18/07/2012 - Trailwalker 2012 (Part 2)

The night passed fitfully. Mark couldn't get to sleep and as it turned out neither could the team-mates settle. The brain just wouldn't shut down at a point when we really needed a decent rest before facing this Epic trek we actually couldn't. It was almost a relief when the alarm went off at 5am to start getting ready. The usual preparations, a couple of bananas, a pint of water, a nurofen, shower then taping up the feet with zinc oxide tape.

We were meeting in the car park at 6am, the plan being to get to QECP at about 6:30am to allow us to miss the road closures for the 6am and 7am starters and get some breakfast down us. As we walked out into the car park, it seemed we weren't the only Trailwalkers with the same plan or inability to sleep as several other teams started loading their kit into their cars.

The team arrive and park at QECP

On arrival at QECP, the car park was extremely full and following the directions of the Gurkhas we seemed to park a good way away from the tents. We decided we'd suit and boot and carry our gear over rather than come back later. 

The car barely made it onto the muddy field and we watched as a four wheel drive struggled to get out. The shape of things to come perhaps?

The queue for breakfast

As we walked towards the tents we could hear the bagpipes starting up - the 7am starters. The BunLovingCrimnals were in that group we thought and it would be us next. We stood in the queue for breakfast dished out by the Gurkha chefs. 

An array of bacon, sausages, beans, tomatoes, boiled egg, cereals, tea and coffee on offer. The team tucked in though Mark was a little less enthusiastic and decided he couldn't really face much to eat at all at this point.

The team looking pensive at the Start

After breakfast we slowly worked our way round via the toilets for a final pre-Start pit-stop and once again bumped into Jon Paul Tom and Olly who were limbering up and getting their gear together. 

As the teams chatted and stretched, the minutes ticked by and it was time to head up to be 'coraled' into the Start Area. Dibbing our Dibbers as we entered to ensure our 8am start would be registered, we waited. 

Gubbs becomes the 5th Red Harrow!

We were soon approached by Gubbs from the HardcoreFour and introduced to Jo, Julie and Josh though there wasn't much time to talk as we listened to the Gurkha officer and then the klaxon sounded followed by the sound of the Gurkha bagpipes and suddenly this throng of 400 or so people was off into the park.

And we're off! (Infiltrated by the HardcoreFour)

We weren't sure how things would go for this first stage as we thought perhaps things might get congested, but the track was good and wide so everything moved at a reasonable pace, enough to get warmed up properly. As we passed the Visitor Centre we were in complete unknown territory but with this many people all going the same way, provided those at the front knew where they were going - we would be fine. 

As we rounded the corner, the track began to deteriorate to a more of a hardcore track, still wide but we soon had our first encounters with the mountain bikers as progressively the word "Bike" was shouted encouraging people to move left out of their way. It wasn't clear how far these bikers had come or how long they'd been out but they were pretty much covered head to toe in mud. if that was an indication of the trail up ahead then things were going to get much worse from here.

The Red Harrows Mobile Command Centre at CP1

At least the rain was holding off us so far and things were actually quite pleasant though the evidence of heavy rainfall  abounded on the trail as standing water. As we approached Checkpoint 1 the walkie-talkies burst into life and we gave our ETA. The Support Team were ready even though we were ahead of schedule and we were greeted by Ted on the trail in advance - something he would do a lot of on the Checkpoints to come. As we dibbed in at Checkpoint 1 our time registered 1:44, a good 22minutes ahead of our schedule. 



The Support Crew escorted us over to the waiting gazebo which they had erected despite there being no need at this point but it was good practice for them. Coincidentally we were alongside the HardcoreFour and after a 16minute break, refuel, re-water we were off again cheered off by our Support Crew and the Hardcore Four! 

Beacon Hill in all its glory

Still in unfamiliar territory we set off towards Checkpoint 2 at a decent pace. The trail had narrowed and the crowd had dissipated thanks to people stopping at Checkpoint 1 and others carrying on up the trail. The weather was still holding up but we knew on this stage we would encounter Beacon Hill. This hill had grown in notoriety as the subject of many a teams blogs in training. It was for this reason we had climbed Shutlingsloe in the Peak District and the Tramway at Burwardsley. Soon enough it was there looming in front. Not the biggest hill we've seen but steep, steep enough to have steps carved into it and a good early test. Halfway up it and we were glad we'd trained on steep hills as maintaining the pace became difficult, but as quickly as it began it was conquered and we were off.

The rest of the stage passed fairly uneventfully apart from the frustrating need to don waterproof coats during heavy showers which would last 15minutes or so, then stop, let you realise you were too hot, take them off and then find another shower coming in. This pattern would continue for a number of hours.

Checkpoint 2 - mind the mud.

