Gary's Coast to Coast Walk 2012: Day 7, Half Way There!

Monday 13 August 2012

Day 7, Half Way There!

Sunday 12th August

Gary left Kirby Stephen at 8am this morning up the steep road out of the town heading for the Nine Standards Rigg.


Franks Bridge heading out of Kirby Stephen

The Nine standards are found 3 miles east of the town. They are found 662 meters or if you prefer, 2712 feet above sea level. Gary was full of trepidation as when he set off there was lots of cloud and mist. He was mindful that the advice is that if you're not able to see the tops of the standards at a certain point in the path then you should not go up but take an alternate route round instead.
By the time Gary had walked a couple of miles or so it had blown over so he headed on up.

The Nine standards overlooking Kirby Stephen

According to the Visit Cumbria website: " The origin of the nine "stone men" or columnar cairns on the summit, is a mystery, and some of the cairns, which are about 10 feet tall, are now in a perilous state. According to Wainwright, whose Coast to Coast route crosses the fell, they are very ancient and are marked on 18th century maps. One theory is that they were constructed by the Roman army to look like troops from a distance". You learn something new everyday! Today was incredibly windy blowing right into the face. Hard going. It began to ease a little on the downward track. Six miles walking through peat bog followed. Happily for Gary he again happened upon fellow Coast to Coaster Stuart, (see previous blog entries).

With Stuart stomping across 6 miles of bog

Although there hadn't been any rain here for over a week, Gary still found himself in it over his ankle at one point. He saw another walker who was well and truly in it up to his shins so Gary thought he'd got off likely. He and Stuart were again able to help each other out. Progress was slow. Stuart also stuck his hand in his pocket and gave Gary a donation for his charity. Huge thanks to Stuart for all his support, financial and otherwise. Eventually they spied the welcome sight of Ravenseat Farm.

Ravenscar Farm, a very welcome site.

The farm provides another traditional stopping point on the coast to coast route. The farmers wife serves refreshments and cake. Gary recommends her cream tea! Here Gary met his Dad, Alan who continues to provided support in all its many forms. It was here that Gary heard a voice say "Are you the bloke that's doing this for charity?" Gary promptly received 2 more donations! One made by John from Surrey a walking guide who is currently talking a party of walkers Coast to Coast and the other from another John from Australia, who's one of the walkers with the party. Fantastic stuff!, many thanks to both Johns.
The walk only crosses 2 counties, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. Today saw Gary cross the Pennines and on into North Yorkshire. A massive boost.

Half way! HOORAY!!

Up till now all the rivers Gary crossed had run west into the Irish sea. From now on all the rivers would run EAST to the North sea. I asked him how that felt, "Good it feel really good. I'm feeling really positive".

Wain force in Keld

Gary made it into Keld at 3pm. After a shower, change of clothes and short rest, Gary and Alan headed off to find a phone signal. Gary celebrated making it half way at The Black Bull in Naseby, which is located in the "middle of nowhere". Time to enjoy a Steak & Ale pie washed down with a pint of Black Sheep, which was billed as "Great Yorkshire Beer". Gary concurs!
Ukulele song of the day...Gary was unsure at that point having his mind firmly set on beer, pie and heading east..........

***TOTAL DONATIONS £1202!***THANK YOU ALL***. If you haven't already donated, it's not to late. Just click the Green button to the right of the screen to take you straight to Gary's Just Giving Page.

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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!