Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: LDWA100

  • LDWA 100 – Ian France (the Story of the 100)

    LDWA 100 – Ian France (the Story of the 100)

    “The best ice-cream ever, by friend and support Richard Davies. At 95 miles, after a day and half of hot weather”

    I’ve been pleased to post the accounts of a few entrants of the LDWA 100, their achievements have been incredible in some often difficult circumstances of walking 100 miles without the traditional support offered by the LDWA. This account is by Ian France, and he was successful in completing the 100 miles, as well as seemingly now being addicted by the event. I was happy to complete the LDWA 100 a few weeks ago, but I have to confess to not yet being addicted, so I’m again very impressed at how brave our entrants are   🙂  I like the hint about ginger as well, I’ve heard a few people mention that taking ginger in numerous forms helps ward off queasiness.

    Anyway, Ian’s account, and I like the music festival situation which could have been rather problematic….. And those stiles must have been annoying near the end.

    I fancied the idea of starting and finishing at home, such that there would be no driving. After some measurements, I determined that Settle was just the correct distance away, for an out and back

    My route was, cross fields to join the Lancaster Canal. Travel along the Lancaster canal towpath to get to the Preston terminus. Cross a few roads to join the Preston Guild Wheel. This was used to get to Penwortham Bridge, where the route joined the Ribble Way, which was then followed to Settle. I had a small loop around and back through Settle and then returned back along the same route.

    I even had a name. Many years ago whilst driving through the Yorkshire Dales, a relative had got a famous Tom Hanks film name wrong. I gave this route that name. ‘Sleepless In Settle’.

    The LDWA Y 100 Sir Fynwy web page stated what was required regarding evidence. I decided that as well as providing a completed evidence form, I would also provide witness testimonies, photos and a gpx track, from a tracker I had hired. The tracker worked very well, and people could use it to check on my progress and determine when and where to meet me.

    On the event I was blessed with plenty of help and support. A combination of West Lancs LDWA, my fell running club Bowland Fell Runners, and friends from work. I also had friends of friends along who I’d never met before. After all the Covid restrictions, people were glad to be outside taking part in something again. New friendships were made along the way, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

    I was well looked after and well fed, Soup with bread, Beans on toast, and a Chicken and Mushroom pot noodle, along with loads of tea and coffee. On the Cinque Ports 100 I discovered that watered down ginger ale goes down well and it certainly helped to settle my stomach when I got a bit queasy in the heat. I had another of my LDWA favourite foods, chilled melon. It also went down a treat, very refreshing.

    For the first third I was flying, everything went very well. But then the sun came out, it was hot, I wilted, I changed to a fast walk, and we sensibly gave up with my ambitious schedule. I was still moving fast and still enjoying it.

    In the evening we passed through a music festival near Gisburn, right on the route of the Ribble Way. We got some surprised comments as we walked past the queue of well dressed people waiting to go in. I remember wondering if I’d get back through, on the return, or if the bouncers we passed would stop me.

    I didn’t need to worry for on the return it had finished. It would have made a very interesting story for a DNF.

    Later that night I was treated to a memorable highlight. When the clouds cleared I saw the beautiful Pink Moon. I’d been reading about it recently and hoped I’d get to see it. There are some very special moments you only experience on night walks.

    For the last 15 miles my feet were very hot and sore, I was helped along (near the end) by the best ice-cream I’ve ever had.

    I kept on plodding on, one more enormous stile after another, one more step after another, the miles were counted down along the canal towpath and eventually I finished.

    It was certainly an adventure, it took me 35 and half hours. It was my 3rd (from the last 3) successfully completed LDWA hundred, and I’m now addicted to them.

    I’m now recovered and looking forward to next years.

  • LDWA 100 – Nick Rickard (the Story of the 100)

    LDWA 100 – Nick Rickard (the Story of the 100)

    A few weeks ago I posted (frequently actually) about my completion of the LDWA 100 and I’m delighted to be able to read the stories about the adventures that others have experienced on their attempts to walk 100 miles. Nick Rickard was one such successful completer and given that he was new to the LDWA, that’s a quite amazing achievement. And, not only that, he walked the actual planned route of the 100 in South Wales and he managed to add on a few extra miles as well. I’d say that’s a success.

    Incidentally, I love the bit about the elaborate hoax, that would have been some practical joke to play on people……

    Nick’s adventure is another entertaining and might I even say inspirational, account, of a walk not without its challenges. And given the solo nature of this walk, I’m very impressed. I would add that although Nick mentions the wettest Welsh spring on record, Dave Morgan would want me to add that it didn’t rain much on the actual event, nor on the weekend that it would have taken place last year   🙂

    Anyway, enough weather chat, onto Nick’s story of his brave experiences.

    I completed the LDWA Y Sir Fynwy as a virtual event over the late May bank holiday weekend.

    I’d joined LDWA a couple of months before and, with the lockdown restrictions, hadn’t had the opportunity to get out for any LDWA events. When I saw the LDWA 100 it caught my interest. Any the virtual format meant that I could enter without any qualifying events; if the event had gone ahead in ‘live’ format I wouldn’t have been able to do it this year as a new joiner.

    It was also only a short trip across the Severn Bridge from Bristol to Chepstow so it seemed a good idea to take on a route that others had already planned rather than coming up with my own. With not much free time in the lead up to the weekend, I hadn’t been able to study the route. I’d printed off and downloaded the maps, and had tried to plan my start time to hit towns in daylight for shopping so I was happy that I would be safe. But I would normally like to spend time poring over the map detail to understand where I might go wrong, where the hillier and flatter bits were, etc, so that I can spend more time enjoying the sights and experience.

    So feeling more tired than ideal and what is perhaps best described as ‘sub-optimal dietary functions’ I got a lift across to Chepstow school and was pleased to see two others there also about to set off which reassured me that this was real and not an elaborate hoax. I set off shortly before 6am on Saturday morning, immediately passing Chepstow Castle (above) and then out onto the Severn estuary. The first part was flat with constant views across the Severn bridges and I made really good progress. After Severn Tunnel Junction, the route turned inland and the climb up Gray Hill afforded great views back and a hazy view across to the North Devon coast.

    Pushing on through Wentwood and past some very friendly and inquisitive young goats – that were brave enough to lick my already slightly aromatic shoes – I made it down into Usk for the first stop where I topped up food and drinks at the local shops.

    I was pleased with the fast progress I was making and I was a couple of hours ahead of my hard target of getting to Abergavenny before the shops closed for the evening. It was warming up in the afternoon sun and was warm as the route roughly followed the Usk at low level through fields and woodland.

    Reaching Abergavenny, I took full advantage of the kebab shop and convenience store to refuel and resupply ahead of the next long and overnight leg, and spent a while in the glamorous surroundings of a bench by the car park after seeing it was a long and continuous climb on the road out of Abergavenny. The climb was rewarded with a beautiful ridge and panoramic views. Just after descending off this I came across a field of very friendly and very noisy pigs/hogs. It was fine in the daylight but I feared for anyone entering that field in the dark being confronted with a very unusual noise.

    On through Llanthony, with a water top up at the campsite tap, and it meant I could do the main climb in, just about, daylight which had been my optimistic target. So I was thrilled to only be putting the headtorch on as I was on top of Hatterrall Ridge and it was lovely along there and the following descent into Longtown.

