Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: Training Walk 08.06.12

Friday 8 June 2012

Training Walk 08.06.12

I was expecting today's walk to be a tough one. Heavy rain was forecast all afternoon and it was going to be the longest walk I've done so far. As it turned out the heavy rain did not appear, although it did rain on and off all day.

I walked fast, trying to get a good pace going, and as most of it was on tarmac paths I was able to keep the pace up. I made my fastest time over a mile yet, but it is clear that walking on hard tarmac paths and roads hurts my feet more!

The Church at Normanton

About to cross the dam - it was so windy.

Think the workmen were getting a bit fed up!

Lunch Stop!

The view across the meadow to Egleton

The reservoir is SURROUNDED by sheep

Spotted a helicopter today, but couldn't make out what sort it was.

You may notice there is a picture of Animal from the Muppets above. He is now my mascot, and will come with me on every walk I do. I'm going to try to take a picture of him somewhere on each walk. Today I stopped for lunch in a hide at the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre and Animal sat with me. After lunch, a woman who was birdwatching in the hide offered me her binoculars and showed me how to spot a Goldfinch.

One thing I found annoying was the signposts dotted along the path around the reservoir - I think that most of them were wrong! Along the north shore I passed a signpost that said 'Egleton 3 miles', walked for at least another mile or two and then saw another sign which said 'Egleton 3 miles'!

Check out the route here

Training Walk 08.06.12

I listened to Radio 4 for most of the walk, until my battery ran out! The ukulele song played when I got home was 'Everything's Not Lost' by Coldplay.

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Thanks for taking the time to visit my website.

So why am I raising money for the Miscarriage Association?

Someone has to. They need a relatively small amount of money to keep going every year, and the work they do is really essential.

In 2009 and 2010, Helen and I lost 2 babies in the space of 5 months. The loss we felt was immense and still is.

So, in 2012 I will be completing Wainwrights Coast to Coast walk, from St Bee's Head on the Cumbrian coast, to Robin Hoods Bay on the North East coast, a walk of approximately 200 miles.

It should take about two weeks and I will be camping whenever possible to keep the costs down.

You can donate by jumping to my JustGiving page

Don't feel you have to give lots -

every penny really does help.

Send the website address to everyone you know - all I need is for 1000 people to give £1 each and I've made my target.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you so much.

So Who's the Fat Bloke?

Hi. I am a 38 year old primary school teacher who lives in Cropston, just north west of Leicester with my wife, Helen and 5 year old son, Lachlan. I've been walking in Leicestershire, Yorkshire, the Lake District, Cornwall, Derbyshire and the Malvern Hills, and love being outdoors. I've been camping in most of these places and in Norfolk and Devon. I enjoy playing the Ukulele as often as I can, singing, darts, golf and growing my own veg.

I'm looking forward to completing the walk, blisters and all, and being able to say that even while enjoying a great outdoor experience, I can raise money to help others who have been through the same experience as Helen and I. And yes - I will be taking my Ukulele with me and I'm hoping someone might sponsor me for a song played at each stop along the way!

What is Wainwright's Coast to Coast?

The Wainwright Society says this about the Coast to Coast:

'A Coast to Coast Walk was devised by Wainwright himself, and set out in his 1973 guidebook to the route.

The route is a 192-mile (although according to a recent re-measuring the real distance is almost 220 miles) unofficial, long distance footpath in Northern England. It passes through three contrasting national parks: the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.

Wainwright suggested a way of breaking the walk miles into stages, each of which to be completed in a day. With one or two rest days, this makes the route fit into a two-week holiday. However, Wainwright explicitly stated that he did not intend people to necessarily stick to these stages or even to his route: for example, by reducing day-lengths to 10 or 12 miles, the walk becomes a much easier three-week trip with time to 'stand and stare'.

In 2004 the walk was named as the second best walk in the world according to a survey of experts.'

I'll be breaking the walk into 14 stages, walking an average of 14 miles a day. However, this varies a lot - my shortest day is only 8 miles and my longest day will be 20 miles.

Whichever way you cut it this walk is one of the best long distance walks in the world and I'm very lucky (as well as a bit bonkers?) to be attempting it this August. Let's hope I enjoy walking it as much as I've enjoyed organising it!