The Walker With Heart

It was a spur of the moment thing... Bank Holiday weekend, any beds left at the Youth Hostel near Castleton - Yup... Good, then what to do... Getting there is easy, train ride into Edale and then hike up and over Mam Tor, the ridge and then drop off the back of Lose Hill to get to the sneaky back gate into the Hostel. Eight glorious KM, possibly my favourite Saturday's forecast was wet... and it drizzled most of the morning... Up over Losehill, Back Nick, Hollin's Cross, the long drag up Mam Tor, then that dispiriting drop to the road and then dragging yourself back up to Lord's Seat.  I'd love to say that there were fantastic views over the Edale valley... But... This was the drop from Lord's Seat before the turn north across the hideously featureless Brown Knoll; luck, half a path, a compass bearing and I was very, very happy to see this... Love them or loathe them, after 2km of knee high sludge I was moved to almost kiss this lump of white con...

Ok, I'm not sure what the prize will be - think amusing trinket rather than an item of great worth... I was pondering on the way back from the Edinburgh Fringe, what do I do in the hills... Fell Running implies a skimpiness of shorts that others wouldn't feel comfortable with, and a speed I may never muster Fell Walking implies a cloth cap and a ferret, and an excess of ale... Rambling? Hmmm, my companions thought that was not active enough... So we chewed the cud... Fell Jogging - do gaiters count as ankle warmers? Mad Bugger (Extreme) - I like the link to my gong, but extreme for some reason it suggests that I'm doing assault courses... So, the competition is open until I get an name that is moderately amusing;-) Anyway, the Fringe... None of my shows were truly bad... Which sounds like an odd place to start, but the Fringe can be a bit hit and miss... Newsrevue was it's usual caustic self - no one is safe...  Bonk, the show of the science of ...

And I love you all for it.. 100 miles... 161km... 800 furlongs... The medal says 4 days - it was 3 and a half... Some of us met in a car park outside Bath, some nervous (me), some terrified (that's more like it) and others seemingly strangely calm (if I gave that impression to anyone, I'm a good actor). Faces from previous races were recognised, acknowledgements made and mutterings about Win Hill, 30 degree heat - nothing can be that bad again. Then up to Chipping Cambden, drop off our bags, collect the emergency numbers for the control and medical staff and then line up... Walkers, inc me, off first for a warm day's hiking over good paths and moderate terrain - highlights for me, being accosted by a man (very drunk) with two shire horses... Who thought I was quite mad... I have to agree with him! The Cotswolds are a stunningly beautiful part of the world, littered with follies and monuments, including towers only built so that it could be seen by all arou...