    It was from here that I started to struggle. The, erm, digestive issues, had not gone away and, accompanied by a glitch on my phone mapping app, my nighttime navigation on the paper maps was slower than I wanted. I knew this was a long and unrelenting stretch and morale definitely dropped. I made some silly little navigation mistakes. Especially in Pandy where I spent ages in the housing estate trying to find the way out of the urban maze and wondered how many other residents had been and were yet to be woken by tired people stumbling up and down cul-de-sacs.

    The wettest Welsh spring on record conspired for some very slow going fields across the rolling farmland. Whoever in the South Wales LDWA had come up with the idea of small silver reflectors on gateposts, and then going out to physically fix them, was a big help as in some cases it made it easier to cross a field at night compared to day as the target stile reflected back immediately in the headtorch beam rather than trying to pick out which gap in the hedge might be the right one. Especially as the mud meant that there was little trace of a worn path on the ground. Despite being a good night towards the summer solstice, the night section went on far too long for me, possibly not helped that the section I found myself in from Pandy to Monmouth was perhaps the least distinctive.

    Daylight brought a lovely sunrise and cloud inversion. By now I was finding the negative in everything so my feet which had previously been wet from all the mud were now wet from all the dew on the long grass! I could feel that so many hours in wet socks was starting to take it’s toll on my feet and then were beginning to feel quite tender.

    By chance, a friend of mine was camping on the route about 5k short of Monmouth so as it was now daylight I called in there for a cup of tea and water top up (I hadn’t eaten overnight and knew I wouldn’t eat again before the finish) and got some company on the leg to Monmouth which was really needed as I was struggling to keep any sort of a pace. We met a man in Monmouth who had just finished and I was equal parts happy and jealous knowing that it was a long and increasingly hot and hilly trudge back to Chepstow.

    I didn’t enjoy the Monmouth to Chepstow section at all. I was getting slower and slower on my tender feet and unfortunately was too focussed on trying to move forward without making navigational errors that I didn’t pay any attention to the scenery. Texting my lift about estimated finish time saw the target move ever outwards. I was grateful that quite a lot of this was in shade as my now the midday Sunday sun was making for a very warm day. It is probably an unfair perception brought on by my tiredness, but I felt the last bit was rather brutal and whilst off the beaten track perhaps missed some of the sights that the Wye Valley has to offer. Maybe it wouldn’t be the same but I pondered whether an easier run in might have been a better choice.

    But I eventually got through Tintern and back to Chepstow school by late Sunday afternoon prompted by the thought of a former friend and his legendary pointy stick that he used to cajole backmarkers into forward progress.

    With my navigation errors, and a deliberate detour to see the tunnel entrance at Severn Tunnel Junction, I clocked up just over 105 miles against an advertised 100.8miles. Better value for my entry fee!

    I’m really grateful for all the effort that went into the route and event planning and it’s such a shame for South Wales LDWA that they couldn’t have hosted this for real. It was nice to see some other LDWAers and their support crew out as virtual company on my way round. I’d recommend the last leg of Monmouth to Chepstow for anyone wanting a vigorous c20 mile workout.

    After shower, kit wash, and bed, the next morning was spent trying to pull my photos, route, and waypoints into the evidence pack required by the validation team. Certainly a learning point for me here. Other virtual events I’ve done have been either on honesty or, for podium prizes (which I never trouble!), a Strava/Garmin gpx track. So having only skim read the evidence email beforehand, I was surprised by the amount of information required by the validation team. Thanks go to them for what must be a very extensive and thorough exercise, and I hope I got enough photos on the way round to support my solo submission; fingers crossed.

  • LDWA 100 – The Results

    LDWA 100 – The Results

    I think that this will be the only time that I’m ever second in an LDWA event and even now it’s just temporary.

    https://ldwa.org.uk/results/full_results.php?event_id=243

    Thanks to the lovely validation team of the LDWA 100 committee who have checked my GPX file, photo evidence and witness testimony. The main event takes place this weekend, when I’ll drop down to about 300th. But, it’s not a race…..

  • LDWA 100 – Training Walk 15 (Wells and Fakenham Railway and Shut Pubs Meander)

    LDWA 100 – Training Walk 15 (Wells and Fakenham Railway and Shut Pubs Meander)

    This was our fifteenth walk in preparation for the 2021 LDWA 100.

    WALK NUMBER: 15 (Wells and Fakenham Railway and Shut Pubs Meander)

    DISTANCE COVERED: 19 miles

    NUMBER OF NATHAN’S FRIENDS WE “ACCIDENTALLY” BUMP INTO: 0

    SUFFICIENT BEER CONSUMED: No (but better than previous visits)

    PUBS VISITED: 2 that were open, 3 that were closed

    WEATHER CONDITIONS: Warm and too sunny

    ATTACKED BY ANIMALS: No

    NUMBER OF SNAKES SEEN: 0

    This was our last longer walk before the LDWA 100, we’ve got just one short walk to recce part of our 100 route left now. It’s getting really quite close, but more about that on this progress update of LDWA entrants.

    I arrived at the bus stop at Anglia Square nice and early, giving me chance to have a Greggs, have a little sit down and then calmly wait for the bus. Nathan turned up about eight seconds before the bus arrived. I don’t know how people don’t get stressed doing that, my friend Liam is the same.

    We had decided that we’d have a Wetherspoons meal to start the day off, which is a traditional breakfast and refillable coffee in The Limes in Fakenham. I was very annoyed that the egg wasn’t particularly good on my breakfast, primarily as Nathan’s egg was far better. But, life’s too short to dwell on such things and I’d calmed down within three hours which shows just how I’m able to put these things into perspective (although I’ve got post-annoyed now writing about it).

    Nathan was keen to get going after we’d finished our meals (his with a delicious egg and mine with a less delicious egg) so I didn’t even get a second coffee, but I didn’t say anything. Nathan of course had more energy than I did as he had been given a very delicious egg for breakfast. Incidentally, and of relevance to nearly no-one, you don’t get a tomato (or half a tomato as Dave Morgan would point out) on the traditional breakfasts anymore, unless you order the vegetarian option.

    The walk started by going through Fakenham and this little arrangement didn’t seem ideal near to the church.

    Robins, which I decided were a sign of something. I was hoping they were a sign at the spirit world’s annoyance that Nathan got a better egg than me at breakfast, but I think they were guiding us in a different way. Nathan mentioned that ideally I’d only take five photographs, and I thought he meant in any one spot. But he meant all day. Anyway, I ignored that as I’ve got a blog to write.

    I’m not entirely sure what delights this once held.

    We had some good fortune here, and perhaps that’s related to the robins. Komoot had failed us and tried to send us down some paths that weren’t public rights of way, and indeed, which had big signs saying that they were private. We wondered whether we could sneak through this gate, but thought we probably shouldn’t as it appeared it might be the garden of this former railway crossing building. By good fortune though, the property owner shouted over that we could walk down there, which meant that we got to see the delights of the former Wells to Fakenham railway line.

    And here it is, the track has been lifted, but the route is clear.

