You Tube Video Uploaded

I've started work on all of the photos we took during the walk, that is all 2,500 of them!  I can't help but smile as they bring back memories of the wonderful times we had while on the walk.  Ross and I have only had brief opportunity to discuss or email about the experience.  I'm very lucky to have a great friend in Ross, who appreciates the simpler things in life like (me,) walking and looking and taking in the breathtaking beauty that is our wonderful country.  I hope we will have further opportunity to explore.

I had no ill effects from 12 days walking.  In fact I feel stronger and fitter than for years.  It is certainly a lot different from our "short" walk along the Staffordshire Way last year!  I have already bored everyone at work with my sunny disposition and gushing descriptions of the walk.  If it encourages just a few people to consider taking up the challenge of the walk, I am content.

I would encourage anyone to walk the route.  We saw literally hundreds of people along the route, many were older (but no less capable) than Ross and I.  They took it at their own pace and in their own style.  Many suffered for the pleasure that the walk brings.  Hats off to those that continued despite the blisters, sores and other injuries.  It is testament to the strength of will that some continued; I only hope that if I were put in the same position I would find the determination to carry on.

It is truly a wonderful experience.

I have uploaded a short video to You Tube.  Sorry about the music; if anyone can suggest more appropriate walking related songs I am making up some other slideshows.

If you have broadband there is a better copy available for download here.

Once you have it downloaded, run the .exe file and when the video opens click on Loop All.

Coast 2 Coast - Done

Well, the walk finished yesterday and I’m sat, on my own in a very quiet house and I’m reflecting on the last 12 days. I’ve already had the urge to get out on my bike and work up a sweat over 9 miles and get the legs working – I may even go out for a walk later!

I’m not sure I’m ready to fully articulate my thoughts about the walk, I think this is going to take some time to sink in.

My Mum asked me earlier “what would you do differently now that you’ve done it?” I replied “not take a pack of cards with me!” I can honestly say I wouldn’t change a thing and I would do it all again tomorrow. I even enjoyed the YHA’s and I don’t really mind the couple of blisters I got. This was a fantastic personal achievement and interestingly our overall total ascent of over 30,000ft is greater than the height of Everest. Now I know comparing the two is just silly, but it gives you and idea of the amount of climbing we have done. The Lakes were undoubtedly the highlight but I also loved the bareness of the moors. I loved brewing coffee everyday and flying the Staffordshire flag whenever we could. Graham was a star, a true friend.

The walk has completely ignited my desire to walk more and challenge myself more, but what next??

Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned is that I have an absolute love for my family and I have missed them terribly.

xx

The Walk Statistics

I've been crunching some numbers and come up with the following totals

Total miles walked (not including my early morning "strolls") - 192.4 miles
Ross's Steps (Mine would be less because I'm lankier) - 423,060
Stiles and gates negotiated - 301
Total Height Climbed - Over 30,000 ft

I'm still pulling data out of the GPS so will probably have more info to provide later.  I am currently transferring images (and have been for about 3 hours!).  Will get them up as soon as we can (hopefully where they were taken as well).

Day 12 - Photos Posted

Photos from the last day have been posted on the web album at http://picasawebalbum.google.com/staffswayinmay/c2cday12# .  Many thanks to everyone who has sent messages including Martin, ChicagoAddick, Heather and Steve, Emma, Val and Andy, Mark, Pat and Dan.  I really hope you enjoyed the blog and being able to follow our progress over the 12 days.

Day 12 - Report Posted

OK, the final report has been posted.  I have had to draw it together without Ross's help.  I am sure he will put his own view on the final day in time.

On reflection I am extremely proud of our achievment.  Had Ross not joined me (thanks Sarah, Rhys and Dylan), I doubt I would have had the fortitude and commitment to take on and complete the route.  What will I remember? Well everything really.  The best day was the walk from Rossthwaite to Patterdale; the view from Calf and Helm Crag into Grasmere will be with me for a long time to come.

There are still some photos to upload, and further reflection will be provided.  I also realise that there are a few typos to sort out and we also want to revise some of our accommodation reports.  We will try to do this in the next couple of days.

Day 12 - Robin Hood's Bay

We're sitting in Wainwright's Bar at the end of the walk, sitting with our families, content, tired, but utterly happy at completing the walk.

We will update the blog when we can.

