28/04/2012 - Training Walk #17 - Training on The Tramway

The Red Harrow’s latest team walk consisted of Lee ‘Red Leader’ and Martin ‘Ballast’; due to other commitments by Mark ‘Red Navigator’ and Polly ‘Pace Setter’…   The route took us off the Cheshire Plain in a figure of eight around Bickerton Hill, Burwardsley, Bulkeley Hill, Peckforton and Beeston with the Sandstone Trail forming the main background. A more leisurely rendevous of noon was set to meet up at the Pheasant Inn at Burwardsley.



The Tramway

With ‘Red Navigator’ being absent on a top shelf training night time manoeuvre, it was decided to abandon the Garmin and navigate old school. With a break in the weather Lee opted for the shorts & gaiter look and we soon hit our first problem having taken a wrong turn within 200m of the start….. A quick conflab and review of the map was undertaken and it was decided we would do the figure of 8 in a different direction! We deliberated if we should own up to this navigational error or just keep it to ourselves…. The only issue in doing it clockwise was that the tramway would come into play early on before we had had time to warm up.

We referred to the tramway in our earlier blog for Training Walk#9. This is a section of track which was used to build the reservoir at the top of Bulkeley Hill and was left in place. It rises some 100m from the bottom of the hill over a distance of about 250m - a gradient of 1 in 2.5. 

We attacked the tramway with enthusiasm (or stupidity) and soon with calves burning, the task which lay ahead looked even more daunting than ever. On reaching the top with a sense of achievement and hearts pumping, we were both disappointed to find no welcoming reception when we reached the top!! We headed off through Bulkeley Hill descending down Copper Mine Lane heading towards the Bickerton Hills, through the village of Bickerton.

Nice gaiter and shorts combo Lee

Not knowing of our earlier navigational faux-pas some DofE teams asked for our assistance and we duly obliged. Soon back onto the Sandstone Trail noting Maiden Castle, the first of 3 castles on the walk and settling a good pace with views out over the Cheshire plains and even being able to pick out the skyline of Liverpool, talk turned to the topic of the tramway again, could we, should we do it again??? We continued around Raw Head, lunch was the next target so a good pace was maintained as we headed back to complete the first part of the figure of 8. A suitable location was found and we set aside a 10 min break, Lee produced a smoked mackerel fillet and fresh rocket sandwich…..with crusts on, Martin however refuelled with Ginsters Pasties (note plural) and Malt loaf. The 10 mins soon passed and we pressed on with the second part of the loop as the skies darkened, passing closely by the Pheasant Inn and talk of a cheeky beer was dismissed as we headed off to the Peckforton Hills via the Haunted Bridge and the Peckforton Castle Estate. Afternoon tea seemed an option at this point but we turned it down and pressed on.

Lee about to be crushed by an overhanging rock

With Beeston Castle (the 3^rd Castle) in the foreground and text message Premier League score updates, conversation turned again to the tramway and the suggestion that we could do it for a second time (the pain of the first time now a distant memory). However in the distance Friesian cows could be seen and they stood between us and the tunnel under the railway. Now as we've discovered, Martin isn’t keen on cows and the underlying theme that teammates are gathering is he’s not keen on animals in general! With cowboy Lee outstaring them we were soon under the railway and onto the canal tow path and turning for the final leg back to Burwardsley and the Pheasant Inn - food and real ale! During the next 20 minutes the re-occurring theme of the tramway continued and it was decided that we had enough time before our table reservation at the Pheasant Inn where we were due to meet up with Kate and Ted (Martin’s wife and son - a member of our support crew) and we would add the extra little loop and attack the tramway for a second time!! Time passed and conversation dried up - silence - the calm before the storm as Lee and Martin contemplated the task ahead and mustered the energy.

With the double challenge in sight we set off with a steady pace digging deep, expletives a plenty, calves burning, heart pumping, the top was reached non stop this time, but disappointedly there was no reception committee again, feeling pleased with the days achievement we headed back to the Pheasant Inn in time for beer and food and to retell the tale of the tramway not once but twice.

