24/06/2012 - The Sandstone Trail - The Last Big Training Walk

When we first designed our training schedule, we agreed we needed to do a final training walk longer than half the distance of Trailwalker and one which would test our Support Team fully. From an early stage we identified the Sandstone Trail as the perfect challenge as its 55km long, local and suitably hilly. We have trained extensively on parts of the trail recorded in earlier blogs notably the hilly sections around Peckforton, Kelsall and Frodsham but there are still parts of the trail we had yet to encounter.

This would be our first training walk with a Support Team too. As Lee's brother Neil lives in Kent and Simon was inconveniently having his eyes lasered (the things folk will do to get out of Trailwalker training) it was left to Mark's wife Kate and Martin's son Ted to support us all the way.

Given that England would be kicking off against Italy at 7:45pm and our anticipated 13hour duration, we agreed (yes, we did - it was unanimous) to bring the start time forward to 6am which, given that Whitchurch was an hour away from most of us meant a 4am wake up call - a time which should be banned on a Sunday (as Kate continued to remind Mark).

The weather in recent days had been atrocious with nearly 4 inches of rain dumped on parts of the North West and more had been deposited on Saturday night and was forecast to continue on Sunday morning then easing as the day progressed.

Setting off from Mark's house at 5am, Mark, Kate, Lee and Polly again questioned why it was we were doing this as Kate drove dodging the standing water in the country lanes and we wondered what might lie in store in the fields we would have to cross. Shortly after arriving, Martin and Ted pulled into the car park and as we began to kit up, Martin announced they had driven through torrential rain on the way and he'd forgotten his coat. Requisitioning Ted's coat, Lee then announced he'd forgotten his backpack which was apparently Polly's fault (cue discussion) though he had got his Camelbak which Polly hadn't (cue further discussion). This wasn't starting well. To add insult to injury, just as we'd got suited up, the heaven's opened. Joy.

Why are we doing this again?

After posing for a quick team photo at the sandstone arch marker in Jubilee Park marking the start/end of the trail, there was a moment of disorientation as we realised we weren't sure which way to go. Finding a path and identifying our first Sandstone Trail marker on a post, we set off through Whitchurch and soon picked up the canal which would take us out of the town with Mark and Martin walking ahead giving Lee and Polly space to continue their discussion about who had forgotten what (at least that's what we thought they were discussing).



The walk along the towpath was relatively easy going, a few flooded sections easily avoided and gradually descending out of Whitchurch until we eventually arrived at the sign which would take us off the towpath into the fields. Having never done this section of the trail before, we weren't sure what to expect though it wasn't long before our worst fears were realised as evidenced by standing water and mud. As usual this was made worse by cows and cattle in the fields. 

On entering one field we realised that it was full of bulls and they were taking a very unhealthy interest in us. Instead of moving off like cows, these guys were turning to face us and follow us. Noting the stile in the corner of the field, a steady pace was maintained as the bulls started to converge on us. Somehow Mark ended up at the back of his teammates (possibly because he was wearing red and carried a red backpack - nobody wanted to be near him) and on arriving at the stile turned to face the following herd with his walking poles raised aloft stating they were actually cattle prods (patent pending) much to the amusement of his now safe teammates and the confusion of the now stationary bulls.

We had arranged to meet Kate and Ted at a lay by near Hampton Green. When we were just a few km away, Kate's voice could be heard on the walkie-talkie requesting a progress update though it appears they couldn't hear us through our rain soaked walkie-talkie. As we approached Checkpoint 1 they cheered and we arrived to find chairs set up and the boot of the car open. A variety of drinks and foodstuffs were dished out to the team as water and snacks were replenished in backpacks.

Mark had once again managed to get his boots, socks and feet wet and in changing to a fully dry set, the zinc oxide tape, damp from the walk, fell off for the second week running. Not wanting to put the stop time in jeopardy, he decided not to re-tape a decision he might come to regret with 43km still to go. After our allotted 15minute refuelling we bid our Support Team goodbye and continued up the trail looking forward to the next stop which wasn't for another 12km in the middle of the Peckforton Hills.

As we walked along more fields doing our best to dodge large areas of standing water (which was becoming increasingly difficult), we crossed though Michael Owen's (remember that goal against Argentina?) little place for the breeding and training of race horses and started to climb off the plain and up towards Bickerton Hill - a welcome respite from the surface flooding but a sudden need to adapt to going uphill again after the long muddy slog on the flat.