Approaching Checkpoint 2 we got on the radio again and during the descent there was the smiling face of Ted to greet us again and guide us up to the support vehicle. On entering the Checkpoint, we began to comprehend what our Support Crew were having to contend with. The place was a mess. Large brown ruts ran down the middle of the field where cars, vans and four wheel drives had slid sideways. As we walked to our car, we watched as car after car had to be pushed and guided, Gurkhas throwing down sawdust to tray and soak up the moisture all to no avail. Four wheel drive didn't seem to make any difference whatsoever. 

Banquet at Checkpoint 2

We reached the car to find the team had put the gazebo up and the sides, which was just as well as we arrived to the sound of thunder and then the real rain started. We'd managed to complete this stage in 1hour 55minutes, a good 16minutes ahead of our target time.

Taking the opportunity to change socks, load up on the spread on offer and stock up for what would be a longer walk to Checkpoint 4 before we see our Support Crew again we managed to complete this stop in 25minutes, a little longer than our 15minute allowance but we could afford it and we were still 27minutes ahead overall.

We bid the Support Crew goodbye wondering how they would ever get out and set off up the hill. We'd only been gone about 10minutes when Simon hailed us on the walkie-talkie - "Guys - bad news - we've just been told Checkpoint 4 is now closed to Support Crews - we won't now see you until Checkpoint 5 - Good Luck!"

To be continued....

19/05/2012 - Plains, Trams and Watery Fields

Lee and Polly were off to the Yorkshie Dales this weekend for a friends birthday - but no doubt they would be getting some miles in. It was left to Mark and Martin to hit the trails locally this weekend. 

The weather forecast wasn't looking great for Saturday. Mark had planned two routes depending on the weather, one on the Clwydian Range (not great in poor weather) and another on the Peckforton Range in Cheshire (not great in poor weather - but better than being exposed on the Welsh mountains). Both walks were anticipated to be 7hours of walking (excluding breaks). We opted for the Peckofrton Range as the forecast was showing rain into mid-morning and the 34km planned route was logged into the Garmin.

Driving through persistent drizzle on the way to rendezvous at The Pheasant, did not bode well for today's walk. Mark had fully filled his 3Litre Camelbak and thrown in two bottles of Lucozade Sport for good measure, a handful of Clif Bars, a tuna and cucumber sandwich, two pairs of socks, a mid-layer fleece as well as all the usual navigational paraphinalia he carries - seldom had his pack weighed so much. In true F1 style, we agreed on a two stop strategy of not more than 10minutes to try and start preparing for being supported by our crew. The plan was to stop after 2.5 hours and 5 hours leaving us a 2 hour walk to the finish.

The Tramway from the bottom

We set off from the Pheasant at 9.10am and headed off for the trail which would take us to the now infamous Tramway (see our previous blog on this). Now Mark had yet to experience the Tramway. He had heard the tales of those who had gone before him and survived to tell the tale. "How hard can it be?" he asked himself having previously survived The Cloud cliff path and Shutlingsloe Hill. On approaching the bottom of the Tramway - he soon had his answer.

The vision of two parallel lines disappearing and curving upwards was enough to turn the legs to jelly even before we got started. Martin explained there was only one rule - no swearing on the way up. A few gulps of water and and a with a wry smile from Martin they set off. Mark was soon regretting tackling this early in the walk with a full backpack. The 'no swearing' rule was quickly broken and Mark was not even half way up before the burning sensation in the calves started. 


Step by gruelling step we climbed, the mud in between the sleepers slippery underfoot, the distance between the sleepers making it a further to reach than climbing steps and as we got further in, it began to fell like a ladder - Jacob's ladder perhaps, we're ascending to heaven, we must be dead - Mark began to hallucinate as the sound of his heartbeat pounded in his ears and Martin decided to film it so that it could be enjoyed posthumously by others who thought to attempt the Tramway.

The drizzle keeps on coming...

At last we reached the top, legs completely jellified and looked back down the track now looking more like a descent into Hell than a Stairway to Heaven. Other than that - we  can thoroughly recommend it! Gradually descending Bulkeley Hill with heartrate recovering we headed gradually down the back and round Bickerton Hill. 

As we began to climb towards the summit, we realised we'd taken a slight wrong turn and were meant to go down to the bottom again before taking a trail up the face. Retracing our steps we were soon looking up the face of Bickerton Hill but the marked path was nowhere to be found until we spotted what looked like a trail running straight up the face. 
"That must be it" we decided so started on upwards only to realise that this was probably a route cleared by badgers as the undergrowth soon closed in on us. With the Tramway only a recent memory, we found ourselves once again heading steeply upwards on not so much a trail as a stream bed carved out by rushing water. Eventually we returned to the trail at the top which took us round the top fo Bickerton Hill as the drizzle beagn to ease and we began to descend once more.