    This is a map from the 1920s (ignore the cursor) and Fakenham is in the south and Wighton (where we were heading) is towards the top of the map. Wells is just to the north and that stretch of the line is still in place to Walsingham, which is used by a heritage railway. The line had opened in 1857 and was closed to passenger traffic in 1964, although remained open to freight until the 1980s. If it had remained open as freight just a few years longer, then it might perhaps have had a chance of being returned to passenger usage, but that ship has most definitely sailed now.

    Some rather major construction work has taken place here to plough the line through one of Norfolk’s hills, I have a lot of respect for the speed in which the Victorians built these lines.

    The line carried on and we saw pretty much no-one all day walking down here. I can’t think that this line would ever be reinstated, but there are very few technical obstructions that would prevent it.

    This is the ford that crosses over to North Barsham, fortunately with a little footbridge option. There’s a short stretch of railway line that is inaccessible here, as Nathan discovered on the way back when he tried to walk down it. I didn’t bother trying, it looked too thorny for me.

    All Saints Church at North Barsham, which I wrote about separately.

    Some of the bridges along the former railway line were still in place, but this one has been removed.

    The Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham.

    As noted on this sign, part of the former railway line has now been turned into the Pilgrim Way, a permissive footpath.

    This is the location of Walsingham railway station, which was in use between 1857 and 1964. There’s another railway station in Walsingham now, used by the heritage railway.

    The railway station was purchased by the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1960s and they still use it today for services.

    I had hoped that we could walk down a footpath by the side of this narrow gauge heritage railway, but there isn’t a footpath and the railway has locked the gate. But, this is the start of the heritage line that goes from Walsingham to Wells. That meant the section of the walk to Wighton was on the road, which wasn’t the most exciting stretch of the expedition. We had anticipated that the walk might be a little colder as there would be some wind from the North Sea, but there wasn’t and I thought it was too hot.

    Nathan had planned our walk to end at Wighton, and although we had wanted to walk further, we were confined by the times of the buses. This gave us time to look at All Saints Church in the village, which I’ll write about separately as there’s a lot I want to say. There was a little incident here when the tower fell down in 1965 and collapsing towers seemed a common theme of the churches we saw on this walk. The cost of repair was simply too high for the church, so the tower (or what was left of it) was made safe and normally that would have been that. However, a man named Leeds Richardson in Canada noticed what had happened as he had traced his ancestors to the church, and he decided (with ridiculous generosity) to fund the repairs.

    The interior of the church.

    We then popped into the Carpenters Arms in Wighton, where the service was friendly and the beer was refreshing. There’s perhaps more that can be done with the beer options, but they proved sufficient for our purposes. We were tempted by the food options, as they looked delicious judging from other tables, but we decided we’d see what was available in other pubs. That wasn’t perhaps our greatest ever choice.

    This is something of a remarkable survivor as a pub, so many are lost because they’re turned into residential properties. Even more surprisingly, the village had three pubs in 1910, but for a period in the early 1980s it didn’t have any. The Carpenters Arms then re-opened in the mid 1980s as the Sandpiper, but was renamed back again in 1997. The pub has shut for another two periods since then, but has been transferred from being an Adnams pub to being free trade.

    We then walked back along the road and I’m not sure when I last visited Walsingham, but it’s not in recent years, and it’s an attractive place. It’s a place of pilgrimage and I can imagine that it gets much busier in the summer months.

    The well at the The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. I hadn’t particularly planned to go in here and I mentioned this to Nathan, who a little too sardonically for my liking said “but yet, here we are”. This doesn’t translate to text very well, but it was one of his better quotes if I’m being honest.

    The Bull Inn in Walsingham, which was closed.

    This was listed on the town’s map as a pump. It might well be a pump, but that’s a clearly lock-up for raucous locals (in the past, I think Walsingham is a bit too salubrious for that today).

    The Black Lion Hotel in Walsingham, which was closed.

    I didn’t say anything about Nathan’s sun protection device.

    This is the rather delightful, and entirely not understated, East Barsham Hall which is a Tudor mansion house that was ruined by the nineteenth century. Against the grain, as this was a period when country houses were being knocked down at a rate of one per week, this hall was fixed up again in the 1920s and has remained as a substantial residence since then. David Mitchell wrote a Guardian article about it, I can imagine it’s not the worst place to live, but the upkeep isn’t going to come cheap.

    This is the former Primitive Methodist chapel in East Barsham which opened in 1887 and I struggle to see how they managed to get enough people to attend given the limited number of people who lived in the village. The history of the Primitive Methodists, which I’ll drone on about another time, is intriguing and they did attract many agricultural workers, which is perhaps how this worked. Anyway, this chapel didn’t last into the second half of the twentieth century and it is being heavily reconstructed into what I assume is a residential property.

    The Barsham Arms, who decided not to open, but not update their web-site or correct their hours on Google as most other pubs have managed to do. I consider this a little unfortunate, it makes it hard for people to support the pub trade. Anyway, this caused a problem for our plans, although it gave us more time in Fakenham.

    The closure of the Barsham Arms also gave us more time to look around All Saints church in East Barsham, but more about that in another post as this was another church with some considerable history.

    Retracing our route along the former railway line, that meant we arrived back into Fakenham with a couple of hours to spare, and we wondered how busy the Wetherspoons would be on a Friday evening. Quite busy was the answer, but there were tables spare, so we decided that this was our best option. The fish & chips with a pint came in at £8 each, a price point that it’s hard to complain about and the food was perfectly acceptable. All rather lovely.

    Brewdog Punk IPA and this is quite a suitable drink after having walked 20 miles or so, refreshing and with some tropical fruit tastes.

    On another matter, there was then the exciting bus debacle on the way back, but I’m satisfied with First’s response on that so we won’t dwell on that.

    As mentioned earlier, this is the last long walk that Nathan and I are doing before our LDWA 100 effort on the first weekend in May. We’re trying not to think about it too much, but I wouldn’t say that we’re particularly excited about walking the bloody thing. We haven’t done any very long distances as training, as the lockdown made that too difficult to organise, so whether we can make the step up to 100 (excuse the pun) is perhaps unlikely. But we’ll try our best…..

  • LDWA 100 April Update

    LDWA 100 April Update

    It’s now just two weeks until Nathan and I undertake our really very brave, and indeed some might say (including us) foolhardy, LDWA 100 effort. This will involve walking 55 miles (it’s actually 100, but we might not finish as we’ve seen how far 100 miles is) and then having a lie down whilst thinking of credible reasons to explain to Dave Morgan why we haven’t finished. Please do message me with any good suggestions, I was thinking I’d say that Nathan got hit on the head with a golf ball. The only thing is that we don’t walk by any golf courses and I just know Dave would check. For those who want to read more about the LDWA 100 and our previous training walks, there’s a heap of stuff and other interviews available.

    Nathan and I walked 20 miles on Friday, more about that separately tomorrow, but we managed rather well we thought. We’ve been in training for the eating and drinking element of the LDWA 100, and also the complaining side of stuff. So we’re fully up to speed there and we feel that other than the physical challenge and the mental challenge of the 100, we’ve covered all bases. We don’t really feel ready at all, we just keep walking and drinking and hoping that it all comes together. We’ve sorted out in our minds the route, the food, the support team and we’re going to get as far as we can. We’ve promised that we won’t give up easily, we’ll always try and go the extra mile (literally, that isn’t some customer service thing) and see what happens. To be honest, we think we’ll know what will happen, but we’re open minded. We’re also both expecting to retire from walking after this walk, as even the thought of it is exhausting us.

