though woods and fields to the top of the ridge then down again to Huish Barton which was made up of an unused but impressive set of stone industrial buildings. Unfortunanately there was no-one about so we couldn't ask about them. Our next village was Monksilver where we encountered a very polite man incongruously dressed in smart tweeds and a bowler hat riding a large horse. This is the costume of the local hunt which was to be active that day. As we walked up over the next hill the Quantock range was spread before us running southeast across our path. On the way, we had to cross a railway line which carried steam trains on leisure trips from Minehead and although we heard the whistle in the distance whilst we were walking, the tracks were deserted. We stopped for lunch at the pub in yet another bucolic village called Bicknoller, at the base of the Quantocks. On many days we just stop for 2 or 3 short breaks by the road side and have water and trail mix that we carry, but sometimes we find a pub that is open at the right time and enjoy a pint and a sandwich.

Half and hour later we were off again, uphill through the village then onto the ride that climbs Bicknoller Coombe. This was a good steady climb on a good path in lovely countryside so was actually rather enjoyable - we must be getting fitter. As I arrived at the summit, the Hunt appeared - about 20 horses and 2 landrovers - riding slowly by at the end of their chase. We saw the later in the car park with their quarry - a stag. We were treated to more lovely views of the countryside and back to the sea as we walked along the ridge in the calm air.

The day was completed with a long descent through Forestry Commission land then over the fields and stiles to Nether Stowey. We hadn't booked accommodation and had been told there would be plenty, but were surprised to find that the pub and a couple of B&Bs were full. However, at the third, The Old House, to our great relief, they had a room available. This was another gracious old home with large rooms and lots of atmosphere, and Ann and her husband Baron were very kind and also promised a donation.

We had supper at the pub where a number of the locals were playing chess, which has become a pass-time there.

Day 9 - Exmoor

2009-04-14T23:53:00.000-07:00

Day 9 - Challacombe to Luxborough. Another gorgeous day as we sat down to breakfast in the spacious dining room at Twytchen Farm. Our fellow guests were multinational, a german family, a Korean couple and a Dutch group. We havent seen a lot of walkers, considering the distance we've covered and that it is Easter weekend, but a good proportion have been foreign. The English dont seem to be getting out onto the hills!
We started later than usual and were very conscious that we had a long day ahead. We started on the road and before long we encountered the sign welcoming us to SOMERSET! so we are now on our third county and have covered over 140 miles of the West Country. We turned left, through a steep field and climbed towards the moorland above us. We entered a landscape of huge panoramas across rounded hills of grass, heather and sedge crossed by long fences and paths. There were also stunning views to the countryside below and best of all, the ground was dry -Exmoor can be extremely boggy and difficult to cross. There was a cool breeze from the south-east in our faces as we joined a long ride that runs for much of the length of the entire moor and we trudged happily along this for several miles, meeting a couple of groups of walkers on the way. There were a lot of skylarks and we watched then rising up from the grass, wings shimmering as they sang their distinctive song, while rising up high into the air. Progress was good but slower than on the country lanes and at one point we had to leave the path and cross a stretch of heather which slowed us further. We dropped down into pretty valley to pass Warren Farm, and after another stretch of moorland, dropped down to a road. This was narrow and there was enough traffic to make us nervous, so we were glad to drop down into Luckwell and get back on paths and lanes.
The problem now was that we were well into the afternoon, and although we had been walking steadily and only stopped for a couple of short breaks, we had a very long way to go. The countryside around Exmoor is very hilly indeed and we found ourselves plunging down through a steep field, only to rise up again equally steeply. The second time this happened, we realised we were getting very tired and had a further 6 miles to go which was simply too much, so as soon as we got mobile reception (rare in these parts) we called our B&B and they kindly offered to collect us from Luxborough, about a mile further on. This worked well, and just as we tumbled down the hill and arrived at the little church, John Brewer drove up in his Range Rover and with a broad smile, welcomed us and loaded our gear.
The welcome given us at Wood Advent Farm was exceptional: Diana immediately gave us tea and her truly delicious chocolate cake and we even had a room each! A great luxury. It was a lovely rambling old farmhouse which they run as a B&B and for winter pheasant shoots on their land. These are very enterprising, hard working and delightful people. Judy gave us a home-cooked dinner and we were able to enjoy the open fire in the spacious sitting room afterwards. We really felt thoroughly rewarded for our labours.

