Distance 11.5 miles

Me and Darren decided to get out locally today and do a few miles in the run up to the walk which is now only 2 weeks away.

We started from home and walked up past the wood. We then headed to Shireoaks and then along the canal to the edge of Worksop. We then turned back towards Hodthorpe and then back to Whitwell. I have drawn out the route on google maps if you want to see where we went.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms?ll=53.302518%2c-1.171331&spn=0.05242%2c0.099134&t=h&z=14&vpsrc=6&msa=0&msid=217953849987442202491.0004c20b310d58a2bb0b6

It was a nice walk especially as it gave me a chance to explore the local area a bit more. The weather held up well for the walk itself but the grass and paths were wet through from all the recent rain so my ankles and feet got quite wet!

The walk along the canal was my favourite part of the walk as it as very scenic and there were a lot of friendly fishermen along the way! I also had a quick play at opening and shutting the lockgates.

Once we got to the part where we were heading back we came across some very long grass. This made it very hard work for a time and I was getting quite tired from it. I hope we don't encounter too much of that on the walk!!

The best thing about this walk was that it gave me a chance to think about the practicalities of the walk itself. I hadn't thought about it before but I need to plan what I'm going to wear (to minimise chafing!!) and what I might want to take round with me. A lot of this depends of the weather of course, which is very unpredictable at the moment.

With only 2 weeks to go I am starting to get excited about the walk. Right now, it seems like an adventure and I can't wait to get started!!

Edale Skyline

This was the big one!
Distance 22 miles

This walk has been planned since before any of the training has started. I have been told over and over that if I can manage Edale Skyline, I'll be able to do the LSW!

So off we went...


I did this walk with Darren (as always) and we dragged Josef Dawes along with us as well this time.
We started by ascending Lose Hill which was a lot of effort first thing in the morning. Once we were at the top though I could see pretty much the whole of the walk we were about to do. It is a massive route and seeing it all was a little intimidating but also quite exciting. We set off on the ridge towards Mam Tor, which is the second summit you reach. We had gone on a bank holiday so it was very busy with people walking, kite flying and paragliding! We stopped for a quick break to have a drink then pressed on.

 Next up was Rushup Edge which I most certainly did NOT rush up!! After Mam Tor, Rushup seems quite a lot steeper (not sure if it is or not). But we took it steady and made it up in good time. Then we pressed on to Brown Knoll. For me this was the worst part of the walk. I really dislike walking on Peat and this was a long, flat stretch of Peat. I think I must have muttered the words 'I hate Peat' at least a dozen times as we leaped over bogs and pulled our sinking feet from it.

After what seemed like an age, we emerged onto Kinder Low. This is another busy area and was full of dog walkers and climbers!! I had a rest to recover from the Peat while Joe and Darren had a quick scramble about on the rocks. We walked on a little further and sat down for lunch. It was nice to sit in the sunshine and watch families and hikers walk past us while we ate. Although, there were a few dogs eyeing up our food!

Once we had eaten it was time to press on. Darren said we were about half way round so this spurred me on. We walked on to Grindslow Knoll where I got stuck in traffic! There were so many people going up and down the narrow path next to the river that I got stuck waiting for people to come up and lost Darren and Joe for a bit. They did wait for me though so they had a nice break while I got past. We decided to try and march on a bit once we were past the busy areas and soon made it onto the long stretch towards Win Hill. This bit was psychologically the hardest bit because no matter how much you walk towards it, Win Hill never seems to get any closer!

When we got on to the final approach to Win Hill we had slowed the pace somewhat. I wasn't tired but I think it just felt like a natural pace to fall into. All of a sudden, Win Hill was right in front of us. We had a quick scramble up to the summit. It was a great view from up there and a most satisfying feeling to have made it all the way around Edale Skyline. Now there was just the small matter of getting back to the car. Something I had completely forgotten about until this point.

Fortunately, the walk back was only about a mile. It was all down hill and quite steep. My knee had started to hurt by this point and this made the descent quite slow going. We made it from the summit to the car in about half an hour and I was glad of the rest on the journey back home to Whitwell.

This walk gave me two things. One, is the confidence I needed to know I can complete the walk in June. The second is a better understanding of the psychological side of walking a long distance. I think I am better prepared for that side of things now and I feel more ready to complete the LSW now than ever before.

Bring it on!!!

