Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: May 2012

Sunday 13 May 2012

Training Walk 13.05.12

Got burned a bit on my arms today as I did the 16 mile walk I was going to do last week. It's basically the same Leicestershire 3 peaks walk I did in April, but with a couple of alterations. Took it slow and steady and managed to finish in about 7 and a half hours. The weather was great and I had fun today even though it was a long one.

I feel like training is going well, and even though I get achy legs and sore feet I am feeling a bit more confident about this long walk I've got planned.

The deer were on the move in Bradgate Park this morning

The War Memorial in Bradgate Park - Summit 1

I shared Summit 2 (Beacon Hill) with some horny beasts!

LOADS of bluebells out today

Beacon Hill trig point - Summit 2

Two cooling towers in the distance at Radcliffe on Trent Power Station? Today's factoid is: There's actually eight, but when it was built they were all aligned so only two would be visible from Beacon Hill

The only view I could get from the top of Bardon Hill - Summit 3

More cows giving me evils again!

At last, Bradgate Park comes into view and I'm on the home straight

Tunes on the MP3 player today included 'New York Girls' by Bellowhead and 'Think for a Minute' by The Housemartins.

The tune played on the Ukulele when I got home was 'Raining in my Heart' (I was cheerful really).

Check out the route here

Training Walk 13.05.12

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Have also arranged to go to Derbyshire for a weekend 'dry run' with dad at the end of June (29.06 - 01.07) - keep checking back to find out more.

Saturday 5 May 2012

Training Walk 05.05.12

I was going to do another 16 miler this weekend, but realised at lunchtime that Helen was going to a 'do' tomorrow and so I decided to get myself out this afternoon and pound some grass!

Thornton Reservoir today, just under 10 miles in less than 4 hours. Round the reservoir, across the fields towards Ratby, back up through the golf course, up to Bagworth and back round to Thornton.

Not sure what was nesting?

'anglers' backcasts' oo-er madam, sounds a bit rude! "Oooof! Mind me anglers' backcasts!"

Moody?

The waterfall - this one's for Lachlan

It was a good walk, and I only got rained on once at the start, and pretty soon dried off. Made good time with a few ups and downs. It was quite busy round the reservoir and it must be a popular place to walk.

Check out the route here.

Good tunes on the MP3 player today included 'The Riddle' by Nik Kershaw, 'A Little respect' by Erasure and 'iPM' on Radio 4.

The tune played on the Ukulele tonight was a slow version of 'Hot Tamales'.

Tuesday 1 May 2012

Thank you Eliza a.k.a. Batgirl!

Good news! Have broken the £400 barrier thanks to the generous spirit of our friends Sandra and Paul. They asked guests at their daughter's superhero birthday party to make a donation as well as giving Eliza a gift, and as a result, £35 was added to my total. Massive thanks to everyone who donated.

Check it out below - Happy 4th Birthday Eliza x. I may even consider walking the Coast to Coast wearing my pants over my trousers in true superhero style!

JustGiving

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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!