hike | camp | paint
Organising category for the individual categories of Long Distance Paths and walks on them
Miserable London, miserable people in the streets, miserable people at the station. I'd departed from my recent policy of taking the coach whenever possible, as the advance train ticket-split I'd worked out was a reasonable deal when you take into account the timing of the journey and how long it would take. Twenty something on … Continue reading Yorkshire Wolds Way – Part 1: Hessle to North Newbold
Hassocks to Eastbourne: 57km (36 miles), 1,422m ascent (4,665ft) Day 6 Last night's dinner was awesome, and bloody well should have been as I'd carried it from the BP garage. Pasta Arrabiata (of sorts) cooked on a camping stove, reminded me of how great it is to have real food rather than just rely on … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 3
Cocking to Hassocks: 60km (38 miles), 1,406m ascent (4,613ft) Day 4 The stay at the campsite on the outskirts of Cocking couldn't have come at a better time. I'd avoided a nasty day of rain that would have been very uncomfortable to be out in, and also had a night of respite from the stresses … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 2
Winchester to Cocking: 64km (40 miles), 1,369m ascent (4,491ft) Day 1 It was a pleasant journey to Winchester. As someone who hasn't commuted in over two years, and with no intention to ever do so again, I hadn't relished piling on a rush hour train along with all the miserable people. But as it turned … Continue reading Walk the Chalk: South Downs Way – Part 1
Last year I managed to make myself go out for a camp in every month, and although some of those were done in the course of a multi-day walk, some were very much a matter of forcing myself out to sleep. For 2022 I wanted to do something a bit different - specifically to make … Continue reading The Elham Valley Way (plus a bit…)
I walked the Great Glen Way (GGW) with my friend Paul in mid October 2021. This trip replaced a previous plan to do a longer route in the south west of England, that was ultimately a victim of fitness levels. The decision to do the GGW instead was a compromise between an easier/shorter route and … Continue reading The Great Glen Way
Alongside this blog series, I also produced a set of videos which can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IZMQDtn4PY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcd9mxUixss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkbk99oR3Fk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Xz_62MaWM The complete set will take about an hour and a half to watch, so a cup of something will be needed!
So the walk is done, and as you would expect the experiences of that walk prompted a few thoughts about how it went, what I'd do the same/differently, and generally what were the highs and lows. So here goes.... The Plan vs RealityNavigation, Trail Hazards etcWeatherFacilities along the TrailWaterAccommodationGear that WorkedGear that Didn'tFinally The Plan … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way: Afterthoughts
A terrible night's sleep courtesy of both my lack of mat, and the late arrival of a family at dusk. There seemed to be a lot of opening and closing of car doors throughout the night. I was up early, and they looked like they'd never actually been to bed (and it sounded like that … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 9: The End
This morning on the way back from the facilities, I was offered a lift to Welshpool, and I surprised myself in how readily I turned it down. I'm not sure the answer would have been the same if the offer had been made last night. Day 8: Abertridwr to Meifod - 25.71km, 624m ascent / … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 8: Looking After My Feet
A peaceful night was had, but the sleep wasn't great quality - still feeling the loss of my mat, and for that reason keen to get the walk done. Midges besieged the tent as I made tea, and attempted to eat a cereal bar under my midge net. I copped for quite a lot of … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 7: Ouch, my feet
Last night I booked a campsite at Lake Vyrnwy for tomorrow, as I wasn't that happy with the way potential wild camps aligned with places to get water. I decided to create some certainty and effectively break this final 4 days into 2 sections of 2 days. That just left tonight to think about, and … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 6: Still no Water
...It was not OK. As soon as the sun went down last night, the wind picked up, and with it the rain. The mountain forecast I was using had last updated at 6pm, and didn't reflect the late build up of the storm. The forecast I did myself as darkness fell, was a little more … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 5: Calm After the Storm
A slower start today due to the constraints of staying in a B&B or pub. I generally love the day leaving "proper" accommodation, though: it's like a reset back to the start of the walk when everything is fresh and new. Of course if the weather's poor, it just feels like going out from the … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 4: The Best Day Yet
Another middle-of-the-night sleep disturbance: this time at 4am, when I woke to find myself on a deflated mat. Attempts to re-inflate it failed miserably, with the air coming out as fast as it was going in. I gave up and simply lay on the flat mat. At least I had a thin closed cell foam … Continue reading Glyndŵr’s Way – Day 3: Trials, Tribulations and the Field of Doom