The Energetic Diabetic

Today's stretch from Sandymoor to Standish was always going to be a strange one. For one thing, I was on the road all day when most of my walk so far has been out in the countryside. I was also visiting the Diabetes UK offices near Halliwell Jones Stadium but, mo…

...I have actually walked 500 miles to fall down at our door! By the time my boots were off, I'd reached 503 miles but why spoil a good song re-enactment?  Earlier, I was very pleased to meet up with old buddy Andrew Burrows at Delamere Forest where we were able …

After Monday night's celebrations in Malpas, I still managed to rise early enough to take advantage of breakfast before dragging Suzanne out of bed to take me back to Grindley Brook, about three miles past the start of the Sandstone Trail. The weather was set fai…

Walking on Llanymynech Hill on Sunday, the vantage point at the top allowed me to look eastwards towards The Wrekin and, further north, I could see the Peckforton Hills. The intervening 20 miles looked conspicuously flat and so it proved today as we left Chirk and head…

I’d arrived for my two day stay in Llanymynech clutching my rucksack and a rather full carrier bag of evening wear and luxury toiletries, having had the benefit of collecting the bag after a day walking. Rather naively, it only now occurred to me that I needed to carry…

What a pleasure to wake to blue skies after yesterday’s monsoon. A quick look at the weather forecast predicted zero chance of rain, so I didn’t even put the waterproofs in the bag: that’s a brave decision for a man who worked in Credit for 25 years, trained to think ‘…

The guide book described today as something of a rollercoaster: if the Walking Day fair in Victoria Park had this many ups and downs, they’d be queuing all the way down Knutsford Road. We only walked 18 miles but it felt more like 30 and we weren’t helped by the weathe…

Today was just about the first day of this mission where it was a struggle to rise from my bed. It crossed my mind to hide my walking boots, pretend they had been stolen and then we could just call the whole thing off. I think the soaking yesterday and having to stic…

Reading the Offa's Dyke Guide book last night, I learned that Hatterrall Ridge represented the highest point on the path (700m) and that it was the most demanding day's walk of the entire trail, onto which I was adding an extra 6.5 miles to Newchurch. Whilst …

The sun was shining as we started our walk out of Monmouth although the weather forecast had already placed something of a cloud over the day. We were focussed on Project Birdspotting, energised by reports that we were in Red Kite territory. The beginning of the walk…

Out of the previous 15 days on the march, I'd walked 14 of them all on my lonesome. I've never had a problem with my own company but, to be honest, I had run out of things to talk to myself about. I'd simply heard all my old stories before. Additionally,…

The Avon from the cycleway running along the M5 I knew today was going to be one of the longer days on the Trail and I must admit to finding it the hardest yet. Starting in Tickenham, just near Cadbury Camp, an old fort in Sou…

From the top of Cheddar Gorge After yesterday's shenanigans, I'm pleased to report today was a much quieter affair altogether. Phil utilised his mindfulness skills last night to calm my bea…