    Anyway, enough motivational messages from me,  I’ve also wanted to get an update from those in training for the 100, and here are some of their stories.

    Chelle, for reasons she suggests I shouldn’t ask about, was walking 18 miles a day in March (there’s no reason to do that distance, but there’s no telling Chelle that), which is just what I expect from our brave members in Norfolk & Suffolk. Unfortunately, she’s had problems with plantar fasciitis and she says “I have insoles, compression socks, ice socks, night splints and a pharmacy of supplements”. I’d add that this isn’t a rare problem in long distance walking, although I’ll likely just retire from walks if I had that problem as I’m not quite as brave and determined as Chelle. She is still though planning to complete the event in May, and I’m entirely confident she’ll just breeze through.

    In the above photo is Chelle and an impromptu checkpoint she set up for four others in Norfolk & Suffolk group who were walking fifty miles as part of their training. As Alan Partridge says, so ruddy, bloody brave.

    That leads me neatly onto Simon, as he was one of those 50-mile walkers and here’s his photo of that checkpoint that Chelle kindly set-up. Simon didn’t say in so many words that I am his walking inspiration, but he’s sort of vaguely hinted at that. He’s really got into camping recently, so I look forwards to hearing about those expeditions into the countryside with his very brave dog and the lovely Jane. He notes that he has been doing regular 18 to 20 mile walks, in addition to the 50 mile walk around the Suffolk coast. He completed the 30-mile Boudicca Way walk this weekend and then with a few more training walks he’ll be ready to complete his St Edmunds Way 100 at the end of May.

    Look at that determination in Simon’s eyes…..

    Tim has the added excitement of not knowing where his walk will be as his second grand-daughter is arriving soon and so his walk might not be the Exe 100 route, but a replacement route in Thirsk. There are some nice pubs in Thirsk, so I can think of worse places. Tim’s training is going well and he’s been following the monthly challenges run by Nicky and Julie, so that’s helped get his mileage up, along with Annette from Cornwall & Devon group who has put on anytime events.

    Some of Tim’s photos above from his training efforts. Between you and me, Tim seems really competent and organised…..

    That leads me straight onto Dave Morgan who is definitely competent and organised. He writes:

    “I have been out on a few walks where I have walked more than 30 miles. I’ve also backpacked in the Brecon Beacons and Carneddau with a full backpack which has been good for my strength. But, overall, I haven’t done anything more than I normally do. I simply walk every day and try to do at least a 20 miler ever weekend as I know that if I do this it will be enough. 99% of the 100 is a mental challenge and not a physical challenge. I’ve done 850 miles since January 1st and I know that this should be enough (as long as I avoid injury) to get me around the route I’m doing.”

    Just as a comment on this, it’s mid-April and he’s walked 850 miles. That’s just attention seeking if you ask me, if to show what a walking professional he is. I hope he remains calm and collected on the weekend of the 100 when he phones me up half-way round and I explain my reason for why we had to retire at about 8 miles. I might not tell him directly, I might just message his wife Gill, she can break it to him gently.

    Kathy has had a bit more drama in her efforts, the sort of thing that would happen to us if I’m being honest:

    “My training was going well – regular long walks, increasing distance. But, on 3rd April I set off on a 26 mile round trip around the Thames with my friend Ginika. In the woods on the Thames Path between Goring and Whitchurch I tripped over a tree root and fell heavily. My right arm felt funny. We walked to the road at whitchurch and Ginika phoned a taxi to take me to A and E. I’ve broken my right arm in an awkward place and I’m due to have it operated on on Friday, which I am assured is the quickest and best way for it to heal.”

    It’s not ideal, but she’s bravely restarting training soon.

    Caroline has achieved something I’ve never done, which is to be escorted on a walk by firemen……

    “Training is progressing well, and much more cheerfully now we can meet up in sixes! Over the last 2 weekends all 8 of us have had a bash at a 50 miler. The first weekend was blighted by an unexpected blizzard in the night and the second weekend we nearly had to divert around a vehicle fire, but Lancashire Firemen ushered us through when it was safe. I don’t think they were expecting 5 walkers with headtorches to appear out of the darkness!

    Lessons were learnt from doing the longer distance. For me it was not to put my hand down on stinging nettles. Laughter was definitely a great motivator and distractor from any aches or niggles. Having the support of the group, looking out for each other really helped, as did well timed cake! With 6 weeks to go, a mild panic is setting in. We still don’t know whether we will make it on the day, but our training continues. Even if we don’t finish, we will all have given it a jolly good try. And had some fun and giggles, pies and cake whilst preparing.”

    And last, but not least of course, is Julie, the national chair.

    Some of the ploughing through the undergrowth in Julie’s training for the 100 and she can’t be far behind Dave Morgan with her brave efforts. She walked nearly 30 miles today and much of that alone, which shows great resilience as I get distracted and pop into a pub if I am left alone on a walk…

    For anyone else who wants to enter the LDWA 100, there’s still time and it’d be great to get to 400 entrants as we’re currently at 397. The walk takes place on 29 to 31 May 2021, but Nathan and I, plus Dave, are walking on the first May Bank Holiday. That’s because Dave’s making a video of our walks to show to the other 395 entrants. His will show how to walk the 100 professionally, with energy and with determination. Our bit of the video will be full of edited out swearing, complaining, lying down, binge eating KFC and sulking. But, what could possibly go wrong?   🙂

  • LDWA 100 – Training Walk 14 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 2)

    LDWA 100 – Training Walk 14 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 2)

    This was our fourteenth walk in preparation for the 2021 LDWA 100.

    WALK NUMBER: 14 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 2)

    DISTANCE COVERED: 15.5 miles

    NUMBER OF NATHAN’S FRIENDS WE “ACCIDENTALLY” BUMP INTO: 0

    SUFFICIENT BEER CONSUMED: No (all the pubs are shut)

    PUBS VISITED: 0 (not through choice)

    WEATHER CONDITIONS: Warm and overcast

    ATTACKED BY ANIMALS: No

    NUMBER OF SNAKES SEEN: 0

    One of the projects that we started in early January was an attempt to find the source of the River Wensum. We sort of know where the source is, but it’s more exciting to actually walk to it. Our first effort was just over 15 miles and this effort was nearly the same distance, so all credit to Nathan for planning this route. He made relatively few mistakes and I was very impressed. Public transport planning was less impressive on his behalf, but I don’t intend to much mention that as I’m not one for negativity.

    We started this little expedition at 08:30, getting the bus to Costessey to begin the adventure. I say adventure, but I’ve just watched a video on YouTube of someone (Anton) climbing Reactor 4 in Chernobyl and it’s not exactly the same level of challenge as that I admit….

    This was our end point on the last walk, the heart of Costessey, the jewel of the Norwich suburbs.

    The former Red Lion pub in Costessey.

    I thought that this was an interesting tree, but Nathan muttered something about how I was faffing about taking photographs early on during the walk. I ignored him and took photos anyway, as I have a blog to write whilst he sits at home drinking beer in the evenings.

    A frog crossing, or maybe a toad crossing, I’m not entirely sure how they differ.