Day 12 - The local view

We had a good last evening.  Met up with Ben who has been walking C2C for 8 days! He did Black Sail (day 2) to Paternal in a day.3 ranges climbed, respect.

Our final day. As usual I am up early and watching the preparations for the steam railway. This was wear some scenes of Harry Potter were filmed.

If we get a signal we will try to update the blog as we are walking.

Day 11 Report Posted

OK day 11 is up on its own page and photos on Picasa.  We are warn out after the best day's weather of the holiday so far.

Day 11 - I meant 30

Sorry folks slight typo. I should have typed 30 miles not 3. We do finish tomorrow.  Cancel the welcoming reception.

Day 11 - The view from our Window

A brilliant morning and the promise of two great days ahead. We are on the home stretch with under 30 miles to go. We descend of the Moors today and should be an easy day. Sun cream and glasses are the order of the day.

Day10 Report Posted

A day of ups....and downs.....and ups.... and downs, you get what we mean. Stunning views across Teeside to the chemical works. We were again fortunate with the weather, a few rain drops was all we experienced. The afternoon was dry and bright.

2 days to go........

Day 9 Report (finally) Posted

We are sitting in the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge but can't be bothere.... I mean haven't had time to collate day 10's report so have a look at day 9's first.

Day 9 - Richmond to Osmotherley

Back to no broadband signal, sorry to say.  We made the 26 mile walk across the Vale of Mowbray safely and in good time. Will hopefully add more details later.

Update

Hello all - its me again - No signal so Graham has asked me to update.  The lads are tired again! 26 miles today I think they are ready for their beds. All has gone well but Graham ran out of money for the pay phone so sorry but not much to say!!
Love to all.
Lorna

Day 9 - Reflections

Long walk ahead. We said goodbye to some great C2Cers last night. Our schedules differ so we won't see Dave, Andy and the gang, Bob and John, and not to mention Martin (2 dinners.

We trust they have a successful end to their walks.

Day 8 - Relaxing

It's not all hard graft. Here is the view from the boundary at Richmond CC. We are enjoying a relaxing afternoon watching cricket.

Curry tonight, then early to bed because It's 26 miles tomorrow.

Day 8 - Reeth to Richmond

A short "Stroll" into Richmond - we made it for lunch.  The report is now up and I have combined Days 1 to 4 to make space on the blog.

Day 7 Report

Day 7 Report is now available.  Link on the right.  We will be combining some of the earlier days reports together because of blog site limitations.

Day 7 - Keld to Reeth

A short walk made more interesting by taking the high level route through the old lead mine ruins.  We will update the report when we can get a better mobile connection.

We had a lovely surprise on arriving at the B&B with a small parcel waiting for us.  Thanks to you know who.  You have our undying appreciation.

Day 6 - From Cumbria to Yorkshire

A day of changes. We crossed the watershed and moved from the County of Cumbria into Yorkshire. We also crossed the Pennines and the watershed of the Country. From now on rivers flow towards the North Sea. he report is in, and pictures also uploaded to the web album.

We aren't getting many comments from folks. Are you still out there?

Day 6 - Halfway

We have just passed a sign saying we are halfway through the walk. Yippee

C2C Day 5 Photos

Some people have been having problems viewing the photos. Try this link to the photos are divided into days. check the other folders.

Day 5 - Report available

The daily report is available on the new page. This was a transitional day and we put on our game faces and ground out the miles at better than 3 mph. Compare this to the Lakes where 2 mph was the order of the day.

Special Report

The first blister has appeared, minute though it is, according to Ross.

p.s. We will need to tidy up the blog in the next couple of days as we only have 10 pages available for reports.

Day 4 - Postscript

We are enjoying ouselves! Here's the proof, sitting in the Kings Arms about to get our meal, which was large, flavoursome and totally satisfying. Thanks for all of the messages. Onto Kirkby Stephen and a return to YHA hospitality. At least we've got the Pink Geranium Cafe (for breakfast) to look forward to!

Day 4 - Patterdale to Shap (The lake District......DONE!)

Check out the new page with today's report!

Day 4 - Progress Report

On top of Kids Pike enjoying magnificent views as we drink coffee and eat cake.5 miles in, there is snow in the air. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else!

Day 3 ......actually it's Day 4

I'm sitting on a bench next to Ullswater at 6.30 am and I've finally found somewhere with a signal! Brilliant morning the sun is lighting up the fells behind me, blue sky, all's right with the world. The page for day 3 is now up.

