It's been a while since my last blog. No, I haven't abandoned the whole project! I've been away on a walking trip to North Wales and a skiing trip to France and have also been catching up with a few chores. So, with just 38 days left until I start my epic walk, I thought I'd provide an update on how my preparations are going.
My training is progressing well. I've completed quite a few training walks of 18-20 miles in distance and am now ready to test my fully loaded rucksack on a walk. I'm lucky to have a good selection of walks nearby, including the River Thames towpath, various cycle paths and a range of footpaths which run close to lakes, rivers, railways and moors. The only drawback is that, being in the Thames Valley, there are no hills - that's where Wales plays its part. For a typical training walk, I head out of the front door without any particular route or destination in mind and walk on the spur of the moment. Some people, including my wife, find this very difficult to comprehend, but I enjoy the flexibility it offers. Of course, on the real walk I will have to revert to following a pre-planned route to a pre-determined destination.
I've spent recent days reviewing and fine-tuning my daily walking routes. There's always a balance to be achieved between the shortest route and the most scenic route, so I've made a few small adjustments where I could justify it. Poring over the detailed Ordnance Survey maps has enabled me to find a few short cuts that were not visible on the smaller scale maps I originally used. I've found Google Street View to be extremely helpful in this process. Not only does it enable you to view routes on road and check out the location (and external condition!) of booked accommodation, it also allows you to check access points to unusual sections of the route (e.g. pedestrian access to the M4 and M5 river crossings), potentially avoiding wasted time on the walk itself. On closer inspection, one minor road in Scotland petered out on the detailed map but a combination of Street View and satellite photos confirmed that it was possible to continue on foot, albeit with a short scramble!
Over the next few days I'll be gathering together all the clothing and equipment I'll need for the walk and, for the first time, packing it into my rucksack. All the guidance I've received and read advises that I should be completely ruthless in selecting the kit and that as much as possible should be discarded. This stage will be interesting!
On the fundraising front, I'm edging closer to my initial £10,000 target and am hopeful that with your help I can achieve it (or close to it) by the time I set foot in John O' Groats on 7th June. I've had a stack of publicity business cards printed (thanks to Lucie at Cancer Research UK) and I will hand these out on the walk in a bid to raise more funds en route.
Back soon!