    And it was nice to see the Wensum River again, since that was the point of this walk.

    This bridge is just outside Taverham and it also makes a little appearance in a walk that Liam and I did a few weeks ago.

    We didn’t go into Taverham itself, but backed up a little bit and we started to walk alongside the river at Ringland Lane.

    Some lovely swans opposite Beehive Lodge.

    The Swan at Ringland, a pub which has been trading since the 1930s. This would have been a lovely spot to have a little drink whilst planning the next part of the walk, but it’s not long until pubs re-open. We thought this numerous times during the day, but it really isn’t too long now.

    We walked down to the river here to Ringland River Green and that’s the bridge over the Wensum on Ringland Road.

    There were lots of rope swings. I didn’t go on them, they didn’t look very secure and I didn’t want any incidents as I didn’t feel that Nathan would have taken my plight with sufficient seriousness.

    What looks like some very new signage for the Walsingham Way, and I now feel the need to walk that at some point. It seems to be a work in progress and there’s further information at https://walsinghamway.blog/.

    A beautiful little lamb. It’s a meat I try to avoid now as I feel guilty having seen too many cute lambs in fields. It’s all a bit hypocritical really since chickens are cute and I eat them, but I suppose it’s important to take a stand on a few things at least.

    This beautiful landscape is what Norfolk County Council are considering putting a road through, the Western Link Road. It’s not for me to get political (well, no more than normal), but it strikes me as rather a shame if that happens. Public transport really isn’t ideal in this area, much more needs to be done to improve it.

    We had to cut across a field near to Wensum Valley golf club here and I was a little concerned that we’d plunge into the marsh. Fortunately, it was just about all dry enough to walk over, but I suspect it might be out of bounds during the winter months when it’s all quite moist.

    The bridges are in a good state of repair though and there are a few here, connecting Ringland onto the Norwich to Fakenham Road.

    No need replacing the old sign, shove another one on top.

    The River Wensum is back, with a friendly farmer at the end of the bridge putting up his cows in field sign. I’m pleased that we avoided those, as it’s fair to say that Nathan and I don’t find cows in fields to be in the slightest bit pleasant. They’re big lumpy things which always look like they’re going to charge at me (the cows I mean, not Nathan).

    Standing on the bridge looking at the River Wensum in the Norwich direction.

    I thought that this was a thoughtful little sign as I had wondering what all the firing noises were.

    A little valley, although all of this land is private (despite Komoot trying to route us through it).

    This is the bridge on the A1067, which bypasses Attlebridge.

    The old road bridge at Attlebridge, there are two separate bridges which are both now closed to vehicles.

    The second of the bridges, from which the village takes its name. There has likely been a bridge here since the medieval period, but a stone bridge was constructed in 1668. This bridge was in turn replaced in 1913, with the new one being quite mundane, but apparently some of the stone from the older bridge is still underneath. I have to confess that I didn’t have a little look.

    When I was here a few weeks ago I didn’t come down to look at the bridges, so I was pleased to see them this time. It must have been quite a challenge for vehicles before a bypass was constructed, there doesn’t seem to be much space here to pass.

    Interesting place for such a sticker, on the old Attlebridge bridge.

    This is St. Andrew’s Church in Attlebridge and the stone in the niche on the left-hand side of this photo contains stonework found by the old Attlebridge crossing. It’s thought that this stone was once the plaque that sat on the parapet of the bridge, which suggested it was a much grander affair than what is there now.

    Another photo of the church as we walked by.

    From Attlebridge we walked a bit of Marriott’s Way (again), the former railway line from Norwich. This route is easy walking and that’s why we’re taking this path in for our 100 efforts in a few weeks. On that point, we’re still a little nervous of how far we’ll get, but we’ve rather stopped thinking about it now as we don’t want to get pre-annoyed before we’ve even starting walking.

    There are some really interesting art installations along Marriott’s Way, along with what I consider to be a few rather less impressive efforts such as this. But, everyone has different views on art.

    The River Wensum looking towards Norwich.

    And, on the other side of the bridge, the River Wensum looking towards its source. I liked how this tree has managed to get its roots bending around the wall.

    What I considered to be an intriguing tree arrangement.

    Some old rail and sleepers, a reminder of what this path used to be.

    The remains of Lenwade railway station platform which closed to passengers in 1959, but remained open to freight until 1983. If it could have lasted a few more years, it’s possible that the line might have been saved and returned to passenger usage. That is now highly unlikely ever to happen, but at least remnants survive to help bring the past back to life.

    We left the Marriott’s Way to join the Wensum Way, a conveniently named path for our expedition today. The LDWA have more information about the Wensum Way for those who fancy walking it.

    The former entrance to Lenwade railway station, which is now a private residential property.

    Walking along the Wensum Way, the river reappeared to our right.

    The quite impressive Lenwade mill, a large structure dating from the late eighteenth century.

    The Bridge Inn which has been trading since the late eighteenth century, and we were slightly saddened that we couldn’t go in it. Only a few weeks left until they open though as I may have already mentioned. Credit to the owners over the years for keeping this going, it must have been challenging in recent years.

    I was surprised to see one pub still trading in Lenwade (or Great Witchingham, they seem to run into each other), let alone two, this is the former King’s Head, now known as the Queen of Hearts. It’s been open since the 1830s and I think it operates as more of a restaurant now. I wasn’t taken by the imagery they’ve got on the signs, might need to take a photo of a more decadent roast. On which point, Nathan spent most of the day telling me how he was making a roast tomorrow and how talented he was at making them (he didn’t say that last bit, but I could tell that he was thinking it).

    We were considerably disappointed to see that this was shut. We hadn’t expected it to be there, so we hadn’t exactly been looking forwards to it all day, but there was a moment of excitement as I quite fancied some chips and a battered sausage. It should be a criminal offence to operate a fish and chip shop and not open it every lunchtime.

    We turned down Common Lane to go and find our river.

    Some of the signage by the cricket ground has seemingly been deliberately broken down and the path system here is a bit muddled. Nathan navigated this with some ease, and I’m sure he’ll be grateful that I’m throwing more glowing praise in his direction.

    Nathan bravely and nervously led us through a courtyard packed with cows, and we were protected only by the big metal gates…….

    Some form of sculpture. Nathan reassured me that it wasn’t real, which I ignored as he seemed to think that he had found the village idiot when telling me that.

    There was a warning on the gate that the boardwalk here was a bit broken and that didn’t seem ideal, but we saw other people walking in the area. We did have to navigate over this bit of wood in the water, whilst pondering how some of our more clumsy friends would have fallen in. We missed them quite a lot at that point and would have very much liked them to have been there.

    More not ideal boardwalk….

    This bit was better.

    This path took us near to Sparhamhill and this all felt quite remote, as Marriott’s Way had been a little busier.

    This is a really lovely area, somewhere that I’ve never been before (or if I have, I’ve promptly forgotten it), Sparham Pools. There were a few people walking around this area and it’s all quite nicely laid out with signage. It’s a nature reserve operated by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust and it was once a gravel pit. The trust’s web-site says that it’s a great place to see grey wagtails, although I struggle to identify a pigeon from a dove so I doubt that I’d recognise one.

    This is where we ended our walk today, at Lyng, but I’ll start the story of that village at the beginning of the next walk.

