Unfortunately not in time taken order, but here are some of the many photos that were taken over the course of day 1.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
Kinder Scout - Day 1 (12.5 miles)
Good evening everyone,
After a 2 hr drive Saturday morning, I arrived at Little Hayfield meeting up with Graham, Debi, Jacob, Russ, Dawn and of course Lilly at 8:20am in the caravan site they were staying at. (unfortunately Richard couldn't make it due to illness).
It was a little drizzly but no ponchos were needed. Graham Smith's birthday weekend party set off around 08:30 for the first part of the walk of Kinder Scout, which took us up Middle Moor, and a hill Russ & I were not expecting to be as draining as we thought it would. (the long incline was the killer, not the steepness). We were then heading for Snake Path which runs parallel to "The Edge" of Kinder Scout. Before we hit Snake Path though we had a challenging adventure scrambling and criss-crossing up Hollingworth Clough which was lovely with Herron taking off up the ravine and the peaks in the background. This did also involve myself having a little "dip" in the water when crossing over on some slippery rocks (only my right foot went in) lol , and was very happy that the walking boots did the trick and kept my feet dry. We then had a 12' waterfall to tackle, which from looking at you wouldn't think anything of it......until going up the side of it with only soft peat to support you and heather to grab hold of! I actually thought my little dip earlier was going to become a bit more than a dip! Lilly was having great fun leaping from side to side.....along with Debi and Jacob. Once we had climbed up the ravine we headed for snakes path, which wasn't the easiest of walks through the thick heather of Mill Hill.
Snake path was a breathtaking walking with the presence of "The Edge" right next to you and Ashop Clough below you. The path started off on some paving slabs, laid down to help you across the very soft and boggy peat (can't imagine what it would be like if we have had more rain this year). It then narrowed to a single, rocky path above Ashop Clough and the further you went along the more the gorge shaped, and again the views were unbelievable(even on a cloudy day). The weather was holding off, and despite weather reports telling us of rain, we didn't get a drop, you could even see the sun trying to pop its head out.
The walk along Snakes Path ended at some woods and through the woods somewhere was The Snake Pass Inn, a very welcoming site to all.
After the half hr or so pit stop at the pub we ventured down to the beginning of wood moor where we stopped and had some Lunch by Fair brook. With the climb we were about to encounter the food/energy was definitely needed, but Russ, Jacob and myself were not realising the severity of it at the time. The further we went up the steeper it got and it was tough going for us all. (the pictures really don't give it justice) Once at the top though, again the High Peaks and surrounding views certainly made all the hard work very much worth it.
We were almost now on the home stretch for Edale, our halfway stop over for the weekend. This bought us round Blackden Moor, and by now the wind had really picked up, so made it a little more challenging going along the very edge at about 500m up.
Once on the home stretch for our first day we were coming down Ringing Roger and The Nab which was just stunning. We managed to get a view of where we would be walking the following morning, noticing that, a decent nights sleep would be very much needed. Before that though we had one last decent into Edale, and for anyone (inc myself before this walk) thinks that downhill is easy......well you will be in for a shock :-) By the time we got the bottom of the decent and onto a flatter part knees were shaking.... literally, this from burning off more calories than we had taken in. Edale is a very pretty village with all the houses built from stone and some fantastic scenery engulfing the village.
So end of day one, and what a day it was. Challenging, beautiful, intimidating, fun and tiring, but most of all it was thoroughly enjoyable. Everyone had now pitched their tents (some with improvisation) and had a bit of a power nap before the well deserved trip to the pub for some food and drink...once I eventually realised that there WAS actually more than 1 pub in this tiny little village after having to split from the group for a few mins :-D
I hope I haven't bored you all too much, but I couldn't just say "We all went to walk Kinder Scout had a great time, but shattered" The peak district just has so much to offer.
Pictures and Day 2 will follow soon
All the best
Andrew x
Lubenham and Foxton - Practice Walk
Today Paul and Richard spent a lovely, sunny morning tramping the fields around Lubenham and Foxton whilst the others were away on Kinder Scout. The morning started out frosty. Any shadows were deep in frost and Richards boots developed a layer of ice on them. After about an hour the Sun started making the morning very warm indeed. We took a break at Foxton Locks and put the gas burner to use making a couple of Earl Grey teas.
