Mud, rain and Jags

So Saturday arrived with the excitement of a new car. Having enjoyed my Skoda Vrs for a few years the time had come to get something a little more frugal and dare I say it sensible. A 60 mile trip over towards Brighton beckoned and the opportunity to walk near the South Downs was too good to miss. Jo agreed to come with me as long as I provided lunch out! So at 10 we took collection of our pre-loved Jaguar X-type estate, and decided to go to Arundel and do a walk we'd found on the Internet. A tame 6 miler, followed by lunch at the Black Rabbit at 1 was the plan. We departed the start point at 11.15 and although overcast the scenery & river were lovely. The rain hadn't been kind to the route and the mud was thick & slippery, as Jo can testify to! A tricky stile covered in mud was Jo's unfortunate downfall into a deep muddy puddle!
After dusting ourselves down and cleaning the mud as best we could we trekked on into the oncoming rain! A steep ascent led us to the highest point as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately at this point our lack of map and neglect of a sign post proved costly. Half an hour passed and the depressing realisation arrived that we were indeed lost!
We started the walk back to the high point where we were now sure we'd gone wrong. At this point we took the opportunity to call the pub and re-arrange the booking for an hour later!
Our confidence knocked we kept doubting ourselves as we were well and truly soaked by the rain, but the reassuring signs weren't far away and we began making progress again. Arundel castle made a welcome site as we turned the corner of the valley. The home stretch was upon us!
By 2.20 we were in the pub, pie and mash followed by Jo's choice of the 6 deserts platter!
Lessons learned... The right gear is important, both Jo and I ended up with blisters, wet jeans and lost! Maps are good!
Next up a 30 miler with Neil on the actual trailwaker route!

Cakes for Sale!

Have just made my first ever muffins to hopefully sell at work tomorrow to raise a bit more towards our target.
Obviously I had to try one of each (chocolate chip and blueberry with redcurrant) to check they are OK & I can confirm that they definitely are!
Neil

New Shoes

This week I treated myself to some new walking shoes. So, with only 83 days left to go until Trailwalker I need to start wearing them in.
After wearing them in the office at work for a couple of days, today was the day I introduced them to the great outdoors!
With the promise of a coffee and a cake when we got there, Angela and I set off on the shortish walk cross country to Keynsham. Initially it was sunny, albeit pretty muddy underfoot in places, but the ominous grey clouds promised some more inclement weather to come. And sure enough it was soon raining steadily, but this didn't spoil our enjoyment of the lovely countryside.
My shoes proved to be absolutely fantastic and soon enough we'd covered the 6 1/2 miles in 1 hour 46 minutes and with no blisters (see below...) I'm certainly very pleased with my purchase.

My New Shoes
(Merrell Refuge Pro's)

Over my last few walks, I've been trying out a pair of "1000 mile" socks.
According to the marketing blurb, the 1000 Mile sock is a sock within a sock. The inner layer stays with the foot, the outer layer moves with the shoe thus eliminating friction on the skin and reducing wear.
They guarantee no blisters and not to wear out within 1000 miles! A pretty big claim indeed, but so far I've had great performance from them (and no blisters!) & I'd definitely recommend them.

Neil

Port to Port

Steve and I had a target to walk 25miles (40km) so after a bit of map studying it seemed that Dover to Ramsgate would be about the right distance. So on a grey & chilly Easter Saturday, Steve & I met at Dover Priory station (thanks to my Father for the lift).

Dover Castle

A quick walk through the town bought us to the sea front & Dover harbour. With views up to Dover Castle on the cliff tops above, we took a path up the cliff face behind the Ferry terminal. This bought us up onto the top of the famous white cliffs with a great clear view across the English Channel (La Manche) of France (where it seemed to be sunny!).



As the drizzle started we carried on along the cliff tops heading North towards Walmer & Deal. Thankfully the rain stopped soon after. Navigation was pretty straight forward - keep the sea to our right!

A few weeks before a large section of the cliff had collapsed into the sea below leaving a section of pristine bright white chalk exposed.

Dover Patrol Memorial

After passing the South Foreland Lighthouse we came to the Dover Patrol Memorial. This impressive obelisk was erected to commemorate the work of the Dover Patrol vessels during World War 1 in keeping the channel free of German shipping.

From here onwards our route gradually worked its way back down to sea level as we ended up on the shingle beach at Walmer with the Castle, built by Henry VII, on our left which was the favourite residence of the Queen Mother.

Deal Castle

Next, as we carried on along the beach, we came to Deal. This also has a castle built by Henry VII, but is rather more imposing than the one at Walmer.
Deal was once the busiest port in England thanks to the notorious Goodwin Sands. The waters between the Goodwins & Deal, the Downs, offer safety during storms although it is thought that over 2000 vessels have been wrecked on the sands. As we walked through Deal there seemed to be a significant number of pubs which, through strong willpower, we manged to pass by.

Deal Beach

As we carried on along the coast, with a chill breeze buffeting us, we found ourselves in a different landscape again. On our right was the grey sea separated from the low lying land by a shingle bank. However on our left were the manicured greens & bunkers of the famous Royal St. Georges links golf course where the 2011 Open Championships were held.
Our path actually took us across the golf course as our progress along the coast would soon be halted by the mouth of the River Stour, meaning we had to cut inland to the ancient town of Sandwich (and yes, there is also a village nearby called Ham!)

Sandwich Bridge Toll House

Crossing the river in Sandwich meant we now had a grim section of the walk ahead of us. A 4 mile section along a busy main road. By now the aches and pains were setting in and the decision as to whether to invest in some new shoes was decided for both of us - a definite yes! The pain was relieved for a short while after my inspirational idea to stop at a service station for an ice cream. Mmmmm!

The Viking Ship 'Hugin'

After the long trudge along the tarmac we were back on a gravel path that bought us into Pegwell bay & the Viking ship that was rowed over from Denmark in 1949 to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of the invasion of Britain.

Ramsgate Harbour

Ramsgate was well & truly in our sights now & a walk along the West Cliff bought us in sight of the Royal Harbour. Heading down Military Parade with a spring in our tired steps we could almost smell the beer. A quick check of the mileage on my phone meant that we had to walk past the 1st couple of pubs as they weren't quite 25miles! Harsh. However Miles Bar by the harbour gave us a total distance of 25.11miles (40.41km). Mission accomplished. Beer poured. Sun comes out (at last)!




Our Reward!

And finally, for those who like to see statistics, here they are:

P.S. Both of us had very aching legs, but what was more encouraging, was that we both felt that we could have carried on. (At least to the next pub!)

Neil