Day 3

Lads are tired - a few hills were climbed today. Graham phoned on land line as no signals so asked me to post a message.  They are still in good spirits but not looking forward to sharing the night with 5 other travellers! They enjoyed their visit in Grassmere at lunch time but then had to start climbing again!

Lorna

Day 2 - Finished

Check out the new page and images for day 2's blog.

Day 1 - Success

Check out the pictures via the slideshow on the right and a new page Day 1

Farewell - Posted by Sarah

Well, after dragging myself out of bed at an ungodly hour for a Saturday, I have said my goodbyes to Ross. The boys didn't manage to surface - but then I don't think the magnitude of 2 weeks without him has actually sunk in for any of us yet. I have reminded both Ross and Graham that there are shops in the Lake District and that they do speak the same language, so if they have forgotton anything in their 50+ kgs of luggage, they can purchase it en route. I actually think they will be jettisoning items before the end of day 1! Men have survived for longer on only water and digestive biscuits.

So Ross and Graham, I can think of no words of my own which are more appropriate than this traditional Irish blessing, to send you on your way:

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you.

Sarah xx

What time do you call this....?

The alarm is ringing out, it's 5:20 am.  I've been watching the clock as it slowly approached the alarm time.  Never seem to be woken by an alarm!  Its damp and miserable at home, but there is a better forecast for the start of the walk. 

Just waiting for our lift, slight delay, it was expected!

I just know I've forgotten something........but what?

OK, all packed.  Last minute panic about having forgotten something.  I'm lucky 'cos I reckon Ross has everything, plus things to spare!  Now the only thing is to get a good night's sleep and try ro work out how everything is going to fit in the rucksack in the morning.  Something's got to give, either it's the primus stove and pots to boil up the water for Ross's beloved coffee or my camera. Hmmmm, difficult decision.

The latitude map at the bottom of the page will go live in the morning and as long as the phone has enough juice to keep going, and it picks up the GPS satellites, and there's a mobile phone signal, and...........well you know what I mean, it might work, but then again it might not.

To KMC or not

Should I have shares in Kendal Mint Cake?

Three days to go

A parting gift ........I mean survival kit from my favourite cousin.  As you can see it is only to be opened after the start of the walk, and only then if required.  Any suggestions as to its contents?  The box is 5" x 5" x 3" in size and weighs 11 1/2 ozs. and it doesn't rattle.

Also check out Ross's comment about my last blog - no more weather reports - it's not as though we can change it anyway!

A final meet, anit-pasta and paella

A final meeting to discuss the walk, made all the better for anti-pasta, paella and puddings to die for.  We must be ready, but I feel as though there are 101 things still to do.  Th mid range weather forecast is confusing; it all depends if you believe the BBC, the Met Office or Metcheck (I haven't bothered checking other weather forecasters, it would only add to the confusion).  Consensus is that the temperatures will be below normal, the wind will be coming from the north east and two of the three forecasters suggest light rain to herald the beginning of the walk.

We are now up to 4 followers, welcome all.

Ross has a first aid kit which would be the envy of a Premiership football club.  Foot care is an absolute must.  When we walked last year it was our feet that gave the most trouble; I'm sure my feet were more blisters than sound skin at the end.

We plan to start walking by 10 am on Saturday and the walk is relatively short on day 1 - about 13.5 miles so we should finish mid afternoon.

Can't wait.

Final Planning Stages

It's great to see that we have three followers on the blog - Welcome all.

I have added a new page about our Kit.  I absolutely refute any suggestion that I am taking a teddy on the walk with me.  While I can understand the deep psychological scars that can be caused to the youngest members of Ross's family if Dad does not take this item on the walk, I am almost 50 and I wan't have it said that I am a softie.

Really glad that we have had some rain.  My reasoning is that had the good weather continued it could have only got worse.  Now at least we have a chance of the weather getting better (fingers very firmly crossed!).

Packing woes

I’ve started packing and I’ve already had to change to a larger bag. This really is a step into the unknown and I can only make a guess on what I’ll need. I know I can wash en-route (well not literally while I’m walking, but you know what I mean!) but I don’t want to be spending my time washing stuff. Is 6 pairs of walking socks a reasonable amount to take??? I’m going to lay the contents out and take a photo – I’ll probably then have to have a cull and ditch the ‘nice to haves’.

