Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: Day One

Monday 6 August 2012

Day One

Dipping feet in the sea at St Bees

Having arrived at St Bees about 5pm yesterday in good time for an early night, Gary was up and at 'em this morning ready for the off. Having made the customary stop on the beach to dip his boots in the sea he headed off, All walkers will know it is the custom to wet your boots and collect a pebble from the beach to carry with you on the walk and throw it the sea in Robin Hoods Bay. Only then is your coast to coast walk done. Gary has decided to carry 5 pebbles, one for each member of our family - including the 2 babies we lost. Lachlan (our 5 year old son) and I will be waiting for him in Robin Hoods Bay.

Winning no prizes for the best dressed walker!!

The weather was by all accounts atrocious, heavy rain storms for most of the day made the going tough. At one point Gary had his head in the clouds, quite literally!

The route today was 15 miles to Ennerdale Bridge.


Coast 2 Coast Statue at Moor Row (Looking longingly to Robin Hoods Bay I think!)

A welcome stop at the Walkers Pop In Cafe for a quick brew (highly recommended). The owner reports not having seen many Coast 2 Coasters this year, she thinks that due to a mixture of the Olympics and awful weather. Gary did not pass many walkers himself today. The tea was just the ticket and put an extra spring in his step when he went off on his way again.

Arriving in Ennerdale Bridge at the end of Day One!! The smile says it all. one day down, thirteen to go.

Tonight the total Gary has raised for The Miscarriage Association is £1097!!! Fantastic. Thanks to all those who've donated :-)

Gary amd his Dad are camping tonight in the place where there's no phone signal. If you can, please message Gary to support him.

Let's see what Day 2's 16 mile leg tomorrow brings....

****STOP PRESS***NEW TOTAL £1,107 following a donation from Thailand!!!

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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!