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!!