We completed what turned out to be 31.70 km in 6hrs and 24 minutes including 788m of climb. The stats for this walk are here. You'll note that Lee managed to max his heartrate out at 193bpm - not bad considering his maximum should be about 185!

This weekend the team (minus Martin 'Ballast' but including Support Team member Simon 'Dog Whisperer') are heading for the Trailwalker Prep Session at Queen Elizabeth Country Park after which we're going to take on Stages 6 and 7 of the Trailwalker course.

25/04/2012 - Training Walk #16 - A Wet and Muddy Evening Stroll and a Giant Leap for The Red Harrows

Tonight it was our fortnightly night walk, though perhaps evening walk is more of an accurate description given that since the clocks went forward and nights have started to shorten, the vast majority of this after-work-yomp is now in daylight and twilight with the last 10 minutes or so in darkness. We proposed to do the same route as our first night walk which takes us from near the Belle Mont Pub at the top of Frodsham, past the golf course, into Delamere Forest and back round the top of Frodsham along Beacon Hill.

Although it wasn't really dark, it was wet and boggy in places particularly as some of the paths are bridleways and our equine friends do like to cut these trails up in a big way. Our previous time for this walk was 2hrs and 57minutes and we weren't really expecting to beat this, but set off at a good early pace as the second half of this walk gets a bit tricky in the woodland and along the cliff edges so care is needed.

It was drizzling from the off so the first real chance to test our waterproof gear and backpack rain covers. Mark having broken in a pair of Merrel Ventilator Refuge Pro GTX (not fuel injected or turbo charged but do keep your feet dry) at the weekend opted to break in a new pair of Merrel Moab Mid GTX for this one and is happy to report they performed very well given they were immersed up to the ankle on several occasions.

You may recall the first time we did this walk, Mark made an attempt at a gate vault - something he hadn't done since he was knee-high to a grasshopper (not that he ever was) and given we were doing the same route and in celebration of the team achieving the revised fundraising target of £3,000 (more on this later), he decided to give it another go on the same gate - judge for yourself....

Triumphantly the team carried on towards Delamere with the pace still well above our previous walk. The drizzle stopped briefly and the clouds started to break and we began to convince ourselves that was our lot for the evening, though as we started the ascent into the woodland above Frodsham, the failing light combined with the breeze picking up and more drizzle making things a little difficult underfoot. We had decided to forego the headtorches as we convinced ourselves our night vision would see us to the finish which perhaps was a little over ambitious as the path began to deteriorate to 'bog' standard and Martin missed a tree root in the darkness causing a comedy sideways stumble, though the resultant injury to his hand was no laughing matter. Okay, it was a small scratch - we're blokes and prone to exaggeration but Martin assures us it hurt like hell (well a bit) and would need alchohol as an antidote.

Reaching the cars in 2hrs and 44 minutes (later corrected to 2hrs 47minutes by the Garmin), the team were pleased with the result and departed for the now traditional post walk Fish 'n' Chips and pint of real ale. The walk stats are here.

We are also delighted to report that we have reached our £3,000 fundraising target and we would like to thank our recent sponsors - Ben, Suzanne, Sarah, Jenny B, Hannah Freakes, Hilary, Martin Mowforth, Anonymous, another Sarah, Caroline, Adam and our fellow Trailwaker Team - The Dorset Dawdlers for helping us get through our target! We're delighted to have got this far so soon and it has exceeded our expections so we can now focus on the training which is great.

This weekend, Martin and Lee will be off for a 6hr, 27km walk in the Peckforton Hills while Mark is away at a wedding and Polly is stuck up North. Look forward to the blog chaps - hope it stays dry for you!

21/04/2012 - Training Walk #15 - Conquering The Matterhorn (of The Peak)

Shutlingsloe Hill - The Matterhorn of The Peak

With Gurkha Training cancelled, we had hastily arranged a training walk which we felt would be an adequately punishing replacement. On previous training walks to Croker Hill, we had noted an oddly shaped peak further out into the Peak District. Lee had referred to this as 'Table Top' but reviewing the OS did not provide any hills by that name.