We’re taking 2 first aid kits. 1 for on the move and 1 for patching us up when we’ve finished for the day. The larger of the 2 kits weighs in at a massive 2 kilos and I’m sure the contents would be good enough for a tour of duty in Afghanistan!

All exciting stuff but I’m beginning to have some thoughts about what it will be like being away from Sarah and the boys. I’ve not been away from them for more than a couple of days before, so there may be a few tears before bedtime (mine!!)

2 weeks to go

Just two weeks to go, WOW it'll soon be upon us.  I have added a new page which lets you know how to access some of the extras we hope to enhance our blog with as we walk.  I have been trying out a means by which I can "geo-tag" photos we take.  This then allows us to link the pictures via a map so you can see where we took each photo.

This link

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/albumMap?uname=Staffswayinmay&aid=5456168198013569169#map

takes you to the map page on the web album.

A Training Day in the Berwyns

From Coast 2 Coast with Ross and Graham

We haven't done much walking training recently. Our last walk was in March, and we aborted a climb of the Glyders because of a combination of snow/ice and cloud.

With the wonderful weather around at the moment we decided on an ascent of Cadair Berwyn, from Pistyll Rhaeadr. Not only that but a ridge walk before descending into Llandrillo followed by another ascent to Cadair Berwyn before a final descent to the car. The weather was brilliant, you could count the clouds we saw on the fingers of one hand. It was, unfortunately, very hazy and the expectation of seeing the mountain ranges of Snowdon were not realised.

The initial climb was through the Nant y Llyn valley, before reaching Llyn Lluncaws and then climbing on to the ridge past Moel Sych before ascending to Cadair Berwyn. We had already taken two hours to reach this point (about 3 miles) due to yours truly getting his navigation all wrong and taking in the majesty of the waterfall. We ate some lunch, had a brew of coffee and took the photo above.

After that we walked along the ridge northwards over Cadair Bronwen before joining the green lane into Llandrillo. The underfoot conditions varied and we got our first experience of peat bogs (is this what the conditions are like over Nine Standards Rigg?).

A quick drink in the Dudley Arms in the village and back on the trail. This time we took a lane up, climbing out of the valley and back onto a permissive route to Cadair Berwyn. This was serious hard climbing, over boggy ground which sapped the strength from your legs. The climb seemed never ending and regular stops were a must. As we came over each brow of the hill in front of us another one was revealed. We won't experience anything as extreme as this on the Coast to Coast.

We peaked out on Moel Sych and then "suffered" a steep descent to Pistyll Rhaeadr. We had decided to practice using walking sticks from Llandrillo and both agree that they helped a lot. The outside of my left knee started to ache on the descent and only got worse as we walked down the final path from the top of the waterfall to the car park.

We had been out for almost 10 hours, completed 19 miles, climbed 2000 ft at the start and then 2500 ft from Llandrillo. Sitting at home later that night I checked the elevation profiles of the Coast to Coast and realised that we had experienced a walk today that would not need to be repeated.

Map of the Route

5 weeks today we will have completed the first day of the walk.  I have just grossed out watching all 6 episodes of Julia Bradbury's TV programme back to back.  I now can't wait to start.  The map at the head of the page has been updated with our proposed route and details of our overnight stops.  It's also hoped that we can update the map with photos as we complete each day (although from my research mobile phone communication isn't very good so our blogging may be a bit haphazard).

A second page has also been added with some extra details of the schedule.

191 miles - Now that is a long way!

I’ve just had a sudden realisation that 191 miles is a blumin’ long way! A quick look at Google maps tells me that it’s the same distance as walking from my house in Stone, Staffs to Southampton or Sunderland. Gulp!!

30th March 2010 - Another year, another very long walk and another blog

Here we go again.  39 days and counting to another marathon walk, this time through the wonderful Lakeland Fells, and Yorkshire Dales and Moors.  Not this time for charity.........this is a holiday!

191 miles in 12 days. Starting at St Bees Head on Saturday 8th May and finishing, bodies willing, on Wednesday 19th May in Robin Hood's Bay.  We can't wait. 

The blog has been set up to record the walk, provide updates for family and friends, link to photos taken along the route and hopefully to get the odd message of encouragement if our spirits drop.  Through the wonders of the internet you should be able to see our progress on the map above. 

Please share this blog with your friends.  We will try to make the contents interesting.

Ross and Graham