Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
Shiny golden circles adorned the forecast for today and it would have been criminal not to have taken advantage of the conditions to finish off the LOOP, especially as one opportunity had already been passed up last week. I made my way out to Sidcup to pick up the LOOP for the last time, but … Continue reading Endgame (London LOOP Part 12)
Cooped up at home for the last couple of weeks supervising builders, I was desperate to get out. I'd been lucky that my two weeks of being out of circulation had coincided with some miserable weather, but I could actually feel the modicum of hill fitness gained in my legs in the Lakes seeping away. … Continue reading Slaves, Outlaws and the Beast of Farnborough (London LOOP Part 11)
Back two days from the Lakes, and I felt I ought to capitalise on any fitness that had crept up on me while I was in hillier parts, so the next section of the LOOP beckoned. An uneventful journey back out to Coulsdon then saw me cross the railway and then the busy road to … Continue reading The Zombie Promenade (London LOOP Part 10)
I had a bad feeling about today when my apparently on time train was cancelled in the time that it took me to go from the ticket hall to the platform. I nearly turned around and went home, but struggled on although this delay now put me firmly in rush hour. I was glad I … Continue reading A Tale of Lavender and Conkers (London LOOP Part 9)
Planning the Walk Planning for this year's section really began whilst we were still on last year's walk - abandoning the last day gave the opportunity to start this year's walk with a two night stay in Falmouth. The sense of this approach was easy to see, and the difficulty of finding accommodation for the … Continue reading South West Coast Path 2014
Fulwell to Ewell West (12.6 miles) Just my luck that the track at Wimbledon broke during the morning rush hour this morning, causing cancellations and delays all over the place. Even when I did get my train back out to Fulwell, it missed out a load of stops and then when we got to Kingston … Continue reading The Militant Walker (London LOOP Part 8)
A few days family camping offered an opportunity to fill-in a long-standing gap in the South West Coast Path, and was well-timed as a warm-up walk for this year's main SWCP trip the following weekend. We headed down to Somerset, along a road we've travelled so many times that our car has its own special … Continue reading A Golden Cap and a Filled-in Gap
 West Drayton to Fulwell (14 miles) For once my pre-walk faff with various electronic walk tracking devices worked smoothly and all that delayed me getting straight onto the trail from the station was the cup of tea I bought in the station newsagent. Even that didn't take me long to get on the outside of, … Continue reading Planes, Cranes and Oxbow Lakes (London LOOP Part 7)
Moor Park to West Drayton (14.74 miles) I stepped out of Moor Park station to a slightly less oppressively hot day. Back down the wooded path alongside the tube line, some clear damage sustained since I last passed this way. Across the railway and through the streets of Northwood, I arrived at Batchworth Heath and … Continue reading Blackberries, Reptiles and Pointless Detours (London LOOP Part 6)
Day 12: Storey Arms to Llyn y Fan Fawr - Making up lost ground That "night in" did me a power of good, especially as I'd arrived at camp fully laden with water and early enough to simply chill out and enjoy being at camp, with none of the pressures of the previous night's desperate … Continue reading Cambrian Way #5: Storey Arms to Llandovery (Days 12-13)
Day 10: Friday 11 July 2014 - Filling in the Blanks I woke early to a gloomy and rainy world. Thankful that I'd all but completed the packing the night before, it didn't take me long to get the last few bits together and be on my way, walking to the station in a light … Continue reading Cambrian Way #4: Merthyr to Storey Arms (Days 10 – 11)
It's been over a year, but finally I'm getting back to the Cambrian Way. In a little over 10 days I've gone from not even considering doing it to impatience to get out there on the trail. The Lakes has had most of my attention for the last year, but happily now the balance is … Continue reading Back on the Cambrian Way
Although there's some controversy over who actually uttered this well-known quote, with people usually ascribing it to Winston Churchill or Mark Twain, the fact remains that hitting a small ball with a stick over a long distance to a small hole, is a singularly odd pastime and one I struggle to understand the obsession for. … Continue reading Tree Love and a Good Walk Spoiled ? (London LOOP Part 5)
The first proper day of an extended work break, and what do I do ? I do the morning commute anyway, as if nothing has changed. 7am sees me on my usual work train into London, taking a sadistic pleasure in the lack of smiles of my fellow passengers, and the knowledge that my office … Continue reading London from the Sidelines with the Grand Old Duke of York (London LOOP Part 4)
I stepped off the train, made a more than usually efficient job of the pre-walk faff, and retraced my steps to the edge of the Forest to pick up the trail, after a mere six months absence. Gawd, is it really six months ? I suppose that's better than the 5 year gap in the … Continue reading Scouts, Cuckolds and an Inappropriate Wild Camp (London Loop Part 3)