Day 8 - Great Torrington To Challacombe

2009-04-14T14:56:00.000-07:00

Day 8, Easter Sunday. Another sparkling morning and I really cant believe our luck as last year was awful at this time. Elaine Norridge, our host in Windsor House gave us a big breakfast and also contributed £5 to the charity - a sweet lady (follow her lead on www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater). There was mist in the river valley below, but we were in bright sunshine, the air crisp and cold. As we walked north-eastwards our of Torrington, we saw a hot air baloon rising into the blue. The air was still so it travelled slowly and at one point gently disappearing down into the mist behind the town before rising again.
This was to be a very long day - 24 plus miles and climbing up onto Exmoor at 1,500 feet, so a lot more up than down. The first few miles to Newton Tracy were past farms and fields, but now with the distant view of Exmoor and none of the deep coombes you find further west. Wild flowers continued to be plentiful: the primrose would be our flower icon for this trip as they are on every lane and sometimes in profusion, but there are also lots of violets, stitchworts, daisies and occasionally swathes of wood anenome. We had to walk down a main road for a while, which can be alarming as the cars go very fast and you feel very vulnerable. We take care to be as visible as possible but keep such occasions to a minimum. We returned to the lanes and wound our way towards Bishops Tawton and I was navigator for the day. I was in a dream world somewhere I think, but I was used to John following and didn't think to check as I took a couple of turns on very small roads. He in the meantime had stopped for a natural break and lost sight of me and had no idea where I'd gone. I was waiting for him at the top of the hill and soon realised there must be a problem so had to retrace my step, steeply downwards, for about 600 yards to a cross roads, where I saw him approach. It was a relief as we had no mobile reception at all.
We joined the A377, crossing the River Taw, and were relieved a mile later to enter the village and leave the main road once more. The weather was almost summery, with a cloudless sky and clear air as we joined the Tarka Trail which climbed Eastwards then down to a stream, which it followed pleasantly, and also through an aggregates quarry which was less so to the village of Landkey. We ate our lunch sitting on a wall by the church and overlooking the valley we had climbed. The afternoon started with a very steep climb up through a field of sheep to a farm, where we got great views back over where we had come and Northwards to Barnstaple and the Bristol Chanel. Soon we went steeply down again to Chelfham, where there was an enormous viaduct over the buildings below with no apparent use now or at any time. It was impresive but peplexing!
Thereafter the climb up to Exmoor began, and we walked steadily uphill for the next 3 hours. It was mostly steady, through Bratton Fleming, but as we rose further there were a few big ups and downs designed to test weary limbs. However the countryside looked really lovely in the evening sun. As we approached Challacombe, I encountered a yew and 2 lambs on the road and stopped off at the nearest farm to alert them. I got barked at severely by a dog but the an did thank me for my pains.
Arriving in Challacome at last at 5.45, the pub wouldn't open till 6, so we clumped on the last 10 minutes, steeply uphill to our B&B at Twitchen Farm. Here we were greeted by a pair of yapping jack russells owned by a Korean guest. I wasn't in the mood and nearly barked at him - at least I must have looked fearsome as he avoided me from that moment on.
It was a relief to get into our room and relax and clean up, the sun still streaming through the window and on the scene spread out before us. We still had 2 more walks to do - that 10 mins down to the pub for dinner and back again, but we managed it, I called home, standing under a brilliantly starry sky before falling into bed.

