LEJOG Memories - Looking back from lockdown

One thing I'm finding difficult about being in 'lockdown' at the moment is the 'memory' posts that automatically flash up on my Facebook profile reminding me what I was doing last year or three years ago etc. This morning, a memory popped up from last year reminding me that a year ago I was hiking around Morecambe Bay to Ulverston on my Land's End to John O'Groats walk. This was part of a slightly convoluted section between the Pennines and the Lake District that took in a large variety of scenery. It was also where I broke one of my hiking 'rules' by taking the train. As I sat in a pub on the seafront in Arnside, looking at the railway viaduct crossing the bay, I studied the map and realised that by taking the train for a short, one station hop over the estuary, I could omit a large loop around to Ulverston saving a least a days walking, possibly two. Ulverston wasn't really on my route as it meant heading south for a while but I had decided I wanted to do the whole of the Cumbria Way, which meant I needed to divert to get to the start. After a six minute train ride, I found myself in Grange over Sands and carried on to Ulverston where I picked up the start of the Cumbria Way, which proved a fitting climax to this section of my hike from Hay on Wye.

Arnside Tower

Leighton Hall

Sawley Abbey

Pendle Hill

View towards Pendle Hill

Gorple Reservoir

Hoad Monument Ulverston

Morecambe Bay

View towards the Lake District

Morecambe Bay 

Cartmel

Hornby Road, Forest of Bowland

Arnside Viaduct

Lockdown Dreams - Future UK Hiking Plans

A brief look at what I've been doing during lockdown, including books I've read and hikes I'm looking at doing in the future 

Learning to Walk - My Early Walking 'Career'

My first view of the Pennine Way from Mill Hill

In a couple of weeks, I resume my walk to John O'Groats from Hay-on Wye, where I finished eight months ago. In the lead up to this, I have been looking back to my early walking days and remembering how it felt taking those first steps into the 'wilds' of the British countryside.

The Canada Goose is a big bird. The ungainly shape first entered my consciousness as I drove to work and began slowing down on my approach to the thirty mile an hour speed limit sign on the outskirts of a village. I hadn’t really given it much thought as it came flying low across the fields to my left until just before the impact when I casually thought to myself, ‘that’s flying a bit low’. A split second later, I suddenly became more alert as I realised that I was in danger of increasing my ornithological knowledge of the Canada Goose by one hundred percent but by this time, it was too late. The huge bird thudded into the windscreen in front of the passenger seat with a sickening thump leaving a crystallised indentation spreading out across the glass like an ornate spiders web. I stopped the car and sat momentarily stunned before getting out to check the damage as the corpse of the dead goose stared blankly up at me from the road. I wanted to wake it up and give it a piece of my mind as I mentally processed the aggravation I now had to go through to rectify the damage. As I re-started the car and set off once again to work, I briefly wondered if I was breaking the law by driving with a half-smashed windscreen but in my irritated state, dismissed this as irrelevant and drove to the office in an agitated state of annoyance. Later in the day, as I watched the operative skilfully replacing my windscreen, I discovered we shared a common interest in walking. That’s walking as in hiking, not a scientific interest in the mechanics of perambulation but an interest in lacing up boots, donning a rucksack and some suitably silly outdoor apparel and tramping across hills and mountains in all kinds of weather. I was a relative newcomer to this often derided activity but had already had my imagination fired by the thought of following some of the country’s long-distance trails through remote countryside.

‘Have you done the Pennine Way?, asked the windscreen repair man as he skilfully slotted the new,

‘untouched by Canada goose’ glass in place.

I had to admit that not only had I not done it but I knew very little about it. At this early stage in my

walking ‘career’, the Pennine Way was one of those mythical names that existed only on the periphery

of my imagination and was only ever walked by serious outdoor types who usually wore big beards and

even bigger rucksacks with various items of proper walking gear hanging from them. I was a

novice who didn’t even have any proper walking boots or clothing and usually set off on a walk with

nothing more than plenty of cigarettes, a lighter and money to buy crisps and drinks from any shop

that I happened to be passing. I tried to hide my inexperience by listing some of the areas that I had

walked on day walks but the windscreen man seemed unimpressed.

‘You’ve got to do the Pennine Way, ‘It’s the toughest walk in the country’ he boasted.

‘What’s it like’, I asked intrigued by mental images of rugged mountains and moors spreading in every

direction.

