Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
Torcross to Salcombe Woken by the sun in my east-facing bedroom window, it stayed with us all day. Having got a slightly earlier breakfast, we were away for 8:50 and with the sun glistening on the sea and blue skies overhead we climbed up the steps to start the first climb of the day. We … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2011 – Day 2
Dartmouth to Torcross With us booked on the 07:30 from Paddington, we have to be up early, and I opted to spend the night at my parents house where I could get the high speed train into St Pancras instead of an earlier train from home, coupled with a desperately tight crossing of London on … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2011 – Day 1
Preparing for the walk. The 4th year of the walk has arrived and when I started planning it, it looked like it would be bothersome. With each successive year, we have to travel further at the start and end of the walk, which reduces our itinerary options and restricts how far we can walk on … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2011
A family holiday in the week before Easter gave an opportunity to visit an area I'd not really explored. Greeted by a blue sky over the moors, we decided to knock off Roseberry Topping on the Saturday. Parking just south of Newton-under-Roseberry we walked up the lane and into Newton Wood and then slogged up … Continue reading North York Moors
This is phase 4 of a multi-year project to walk the South West Coast Path from east to west with my father and, sometimes, my brother. This year's section will be from Dartmouth to Plymouth in mid-May, taking 5 and a half days to cover about 65 miles and 15,000ft of ascent. This phase has … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2011 – Planning
A week after the end of the trip, I can now look at what went well and what didn't..... The route Overall, I did all of the key elements that I had planned except Black Fell and Blencathra & co, both of which were abandoned due to conditions. Although at the time I wrote that … Continue reading Cumbria Way – afterthoughts
So that's it. As I limp away from Carlisle Castle through the urban ugliness of the city centre, I'm not feeling any sense of achievement. That came about 4 miles out from Carlisle, when I knew I'd make it (somehow), but completely evaporated on the slog over the tarmac. If the Cumbria Way finished in … Continue reading Cumbria Way – The End of the Walk
Today's mission is simple - get to Carlisle. I'm ditching Fauld's Brow. It looks rubbish. I reckon this might save me up to 3 miles. It's still going to be bloody hard going though. If need be it'll be on with the MP3 player for the duration. And so it proved. Day 10 turned out … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 10
The wind was howling around the bunkhouse throughout the night and was still doing so at breakfast time. Meanwhile a mist had descended. Marie summarised the weather forecast as "not much respite". That did imply some level of respite though! All my wet kit had dried, and just as importantly, warmed up by the stove … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 9
Last night the warden told me that the forecast was for two days of rain, which probably meant loads of wind as well. But I woke to clear weather with a good view towards Carrock Fell from my bedroom window. Having steeled myself for a day kicking around the hostel, it now looked like it … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 8
Skiddaw House is the highest youth hostel in England, and I took advantage of a 1,550 feet head start today. Today I'm not strictly doing the Cumbria Way. Today and tomorrow I am doing some side walks to take advantage of the location, and I will continue the trek itself on Tuesday. A similar start … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 7
I woke to the news that we'd had hail in the night and it was still raining solidly throughout breakfast. The forecast was for it to clear by 10 so I took my time. But strong wind up high was also forecast so I may need to miss out the top of Skiddaw if it … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 6
A big dose of inertia, justified as "giving the weather a chance to calm down", meant I didn't leave the barn until 10. I set off along the Cumbria Way across the fields towards Castle Crag, gradually rising up the fell, as the wind picked up. I didn't linger there and carried on down towards … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 5
Breakfast by a log fire was a good start to the day and in contrast to the roaring wind and driving rain outside. Also congenial company around the common table meant that it was an hour and a half later that I rose. I can recommend Millbeck Farm - at ÂŁ30, with tea and cake … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 4
Today was an ordeal. Woken by the patter of rain on the window, and having seen the forecast last night I knew it was going to be damp. In the event it rained pretty much all day and I couldn't see anything above 200m for most of the day. Having been first down for breakfast, … Continue reading Cumbria Way Day 3