Day 7 - Blandis Corner to Gt Torrington

2009-04-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Day 7, Easter saturday dawned cool and sparkling and at 8am we were tucking into an excllent cooked breakfast - I had the traditional but John enjoyed scrambled eggs with smoked salmon which were delicious. The fields sparkled with dew in the morning sun and the colours of fields, flowers and the sky were vivid. We walked along winding lanes, descending into one deep coombe where the air was loud with bird song and the ground carpeted with wild flowers; alas I couldnt stop and enjoy it as we are very disciplined about when we stop. This is essential if we are to cover the miles needed to make a dent in this long journey and it is also easier to maintain a rhythm. I am finding that all the aches and pains of the previous evening have gone in the morning after good nights rest and food. As the day wears on, my feet get sore and on a long day I get tired but apart from the odd niggle, my body is coping well. Walking on paved roads is worse for the feet, but quicker than foot paths where there are styles, gates, muddy bits to dodge and always the danger of wasting time through blockages or losing our way temporarily.
The first village on our route as Black Torrington where outside the village shop we came across a group of friendly men who greeted us and chatted and, in the process, gave us £10 towards Precious Lives. They bought their newspapers and then Barry, the shop keeper, came out with coffees for them which they drank as they talked and enjoyed the sunshine.
Many of the road verges were lined with great swathes of wild flowers, mostly aconites, cellandines, daffodils but with many other species between. HOwever you don't see or hear many birds, apart from crows and sparrows, over the farm land. I did see a couple of goldfinches on a feeder in a garden and there are larks, blackbirds, tits and sometimes buzzards rise up, but I have yet to spot a thrush.
No pubs today, but we stopped and ate our trail mix with water when we found somewhere to sit. One of these places was by a little pond which had been set aside by the locals as a place for wildlife and to sit and enjoy the peace: it was very pleasant although we saw none of the frogs with which a sign said the place abounded. Leaving this pleasant spot, we were on a filthy track that trailed up past a small quarry and which got increasingly worse, with greenish brown smelly gunge coating it to about 5 inches of thickness as we approached the farm - quite disgusting and the remains stuck to our boots for the rest of the day in spite of attempts to clean it off. Farmers can be very careless!
We joined the Tarka trail in the afternoon which followed the route of an old railway line alongside a stream which is now wooded for its length, which gave us a pleasant easy descent to the River Torridge. There followed a steep climb into Great Torrington, our destination, and a pint of beer followed by a warm welcome at our B&B. I had carefully booked accommodation for the Easter weekend, but it seems to have been unnecessary as there are many places with vacancies. 19 miles again today.

Day 6 - Launceston to Brandis Corner

2009-04-12T23:32:00.000-07:00

Day 6 dawned fine with white clouds ambling acros the sky. as we left our room I looked around again as I tend to leave things behind, and had the feeling that something was missing, but it looked clear. We set off down the steep hill from the Band B and through the old arch in the middle of town then down the route we had come in on, when I suddenly realised that I was NOT carrying my guitar - I'd left it at the BnB! Had to hurry back up the hill and rescue it, feeling very foolish. Having climbed the other side of the valley, our best route by far was through the Werrington Estate, but there is no right of way. However there is a good road traversing it and no sign saying you cant enter, so we did. We met one chap who said we might get a ticking off from the gate man but didn't try o stop us. It was a very pretty park with a river running through it and a huge mansion and we exited over a gate on the other side without any problems, luckily.
We continued for almost all the day on country lanes through farms and fields, still getting used to carrying our packs and were soon on a bridge over the River Tamar, which marks the border between Cornwall and Devon. It has taken over 5 days to walk through Cornwall: a long county! West Cornwall has few trees and can be quite stark. It is cut by river valleys (coombes) which tend to be heavily wooded and can be delightful, but they are the exeption. There is a special light, especially near the sea, which attracts artist to places like St Ives. Since we descended from Bodmin Moor, the countryside has become more rounded and gentle, with more trees and deep green fields. It is very hilly and there is little level land so although the hills are mostly small, you do a lot of climbing during days walk.
The sun was bright as the morning progressed, making the wild flowers that line these lanes vivid as we walked. We will be in each others company for a long time, and we dont spend all our time talking - there is only so much to say. There are times when we discuss the walk, our lives, ideas or get grumpy about politics or the state of things. Luckily we both have a fairly relaxed approach to life and are able to give each other space, and get on pretty well.
After 10 miles we needed a break and diverted to a pub at Ashwater, which entailed a yomp up a very steep hill. However, when we arrived, the village was delightful and the pub welcoming. we had a pint of shandy and a cheese sandwich - we had to order that specially as the normal 'sandwiches' came wit chips and a big salad! We got talking to the locals and were given £10 for Precious Lives. So we left in high spirits, enjoying the lovely weather and pretty scenery. We saw a couple of roe deer in the woods and some buzzards and other birds as we walked, and although the country is almost all farmland there were great views South to Dartmoor and back to Bodmin in the west.
As the aftrenoon wore on, our feet began to get sore and the last mile up an A road was a bit of a slog. HOwever the Brandis Arms had a warm welcome and a comfortable room ready for us, all very welcome after 19 miles of roads.
After dinner and checking with the landlord I took my guitar down to the bar and had a great reception with the people in the bar applauding every number and asking for requests. They also donated £35 to our charity, so it was a great evening and I retired well pleased.