‘Oh, it’s the best, you must do it’, he said, finishing up his work on my now resplendent, shiny new

windscreen.

‘Do yourself a favour, and just go for it, you won’t regret it’ he said, and off he drove leaving me with a

new windscreen and a new ambition.

As my walking career progressed, I became more experienced and even bought a pair of walking boots and other paraphernalia associated with squelching around the soggy hills of Great Britain. Being from the south of England, most of my walking was done in the lowlands, which often involved a lot of mud and climbing over stiles but I was thoroughly enjoying my new pastime as I learned how to find my way around using a map and compass. I still felt extremely self-conscious as I ambled around in my serious walking garb and would often hide my map case when other walkers passed by to discourage any awkward navigational questions that I might not know the answer to but gradually, I became more confident as I realised that not only was I quite good at finding my way around, I was often much fitter than many of the other walkers around me and suffered none of the hesitancy they displayed on tricky terrain. My first real hill-walk came when I ventured in a state of high anticipation into the 'proper' walking

country of the Peak District village of Hayfield with my wife, who was my enthusiastic walking partner.

The village is an historically significant location in the history of English hiking as it was from here in the

1930’s that a group of ramblers met for a mass-trespass onto Kinder Scout. Much of upland England in

those days was off-limits to the average person as the moors were jealously guarded by wealthy

landowners who employed gamekeepers to keep the general public off of their land. As the group

approached their objective, their progress was halted by gamekeepers and a scuffle broke out. A

number of the group’s leaders were arrested and spent time in jail for their ‘crime’ but the die was cast

and eventually, the countryside was opened up for everyone to enjoy.

Of course, on this walk, I knew nothing of this and probably wouldn’t have been interested at the time

as my mind was reeling from these new, stunning landscapes on view. I had never seen anything like it.

The south of England had nothing like this! We climbed up onto Kinder Scout from Hayfield

Reservoir with the vast bulk of the Kinder plateau lurking like a brooding beast to our right. I was like a

child in a toy-shop. As we climbed, in whichever direction I turned I had views of beautiful hills

contrasting with darker, brooding moorland which in turn was threaded with streams and waterfalls

of strange, darkly coloured water, tumbling like spilt beer down the rocky hillsides. Reaching the edge of

the Kinder Plateau, I stopped and took in the scene. Across the plateau’s centre lay a weird, barren

landscape of dark, chocolate coloured soil, riven with channels eroded by the effects of rain. Below,

green hills rolled into the distance, seemingly forever. I was hooked! There was no turning back now, I

had found what I had always wanted, something that was mine and I had to explore it and immerse

myself in it completely. As I stood on it, I now understood what the windscreen man meant when he

had enthused over the Pennine Way. I stood in silent wonder on England’s first long-distance path as it

wound its way around the edge of the vast peaty plateau and I knew that at some point in the future, I

would have to walk it in its entirety.

Alone Again Or? - Solo Hiking Land's End to John O'Groats

Much as I like hiking alone, there are times when it is nice to have some company, particularly on a hike such as my recent Lands End to John O'Groats hike where you are unlikely to meet anyone following the same route. I was therefore pleased when Mike, a friend of mine who lives near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, joined me for a day's hike over the Mendips. Initially, we followed the road out of Cheddar up through the gorge, the spectacular cliffs towering above us as we watched the wild goats clambering up the steeps rocky walls.

Wild Goats in Cheddar Gorge

Near the top of the climb, we left the road and headed into the hills in the direction of Beacon Batch, the highest point of the Mendips, from where we had stunning views across the Bristol Channel into Wales and the surrounding countryside. After spending some time on the summit, we descended to Blagdon Lake before following the Monarch's Way to the village of Barrow Common where we relaxed with a couple of beers before Mike's wife collected us and drove us back to their house where I was treated to a great dinner and more beer, a perfect end to a great day's walk.

On Beacon Batch, highest point of the Mendips

Blagdon Lake

The following day, as Mike waved me off from our previous day's finish point, I began to ponder my preference for solo hiking. Much as I had enjoyed walking with Mike, I was glad to be alone again, making my own way through the countryside. This contradiction is something that I ponder often when walking as, although I love walking alone, I also like to have someone to share the trail with, even if it's simply meeting another hiker doing the same trail or chatting to them in a campsite or pub in the evening.

