Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: Day 5

Friday 10 August 2012

Day 5

. Gary made an early start today leaving Patterdale at 07.15am

Patterdale at dawn

Weather hot again today. It felt like walking in the Mediterranean at points even down to the periodic sound of crickets, reminiscent of Greece. No sight of a cold beer though and definitely no holiday, although he is developing quite a nice tan by all accounts!

Looking west - back to Patterdale

Gary described the going as "All up all morning". Gary again crossed paths with fellow Coast 2 Coaster Stuart from Newcastle and were able to help each other out with directions. Gary commented that it's a bit like the tortoise and the hare. Gary starts early and makes frequent stops whereas Stuart starts later and never stops!

The "up" continued till about noon. The weather meant the midges were out in force today making it impossible to stop & sit for a while for fear of being surrounded and eaten alive.

Gary's silhouette as he walks towards Angle Tarn. Gives some idea of scale

The warm conditions meant that the 2 litre water bladder and 1.5 litre bottle Gary carried as predicted didn't see him through the day. Gary met Alan at 2pm for a prearranged "refuelling stop" consisting of a further litre of water and a banana.

Angle Tarn

The highest point of the walk today was the appropriately named High Raise which is 802metres. That's 2,631 feet in old money, (I know because I checked!). Incredible. I think I'm right in saying this is the highest point of the whole walk, (though probably not the high point!). The walk down was a long one. This was, if anything, more sapping as it consisted of lots of little ups & then downs. The valley also acts as a sun trap with no breeze at all.


Looking south west towards Hayeswater

The route Gary took off High Raise is not found in the guide books, (Gary came across the alternative route he followed on a the Walkers Forum). The traditional route comprises a very steep path down Kidsy Pike, which Stuart did take. Gary instead followed the ridge line along and headed down following a quad bike track to Low Raise, to Measent Beck and then on to Hayeswater. This proved much more "do-able". Big thanks to Rich, (from The Walkers Forum).

Looking north east from Low Raise, follow the quad bike tracks

Gary arrived in Shap at 5.30pm having covered 17 miles, legs aching and feet hurting. The walk today is, according to the guide book, the most tiring day. Garywhole heartedly concurs with this statement. Tomorrow sees the longest day of the walk in term of miles. Gary will cover the 20 miles from Shap to Kirby Stephen. Happily it is a long flat walk with no big "ups"!
Today's Ukuele tune the somewhat appropriate "These Boots Were Made for Walking". And that is just what they will do...tomorrow. Please keep your texts and messages of support coming via the blog, email, Twitter or Facebook. Gary may not be able to reply but i can assure it's your support that spurs him on.

Strap line for today: "Hot and High"

PLEASE KEEP THE DONATIONS COMING. If you haven't made a donation and would like to, just click the large green DONATE ONLINE Click Here button to the right of the screen. This will take you straight to Gary's Just Giving page. Many thanks x

Looking north east down Rampshill Dale from The Knott. Stunning.

2 comments:

Unknown05/04/2013, 08:15
Hi Gary. Is there anyway I can contact you about further publicising your blog?
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C2C20124MA

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!