Day 5 - Jamaica Inn to Launceston

2009-04-11T10:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday 9th was one of our shortest at 15 miles, which was welcome on two counts: firstly, we could do with a late start after the long day yesterday, and secondly it was to be our first day carrying all our gear as we will not return home again during this journey, so we had to have everything we needed in our packs, and no more. The early morning was spent preparing and packing and we were driven the 40-odd miles back to Jamaica Inn to continue across Bodmin Moor. It was grey when we set off, wit a strong breeze from the south - again luckily at our backs as walking into the wind would have been very hard work. The moor looked bleaker under the scudding clouds and intermittent rain meant that we had to wear anoraks with the hoods up. We were following an old route dropping down from the high moorland to the farms below which was a lot easier than the the cross-country adventure of last evening.
The lanes we followed wound through high farms and hamlets and we were grateful for the protection from the wind offered by the hedgerows and trees lining the road.
John and I didn't know each other that well before we left, and have certainly never shared a room, and we will be in very close proximity for the next many days. So far we have got on well, sometimes walking together talking, sometimes walking apart but always companionable. We have plenty of time so are not hurrying to spill the beans on our lives but the stories are coming out, along with some strongly held opinions. We both see the goal as the important thing on this trip, so that will remain the priority, but I dont imagine our relationship causing major problems, in fact it will probably e a lot of fun.
As the afternoon progressed, the weather improved and we ended the day walking down a long river valley until Launceston Castle, high up on its pinnacle above the town came into view. There was a stiff walk up into the centre of town where the tourist information centre booked us a B&B.
That evening we were invited to join my old friends, the MacDonnells for dinner at their holiday farmhouse. We spent a delightful evening among old friends along with their children and grandchildren, eating, drinking and catching up.

Day 4 - St Eval to Jamaica Inn

2009-04-11T10:22:00.000-07:00

Day 4. For the first few days of our adventure, we are sleeping at John's house near St Ives: this is great in many ways but does involve an increasinly long transit each evening and morning. Having finished at the St Eval wind farm on Tuesday night, Lindsey drove us back the 40-odd miles at 8am on Wed morning. It was a nice spring morning, with broken cloud and a light breeze from the SW - great weather for walking. I was sorry to see my wife of 11 months drive off as we will only meet up a couple of times between now and June! Why do we do these things?
We started southwards past the wind farm and it was interesting to hear just how much noise the turbines produce as they turn - it is a major source of objection during planning. It didn't sound at all loud to me, and I do love the idea of the wind lighting houses and powering machinery rather than the filthy carbon-based fuels we are so addicted to. We were walking away from the sea now, and won't see it again until near the end. The hedge rows and road verges were bejewelled with primroses, celandines and daffodils; flowers that will stay wth us for some days to come. There was a short, frightening, stretch o f A road, then we were on the Saints Way route for a bit, dodging mud and puddles and gradually descending from the heights of St Eval. We encountered yet another obliterated footpath at Pawton Manor Farm, which seemed prosperous & very well run and had to walk across a huge seeded field and use careful navigation to find the route. All totally unnecessary as there was a perfectly good route available just needing signposts.
After that we followed a long lane 3 miles down through the fields and woods to Wadebridge where we immediately found a cafe serving excellent coffee and rested. The weather was really gorgeous as we walked down to the River Camel, crossing it to Egloshayle. Everything looked sparkling and lovely looking along the river valley winding through the reeds and meadows. The route turned off the road onto a delightful footpath through woodland beside the River Arrun. The ground was carpeted in celandines, primroses, wood anenomes and early bluebells. We pushed on and reached St Tudy at 2.40 - we hurried in the hope of finding the pub still open, which it was, so this was becoming a charmed day. It is a pretty village where apparently William Bligh (mutiny On The Bounty) was born and the first blood transfusions were carried out,
We continued towards Churchtown on paths and found ourselves walking steeply up a cascading stream to be rewarded by a great panorama at the top, back to our starting point. We were soon climbing up onto Bodmin Moor and the fields and hedges were replaced by open fells and the ground colour changed from green to beige and brown. We had another rest on a stile before climbing into the centre of the Moor and found ourselves walking through swathes of tussock grass, which slowed us up. Our progress slowed considerably and it took us nearly 2 hours to do the last 3 miles through bogs, tussocks and over fences and walls. Strangely, the last kilometre was really difficult again, and I still don't know how John managed to get through the worst bog with dry feet - I didnt! So we were really glad to reach Jamaica Inn at 7.15pm and be picked up by Yolanda.
No pictures on this post as I am now using the netbook computer that I'm CARRYING on this walk, and it hasn't got all my software. Im working on it.