There wasn't much time to enjoy the view at the top other than to remark that as forecasted, the weather seemed to be easing and the warmth was starting to sap energy levels given we were all still in waterproofs. We also noted on the far horizon the masts at the top of Kelsall and the hills above Helsby and Frodsham - they looked a long, long way away. As we descended into the village, Mark and Martin decided to make full use of a bench in the churchyard to remove all waterproofs and while recognising this would tempt fate, it would at least make the ascent to Raw Head a bit more comfortable and we were soon on our way up the road and the gradual incline.

The walkers arrive at Checkpoint 2

Arriving at Raw Head (the highest point on the trial) we were comforted knowing it was all downhill from here, apart from all the wiggly up and down bits in between and we pushed on towards Bulkeley Hill taking the opportunity to wind Polly up about "The Tramway" and the fact she was the only teammate not to have done it yet. Given we were passing the top of "The Tramway" that pleasure would have to wait for another day but on looking down it, Polly agreed that the photos don't do its severity justice.

Choosing to ignore the ropeswing and the fallen trees, we continued into Burwardsley, home of the Pheasant Inn a previous start and stop point, but on this occasion we had chosen the car park for the nearby candle factory for our second checkpoint. This time the walkie-talkie was working and our requests for food and clothing were ready and waiting as we were greeted by Ted and Kate and some odd looks from those heading into the candle factory as we sat in our folding chairs eating, drinking and changing damped clothing - 24km done, 31km to go.

Refuelling at Checkpoint 2

Our allotted time was soon over and once again we bid our Support Team goodbye and headed back up the hill to rejoin the Sandstone Trail and the descent which would take us past Peckforton Castle and Beeston Castle, over the Shropshire Union Canal and up the notorious boggy field which Mark and Martin had encountered previously. Once again this lived up to expectations as we zig-zagged round standing water and cattle churned mud. Having got this field over with, we became more optimistic though this was shortlived as we entered fields of wheat and barley where the clayey surface had become wet making traction difficult. To make matters worse, walking poles were inhibited as the crops grabbed at the poles making it necessary to carry them and hope we wouldn't slide in the mud.

Arriving at Checkpoint 3

Persevering with the conditions underfoot we trudged on and just within 2km of our Checkpoint 3 (a wide field gateway off a country lane), the walkie-talkie burst into life with Kate asking how far off we were and would we like a hot drink? Immediately three teas and a coffee were ordered and the the thought of a hot refreshing drink spurred us on and once again Ted and Kate were ready with the drinks just at the perfect hot drinkable temperature which was just what we needed at that point - 34km done, 21km to go. 

Perked up by our Support Team we set off in good spirits and soon passed the 37km/18km sandstone marker - one-third to go. As we gradually climbed up the fields we reached the point where on a previous walk, Mark and Martin had joined the Sandstone Trail from Utkinton after which we would all be in unfamiliar territory again. At this point a further curve ball was thrown at us. As we headed towards the gate it appeared a large herd of cows had preceded us and churned the ground up so badly the mud was too deep to get through without overtopping our boots - a bit annoying having only just changed to dry socks again.

Lee and Polly did at least remember the pasta salad

The terrain continued upwards which we took as a reassuring sign that we were at last leaving the boggy plains behind and as water runs downhill, thought we'd stand a better chance of keeping our feet dry(ish). Once at the top we recognised the point at the top of Kelsall where we have undertaken some of our night walks and knew that Delamere Forest and our final checkpoint weren't far now.

The welcoming sight of Delamere Forest must have hit the team with a degree of delirium. While Polly struggled on in silence with blistered feet and Mark with damp feet and a nagging pain in the hip area, Lee, having taken twice the prescription dose of hayfever tablets (after not reading the instructions) seemed in very high spirits and as Martin dug out his iPod and plugged in the external speaker, Lee started to Moonwalk to Michael Jackson. Martin then pulled out a bunch of 'Curly-Wurlys' as we climbed the hill and we found eating these isn't conducive to walking with poles.

Mark tucks into choccie ice cream at CP4

The mayhem continued through the forest as we received odd looks from people out for a Sunday stroll/dog walk/bike ride (delete as applicable) as Martin played DJ on the iPod but given we'd gone beyond 40km, we felt we had every right to misbehave. We managed to notify the Support Team of our impending arrival, though through the trees the signal was a bit broken and they were expecting us to come from the other direction but they were there, waiting with ice-cream from the Cheshire Ice Cream Farm - what a welcome surprise!

With 8km to go and still with Beacon Hill above Frodsham to get over the team were in good spirits and determined as ever to finish albeit with Polly suffering with her feet, Mark with a dodgy hip and what was now resembling 'trench foot' from the damp footwear, Lee away with the fairies and Martin gearing himself up to run up the steps to the top. 