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| Lubenham and Foxton |
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Stanford Reservoir - Practice Walk
Five walkers set off this morning at 8 o'clock. Paul had devised a route around Stanford Reservoir (now Stanford Puddle). Five hours later we were hot and done in. It was a very good walk and the weather was wonderful.
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| Stanford Reservoir Walk |
Practice walk pictures 24-03-12
Hey peeps....
What a glorious day we had for this mornings walk, and the views weren't bad either :-)
It was quite sad to see Stanford Reservoir so dry, which just proves how dry our winter has been.
For the end of March.....it felt like the middle of July!
Stanford Reservoir
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Ullesthorpe Three Parishes - Practice Walk
Russ, Tim, Andrew, Paul and Richard all set off at 8:45 this morning to get a little practice walk done. It was generally damp and the Sun only started to peak through the clouds right at the end of the walk to dry us off.
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| Ullesthorpe Three Parishes GPS Track |
Saturday, 10 March 2012
More Pics
Just a few more pics from this mornings walk, which includes one Simon and Richard might be familiar with :-)
Practice Walk
Good afternoon all. 
A Gate in the middle of a field with no Fence........Russ decided he'd walk through.
Paul and Russ at Toys 'R' Us
Russ, Paul and myself set off this morning at 09:15 from Ullesthorpe post office to walk round the 3 parish walks through Claybrooke Parva / Magna & Ullesthorpe. We were 3 men light today, Richard on his wild weekend in Skeggy, Simon unfortunately has not been well, and Tim, well we were not sure what his plans were lol. It was a pleasant walk of about 11 miles which including a quick stop at the oak and the walk back home. The weather was terrific for walking, the sun appeared a few times which made the peaceful and picturesque scenery even more appealing. We will be looking to do this sort of length of walk each week to keep "fit" for when we tackle Hadrian's Wall :-)
A Gate in the middle of a field with no Fence........Russ decided he'd walk through.Paul and Russ at Toys 'R' UsAndrew
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Walk For Zoe's Place
Good evening all......
Just to keep you all updated on what my individual plans are for the walk. Although it was agreed that the group are not doing this walk for charity, it will be down to the individual if they so wish too. My place of work is at the Fortec Distribution Network, and their main charity (and my chosen charity) is Zoe's Place. (Zoë's Place Baby Hospices are unique and are the only "baby specific" Hospices in the U.K. and are a home from home for babies who have life limiting or terminal illnesses) I am really looking forward to the walk with the team in May and I'm sure I will be posting more blogs leading up to and during the walk :-)
Andrew
x
Saturday, 31 December 2011
The Next Walk...
Hello everybody,
Well, here we are again. The Three Men on a Walk team met on the 28th of December to decide which walk we were going to do next. The date had already been decided, Friday 25th May through to Friday 1st June.
We will be joined by three additional walkers this time: Paul Jackson, Andrew Spencer and Tim Duncan. These people will be used as spares in-case any of the others break down along the way.
Andrew was a very enthusiastic commenter on our Offa's Dyke walk, and watched our progress with glee. He so much wanted to join us that he is this time. Paul Jackson has been a keen runner for many years now, however as he is getting on a bit he decided to give up the running and take a slower pace walking instead (he doesn't know what he's letting himself in for). Tim Duncan has done long distance walking before, in his youth, and fancies having another go.
The proposed walks were: The Ridgeway (Chilterns to North Wessex Downs, 84 miles); Cotswold Way (from the beautiful Cotswold market town of Chipping Campden in the north to the World Heritage City of Bath in the south, 102 miles); Hadrian's Wall (Tyneside to the Solway Estuary, 84 miles).
After much deliberation we decided upon Hadrian's Wall. The distance is 84 miles, less that half the distance we attempted on Offa's Dyke, the weaker amongst us rejoice. We will be doing this walk over seven days. Paul decided that 84 miles in seven days with a 20 kg pack on his back wasn't challenge enough so we will be tacking a skirmish into the Lake District, and perhaps a jog up a mountain, onto our last day making eight days in total.
We're not doing this walk to raise money for a good cause this time although sponsorship will be up to the individual.
