I had arranged to meet Jane and Nige at the visitors centre at Dunstable Downs to do a 7.5 mile walk called the Ridgeway Link. The walk goes along the Downs, around farms and villages ending up at Invinghoe Beacon - and then back the same route to the visitors centre making it 15 miles.
The weather has been appalling all night and there was no change this morning. The wind was howling and the rain flooding down so waterproofs were donned immediately on arrival.
The ground was absolutely sodden with mud everywhere and surface water running in streams along every path we followed. We skirted the edge of Whipsnade zoo, scaring a herd of deer from the bushes as we approached, and followed the signs pointing out our route. Along the top of the Downs the driving sleet started, giving us all red faces and literally taking our breath away. We stopped for snacks and comfort break - I can honestly say I have never had a call of nature in such inhospitable weather out in the wild. It was freezing!
Snack Time - look at that river of mud!
We soon discovered that all wasn't as it should be. It appeared that someone had been 'adjusting' the signposts along our route which meant we were not were we though we should be.
Fortunately Jane is a local girl as was able to lead us along an alternate route to Ivinghoe beacon. It was hard going climbing to the top as the mud and rain made for treacherous going but getting there was well worth it.
We decided on a more straightforward return route as time was getting on. Even that defeated us as we had to circumnavigate a large ex-RAF base. We were worried our cars would be locked in the car park at the visitors centre. Jane called her Mum who very kindly picked us up and ferried us back to our cars.
A very wet, muddy, tiring but rewarding day was had by all.
I awoke yesterday morning to torrential rain. We had planned to drive to Blissworth and carry on up the canal from where we had left off 2 weekends ago. I decided it would be more sensible to just go out and circumnavigate both lakes several times and then I could come in for a hot drink between circuits if need be. I woke Chris and told him to ring me when he was ready so that he and Neo could join me for a while.
No sooner had got to the south lake, the rain stopped and the sun cam out. By the time i gad got back to my start point, I was roasting. Chris and Neo had arrived to meet me, bringing my rucksack so I stripped off my waterproofs and we headed off.
I have a lovely picture of a rainbow over the lake which I'll put in later.
We walked round anticlockwise and when we got past the climbing centre, decided to head out into the Ouse Valley Park. It is a beautiful walk, through lovely fields along the river. The sun was shining and almost before we knew it we had reached Simpson. Chris fancied walking along the canal for a bit so we joined the canal and walked back to Peartree Bridge - cutting back across the Ouse Valley Park to Willen Lake.
What looked to be a very wet walk turned into a lovely sunny one (although the wind was bitter).
I haven't been very good at keeping up this whole training blog thing. To be honest, it's been a bit of a struggle to fit in training, organising fundraising and day to day life without all the other bits and pieces.
So, this is a catch-up which brings us up to Valentines Day.
No walking was done the weekend before last as we had visitors and Chris and Shannon were going to a gig with their friends so I resigned myself to just using the gym.
During the week I had a text message from my youngest sister Ed asking if she could join us on Saturday for a walk. We did wonder whether she would be able to force herself out of bed for an early start, and whether she would have walking gear but thought it would be nice to meet up with her. We picked her up at her friends early Saturday and headed to FennyStratford to start our walk from our finish point of a couple of weeks ago (the mad dog day!).
We were expecting this section of the canal to be a bit 'scummy' (for want of a better word) as the Simpson to Fenny stretch was covered in rubbish and graffiti. We were pleasantly surprised that it was the opposite and the majority of the stretch between Fenny and the outskirts of Leighton Buzzard are very scenic and quiet.
We hardly saw any other walkers but, nearing Leighton, there were loads of canoists. There is obviously a club nearby. The walk was very pleasant with reasonable weather and we were back at Fenny at 1pm, in time to drop Ed off at Raymond Blancs for a meal with her friends - Thanks Ed, it was fun.
Miles walked: 11.5
Time walked: 4 hours
Blister: 0 - but my boot has rubbed my right ankle due to me not doing it up properly.
Sunday 14th
Jane (from the Snowdon Team) had arranged tickets to the zoo so that we could walk circuits and build up our walking hours. We met at the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral at 9.30 in the snow and hail. It was freezing. I had planned to take my sticks with me to practice using them but realised as soon as I arrived that they were still propped up by the front door at home. Bugger!
Jane had kindly bought us all tickets using her Tesco vouchers so as soon as it opened, we went in to begin our circuits. We had all looked at the web and couldn't find anywhere which told you the distance around the zoo so Nige had borrowed a Garmin GPS device.
We started with a full circuit around the perimeter and then decided to do figure of eight type circuits ensuring we used every path possible though the zoo to make it more interesting. As we walked we were amazed by the inappropriate footwear that some people had on. It was freezing cold, extremely muddy and very wet but this didn't stop the parade of sandals, ballet slippers and incredibly high heels - weird!
Sadly, my boot lacing error of the day before gradually crept up on me and, by mid afternoon I was in a lot of pain. That, coupled wit the fact that Nige had to drive to Bournemouth, bought our walk to an end. It was great fun so thanks to Jane, Rebecca and Nige - hopefully we can fit in more walks before Snowdon.
Miles walked: 11.5
Time walked: 4.5 hours
Blisters: 0 - but one very, very painful ankle. No boots for at least a few days I think.
I had agreed to meet Jane (one of the group going to Snowdon in March) at the Whipsnade Tree Cathedral for a circular walk. I arrived in the bitter cold, glad that I'd bothered to put an extra layer on. The walk takes you around the Tree Cathedral and out onto the downs with an optional walk to the Five Knolls Burial mound.
The ground was completely solid, making going quite tricky in places. Despite the weather and the reasonably early hour, there were lots of people walking on the downs. The gliders were grounded due to the weather but that hadn't stopped the Para-gliders who were out in force.
It was absolutely freezing and began to snow as we reached the top of the downs. We managed to do two circuits of the walk and the Five Knolls bringing our walking distance to between 9 and 10 miles.
Time walked: 3hr 15 min Distance walked: 9 miles approx. Blisters: 0