This was now the 'Dead Zone' as so far, only Martin had gone beyond 48km on a  previous walk. As we approached the 50km mark on the odometer, Mark counted down the last 100m and there were handshakes all round - half of Trailwalker in 11hrs 15minutes and then we moved on knowing the job wasn't done yet.

Nearly there!

As we climbed, conversation dropped as we focused on this final ascent, one which we have done on several training walks before and knowing this would be the final climb before the descent into Frodsham. Approaching the '39 steps' (we're not sure how many there are as we've not actually counted them), Lee, Polly and Martin took off, leaving Mark to climb them at  a more sensible pace and we were soon at the War Memorial at the top of Beacon Hill and radioed the Support Team of our arrival at the top. Just another couple of kilometres downhill to the finish now.

Dropping down into the streets of Frodsham, we probably looked a right rag-tag bunch with muddy boots, gaiters and trousers and with it being quite a nice evening there plenty of people about and drinkers outside pubs preparing for the England game. The final point of the trail is a sandstone obelisk conveniently located outside the Bears Paw. Once again Kate and Ted were there to greet us and capture this finish and even better  - there waiting was a celebratory pint for each of us - great support.

This is the end - 55km - 12hrs 32minutes.

As we sat downing our pints, rubbing our sore and aching area sand stretching, we contemplated the fact that on Trailwalker, we will still have 45km to go which was basically turning round and going all the way back to Checkpoint 1. Food for thought.

We would like to thank Kate and Ted for being a great source of motivation throughout this walk and we couldn't have done it without you. The route is here.

Things learned from this long team walk:

1. Lee and Polly need an equipment list,
2. Mark needs better zinc-oxide tape,
3. Polly probably needs to use zinc-oxide tape,
4. Martin likes Ted's coat better than his own,
5. You can never have enough dry socks,
6. Its amazing just how much punishment your body can take,
7. Painkillers are useful when your body can't take much more punishment,
8. Walkie-talkies are very handy to communicate with the Support Team,
9. Checkpoints become a very welcome sight,
10. Nice surprises are quite motivating.

28/03/2012 Training Walk #10 - Rhubarb, Rhubarb and The Hound of The Red Harrows

Following our theme of training on the Sandstone Trail, we arranged to do another 14km loop taking us a bit further South from the loop we did two weeks ago. This loop was to start in Manley, take us through Delamere Forest to Kelsall and back. Lee having fallen asleep for 7 hours after our walk on Sunday (apparently it was the refreshing post walk pint that did it) was fully awake for this evenings walk and was even ready on time at the Rendezvous Point. This is more than could be said for Support Team Leader Simon who was joining us and managed to get lost en-route from the office. No chance he was going to do the evening's navigation in the dark then.

One of the trails through Delamere

We set off at a decent pace into Delamere Forest on a well used and popular route and noted the number of people out for an evening stroll and the mountain bikers tearing down the trails. As one biker passed with a shovel in his backpack Martin and Mark looked at each other and joked that perhaps he'd been burying a body in the woods somewhere. The team conversation soon deteriorated from here to the nocturnal habits of certain people given the number of parked vehicles in the woodland, a subject which one member of the team (who shall remain nameless) seemed know a little too much about so we moved rapidly on and changed the subject.

Descending the trail into the Forest

Delamere Forest is criss-crossed with a myriad of trails so it was a bonus that it was still not yet dark given that the clocks had gone forward at the weekend making navigation a bit easier. We eventually came to the busy A556, which after a bit of careful judgement was successfully crossed with no loss of life.

Another descent and climb had us emerging by a useful little tea-room at the top of Kelsall where a sign stated 'Muddy Boots - Welcome'. Handy to know for future reference. Descending into Kelsall, the views across Cheshire with the setting sun were stunning and photos do not do it justice.

The sun setting over Cheshire from above Kelsall

As darkness began to set in, we perched by a sign declaring we were at 'Kelsborrow Castle' a prehistoric promontory fort and removed our sunglasses replacing them with headtorches. Unfortunately there wasn't much of the hillfort to see particularly as it was rapidly getting dark so we pressed on given that we'd managed to get well over half way in a little over an hour and a half on what was the hillier bit of the trail.

We entered Kelsall village itself which meant navigating down streets and through alleyways which had been fenced out.


This wasn't the most pleasant section of the walk but soon had us out of Kelsall and back to once again cross the A556 dual carriageway which was negotiated successfully in the dark, without dazzling oncoming drivers.