By the time we had reached the bottom of the hill we were bang on 2.5 hours and searched for a convenient perch for a pitstop. Martin managed to make a bus-stop magically appear so the opportunity was taken to take a load off, scoff a sandwich, Clif bar, down a bottle of Lucozade and change socks (well for Mark in anycase). All managed nicely in 10 minutes and we were off again pleased we could manage it in the allotted time.

Looking out from Raw Head

The quick re-fuel stood us in good stead for the ascent to Raw Head, the highest point on the Sandstone Trail and this was quickly dispatched as we headed back towards The Pheasant to mark the first half of the walk and bottom part of this 'figure-of-eight'. At 3hrs and 45minutes for the first half of the walk (the hilly bit) with a stop thrown in we were quite pleased with progress knowing the next half was out onto the Cheshire Plain and other than the ascent at the end should be quick. What we had failed to take into account however was that water runs downhill, off mountains and into fields.

The Cheshire Plain unfolds in front

Passing first Peckforton then Beeston Castle and over the Shropshire Union Canal, the Sandstone Trail  became a tad boggy underfoot. This was nothing compared to what was to come. The route took us off the Sandstone Trail on a public footpath towards the Eddisbury Way.

As we approached the point we would leave the Sandstone Trail, there was no sign of the footpath as the farmer had recenlty tilled the field. Nothing else for it but to plough on (pun intended) across the field gradually picking bits of it up on our trail shoes as we progressed and feeling steadily heavier with each step. Finally reaching the stile in the corner of the field we hopped over to find a field full of thigh deep (waist deep on Martin) wet grass and no desire line where the path should be. A quick glance at each other and across we went boldly going were others seemed to feared to have tread. At least the grass had cleaned the mud off the shoes and we expressed relief we had yet to remove our waterproof trousers. This was proving harder going than the hilly section.

Beeston Castle

Climbing over a stile-bridge-stile combination, Mark managed to slip and plant his left foot briefly into a pool of stagnant water - not pleasant but merely preparation for the next field. An electrified fence guided us along the boundary of the field until we reached a flooded section of ankle deep water. Nowhere to go other than over the electrified fence and round it. 

We soon found however that the field was perhaps more suitable for the growing of rice. With each step we found water deeper than our boots would permit and after several attempts at trying to find dryish spots, we decided to embrace our watery fate and just went for it. 

Once again we broke the 'no swearing' rule as we splashed through the flood knowing not even the miracle of GoreTex would be capable of preventing the inevitable squelchy trudge that would follow.

After clearing what we hoped would be the worst of the fields and reaching the Eddisbury Way and concluding this must be better- because it has a name (though I won't share the string of expletives we called the preceeding footpath) we decided to at last have a well earned pit-stop after 5hrs and 45minutes. Again setting aside 10 minutes, Mark demolished his other sandwich, a Clif bar, downed another bottle of Lucozade Sport before changing his socks and retiring a fairly sodden pair to the backpack. It was also welcoming to ditch the waterproof coat and change the sweat-soaked T-Shirt (a big welcome relief). As Martin's change of socks were waiting at the car, the best he could do was tip the surplus water out of his boot and then we were off down the Eddisbury Way which was mildly better than the 'Footpath-now-known-as-a-string-of-expletives'.

Having damp feet and soaked boots raised the increased possiblity of blisters as the skin softened, but there was little choice than to press on. As we did so we came across several groups of DoE teams and not wishing to look like a pair of guys, who are walking this way because they've already done 25km and have soaked feet, we set about overhauling the whipper-snappers and by the time we came to climb Peckforton Hill, we had overhauled three of the teams. Feeling chuffed, we hit the hill with gusto and hit the magic 33.33km figure at 7hrs 20minutes - one-third of Trailwalker! Mulling over what time that might translate to over the 100km we hit the next obstacle, a series of stepped plateaus created with logs, each one seeming to get higher than the preceeding one. It was good to see after this length of walk we still had enough in us to climb and then we were descending through the grounds of Peckforton Castle and out of the gate.

Martin then reminded Mark we still had to go up through 'that field' and it dawned on Mark the climb wasn't yet over and worse still, the field had also just been tilled, meaning another long trudge over freshly turned soil. At last coming over the final hill and descending to The Pheasant, we realised how much our feet were aching and mulled the prospect of having to do it another two times to reach Trailwalker distance. As we reached the cars and began to deposit our gear, Martin removed his socks and wrung out a trickle of water from each and after a quick change into dry socks and trainers, we walked like a pair of gunslingers into the Saloon of the The Pheasant and downed a pint of Weetwood's finest. Never has a pint tasted so good or been drunk so eagerly (well except perhaps in Ice Cold in Alex).

The walk turned out to be 36.53km with 706m of climb in 8hrs 8minutes and thankfully we were blister free.

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.