Passing Clifton Suspension Bridge in heavy rain

M4 & Severn road bridges

Now, having enjoyed Mike's company and hospitality the previous day and feeling re-energised, I resumed my Land's End to John o'Groats walk and hiked around Bristol in torrential rain before heading along the banks of the Severn and on into Wales.

Gear I used on my LEJOG hike

A brief overview of some of the main items of gear used on the 400 miles I walked on my LEJOG hike in July and August 2018 between Lands End and Hay on Wye

LEJOG Afterthoughts

My route so far

Having halted my LEJOG walk at Hay on Wye and having had time to reflect on the numerous problems that beset me along the way, I thought I would do a breakdown of the trip including thoughts on the pieces of kit that I thought performed really well and those that didn´t. 

My reasons for calling a halt to the walk weren´t because of any physical problem, all of the problems I suffered in the early part of the walk had been resolved by the time I reached Hay-on-Wye. 

As I said in a previous post, during a phone call, my wife had expressed concern over the amount of time the walk was going to take when taking into account all of the delays and this combined with my concerns over her health meant I wanted to be present at some doctors appointments she had coming up. Also, because of the amount of days I had been forced to take off, the funds I had for the walk had diminished substantially, even though I was still only in South Wales. 

Overall, discounting the non-walking days, I was quite pleased with the distance I covered, which averaged around 19 miles a day. I hope to be able to return in the spring or early summer of 2019 to continue the walk.

Walk Statistics

Total Distance Walked - 396.5 miles/634k
Total Days - 34 days
Total Days Walked - 21
Total Days Camped  - 12 (3 wild)
Average Daily Distance -18.8 miles /30.2k
Longest Day - Barrow Common to Chepstow - 34.1 miles/54.6k
Shortest Day - Glasbury to Hay on Wye - 5.5 miles/8.8k

Biggest Gear Failures

La Sportiva Ultra Raptors - Amazingly, these were my biggest problem in the early part of the walk. I say this because I have walked hundreds of miles in the same shoe/sock combination in the past with zero problems. In the first few days, I developed a large blister on the ball of my left foot, which burst causing me quite a lot of discomfort. I also developed a blister on the toe next to my big toe and various other hotspots all on my left foot. The other problem was a painful and swollen big toe, also on my left foot, which eventually became infected. Despite having walked not only in the same brand but in the same pair of shoes in the past, my left foot felt too big for the shoe. I can only put this down to the fact that the Raptors are quite a close fit and with the very hot and humid weather in the UK at the time, can only assume that my feet swelled in the heat. 

Decathlon Forclaz 500 shirt - I have to say that generally, I love Decathlon´s clothing and indeed, most of my hiking clothing comes from the store but this shirt was a mistake. It was sold as an item to be worn during long treks but I should have been alerted to the fact that the composition of the fabric was 70% cotton & 30% polyester. At times, my back was drenched in sweat and after two or three days, large light ´streaks´ had developed in the dark blue fabric where my rucksack straps sat. I binned it after about four days. I should have known better than to use a piece of gear that I hadn't  previously worn on a walk.

Mountain Warehouse Active Trainer Socks - I bought these as I thought lighter, thinner socks would help with the foot problems I was having by cooling them down and giving me more room in my shoes. They were very lightweight with a mesh top and because I purchased another item, I got both pairs for half price. I didn´t expect too much from them but I must say I expected them to last more than the few days that one pair did. Whilst pulling them up,  my thumb went straight through the back of the sock.

Biggest Gear Successes

Wild Camp end of Day 1 on the SWCP

Geertop Pyramid Peak 1 man tent -  I totally loved this. I had limited experience of using this tent before setting off but this is now firmly my first choice tent. Having recently been using my Trekkertent Stealth 1 on walks, I decided I wanted more space and two entrances into the tent. I also wanted a side entrance tent as the Stealth is front entrance, which I found difficult, particularly when getting out of it as you sleep with your back to the door. The Geertop was superb however. The luxury of having two doors and vestibules was a revelation as I could put my rucksack and wet gear in one and use the other for getting in and out and stowing my food and cooking gear. The tent uses trekking poles and I found the 'A' frame set-up very solid and although I never experienced any really wild weather, it stood up well to heavy rain and some blustery winds. The only negatives I found were the tiny zipper pulls, which I resolved with the addition of some ties. I also found that the two large ventilation panels at either end need setting up with care to avoid letting rain in. Otherwise, I can see this being my go-to tent for some time to come.