After a careful bit of comparing contours we reckoned this hill must be Shutlingsloe Hill and further Googling led us to find this was the third highest hill in The Peak District and nicknamed 'The Matterhorn of The Peak' because of its steep sides resembling the orignal.

Perfect we thought - throw in another hill and another and another and suddenly we were looking at 21km and over 700m of climbing - the most climb we have done to date and about 30% of Trailwalker.

Meeting up in a car park near Allgreave at 9am, Mark, Martin and Lee were suitably psyched up for what was coming, especially given that Mark had been at a charity auction for his children's Primary School until the early hours and was fully refreshed after 5 1/2 hours of sleep.

The Roaches and Lud's Church

The first hill was Tagsclough Hill, a reasonably gentle 140m climb skirting the edge of the hill which we took in our stride apart from the heavily waterloogged paths which resembled streams. 

As we came over the top we we were greeted with a view across towards Gun Hill and The Roaches where we have a future walk planned and watched as a buzzard flew low across the nearby field chasing a terrified rabbit (we didn't see if he suceeded).

Shutlingsloe seen from Birchenough Hil

Descending down towards Gradbach we crossed the River Dane and walked past the nearby Youth Hostel which was busy as we passed a few groups of walkers headed in the opposite direction probably towards Lud's Church. 

Following the Dane Valley Way, we crossed back over the river and started our climb to Birchenough Hill which for ease we have renamed Brian Clough Hill for ease of pronunciation (now then young man).


This was to be about 190m of climb and this is a hill where a B17 Flying Fortress crashed in the WWII due to poor visibility. As we reached the peak there was no obvious sign of the memorial to the aircrew so a little more research required to find it next time. We had estimated 1hr 44mins to the top and were a couple of minutes ahead of schedule. As we came over the top, the daunting shape of Shutlingsloe came into view, partially shrouded in mist, daunting because we knew this was to come next - but only after we had descended all the way back down.

Previous conquests - Mow Cop, The Cloud and Croker Hill

As we started the 240m climb to the top of 'The Matterhorn', we were passed by numerous walkers coming down and felt a little envious as they were heading downhill and we seemed to be the only ones going up. The thing with Shutlingsloe isn't so much the total climb, it's the way it manifests itself. It's almost parabolic in shape, getting steeper the further you climb. The last 300m to the summit rises 100m - a 1 in 3 gradient which took its toll on the legs but reaching the trig point felt such an achievement and the views were quite something. 

Mark recovers at the top with a snack

We had reached the top in 2hrs 25minutes, a good 10 minutes ahead of schedule and we agreed we'd have a rest and a snack at this point, which isn't something we've tended to do but as the walks get longer we need to get into the habit of refuelling and having short breaks, it also gave us time to enjoy the spectacular views while perching precariously to shelter from the wind.

After the brief pit-stop we felt reinvigorated and descended the hill on the other side towards Macc Forest. As we walked along, Martin threw in a question - if you could have any celebrity in your Support Team, who would it be? Immediately John Bishop was unamimously declared in charge of 'Motivation' and a debate ensued as to who would be team chef. Gordon Ramsay was decided to be perhaps a little too aggresive and Greg Wallace while not a chef was suggested for his sweet tooth and this might be a boost for the team. On team massage, Mel Sykes was put forward but the team struggled on who to put on logistics as the discussion then expanded to the ten people living or dead you'd like to invite to a dinner party. This whiled away the time as we entered and passed through Macclesfield Forest descending to the reservoirs as Tegg's Nose came into view (which is another possible extension to this walk at some point).

Tegg's Nose overlooking the reservoir

As we reached the dam of the reservoir, it was time to head upwards again to climb our fourth and final hill and a 170m climb which just as we thought was over, went up again and again sapping the already tired legs - this is the most we had climbed to date and it was becoming evident.

The sight of the cars in the car park was welcome after 4hrs and 57minutes, 5 minutes longer than  we were looking for but that didn't allow for a break in the middle, so we were nevertheless pleased with our performance and celebrated this at The Hanging Gate, a pub we had walked past on the way.