Nice hard slog

 Distance 18 miles

During half term Darren's dad David asked if we wanted to go for a walk so we said yes and off we went. I had no idea where we were going or how far it was going to be and I'm kind of glad I didn't.

We set off from Cutthroat Bridge (!?!?!) and walked up (the long way) on to the ridge. It was dry but cold and as we got higher and higher we started to come across snow! We headed along the ridge which was a long way but I liked it because every so often there was an outcrop of rocks so I could aim for each one as we went along, making it seem like less distance.
When we got to the highest point of the walk I got a bit distracted by the snow and nearly got myself into a snowball fight with Darren (which I would never have won). We pressed on and soon we were in what David called The Wilds. This was the worst part of the walk for me as it was long and flat and we could see for miles around us. It felt like I was walking for ages and not getting anywhere. It was made worse by the amount of mud and wet peat underfoot which made it much harder work than if it had been dry. My boots were picking up so much my feet were starting to feel heavier than when I put them on!!
When we eventually got to the end of this section we sat down for lunch. It was nice to get some fuel and have a quick rest. While we were sitting we watched as a section of land was burned on the hillside. They do this for the grouse population as it encourages new shoots to grow. It looked quite spectacular when it got going.
We carried on once we had finished and headed downhill towards the reservoir. This was much better for me as there were trees and other landmarks to break up the length of the walk. When we got to Agden Bog we had another quick break as we noticed someone had put loads of bird feeders on some of the trees and there were a lot of birds feeding. We sat for a while watching them and I got a lesson in bird breeds!!
After this we continued up and towards the Agden Reservoir. There was a plaque about the disaster that occurred there in the 19th century when the dam burst and killed many people. We gave it a quick read and carried on. The next part of the walk was my favourite as the path we took went along the side of the reservoir. It was very pretty and flat so I had chance to appreciate it.
When we reached the end of the reservoir we had one last uphill section to complete before a straight walk back to the start. This was hard! I was very tired, my legs were aching and I had lost a bit of motivation. But I knew I had to carry on so I did. It took me quite a long time and I stopped to rest a few times but I got to the top and felt much better.
This was the point when I dared ask how far the walk was in total and David said it would be 18 miles by the time we finished. The longest walk I had done up till now was 10 miles so this was a big leap forward in mileage. At this point we were well over 10 miles already so this helped spur me on a bit to the end.
We walked past a large tower and then started dropping down towards where we started. My legs were aching but I knew we were on the home straight which made me feel a bit better.
When we got back to the start I was relieved we had finished but I was proud that I had managed such a long walk.
This was the first time since I decided to do LSW that I have realised what I have let myself in for. I realise now how hard its going to be but I am determined to carry on training and do the walk in June!

First ten miler

We decided to do a section of the actual walk I will be doing in June. We started between checkpoint 1 and 2 and then turned off in a loop before hitting checkpoint 3.

We started the walk in Froggatt Village and walked up through the woods on to the top. It had rained very heavily the night before and the path we were taking had flooded. There was even one bit where Darren had to lift me over as the water was so deep it would have gone over the top of my boots. I didn't fancy having wet feet that early on!!

The walk up onto the top was quite short but steep.
I am still finding it slow going on the uphill sections but I pressed on steadily and reached the top. I have been on Froggett edge a few times before so I knew what to expect from this part of the walk. It was flat but long which makes it harder psychologically. I think I'm going to take my ipod on LSW with me as I think it will help with sections like this. I think it will be useful to have something that keeps me going in case I get a bit disheartened. It was VERY windy the day we went up there which made it extremely cold. This also did not help with my mood but at least there is less chance of cold and wind in June! At the part where the LSW goes on, we turned right and stopped for a spot of lunch. We managed to find a relatively sheltered spot to hide from the wind but because we stopped moving we got cold quite quickly.

Darren asked me at this point if I wanted to do a route back which made the whole walk 7 miles or a route which made it 10. My first reaction was 7 but when I thought about it knew it would be better to go for 10, so we did.
We walked down towards Baslow village. The wind dropped pretty much as soon as we were off the top so I warmed up quickly and going downhill was much easier than going up!!

Then it was a case of heading back to Froggatt Village. We walked to Baslow and crossed the river. We then followed the river all the way back to the car. At one point I saw a puddle which looked like a giant footprint! We didn't see any monsters though ;)

We got very muddy boots and trousers but it was a very satisfying walk. I felt like I could have walked on when we finished which I found encouraging.
Not long to go now so all I need to do now is more 10 milers and then go for some longer walks.