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.

Day 4

After a comfortable nights rest at the "excellent" Shepherds Crook Bunkhouse, (highly recommended), Gary set off at 08.45am bound for Patterdale, a mere 8.5 miles. Today was hot, (very hot) and sunny all day long. This meant only one thing, time to give those knees an airing as promised yesterday. Shorts definitely proved to be the most suitable attire of the day.

The walk started with a steady uphill slog up Tongue Gill from Grasmere.Half way up Gary was caught up by a fella from Newcastle also doing the Coast 2 Coast walk who told him the Lakes is the hardest bit, you have to climb a mountain everyday! Gary admitted he'd not really thought of it like that before. So Day 4 and mountain number 4 beckoned. The sun became very strong as Gary reached the top at 11am

Looking south west down Tongue Gill towards Grasmere

Gary had a short stop at Grisedale Tarn where he was passed by a very chatty group of Americans who were also walking the Coast to Coast with a guide. Gary made a conscious decision to keep to a steady pace today due to the heat.

Looking back up the valley towards Grisedale Tarn

The paths were much better than yesterday and the going felt a bit easier. On the way down the wind dropped which racked up the heat once more. A welcome stop for lunch half way down at Ruthwaite Lodge and enjoyed the view back up the valley, (see above).

Looking east towards Patterdale at Grisedale Tarn

Arrived in Patterdale and stopped for an ice cream. The ice cream proved a high point of the day as it was purchased from Patterdale Village Stores which is the shop where Wainright sold his first ever book. I can see Gary's smile from here! A short walk across the valley followed to the start point for tomorrow.  Destination reached at 2.15pm. Gary's gearing up for an early start tomorrow as he plans to cover 16 miles and has some serious uphill walking to do.

Huge thanks to Alan, Gary's Dad who's running support for Gary during the trip. There is no way that Gary would be able to undertake his walk without his Dad's support. We're both grateful to Alan for helping to make this happen x
Ukulele Tune of the Day "Here Comes The Sun", what else?!
****TOTAL DONATIONS £1,187****HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Day 3

"The hardest day so far" Gary set off from Rosthwaite at 8.15am heading for Grasmere, 9 miles in total. Although this was the shortest day in terms of miles it certainly proved to be no walk in the park!

Looking up to Lining Crag

Steep climb out of Borrowdale up Greenup Gill and behind Eagle Crag picking his way over some bogs and then a near vertical rock climb to Lining Crag. Once at the top of Lining Crag more bogs were waiting. Fortunately for him Gary met up with two other coast to coasters, Liz and Roger from Surrey and they were able to cross the bogs together, helping each other out with navigation. Much back tracking and muddy boots later the path down to Grasmere was finally located!

Climbing up rocks to Lining Crag

Looking west from Buttermere to Brandreth

The best thing about reaching the top after a very steep climb, (apart from the views), was that it was all downhill from here to Grasmere!

At this point Gary stopped for a lunch break whilst Liz & Roger steamed on as they were heading for Patterdale - 17 miles in total, Madness!, (in Gary's opinion). The path down to Grasmere was very boggy and at times disappeared. Gary headed on towards Grasmere picking his way across boulders and streams.

Looking west down towards Grasmere....

Today was really hot & sunny, plenty of slip, slap slop required. The terrain made it very tough going. Gary arrived at Grasmere at 2.30pm. Gary's hoping it's a bit flatter once out of the Lake District, which will be the day after tomorrow. Regular readers of the blog will know that Gary is a keen ukulele player and is a member of The N'Ukes, Leicesters Premier ukulele band. Gary's fellow band members have promised him sponsorship, but only if he plays his ukulele at every stop. Gary likes nothing better than a tinkle on his ukulele so is happy to oblige!! The last two evenings have seen play "Big rock candy mountain" and "Dream a little dream of me" Tonight's tune is "Hot Tamales". Gary offers his sincere apologies to his fellow campers!

Gary's quote of the day "Such a steep climb". Shortest day tomorrow, Gary tells me he may even wear his shorts!

Day Two

Waterfall next to Ennerdale water

Having stoked up the wood burner at last nights stop, Gary's boots, hat and jacket were dried off all ready for the off at 08.30am

Todays route was from Ennerdale Bridge to Rosthwaite, 15 miles in all.

I'm happy to report that conditions today were mainly warm and sunny. The day kicked off with a long flat walk along Ennerdale water having applied plenty of midge spray!

Gary having to follow the cairns along path.

Blacksail Hostel

Today's brew stop was Blacksail Youth Hostel (see picture above). Gary sat in the open for a welcome cuppa, just him, his tea and 3 sheep.

A steep climb then followed up the path to Loft Beck. The path at times resembled a river due to the heavy rain. Gary's walking poles proved essential at this point.

Looking west from Buttermere to Brandreth...stunning

Looking east from old slate mine tramway

 

 

Gary reached  Rosthwaite at 4pm making his average speed today 2 miles per hour. A close examination of his feet revealed the start of a blister, thank goodness for compeed! Shorter day tomorrow only 9.5 miles.
Today in a nutshell "Alot of Up"
******TOTAL AMOUNT RAISED SO FAR £1,147!!!!******

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!!!

Nearly there . . . 41 hours to go!

It's all packed up and waiting for my dad to come over and load it into his car so we can set off for St Bees.  You can't move in our hallway mind, for crates of camping gear, rucksacks and pots of porridge mix!

Got a lovely email from the National Director for the Miscarriage Association:-

Hi Gary

 

Here’s wishing all the very best for your epic walk. Team Gary has already made huge strides on the fundraising front, so now it’s on to the tough stuff.  I bet you’re so fit that the hardest climbs will be child’s play, but I suspect that even if there are times when you’re aching and exhausted, you’ll think about why you’re doing this walk and plough right on.

 

Here’s to you!!

 

Ruth and all at the M.A.

Thanks Ruth and all of your colleagues at M.A.  I don't know about the bit where it says I'm very fit.  Commited - yes.  Enthusiastic - yes. Prepared - yes.   A bit tapped - probably!  But Ruth is right, and it's been the same on my training walks.  Even when I've felt I can't walk anymore, I think about our two babies and somehow find a bit more energy to carry on.

I'm as ready as I'll ever be, just keep checking the blog for updates and wish me luck!

See you in Robin Hoods Bay!

TARGET REACHED - THANK YOU EVERYONE

A mahoosive thank you goes out to everyone who has donated  their very hard earned money to our cause, tipping me over my target and making the grand total raised so far

And I haven't even started yet!!!

We know times are hard for us all.  Everyone's generosity and support has blown me away and really spurred me on.

Don't forget, it's not over yet.  Here's what else you can do:

• Keep checking the blog to keep track of my progress over the next two weeks.

• If you haven't already you can still donate on the JustGiving page here.