Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: February 2012

Friday 17 February 2012

Training Walk #3 17.02.12

Wow - made good time today. Had changed the route for today to include a bit more road walking (it was a bit wet, the fields a bit muddy, and I still need to get a new pair of boots as my old ones are coming apart) and that helped to make it quicker. Road walking is good practise too, as there are a couple of sections of the Coast to Coast with quite a bit of road walking in. It is tougher on your feet too, as the road is not as bouncy as a nice unpaved footpath!

The weather started out with plenty of that 'fine rain, that soaks you through', but that soon stopped. Walked round Cropston Reservoir, up through Bradgate Park, through Swithland Wood and up towards Woodhouse, then cut across country to Swithland Reservoir, round and back past Rothley GCR Station and home.

I pushed hard and the pace paid off - I managed to average a mile in just over 22 minutes. You can check out the route on Runkeeper here at Training Walk # 3 17.02.12


Looking back towards Woodhouse as I cut across country

Crossing the Great Central Railway - no trains today tho!

Swithland Reservoir was lovely - had no idea you could drive all the way round it!

Back through Rothley - on home straight!

The more I get out walking round here the more I think how lucky I am to have such great walking on my doorstep. It's coming in handy now though as the training for my Coast to Coast challenge really starts to kick in. Next training walk in 2 weeks time. Better plan the route . . .

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Planning ahead

Been doing some more planning ahead:

Planned my next training walk for Friday 17th February. Ten and a half miles up to Swithland Reservoir, across towards Woodhouse, down through Swithland Woods, across Bradgate Park, round Cropston Reservoir and home. Last time I did just short of eight miles in 3 hours exactly, so I'm aiming for around 4 1/2 hours, with a reasonable pace.

Booked most of the accommodation for the trip. It has amazed me how many places will take a booking but do not want any payment until you arrive. Perhaps it's a northern thing? Anyway, only got a couple of stops left to book for. It feels like it's all starting to come together.

Need some new boots. Found a hole in my current pair the other day after my last training walk. They are quite old now though and have seen me through several walks, so it's about time I suppose.

Anyway, keep checking back and see how I'm doing. I'll post again after my training walk on Friday and I'll include some pics. Thanks again to everyone supporting me.

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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!