Educational this walking lark

We crossed through fields of crops and noted a whole field full of rhubarb and then realised Martin was somewhat of a rhubarb connosieur, describing the many different ways rhubarb could be enjoyed. At this point we'd lost Simon and looking back up the trail saw him stuffing something into his backpack though he categorically denies it was anything to do with rhubarb.

A short section of road later, we were once again into fields though the path across it wasn't clear. It was quickly noted the field was planted with spiky gooseberry bushes which was a problem for those of us walking in shorts so a diversion was proposed and as we walked along the field boundary there came a distant barking which got steadily closer with our headtorches picking out a pair of eyes int he darkness. Thinking this was a dog constrained within a property we continued towards it only to find it was roaming free and not at all happy we were there. Dutifully, Simon sacrificed himself for the sake of the team and shall be hereforward known as 'The Dog Whisperer' after successfully placating it.

After negotiating the gooseberry plantation and the hound of the Red Harrows, we entered a field where the path ran diagonally through it. Helpfully (or so we thought), the farmer had taped the route across it only for us to realise it was an electric fence and actually blocked the path. Testing the insulation of the handle of his aluminium walking pole, Martin bravely pressed the wire down so the team could step over it with no ill effects. Thankfully apart from a small navigational error and missing the point where the path left the road, this was the last of the evening's events as we trekked across the fields full of sheep to the cars and the waiting pint at the The Goshawk in Mouldsworth.

The walked finished as 14.6km long and we managed it ahead of our expectations in 2hrs and 53 minutes with an average speed of 5.1km/h. The stats for this evenng's walk are here.

This weekend's Training Walk is scheduled for Saturday morning. We're going to have a go at Croker Hill in the Peak District again and come down a slightly different way. We think it should be about 18km long with 600m of climb and expect it to take us about 4hrs and 20minutes. This is the route.

04/03/2011 - Martin and Simon do Re-Con for the night walk.....

While Mark and Lee were recovering from Saturday's effort, Veteran “Red Harrow”, Martin, and first reserve and support team member, Simon, undertook an impromptu reconnaissance walk on Sunday afternoon to survey the route of the first proposed Red Harrows night walk scheduled for March 14th along the Sandstone Trail between Frodsham and Delamere Forest.

Martin - master of all he surveys...Frodsham in this case

After a round-about route to the start line in Manley Common, the debate over whether to don the waterproofs or not was made for Simon by the sudden hail storm.

Martin, however, decided to stride forth with the minimum of gear - this was a back to basics hard-core trek without the backup of electronic witchery! A Paper map and a water bottle were all the support Martin needed! 

Setting off east up a muddy track we followed the Delamere Way and soon found ourselves skirting the edge of Delamere Forest before crossing farmland and avoiding the local livestock. A short section of road walking took us past Harrol Edge an down Dobbers Lane then more farmland tracks to the radio mast at Beacon Hill, making friends with the local wildlife along the way! 

The industrial side of Runcorn in the distance

The sheer cliffs of Frodsham Edge beckoned, but first we had to dodge the flying balls when crossing downwind, and down shot, of Frodsham Golf Course’s driving range! Passing the Belle Mount Hotel in Frodsham (looking a likely spot to begin, and end, the night walk from…) we continued through the wooded slopes of Frodsham Edge to the war memorial and magnificent views across Cheshire and the Mersey Estuary, including such highlights as Harrow Estates’ offices, Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, the M56 bridge across the River Weaver, the chemical works of Runcorn and in the distance the gleaming chimneys of Stanlow Oil Refinery……industrial Britain at its best and blessed with a certain majesty.

Martin was asked to look ‘intrepid’ for a photo – judge for yourself whether he succeeded or not!


Martin looking intrepid.

After a short water stop we continued and Simon noticed that Martin was leaking……unfortunately the top to Martin’s water bottle (old skool – no camelbaks here!) had come loose and filled the pocket of his jacket!

At least we know the fabric is waterproof, but the wet patch on Martin’s leg pointed to a small hole in the stitching!

The return leg of the walk picked up the Sandstone Trail and was initially a lot more downhill than expected. We must have been climbing significantly on the way to Frodsham without realising it. Passing the New Red Sandstone of the cliffs sparked Simon’s geological interest, and the dune cross bedding was particularly fine……! Alas the walk must continue and the sedimentary inspections must wait for another time. 

Stanlow Oil Refinery and the Mersey Estuary. Scenic!

Cutting back away from the cliffs the route took us through numerous gates, sparking a new game of ‘rate the gate’……yes the afternoon was dragging. The final leg was across more farmland and skirting the village of Manley before reaching the car back at Manley Common.

All-in we took 2hrs 50min and the total walk was about 15km and 240m of elevation change. Should easily be do-able for the night walk on the 14th!