    I was very lucky to have Nathan who is a bus expert, which meant that he was able to skillfully guide us towards a bus stop where we would have a minimal wait to get the Fakenham to Norwich bus back home. What a relief I thought to be able to be whisked back home with no more walking or waiting. To cut a long story short, we walked for another two miles and then sat at Lenwade bus shelter for over half an hour. I didn’t say anything, I thought that might be impolite given Nathan’s efforts and I didn’t want to cause a scene.

    All in all, a rather lovely little adventure. I did forget about the river a bit today, since we were often separated from it, but I might get an emotional attachment back again when we get nearer to its source.

  • LDWA 100 Coming to Norfolk and Suffolk in 2025

    LDWA 100 Coming to Norfolk and Suffolk in 2025

    Exciting news today, the LDWA NEC confirmed that the 100 will be coming to Norfolk & Suffolk group in 2025. This is rather lovely as I’m the area chair for Norfolk & Suffolk group and this is the first time that we’ve ever held the event.

    The photo above is Beeston Bump in Sheringham, which is likely a bit too steep for our event, but what a beautiful coastline! I’m sure a fair chunk of Norfolk or Suffolk coastline will be included in the route and I’m very much looking forward to the marvellous food and drink that we can offer.

    Here’s to 2025. Although that feels quite a long way away at the moment…. I shall celebrate tomorrow night with a craft beer or three.

  • LDWA – 2021 LDWA 100 (Interview with Caroline Tennant)

    LDWA – 2021 LDWA 100 (Interview with Caroline Tennant)

    On the 29 to 31 May 2021, the LDWA’s 100 mile event will be taking place. Unfortunately, national restrictions mean that the Y 100 Sir Fynwy won’t be taking place as hoped, when in more normal times the South Wales group would have welcomed hundreds of walkers. Instead, there is the chance for entrants to walk a 100-mile route of their choice anywhere in the country, so the event has more of a national feel this year. And it’s fine to enter to do a shorter distance, with anyone walking 50 miles in 24 hours qualifying for the 2022 Trans-Pennine 100.

    I’m taking part in the 100 and I’ve been compiling some resources relating to that. When the new LDWA web-site is launched, this and lots more other material relating to the event will be copied there. Over the next few weeks, I’m speaking (well, writing) to entrants on the 100 and following their efforts up to, and after, the big day. We’ll be using the text from these interviews and updates on social media and also perhaps in Strider, the LDWA’s rather excellent magazine which is sent to our 10,000 members. Hopefully it’ll help inform, educate and inspire others to take part or become involved with the LDWA in other ways.

    For anyone who wants to take part in the event, have a look at the SI Entries page, or further information at the LDWA’s web-site.

    This interview is with Caroline Tennant from East Lancs group and it’s her first go at the 100, and I’m in a similar situation, as 55 miles will all be new territory to me as well. Not that this is all about food of course, but I like the mention of pies.

    How many 100s have you completed in the past?

    None, this is my first attempt. I started thinking about 100s a few years ago, looking at 2022 to be my first try. Then I decided I wanted to recce the Y 100 Sir Fynwy, just in case. When the virtual event opened, I jumped at the opportunity.

    If Covid rules allow, you are walking as a group of eight from East Lancs group. Are you hoping this plan keeps you sane and encouraged?

    There are a number of East Lancs members walking various routes for the virtual 100. Our little group is, currently, made up of eight of us that have all walked and entered various events together, none of us have ever completed a 100 before and we are mostly at the slower end of the walking scale. We plan to walk together, as a team, rather than at our own individual paces.

    Being of a wide range of backgrounds, ages and experience, we always have something to talk about. And a sense of humour is essential. I’m not sure anyone else would tolerate my listing, charts, maps and incessant organising. I’m hoping we all keep each other entertained to pass the time and get through the miles. I don’t think any of us are sane to begin with, so that’s not an issue.

    What has appealed is the chance to give it a go, even if we don’t succeed. Not having a limit on entries gives people an opportunity to give it a go, on their own terms. We might not all get to 100 miles, but we will go as far as we can, which I think together might be further than we all think.

    What route are you planning to take?

    We are doing a route connecting three of our homes/gardens, allowing us to have 3 checkpoints with good facilities and food. We tried to have a range of terrain to keep it interesting. Canals, parks, moorland, riverbanks, hills and few sights to keep both our feet and our heads entertained. The route is centred at Rivington, extending out to Hoghton Tower, Tockholes, Smithills, Haigh Hall, Yarrow Valley and Cuerden Valley.

    What other support are you hoping to have on the route?

    Between our three home checkpoints, the route has been planned to go via various shops, cafes and even a motorway service station. Whilst we will have to carry a certain amount, we have plenty of opportunity to resupply on the way. There will be a couple of people on standby for emergency rescues, which hopefully we won’t need. And two long suffering husbands, who are cooking dinner and breakfast for us.

    Are you following a GPX route, a map, or do you already know your route well?

    Hopefully, between us, we should know the route well as it is all very local to us. We will have the GPX, maps and a brief description to refer to. What we think we know well may be very different on the day, depending on the conditions, and more so once we are tired.

    What training are you undertaking at the moment?

    Planning and recceing the route has been a great opportunity to up the mileage. My plan is to just keep walking and get the miles in.

    Do you think this will be easier or harder than the actual 100 that is traditionally held?

    Being able to choose our route and having been able to recce is a huge advantage. I think what will make it harder is not having the support of marshals and competitors on the day. Whilst we will have each other to cheer ourselves on, there is nothing more encouraging than being met by a cheerful marshal, brandishing crumpets, at 2am.

    What food treats are you taking with you?

    Salt and vinegar crisps, cheese and jam sandwiches, custard. But not together.

    What tactics do you think you’ll use if you feel like giving up on the walk?

    Stubbornness and possibly some general shouting (with my hands on my hips). A few years ago, I tore a quote out of a walking magazine and stuck it to my fridge. The gist being, “Pain and tiredness are temporary, just keep going. But always stop for a cup of tea when you can”. I spent much of my first 50 repeating that to myself and drinking tea. I suspect this 100 may be the same. Either that or singing Monty Pythons “I’ve got two legs” to myself. It’s the only song I know all the words to. Hopefully the 8 of us will pull each other through and I won’t have to resort to singing.

    Are there any wildlife that you’re concerned about meeting on the walk? Sheep, cows, snakes, pigs, or anything else?!

    Having been whacked in the face with the poop covered tail of a bull and survived, I’m not too worried. Though it does freak me out when my head torch reflects of sheep eyes in the dark. Are they really just sheep, or something more sinister?

    Do you have any foot care tips?

    Keep toenails short and use Vaseline and taping, if needed. Wear decent socks, there is nothing worse than a lumpy or threadbare sock for causing problems. On the event, see to any issues as soon as they arise.

    Would you say you’re looking forward to it?

    Yes. I don’t know what will happen, it’s all new territory after about 55 miles. But I’m really looking forward to giving it a bash, in very good company. We will get each other through. And there are pies to be had at Pike Cottage.

    Do you have a time in mind of how long it’ll take you to finish?

    In theory I think we will be looking at about 42-44 hours. Who knows in reality?

    Do you have any advice for others, one top tip about long distance walking?