The stats for this training walk are here.

19/04/2012 - Going, Gurkha, Gone.

Well following our invitation to Gurkha training last week, sadly we have to report that it has been cancelled. 

To say we're disappointed is an understatement. We had been looking forward to training with the Gurkhas since the day we signed up for Trailwalker and could only hope we'd be in a position to raise enough sponsorship and pledge to qualify, which we have. 

Our excitement at being offered a place on Gurkha Training rapidly turned to dismay as we were informed by email from Oxfam yesterday that the training which was scheduled for this Saturday has had to be cancelled due to a lack of numbers wanting to take part. We can understand the need for Oxfam and The Gurkha Welfare Trust wanting to fully utilise this event though we suggest that had Oxfam given teams more time to raise sponsorship and having the training day a little later may have had a different result. Instead we have been asked back next year, which does defeat the object of making this part of our training build-up to Trailwalker. 

On a more positive note, we have done very well with sponsorship recently. We would like to thank Roger Haydon (Polly's stepfather), Vincent Fairclough (you never know when you'll need a good lawyer),  Dave Nanson of DBS Environmental, James Lockhart and Paul Whitmarsh of Whitmarsh Lockhart, Lisa Hathway, Jane Harris of the Morgan Foundation and our Chairman Steve Morgan on behalf of The Morgan Foundation for your generous sponsorship. Our total has now leapt up to £2,847.14 excluding Gift Aid which is just amazing.

As we have an extra weekend now, it won't be wasted so we have planned a 5hr walk in the Peak District venturing a little further afield this time. We're planning a 21km walk taking in 4 hills which should yield us about 750m of muscle sapping climb - by our standards thats a lot, so it will be our hardest yet. We're looking to take on Shutlingsloe Hill also known as 'The Matterhorn of The Peak' and Birchenough Hill - the site of a B17 Flying Fortress crash in WWII and I am planning on taking the camera! The planned route is here.

15/04/2012 - Training Walk #14 - The Return of The Croker

With Martin recovering from the disappointment of the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool (Liverpool won 2-1 incase you didn't know) it was left to Mark and Lee for this weekends training. Having spent all week in Scotland with Polly mountain-biking and completing an epic 43km walk in the highlands, Lee was driving straight down to what is rapidly becoming a base for the Red Harrows - The Knot Inn at Rushton Spencer.

Unfortunately, one of us (OK it was me and yes I am fallible) forgot to bring the camera for this walk which became a source of frustration as today was probably the brightest and clearest walk we've had yet (I promise to continue to beat myself up about it) so sadly no pics in this blog. If you want to refresh your memory, this is the same walk we did at Training Walk #6 - only in the opposite direction tackling The Cloud first.

You may recall that when we last attempted this walk at the beginning of March it was at the time a bit of leap for us (well actually more me). It was a first introduction to doing two 200m climbs back to back over an extended distance - and I don't mind admitting we nearly cut the walk short at the time after it took us 5hrs and 30minutes to cover the 20.7km with 570m of total climb and Lee thought I was having a heart attack.

Since then, training has been going well and my fitness which was virtually zero before starting Trailwalker training has improved dramatically (this week I recorded I'd lost a stone in weight - believe me, I needed to). On the back of this, we had set ourselves the ambitious target of completing this in 4hrs and 30minutes - a full hour quicker than previous.

We set off towards The Cloud gradually climbing through fields full of new-born Spring lambs who seemed totally unfazed by our presence and soon reached the sapping steps to take us to the summit. There was a reasonable group of people enjoying the view today as we reached the trig point in 52minutes (we had targeted an hour) so were pleased to be ahead of schedule.

Descending the steep side we gradually dropped down towards Bosley reservoir and reached our halfway point in 2hrs 6minutes (out target was 2hrs 15minutes) so took the opportunity for a quick energy bar before contemplating the ascent to the top of Croker Hill. This was a sapping climb but this time, there was no need for pauses to catch breath and we reached the summit in 2hrs and 45minutes a good 15minutes ahead of schedule which we were happy with knowing this was the highest point and it was generally downhill from here.