The website will undergo a design change over the next few weeks to accommodate our new walk and the Offa's Dyke stuff will be archived away but will still be accessible for you to read.
I hope you will enjoy our blog. If you have any suggestions on topics to be covered then please drop us a line at threemenonawalk@gmail.com or leave a comment on this blog post.
In the meantime, have some fun with our polls at the bottom of this page.
Richard.
Well, here we are again. The Three Men on a Walk team met on the 28th of December to decide which walk we were going to do next. The date had already been decided, Friday 25th May through to Friday 1st June.
We will be joined by three additional walkers this time: Paul Jackson, Andrew Spencer and Tim Duncan. These people will be used as spares in-case any of the others break down along the way.
Andrew was a very enthusiastic commenter on our Offa's Dyke walk, and watched our progress with glee. He so much wanted to join us that he is this time. Paul Jackson has been a keen runner for many years now, however as he is getting on a bit he decided to give up the running and take a slower pace walking instead (he doesn't know what he's letting himself in for). Tim Duncan has done long distance walking before, in his youth, and fancies having another go.
The proposed walks were: The Ridgeway (Chilterns to North Wessex Downs, 84 miles); Cotswold Way (from the beautiful Cotswold market town of Chipping Campden in the north to the World Heritage City of Bath in the south, 102 miles); Hadrian's Wall (Tyneside to the Solway Estuary, 84 miles).
After much deliberation we decided upon Hadrian's Wall. The distance is 84 miles, less that half the distance we attempted on Offa's Dyke, the weaker amongst us rejoice. We will be doing this walk over seven days. Paul decided that 84 miles in seven days with a 20 kg pack on his back wasn't challenge enough so we will be tacking a skirmish into the Lake District, and perhaps a jog up a mountain, onto our last day making eight days in total.
We're not doing this walk to raise money for a good cause this time although sponsorship will be up to the individual.
The website will undergo a design change over the next few weeks to accommodate our new walk and the Offa's Dyke stuff will be archived away but will still be accessible for you to read.
I hope you will enjoy our blog. If you have any suggestions on topics to be covered then please drop us a line at threemenonawalk@gmail.com or leave a comment on this blog post.
In the meantime, have some fun with our polls at the bottom of this page.
Richard.
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
Three Men and a Big Cheque!
Well, we've finally reached the end of our epic journey. The story started around a year ago when I had the rather mad idea to walk Offa's Dyke Path - one of fifteen national trails in Great Britain - in order to raise some cash for the folks at Woodmarket House residential care home in Lutterworth, the place where my Dad had died some years earlier.
"How hard can it be?" I said to Simon and Richard in the pub. "It'll be great!" They nodded agreement and 'Three Men on a Walk' was born.
As it turned out, it was incredibly hard.
177 miles doesn't sound all that far, particularly if you say it quickly, but, believe me it is, especially if you're going to walk it in one go - in 9 days and carrying a 20 kilo pack with everything you need to sleep, eat and survive for the duration of the walk.
We set off on 20th May 2011 from Prestatyn in North Wales, having decided to walk from north to south. At the end of day one, Richard was so exhausted - having had a bout of gastroenteritis a week before we set off - that he was unable to continue. The following morning, day two, and Simon pulled a muscle in his groin climbing the Clwydian Range and that was him out of the game too. Both, thankfully, decided to stay with me and get public transport from checkpoint to checkpoint, relieving me of some of the heaviest items in my rucksack into the bargain. As happy as I was that the lads were staying with me, it didn't get away from the fact that I was going to have to walk the remaining 165 miles on my own. And with only me left fit enough to walk, failure simply wasn't an option. If I was to arrive at Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow on my bleeding hands and knees, then so be it - we were raising money for Woodmarket House and an unfinished challenge meant no money!
Despite some pretty awful weather - torrential rain at times - and some really challenging terrain - the Clwydian Range, the Switchbacks and the Black Mountains to name but a few of the tough sections, Offa's Dyke is a beautiful walk through some of the most stunning scenery in England and Wales - it actually crosses the border more than 20 times. There were times during the walk when I was fed up, times when I wondered what had possessed me to take on such a challenge, times when I was soaking wet and certainly times when I was downright knackered! But for most of it, I can honestly say that I loved it - even the solitude, which actually gave me a lot of time to think about things I probably would never have had the opportunity or the time to think about in my everyday life. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the walk was life changing, but it certainly put a lot of things into perspective for me - an opportunity I reckon most of us could do with now and again.