    Keep eating and drinking throughout, even when you don’t want to. And take a few photos because you won’t remember half of it properly afterwards.

    What would you say to anyone thinking about entering the 100, or thinking about doing a 50 mile challenge event, who might be a bit nervous?

    Go for it. You can walk further than you think you can. Build up from shorter events. And if you don’t finish, you can always try again. At the very least, you will have met some lovely LDWA people and been well fed. I can’t wait for LDWA events to start again properly!

  • LDWA – 2021 LDWA 100 (Interview with Kevin Marshall)

    LDWA – 2021 LDWA 100 (Interview with Kevin Marshall)

    On the 29 to 31 May 2021, the LDWA’s 100 mile event will be taking place. Unfortunately, national restrictions mean that the Y 100 Sir Fynwy won’t be taking place as hoped, when in more normal times the South Wales group would have welcomed hundreds of walkers. Instead, there is the chance for entrants to walk a 100-mile route of their choice anywhere in the country, so the event has more of a national feel this year. And it’s fine to enter to do a shorter distance, with anyone walking 50 miles in 24 hours qualifying for the 2022 Trans-Pennine 100.

    I’m taking part in the 100 and I’ve been compiling some resources relating to that. When the new LDWA web-site is launched, this and lots more other material relating to the event will be copied there. Over the next few weeks, I’m speaking (well, writing) to entrants on the 100 and following their efforts up to, and after, the big day. We’ll be using the text from these interviews and updates on social media and also perhaps in Strider, the LDWA’s rather excellent magazine which is sent to our 10,000 members. Hopefully it’ll help inform, educate and inspire others to take part or become involved with the LDWA in other ways.

    For anyone who wants to take part in the event, have a look at the SI Entries page, or further information at the LDWA’s web-site.

    And this fourth ‘interview’ is with Kevin Marshall, who is walking the event with Sara Mortimer. I must admit, Kevin is much braver than I am, not concerned by cows in fields and it’s clear he doesn’t even intend to consider giving up. And, that’s a lot of 100s completed, I’m not sure that I can ever be that brave! But, we all have to start somewhere…. (and I approve of all the pork pies) And, finally, the line about “ordinary people like me can do extraordinary things with the right preparation and total commitment” is really true, I might pinch that (and credit Kevin for it!).

    How many 100s have you completed in the past?

    I have completed 22, my first being the Cleveland 100 in 1983 and my latest Hadrian Hvndred in 2019,

    How did you convince your partner to take part in her first 100 attempt? Was that an easy sell?

    It was a evolutionary process, Sara has always enjoyed walking marathon distance events, she then successfully walked a 50km (which was a running event and finished within the cut offs).

    Last February we completed the Peddars Way, which was fifty miles because we continued into Hunstanton and our hotel. I paced the first half carefully as this was the longest she had attempted. After a stop at Castle Acre for refuelling Sara took the lead setting the pace and I was having to work to keep up! Throughout we were self sufficient and adopted a strategy of eating every 10 miles. Our diet was mainly pork pies! This obviously worked very well!

    In June last year we completed a 60 mile route around Suffolk, this was to celebrate my 60th birthday. Sara still hasn’t forgiven me for that one as I had the bright idea of starting at midnight! Lack of sleep, dark and torrential rain were not a good combination! But brilliant training mentally, she toughed it out and completed it! Though I had to almost force-feed her jelly babies at one point!

    Sara had planned on supporting my virtual 100 this year and walking bits with me. But gradually the conversation stopped being ‘you’ and became ‘we’ so I ceased the moment and signed her up!

    What route are you planning to take?

    We are planning on taking the Millennium Way from Pershore to Banbury in the heart of England, not an area either of us know but will hopefully get to know. To me that is what the 100’s are about, exploring new parts of the our wonderful country.

    Are you following a GPX route, a map, or do you already know your route well?

    We will be following a GPX , but will have laminated maps. Maps give more context enable you to see where you are heading and see clearly what to look for on the horizon etc.

    What training are you undertaking at the moment?

    I run, Nordic Walk and Cycle and Sara Nordic Walks, Sara signed up for the #walk1000miles and also the sub challenge of completing a 1000 miles in 100 days so has already walked over 700 miles this year! A lot of our preparation has been getting out at the weekend and doing at least 20 miles on a Saturday or Sunday or both! This weekend we are doing an overnight walk leaving home at 4pm and completing a route of around 40 miles. We also have a fifty mile route planned for April.

    Do you think this will be easier or harder than the actual 100 that is traditionally held?

    Mentally I think it will be tougher, as there is no checkpoints to look forward to, no breakfast awaiting at half way and lovely treats that the 100s are renowned for! But it is still a 100 mile challenge so that is the same. I suppose it will be mentally tougher. We will work together to keep the other going, this will work well as long as we don’t have ‘bad’ patches at the same time!

    What food treats are you taking with you?

    Pork pies and pasties and a few chocolate treats!

    What tactics do you think you’ll use if you feel like giving up on the walk?

    Give up! Once the Taxi drops us off in Pershore we are committed and no Plan B! The critical thing is to set off in the right mind set, relax and enjoy. If you start counting down the miles you will soon get fed up, set mini goals ie next ten miles, fuel often. If you are tired and hungry you will get fed up. Stay strong feed little and often. Stay focus, set realistic targets and the most important prepare well. You must respect that a 100 miles is no walk in the park, it is a challenge of the highest magnitude. You must believe in yourself, I suppose that is where the preparation comes in.

    Are there any wildlife that you’re concerned about meeting on the walk? Sheep, cows, snakes, pigs, or anything else?!

    Both Sara and I love connecting with the environment, looking for bird and animals along the route. Fields of cows don’t bother us just confidently stick to your route and talk to them, reassure them you are no threat.

    Do you have any foot care tips?

    All in the preparation. As you build up the mileage try out socks and footwear you plan on using, leave nothing to chance. In all the 100’s I have completed I have never changed socks at half way! Get it right before the big day!

    You’re aiming to be self-sufficient on this walk, what will this entail?

    Our strategy is to eat on the go every 10 miles, we usually munch on pork pies full of goodness and calories. We will have a major fuelling at 25 miles, 50 miles and 75 miles. We will carry a stove and freeze dry meals and coffee so totally self sufficient! I don’t foresee water being a major issue because the Millennium Way goes through numerous villages and church yards are always a good bet!

    Would you say you’re looking forward to it?

    Absolutely without question, it is an adventure, we both love the outdoors and being outside so what’s not to look forward to!

    Do you have a time in mind of how long it’ll take you to finish?

    It will unfold, our plan is to be back in Banbury before they stop serving food at the pub! We want to down a few Guinness and hopefully pie and chips!

    Do you have any advice for others, one top tip about long distance walking?

    Prepare well, build up the distances gradually, relax and enjoy and of course believe in yourself.

    What would you say to anyone thinking about entering the 100, or thinking about doing a 50 mile challenge event, who might be a bit nervous?

    The key thing is to commit, and once you have done that prepare well there is no substitute to clocking up the miles. Our bodies must adapt to being on the go for a long time! Ordinary people like me can do extraordinary things with the right preparation and total commitment.