The views as we descended the ridge from Golden Hill were spectacular. We could see Beeston Hill and the Peckforton Hills where we walked last weekend and beyond that The Clwydian range all the way down to Breidden Hill some 50miles away atop which Rodney's Pillar sits. Gun Hill and The Roaches looked dauntingly spectacular in the near distance where we have a 6hr training walk planned in a few weeks time.

We made it to the Knot Inn in 4hrs 24minutes a good 66minutes faster than the last time we walked this double-header. So we celebrated in typical fashion with a couple of pints of real ale and were sooned joined by Mark's wife and support team member Kate and The Junior Red Harrows for sunday dinner. A good way to end the day.

We have no training walks scheduled for this weekend as this Saturday we have been invited to train with the Queen's Gurkha Signals at their barracks in Nuneaton. We're looking forward to it with mixed feelings. It will be good to meet the Gurkha's first hand, share their insights to help us prepare and to meet some of the other teams taking part but we're a bit apprehensive nonetheless!

07/04/2012 - Training Walk #13 - Spoiling a Good Walk

With Lee and Polly in Scotland it was left to Mark and Martin for this week's training. The schedule demanded a 4.5 hour walk this week so a 23km route using another part of the Sandstone Trail was planned to get some distance in rather than elevation for a change.

Beeston Castle on its rocky perch

After an 8.30am meet up in the car park of the Shady Oak we set off to round Beeston Hill and upon closer examination were glad it was off-limits as the impressively steep cliffs that surround it would have had Lee attempting to ascend it had he been with us.

Leaving Beeston we headed across country where it was relatively soft underfoot from the heavy rainfall the night before, towards the town of Tarporley. It was market day in Tarporley so we looked a little out of place as we yomped up the main street with walking poles in hand before veering off down a side street to head back out into the countryside and into Portal Golf Club.

Tarporley High Street

Portal Golf Club is probably best described as fairly 'exclusive' and known to be frequented by many a footballer past and present. It seemed a little odd to have a public right of way across several fairways and much like Tarporley High Street, the golf course was busy with many a golfer on the tee, fairway and green as we cut through their play taking a direct line and trying to keep an eye for the odd mis-hit shot and trying not to upset too many of them.




Relieved we managed to survive the Golf Course we left the those spoiling a good walk and headed to the little village of Eaton to the sound of the drone of cars running round the nearby Oulton Park Race Circuit. Thankfully there are no public rights of way across Oulton Park and the thought of playing Frogger with racing cars didn't appeal in any case so we were left to admire the thatched properties in Eaton as we strolled through.

Portal Golf Club - Fore!

As we left Eaton and climbed upwards along Lighfoot Lane, the by now unmistakeable 'thwack' of a golf ball being struck nearby was a little startling as we then broke out once again into Portal Golf Club and ran the gauntlet of what turned out surprisingly to be a second course (apparently there are three!). 

Relieved to once again escape the 'Plus-fours' brigade we crossed the busy A49 and headed to Utkinton and once through the village soon picked up the Sandstone Trail to take us  back to Beeston.

The Sandstone Trail with Beeston in the background

By comparison to the public footpaths we had been on, the Sandstone Trail is more trafficked, the trail much better marked and stiles/gates are few  - much as we expect the South Downs Way to be. 

As we entered the fifth hour we began to contemplate our strategy for when we attempt the full 55km of the trail later in June as a pre-Trailwalker training walk. We agreed that 4hrs is probably the limit point where we would need a break, some food and probably change socks or boots or both so it's likely we'll divide it into 4 with 3 stops.



We returned to the Shady Oak for a quick pint completing the 23.35km walk in 4hrs 37minutes at an average pace of 5.1km/h which was to plan (for a change!). The stats are here.

Next weekend's walk will be Mark and Lee (assuming he's not cut-off by snow in Scotland) and the plan is to tackle the route we did in Training Walk #6 but this time in reverse, tackling the 200m ascent to The Cloud and then the gruelling 280m ascent to Croker Hill. We're hoping to shave an hour off our previous time so hopefully we'll have earned our pie and pint in the Knot Inn afterwards.

