In the Meantime - May 2007

May's been a bad month for BlogWalking. Weekends were all spoken for and workloads have prevented long summer evening walks - although there will be some Wainwrights action over the last week in May.

We've also blocked out two weekends in June to do The Ridgeway - 87 miles over four days, but with two weeks' rest between day 2 and day 3.

Until then, we're keeping fitness levels as high as we can with weekday activities including swimming, running, cycling to and/or from work, and something called "circuits" that happens inside a gym.

It'll keep the blood flowing in our veins until we get the boots out again.

Sca Fell Pike - 12th April 2007

This was a walk with a purpose! A relative was celebrating his 70th birthday by taking a group of 26 up Sca Fell pike, the highest mountain in England.

We met in the Wasdale Head carpark and the sun shone down upon us as we introduced ourselves to the various members of the group. We were asked to lead the party and so set off at a leisurely pace across the front of Lingmell and up Brown Tongue. The sun soon started affecting the group and there were a few casualties early in the walk. However, after a break at the beck we made good progress up the well-trodden path.

There was much chatter as we headed up the fell which led to groans when a spectacular piece of cardboard scenery emerged and the group realised we were only half way up. The group organiser became a little alarmed at the time it was taken us to climb the fell. Therefore, a couple of members of the group chose to go at a more leisurely pace whilst the rest of us set off at a rate of knotts (kind of).

We reached the top, after a bit of a push, in good time and within the time allocated. Therefore, we had a restful lunch on the southern edge of the top and drank champagne and ate tasty home-made cake. Excitingly, every member of the group who had started out made it to the top - even the two who stopped earliest - great success!

We headed back down at a reasonable rate, only stopping to paddle our feet in the beck.

We felt good at the end of the walk and were impressed with how easy we found it - no doubt still in shape from Hadrian's Wall. A good start.