Sunday 7 August 2016

All set

This is Lost Lad cairn, built on the Sheffield City boundary. On the horizon is Back Tor, at the north end of Derwent Edge.  From there, to the  East, are views over Sheffield and beyond, and looking west, past Lost Lad, you can just make out the Vale of Edale where the Pennine Way begins.

I've been planning this trip for a while. The idea began to surface after reading Simon Armitage's book "Walking Home".  His account of walking the Pennine Way, north to south, as far as his hometown of Marsden.  A few months later, my employer dangled a carrot of a time off and expenses paid Pennine Way holiday.  If you wanted to throw your hat in the ring and compete for a place, the winning 10 could walk together.  Being within a year or so of my fiftieth birthday (I'm just a year younger than the Pennine Way) made the idea of this walk very appealing, but then I'm not sufficiently competitive or sociable, or corporate enough to throw my hat in the ring, and so decided instead to save up my annual leave and wages and walk on my own.

I'm hoping that it wont be too arduous.  It's 268 miles over 16 days, but I've been promised a comfortable bed each night and transport for my bags between B&Bs, and after a summer of training with circular walks, walking purposefully in one direction will be quite a novelty.  I have a Pennine Way guide Dave gave me at Christmas and a couple of novels to read in the evenings.  I have a box of paints, a sketchpad, paintable postcards (from my friend Helen), and a fantastic phone app that posts cards for you.  I've got OS maps on my phone, and paper maps and compass just in case. I've got newish boots, waterproof trousers and coat, and I'm looking forward to days of solitude, as well as meeting up with a few friends along the way.

In a couple of weeks time, I'll be packing my bags and then at 8.00 am on Sunday 28th August, Dave will drive me to the start of the walk at Edale.  If you want to follow me you can sign up, at the top right, for email updates.

2 comments:

  1. Go for it Robert! Looking forward to joining you at Hadrian's Wall for a mammoth walk on the 8th! Helen x

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    1. Thanks Helen- See you at the Greenhead Hotel x

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