06/04/2012 - The Fourth Musketeer

Well, after weeks of searching, countless CV's, interview panels assisted by Simon Cowell -  we have at last found our 4th teammate.

Dr. Polly

We are pleased to announce that Lee's girlfriend Polly has agreed to join us on Trailwalker 2012. You may recall Polly (or should we say Dr. or Prof. Polly?) joined us earlier in training on Training Walk #4 and was part of our support team.  

She is an accomplished fell runner, keen mountain biker, university lecturer and is currently in training for several mad challenges she has set herself this year. Our only worry is how we're going to slow her down from running the course, so we're currently looking into whether she can carry all our backpacks and putting lead in her boots when shes not looking.

So there we are, our search is over, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly are now D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers (cue arguments about who is who)....

Nice outfits guys - GoreTex?

On a sponsorship note, since raising our target to £2,000 we have had such a great response, we decided to raise it again to £3,000. We would like to thank Bill Swan, John Grime, Shield Environmental, Andrew and Helen, Ellie Roberts, Jason Drake, Our Anonymous sponsor, Clive Parry, Rick Robins, Jill Finn, Cindy, Ashleigh, Bev at Carden and Tim Peach - thanks to you all, we have reached £2,112.14 raised so far. By raising the target to £3000 we have put ourselves forward for training with the Gurkhas though this is first come first served so we wait and see if we get an invite - gulp!

With it being Easter weekend, things are a little disrupted from a training point of view. Lee and Polly head to Scotland for the week and will be getting plenty of mountain biking in - good luck with the snow guys. Mark and Martin are tackling another section of the Sandstone Trail on Saturday meeting up at a pub (where else?) near Beeston at 8.30am and aiming for 23km through Tarporley, Eaton and Utkinton in 4hours 30mins target. The proposed route is here.

Have a great Easter break everyone.

03/04/2012 - Training Walk #12 - Frodsham and Helsby Hill Night Walk

As the evenings start to get lighter, it's becoming harder to have a proper night walk after work though given the weather has once again turned wintry following the basking temperatures of last week, we did have cold, sleet and high winds forecast for the evening which would make things entertaining at the top of Frodsham.

Rocksavage by day

Mark, Martin and Lee met at the rendezvous point near the Belle Monte at the top of Frodsham before setting off on the evening's yomp. We were tackling a similar route to the first night walk around the top of Frodsham but doing it in reverse and this time including Helsby Hill to give us more elevation.

The ascent to the war memorial at the top of Beacon Hill was relatively quick and we were thankful that this time we could take in the views in daylight and realised just how far the fall is if you happen to stray a bit too close to the edge.

Helsby Hill in the distance

Continuing along the trail, Helsby Hill came into view. When we generated the route on the computer, it showed quite a severe drop down to Helsby before the ascent. We weren't quite prepared for it being steps all the way and were somewhat thankful we were going down and not up them (but of course Lee had to be the one to suggest it for the future - the sadist).

The climb up Helsby Hill seemed to go quickly (so we must be improving!) and we were soon at the trig point with more cliffs and views across to Wales in the west and Liverpool to the north.

Martin and Lee near the trig point on Helsby Hill

After a small 'Balotelli' moment between Lee and Mark on which was the right way down as Martin looked on nonchalantly, we continued on a slight detour on which neither of them were correct but it got us to where we needed to be and headed towards the village of Alvanley. 

Mark had included Alvanley in the route - because it had a pub (well you have to check these things out don't you?). The White Horse as it turned out was a Robinsons pub and the car park was packed so it was noted for future drinking, I mean training.


Once into the last hour of the walk, the light started to fade rapidly so on went the headtorches and by coincidence the wind started to pick up and the sleet started to come down. Without knowing how bad it was likely to get, we instinctively started to pick up the pace and started to taste the fish and chips which were waiting for us in Frodsham.

It certainly seemed to spur us on as we completed what turned out to be 13.9km in 2hrs and 47minutes, a good 13 minutes ahead of what we thought it would take us and with 303m of climb. The stats for this walk are here.