Mountain Warehouse Rash Vest - I bought this as a replacement after binning my Decathlon shirt. To be honest, I didn´t realise it was a 'rash vest' at the time, I just liked the feel of the material. It proved to be a great shirt and never got noticeably damp, even in the very hot conditions. I also liked the fact that even after walking in it for a couple of hot days, it still remained largely free from odours.

Viewranger App - Used this exclusively for navigation in conjunction with my Samsung Tablet and phone. A brilliant app

Samsung Galaxy Tab A 7" - Performed superbly in conjunction with Viewranger, which I had loaded with OS Landranger maps.

Decathlon Kalenji Trail Rain Jacket - Kalenji is the Decathlon brand name of their running gear and this lightweight rain jacket weighs in at just 250 grams and packs down really small. Although for the early part of the walk, I didn´t need it as the UK was in the middle of a heatwave, I loved the lightweight feel of this jacket when I did have to use it, which kept me dry in some torrential rain near Bristol.

La Sportiva Ultra Raptors - Perversely, these feature in both the Success and Failures list! My wife delivered a brand new pair of these trail shoes to me in Devon in a half size bigger than the ones I had started off with and all of my foot problems vanished as I enjoyed hiking in them as I have over the past few years.

Biggest Mistakes

Filtering water - Carelessness when filtering river water while wild camping was, I believe, the reason for my severe bout of sickness and diarrhoea in South Molton. While collecting and filtering water from the river at my wild camp on the Tarka Trail, which was surrounded by cattle fields, I stupidly re-inflated my dirty water bottle by putting it to my mouth a number of times. I´m convinced this is what caused my illness.

The Magnificent South West Coast Path

Leaving the SWCP - Although easy in hindsight, my choice of route, which was to go inland and follow the Land´s End Trail, was a mistake. I had assumed that taking a more direct route inland would be shorter and easier but the opposite proved to be the case. Invisible and absurdly overgrown paths, poor or no waymarking etc. made this ´trail' an annoying, time consuming irritation. At one point, while following the exact route using GPS on the slopes of Brown Willy on Bodmin, the so-called LET led me through waist high ferns strewn with granite boulders with absolutely no sign of a path. I arrived at the summit hot and very irritated after a tiring ´bushwack´ through the overgrown hillside. Were I to start LEJOG again, I would stick with the magnificent SWCP, even though the early section from Lands End to St. Ives proved to be tough walking.

The Black Mountains in the Brecon Beacons

Best Walking

As suggested above, the SWCP was simply majestic. I really regret not sticking with this all of the way to Minehead. The Black Mountains section of the Brecon Beacons was also superb, with really scenic and remote feeling mountain country. Other highlights included the Wye Valley Walk from Chepstow to Monmouth, the Bodmin section (in spite of the LET) from Delford Bridge to Jamaica Inn over Brown Willy, highest point in Cornwall and the Mendips, including Cheddar Gorge and Beacon Batch, the highest point of the range.

Summit of Brown Willy

A Roller Coaster walk

The Lands End Trail

Many years ago, while holidaying in St.Ives, Cornwall, I purchased a small walking guidebook written by the owners of a seafront shop making and selling ornamental glass items. As I chatted with the shop owner, she recommended one of the walks in the book which was an eight mile section of the South West Coast Path from Zennor to St.Ives. 'It will take you 4 hours', she said, and as we left the shop I inwardly scoffed that such a short distance would take us that long.

The John O'Groats Trail

Because of a lack of footpaths in the area, most LEJOG journeys end with a horrible slog along the A9 road to John O'Groats. However, recently, the creation of the John O'Groats Trail has meant that it is now possible to cut out most, if not all, of this unsatisfactory ending (or beginning) to most walkers End to End journey. At the moment, the JOGT, which mostly follows the coast from Inverness, is a 'work in progress' but the excellent website has divided the trek from Inverness into 14 stages. Using a green, amber, red, 'traffic light' system, the website advises the current state of each stage and at the moment, there are no red stages and only two or three 'amber' stages. Like most walkers, I have an aversion to walking on tarmac so I will be utilising the JOGT wherever possible and reverting to the A9 only where this new trail is unviable. Photos of the walk can be found on this link http://www.jogt.org.uk/gallery/