14/03/2012 - Training Walk#8 - The Night Walkers

On account of a dose of man-flu (or is it mouse-flu?), Julian was unable to attend the night walk planned around the top of Frodsham so it was left to Lee, Martin, Mark and Simon to experience our first night walk.

Lee, Martin and Mark ready to face the dark

After a quick change after work (and a wait in the car park while Red Leader did his hair) we left the office for nearby Frodsham and parked up near the Belle Mont Hotel above the town. It was already approaching dusk so armed with the Garmin programmed with our route and Mark with his new Leki Jasper walking poles we set of heading south around Beacon Hill (not that one the other one).

Skirting the edge of the golf course we made good progress as twilight set in and as we hit Delamere Way, Mark was the first to fire up his headtorch and on full beam resembled a lighthouse. Out of fear for an overhead Easyjet flight mistaking us for Liverpool Airport, the beam was soon reduced in intensity and Mark's beam was quickly joined by Simon's but still a passing car flashed us to dip our headlamps mistaking us for a car on the wrong side of the road (impressive!). Lee and Martin continued to lead using their night vision before eventually conceding defeat to the increasing darkness.

Mark getting up close and personal with a gate

As we approached Birch Hill, the team started to negotiate the stile at the side of the farm gate. Assessing the structural stability of the gate, Mark handed his walking poles to Martin to attempt a gate vault. Now, bearing in mind this is something that Mark has not done since he was about 13 years old and probably 8 stone lighter, this was no mean feat. The teammates watched the demonstration with interest awarding an '8' for the take off, '9' for the vault and a less than flattering '2' for the resultant landing. Suitably impressed with the attempt and after regaining their composure from their fits of laughter, the team continued towards the pitch darkness of Delamere Forest.

A lesson in geology

Entering the forest became even more disorientating in the complete darkness. After experimenting with light settings on the head torch, Mark flicked off the diffuser to provide more of a spot beam 2-3 metres in front to provide enough early warning of tripping over a tree root or stepping in a pile of dung. This worked well though removed all feel for what was being passed to the side. 

It is probably also worth noting that despite Martin and Simon having done the route in daylight, it became very easy to take a wrong turn. Thankfully with the Garmin set to provide an 'Off-Course Alarm' and with a quick glance, only a few yards would be lost before regaining the correct route. 

Err...good choice for a nigh walk then!

Once out of the 'Deep Dark Wood' we reached civilisation again and a short distance down the road we turned back along a field near Manley Common only to be greeted by the loud 'Baa-ing' sounds of a flock of sheep and dozens of pairs of green eyes watching us intently in the darkness (clearly they knew a Welshman was among us and they felt frisky).

Rocksavage Works by night.

After picking up the Sandstone Trail (and after a short comfort break with full headtorch illumination) we headed on up Alvanley Cliff where the nigh views of Frodsham and beyond came into view notably the illuminated Stanlow Oil Refinery and Rocksavage works. Descending from here into the blackness with sheer cliffs off the path to the left made us grateful it wasn't a windy evening.

Lest we forget.

 We then climbed back up to skirt the cliffs along Beacon Hill where the war memorial is located something which is visible when passing on the M56 motorway but less often visited. It felt appropriate to take a moment here before pressing on to where the cars were parked and the fish, chips and pint of real ale which awaited us.

Overall the walk was 14.6km with 235m of climb and descent which we did in just under 3 hours at an average speed of 4.9km/h. This was about 7 minutes slower than Simon and Martin did it in daylight so we are reasonably happy with our first night attempt and look forward to the next one. The stats for this walk are here.

10 Things we learned on this walk:

1. A spot beam setting on the headtorch helps find your feet
2. It is very easy to become disorientated even on a familiar route as you lose all points of reference.
3. Hills come out of nowhere in the dark and start to sap your legs unexpectedly.
4. Having the Garmin programmed with the route is a lot easier than fiddling with a map
5. Mark has not lost his gate vaulting skills but they need refinement
6. Martin isn't comfortable in the dark but sheep like him
7.The darkness doesn't seem to affect our pace to any significant degree
8. Cow pats, tree roots and rocks are less easily avoided in the dark
9. Hiding behind a tree and jumping out on your teammates is not big or clever
10. Fish and chips taste so good after a decent walk.