Day 3-Borrowdale-Grasmere

Better day today. Pack hurt less and some moments of 'boost' on the legs. Also a shorter day-only 10 miles. First b and b at 'glenthorne'-a Quaker run establishment. Met some interesting people there-eg Pete from Newcastle. Also a group from Glossop who helped me find my way on top of Lining Crag.
First hot bath a big highlight, plus chance to dry things.

'Horray' moments...
-beautiful scenery
-mostly easy path
-using compass succesfully to navigate
-a shorter walk
-seeing sheep and sheepdogs
-arriving in Grasmere and getting a phone signal!
-overtaking people on the path!
-a piano, bath, drying room at b and b

'Boo Hoo' moments...
-realizing I didn't know where to go in the mist on top of Lining Crag (but had a happy ending-see above...)
-nearly running out of water (though I had over three litres)
-the length of walk down valley into Easedale (went on and on)

You-know-you're-tired-when moment...
-you get ready to shave by enthusiastically lathering your forehead...

40 miles down, 160 to go.
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Day 2

Yesterday (Tuesday-Day 2) was hard. 16 miles, with lots of climb up. Felt the effects of two days with a heavy pack-sore shoulders, back, hips, feet...arrived at Borrowdale after 8 hours walking glad to have made it.

Good moments...
-arriving at Borrowdale
-finding my way on top of a beck in swirly mist
- dead ringers (political aide to GW Bush...'Sir, we've a problem with the numbers.' GW Bush to aide 'I know-i struggle to get past 6...')
-managing to charge BBerry
-good walk down Honister Pass; Coffee, Kendal Mint Cake and bottle of coke at Honister Slate Mine cafe!

Not-so-good moments...
-snoring in the YHA (not me...)
-battling the 'you're on the wrong path' thought in the mist
-one blister on foot, another on finger
-getting two boots full of water after wading puddles next to Ennerdale Water

30 miles down...
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Whitehaven-Day 0

Staying with Bill and Marion Brooks tonight-friends from St John's Hensingham where my big brother was a Curate. Went with them to a small Mission service at Keekle. It was a good time-I knew Fergus the minister and Simon the (new) Curate and I got to talk about my walk, Africa, and the fundraising.

The preacher spoke on Daniel Ch 3 -where the three friends of Daniel are thrown into the fire for refuding to bow down to an idol, and God rescues them- and mentioned some verses which touched me - Isaiah 43 vvs 1-2. I am if honest quite nervous about doing the walk alone. But the promise of these verses helped me:

'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you...Do not be afraid for I am with you'. (Vvs 1, 2, 5).


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So it begins...

I'm on my way to Whitehaven! All packed, though my Camelbak sprung a leak that I only noticed 5 mins before leaving. Had to ditch it and hope I can pick another up in St Bees or elsewhere!

Am on the 1110 train to Manchester Airport and wondering why a train destined to carry passengers on their first leg on trips abroad has so little luggage space...
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Packing Progress

These three photos show my various stages of packing over the last couple of days...

Stage 1...Organised Chaos...

Stage 2...Halfway There (where to put the trainers?)

 Stage 3 - Back Trouble in a Rucksack (the trainers tied to the pack...)

Day 0...

Finished packing jobs at about 1am...awake now at 5.48am...must be Day 0! Leave for Whitehaven at 1110. Grateful to my friends Chris and Sandy who are giving me a lift to the station, and Martin who's meeting me for a coffee before the train leaves.

I may be mad, but I've decided to pack my running gear-i'll hang my trainers off my pack!-as I anticipate missing the occasional sprint. It seems to exercise different muscles than walking/cycling-muscles that complain after a few days of inactivity. I always feel better after even a short jog and it may actually help me walk the distances these next two weeks. But I may be wrong and need to mail the kit back to Sheffield...we'll see!

One disappointment in last-minute packing was small but annoying-i couldn't fit all the music bits onto my Blackberry-the media card is too small! A few things I'd hoped to listen to didn't make it-Just a Minute, some Lloyd-Jones sermons, some Cds of Nat Tasker, and most of my classical selections-but it means that what I did get to transfer I'm more likely to listen to instead of picking and choosing. Plus there's always the radio-reception permitting.

Time for a cup of tea! Roll on half 10...

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24 Hours to Go!

24 hours still to go...

Looking forward to it very much. I am playing in a concert tonight - so I'm still a bit distracted. But I'm nearly packed. One job still to do is upload music onto my phone. There are a few things I'm looking forward to hearing over the next few weeks. Here are some highlights of my playlists...

 




BBC Comedy: Blackadder; 'Just a Minute'; 'Dead Ringers'; and 'I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue...'

Albums I've not heard before:
Paolo Nutini 'These Streets'; Snow Patrol 'Final Straw'; Bellowhead's 'Hedonism' and Jack Johnson's 'To the Sea.

Some Christian worship music - a live album from Sovereign Grace, some CDs of Nathan Tasker and Dave Bilborough; and two CDs of kids songs by Ken Cope!

Sermons - four from the American Tim Keller (including two on Ephesians 1); four from Martyn Lloyd Jones; and a couple by Mark Stibbe on the Father Heart of God.

Classical - a new recording of Haydn's Creation, one of Stavinsky Symphonies, the Respighi Roman Trilogy, selections of Symphonies by Beethoven, Mahler and Vaughan Williams'; Orff's Carmina Burana; and 'WTC 9/11' by Steve Reich.

There's also some Moby, KT Tunstall, Nina Simone and George Formby in there as well...

In addition I've taken some paperbacks with me:

  

A Biography of Alfred Wainwright (the walker who devised the Coast to Coast)
'The Worry Book';
Two little devotional commentaries on the Psalms;
'The Hunger Games' by Suzanne Collins!

Hope I won't get bored...