I finally reached Sedbury Cliffs - some 182.5 miles later - at 3pm on 29th May 2011. The lads were there waiting for me along with my wife and daughter - I couldn't have been happier.
And as for the folks at Woodmarket - well, take a look at the photo below. The picture shows the three of us (sat on the front row before any of you crack a joke!) surrounded by some residents and staff at Woodmarket House. We raised a fantastic £2346-30!!! Every penny has been paid into the Woodmarket House Comforts Fund, which pays for trips out for all the residents, meals out, Christmas presents and so on. In fact, they are in the process of organising their first trip to Southend on Sea in the next few weeks!
Thank you very, very much to everyone who sponsored us - to raise over two thousand pounds was beyond our expectations and I am absolutely delighted that the folks at Woodmarket House will have a more comfortable and enjoyable year or so ahead thanks to your kind support.
So what's next I hear you cry? Well, watch this space - next year may just see the Three Men on a Walk pull their boots on, shake the grass out of their tents and head for the hills once more.
And do you know what? I can't wait!
Russ.
"How hard can it be?" I said to Simon and Richard in the pub. "It'll be great!" They nodded agreement and 'Three Men on a Walk' was born.
As it turned out, it was incredibly hard.
177 miles doesn't sound all that far, particularly if you say it quickly, but, believe me it is, especially if you're going to walk it in one go - in 9 days and carrying a 20 kilo pack with everything you need to sleep, eat and survive for the duration of the walk.
We set off on 20th May 2011 from Prestatyn in North Wales, having decided to walk from north to south. At the end of day one, Richard was so exhausted - having had a bout of gastroenteritis a week before we set off - that he was unable to continue. The following morning, day two, and Simon pulled a muscle in his groin climbing the Clwydian Range and that was him out of the game too. Both, thankfully, decided to stay with me and get public transport from checkpoint to checkpoint, relieving me of some of the heaviest items in my rucksack into the bargain. As happy as I was that the lads were staying with me, it didn't get away from the fact that I was going to have to walk the remaining 165 miles on my own. And with only me left fit enough to walk, failure simply wasn't an option. If I was to arrive at Sedbury Cliffs near Chepstow on my bleeding hands and knees, then so be it - we were raising money for Woodmarket House and an unfinished challenge meant no money!
Despite some pretty awful weather - torrential rain at times - and some really challenging terrain - the Clwydian Range, the Switchbacks and the Black Mountains to name but a few of the tough sections, Offa's Dyke is a beautiful walk through some of the most stunning scenery in England and Wales - it actually crosses the border more than 20 times. There were times during the walk when I was fed up, times when I wondered what had possessed me to take on such a challenge, times when I was soaking wet and certainly times when I was downright knackered! But for most of it, I can honestly say that I loved it - even the solitude, which actually gave me a lot of time to think about things I probably would never have had the opportunity or the time to think about in my everyday life. I wouldn't go as far as to say that the walk was life changing, but it certainly put a lot of things into perspective for me - an opportunity I reckon most of us could do with now and again.
I finally reached Sedbury Cliffs - some 182.5 miles later - at 3pm on 29th May 2011. The lads were there waiting for me along with my wife and daughter - I couldn't have been happier.
And as for the folks at Woodmarket - well, take a look at the photo below. The picture shows the three of us (sat on the front row before any of you crack a joke!) surrounded by some residents and staff at Woodmarket House. We raised a fantastic £2346-30!!! Every penny has been paid into the Woodmarket House Comforts Fund, which pays for trips out for all the residents, meals out, Christmas presents and so on. In fact, they are in the process of organising their first trip to Southend on Sea in the next few weeks!
Thank you very, very much to everyone who sponsored us - to raise over two thousand pounds was beyond our expectations and I am absolutely delighted that the folks at Woodmarket House will have a more comfortable and enjoyable year or so ahead thanks to your kind support.
So what's next I hear you cry? Well, watch this space - next year may just see the Three Men on a Walk pull their boots on, shake the grass out of their tents and head for the hills once more.
And do you know what? I can't wait!
Russ.
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