Day 3 - St Earth to St Evals

2009-04-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

We were back to the St Agnes Hotel at 8.30 am and soon on the road. St Agnes is a town built on tin and lead mining and you can see the engine houses and smoke stacks dotted all around. There is no mining now but there are many shafts and workings so whole areas are fenced off with signs warning about the danger of hidden holes in the ground. Now they are quite picturesque, but a hundred years ago, this must have been a hard and smoky place. St Agnes climbs up a valley from the see so the roads tend to be steep and narrow and not made for motor vehicles.

We emerged onto the heath at the top of the village to the north then past the Wheel Kitty mine and down Trevellas Coombe with further workings at the bottom. Here we joined the coast path once more and climbed up to the cliff top where we were to walk for most of the day with the breeze at our backs and distant views under a blue sky.

The views from the cliff tops today were truly spectacular in the clear air: you could see right back to our base in Carbis Bay and north-eastwards over several distant headlands. We tend to start the day walking together, talking about whatever comes to mind: our families and lives, this walk, grumpy-old-man stuff, politics and even philosophy. On long stretches one of us will get a bit ahead of the other, meeting again at the next strategic point: a change of direction or entrance to a settlement.

We passed a lot of old tin workings – apparently some of these go down several hundred feet, then extend under the sea for several kilometres. As we looked out, the sea and the sky were deepest blue: if you stroll around the art studios in St Ives you may feel that the artists are exaggerating the colours but, on a day like this, they are not. The colours are vivid.

In the mid morning, we decended to Perranporth then struck out along Penhale Sands which run for nearly 3 miles with a huge area of dunes to the landward that rise up to 200 feet. We were shocked by the amount of flotsam strewn across the sand at high tide mark – plastic bottles, trays, containers, fragments along with ropes, fishing gear and so on.

At the northern end of the bay we had to climb steeply up to the army road, which we followed around the training base situated there and passing a group of trainees being lectured on map reading. This was a bit of diversion from the planned route and we only arrived in Newquay at 1.30 – a bit later than planned. Newquay is an edgy town, and on the way in we encountered a drug dealer giving a client a hard time and some fearsome looking dogs. We stopped and bought a pasti and sat down on a bench overlooking the sea to eat it. Half way through mine, a seagull dumped on my head and astonishing quantity of poo, which went everywhere – very unpleasant and it took some cleaning up! John was vastly amused by the way I go so irate and offended by it.

During the afternoon, we navigated out of Newquay, over Porth beach and up to the cliffs again and the sun and the breeze and the views. It was quite a walk, so as we approached Mawgan Porth I thought I saw a short-cut through a field which, inevitably, turned into a rather long-cut and wasted some time and energy owing to impenetrable hedges. From Mawgan Porth, it was a slog up roads and round an RAF signals base that we had to skirt around, passing the lonely St Evals Church. This has a huge tower and sits atop the peninsula, but had no other buildings around it. Then we anticipated a quick walk across some fields and lanes to meet our lift home. We were completely stumped at Trevisker Farm, where the owner seems to have completely blocked the path off making it impossible to proceed. Very frustrating when you are tired and there is no good alternative (another grumpy old man moment for me). So I phoned Lindsey and changed the meeting point where we ended the day at 5.40pm. This gives us a longer and less interesting day tomorrow.

Tonight it’s POURING with rain, but the forecast is quite good.