  • LDWA 100 – Training Walk 8 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 1)

    LDWA 100 – Training Walk 8 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 1)

    This was our eighth walk in preparation for the 2021 LDWA 100.

    WALK NUMBER: 8 (Finding the Source of the River Wensum Part 1)

    DISTANCE COVERED: 15.1 miles

    NUMBER OF NATHAN’S FRIENDS WE “ACCIDENTALLY” BUMP INTO: 1 (they didn’t recognise Nathan)

    SUFFICIENT BEER CONSUMED: No (all the pubs are shut)

    PUBS VISITED: 0 (not through choice)

    WEATHER CONDITIONS: Sun

    ATTACKED BY ANIMALS: No

    NUMBER OF SNAKES SEEN: 0

    Finding the source of the River Wensum. It’s not exactly the exploration of the Amazon I will admit and I’m not sure that Michael Palin will be making a television series of this. But, travel is limited at the moment and so Nathan and I had this plan to walk to the source of the Wensum which is off somewhere near Fakenham.

    However, it became apparent that using public transport or getting a lift back from Fakenham isn’t really within the current rules on travel. So, we decided to split the walk up into different sections and today we followed the River Wensum from Norwich, where it ends when it meets the Yare, to a point a few miles away and then we planned just to walk back. I thought we saw more history and river than we had anticipated, so it was a useful exercise. It means that there will be a part two (and maybe part three) to this plan, but it won’t be until we’re allowed to use public transport again.

    This was the starting point of the walk, part of the city wall and it’s actually not far from the River Wensum. We didn’t follow the Wensum for the first part of this walk, instead joining it further along as we wanted to avoid the city centre at the moment.

    These photos are all from the river section at Wensum Park, which looks rather beautiful in the morning. Best known now as where Nathan dumps his unwanted bread into the river, this stretch of land was purchased by the city council in 1907. This was rather forward thinking of them, a useful amenity for the people of Norwich and they built a swimming pool, paddling pool and wading pools for the locals to use. The locals responded to this by using the swimming pool as a refuse tip, so a new plan was put forwards by the council to use the area as a public park. Designed by Captain Sandys-Winsch and constructed with unemployed labour, the park was opened in 1925 and it remains in use for that purpose today.

    Just a little further along the river, this looks quite remote, but it’s actually next to the Recycling Centre at Mile Cross.

    We did plan, many years ago, to come to the Gatehouse Pub at some point, partly as it’s on the CAMRA Regionally Important Historic Interiors list. Now that we finally get here the damn thing is of course shut, but we’ll go back when pubs re-open. The pub has a large beer garden which stretches down to the Wensum and it’s built on the site of a former toll-house.

    A stretch of the Wensum just off Hellesdon Road. It was around here that I started to try and break the iced up sections at the side of the river like some kid…. I got bored of that quite quickly when I realised that I might fall into the mud.

    I read the other day in the newspaper that there are parakeets flying about all over England, which is giving some concern as they’re not a native species. And there were several in the trees here, I think they’re rather interesting birds which add some character, but maybe their invasive behaviours upset seagulls or something. Nathan used his wooing skills, which seemed to be similar to the random noises he makes to his cat, to charm the parakeets down. It didn’t work. I pretended that I thought Nathan was like Bill Oddie and it was very surprising to me the birds didn’t flock down.

    A little collection of cut down trees.

    This is the river at the junction with Hellesdon Road, near to where Marriott’s Way is. We didn’t walk on Marriott’s Way (the former railway line that got shut down in the 1960s) on the way out, instead remaining on the other side of the river bank.

    This was rather lovely for Nathan, back to where he got married last year.

    The medieval standing cross in the churchyard. The lower section is thought to have been in situ for over 700 years.

    The village sign.

    It’s now been converted into residential properties, but this was Hellesdon Mill, a formidable building.

    We did have a plan to investigate this area as it’s by the river, but it’s owned by the Environment Agency and they’ve kept their bridge firmly locked to discourage anyone from crossing it. We didn’t try.

    These photos are of Drayton Green Lanes, an area of walking that we hadn’t noticed on the map, but which let us get close to the river. It’s really nicely looked after and some volunteers from Norwich Fringe Countryside Management Project recently fixed some damaged boardwalk under the supervision of Drayton Parish Council. This bit of land, which it appears no-one ever claimed ownership of, was a quite welcome surprise.

    The walk into Drayton along Low Road, which meant that we could see the river on our left. I must admit to getting quite into this whole project by this point as although I live near to the River Wensum, it suddenly seemed to be quite magical as we walked along it towards its source. To be honest, I think I need to get out more……

    I had hoped that E Pratt and Co were doing some delicious sausage rolls as their reviews looked rather positive. They’re a local butcher, but the situation was confused (well, I was confused, which doesn’t take much) and I came to the conclusion they weren’t selling hot food as despite a carvery sign the menu boards were all for raw meat. Delicious as that probably was, I thought better of it. Marginally disappointing, I was hoping it’d be as good as Greggs.

    I did try and find some food in the Applegreen petrol station instead, but it appeared to me from the pricing that Harrods had done a take-over of the premises. There was a Tesco next door, but I didn’t want to go shopping for the sake of it at the moment when all I had wanted was chips or a sausage roll. So, I bravely left Drayton with no food.

    This is the stretch of the Wensum between Drayton and Costessey Mill. The river has been diverted, likely a very long time ago, so there are two stretches here, one which is likely the original course of the Wensum and another which is what powers the mill.

    The mill here has gone, destroyed in a fire in the 1920s.

    Nathan navigating a minor tributary of the Wensum.

    This is St. Edmund’s Church in Costessey, which I visited briefly on Steve’s walk last year. The building’s history puzzled me, I’ll have to read up about it as there seem to be numerous additions from different periods. In short, there has likely been a church here since Saxon times, but the current one is mostly from the thirteenth century, albeit with a Victorian restoration.

    I hadn’t noticed this before, in memory of 10 members of 564 Bomb Squadron who crashed in Carr’s Hill Wood in Costessey on 7 March 1945. There was a campaign for the footpath to this site to be kept open, as it was on permissive land and the owner wanted it closed off. I don’t know what came of that, as the permissive path ceased in 2017, but I’ll find out.

    An unusual positioning of some of the older graves.

    Nathan was fascinated with the grave of Wandering Wal, and it sounds like this man had an eventful and interesting life.

    I assumed when walking by this building that it was a Victorian school, but it’s actually a hall which I think is linked to the Our Lady and St Walstan Roman Catholic Church which is located opposite.

    Although we had to walk back to Norwich at this point, nothing of huge interest happened although we discovered just how many people are walking along Marriott’s Way. And, the point of this walk was to follow the route of the River Wensum, so in a future blog post, we will continue our trail from where we finished and pick up the story again as we head off from the Taverham area. For anyone who looks on a map, they might notice that we didn’t get very far along the River Wensum, but there’s no need to rush adventure….

    As for our training for the LDWA 100….. This seems to be creeping up on us if I’m being honest and I’m not entirely sure that we’re filled with optimism. We’re confident of completing 60 miles, but more than that will be down to the Gods. Well, I say Gods, but I more mean our feet. Anyway, we’ll see what happens, but we’ve been very brave so far. There were no injuries today, other than Nathan’s slightly dodgy knee, and at least that bodes well (the no injuries part that is)