Day 2 - Hayle to St Agnes

2009-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

The day dawned wet and the forecast, for once correct, said that it would stay that way - balancing our beautiful weather yesterday. We set off from outside Jewson's in Hayle where we had stopped yesterday, but this time with over-trousers and anoraks, hoods up instead of shorts and sun hats. However it was a pleasant walk along the estuary with the spring flowers and birds landing on the water and mud. It is always extraordinary to think that this, like much of this coast, was highly industrial until after WW2 with tin, copper, lead, salt, pilchard processing, dynamite and other industries pumping out smoke and effluent. Now it is peaceful and pretty. As we left the town, we entered sand dunes, which spread over several miles Eastward along the sea front. The path winds too and fro through these, skirting two holiday camps on the way to the small village of Godrevy.
The light house at the end of the beach looked bleak in the grey rainy air, with the sea boiling and chafing at its rocky feet. It was too wet and windy to stop, apart from a quick photograph, then we climbed as the cliffs rose from the dunes.
A 5 mile yomp followed along the cliff tops, which could have been delightful if the rain had eased up, but it beat at us from our right incessantly. It was, however, mostly easy walking with only a couple of dips and rises until we rounded a headland and descended to Portreath. A pub welcomed us as we reached the centre, and we enjoyed a badly needed bowl of soup and a drink.
When we set off again, the wind and rain were worse and John felt quite cold for a while, but the steep hill out of the village followed by a steep drop down and steps up warmed us up. This is a lovely piece of coast with lots of views of cliffs, headlands and dramatic rocks harried by the sea. The cliffs are around 200 feet above the sea, so when you do come to a cove, it is a considerable slog down and up again, and the steps tend to be steep, which makes the coast path quite hard work in parts. However, through all this we were able to enjoy some spectacular scenery albeit in a dark mood.
As we climbed up to St Agnes and our walk's end, the rain and wind finally stopped, and Lindsey and Yolanda soon arrived to drive us home after a cup of tea by the fireside of the St Agnes Hotel.
We have learned a few things about rain, wind and keeping dry.

Clive Rowe's Ode to John and Doug

2009-04-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

John is very good at poetry,

But the muse never gifted me,

So for you that is a pity,

‘Cause I’ve written this ditty,

It’s terrible, and isn’t the slightest witty,

John and Doug are vigorous 49ers,

But when he heard of our friends arrival,

Stalin was concerned at his survival,

So to show he weren’t afraid,

A demonstration explosion he made,

Joe 1 was his nuclear bomb,

Which he exploded with much aplomb,

And so NATO we Allies did form,

All this because two boys were born.

April is the month of Spring,

The time for new life to begin,

Challenges set and guts to win,

But new challenges can make you very thin.

So let us celebrate these special days,

Before John and Doug go on their ways,

And lets all get very fat,

And eat a lot why we chat.

Off you go on your way to wend,

To John O’Groats from Doug End,

The wandering minstrels many ear to bend,

Past mountains, towns, lakes and burns,

Until we can say again Many Happy Returns!

Day 1 - Lands End to Hayle

2009-04-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

The day dawned clear and sunny with a southerly breeze - perfect conditions for walking, and it stayed that way. Yolanda gave us a good breakfast, and we were off at 8am on the 30 minute drive to Lands End, where we were met by 6 friends who had come to see us off along with John's son Matt, and Daugher Christina - a lovely send-off.
We found a path labelled "Easy route suitable for the elderly and pushchairs." and duly followed it along the coast for about a mile before heading East across the fields. Everything was sparkling, and the views clear as crystal across the Cornish plateau and beyond to the sea. Every so often, you descend into a hidden valley with a stream at the bottom. These are heavily wooded and there are lots of wild flowers - we saw masses of primroses, celendines, wood anenome, daffodils of course (they grow them in huge numbers in fields here), a few early bluebells, stitchwort, red campion plus the usual gorse in vivid yellow bloom, daisies, buttercups and so on. We passed through many farms where the way marks had been removed and paths ploughed over or blocked by farmers, but also met a delightful 80 year-old named Trevor Rogers who donated £10 to our charity, Precious Lives (see www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater).
We did 22 miles in exactly 8 hours, passing through St Buryan, Sancreed (beautiful church yard full of wild flowers), Madron, stopping for a lovely pint of Doom Bar in the pub in Gulval.
No problems so far, and legs only a bit tired. Tomorrow's forecast is for rain or showers.

Lands End to John O'Groats with Music and a Cause

2009-03-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Two otherwise sane men have decided to walk from Lands End to John O'Groats (LEJOG) by the scenic route, which is over 1,200 miles. Our names are Doug Kennedy and John Drinkwater.

Doug is carrying a guitar strapped to his pack and playing music at stops on the way.

We are raising money for Precious Lives (a Cornish charity to improve hospice facilities for children in the county).

We start at Lands End on Sunday April 5th, which is Doug's 60th birthday and two days after John's 60th birthday, and hope to arrive at our destination within 2 months. We will have to average about 20 miles a day.

This picture, taken near Lands End on another walk is of Yolanda, who is married to John with Vicky at her feet, John, Lindsey, who is married to Doug who is on the end holding Daisy, our dog.

You can view our Twitter, in which we will post brief updates and pics as we go, at https://twitter.com/LeMusicalJog
and you can help us celebrate our birthdays by donating to Precious Lives through: http://www.justgiving.com/johndrinkwater