Pennine Way planning

Listening to people on Twitter preparing for the TGO challenge next month made my thoughts turn to my Pennine Way walk for Crisis UK in the summer. Behind the scenes, I have been preparing for this walk. This has included assembling a kit which will hopefully meet the needs of the walk.

Starting to assemble my kit for the Pennine Way

The main aim of my kit (apart from keeping me warm, sheltered, safe, dry, well fed and watered) is to ensure that I can reach my destination in comfort. I have learned to focus on comfort and weight as the key factors for success on my walks so far. Some companies have been generous enough to offer discounts on some of the items I needed most. In particular Gossamer Gear in the U.S. offered me a discount on their 55L Mariposa rucksack which is one of the few of that size weighing in at less than 1kg. This is less than half the weight of my previous rucksack.

Gossamer Gear Mariposa rucksack

I have published my provisional kit list at the bottom of this post for those interested in the detail.

I have also been finalising my walking schedule in order to be able to book my accommodation for the journey. I am hoping to do about 18 days walking plus 2/3 rest days spread out along the way. As usual the accommodation has ended up being a mixture of hostels, bunkhouses, B&Bs and campsites. As I am not yet up to speed as a wild camper I have opted for campsites which give me the option of support, provisions, basic facilities & being a bit more sociable if I have the energy!

My training for the walk is going to plan. I have a range of warm up exercises to do which hopefully will keep me injury free. I am also keeping up the walking and did 5 days of walking in north Northumberland last month, the 70 mile St Cuthbert’s Way  walk earlier this month and I am now planning another distance walk for next month. Watch this space!

One highlight of the St. Cuthbert’s Way was stopping for the night in Kirk Yetholm which is the official northern end of the Pennine Way. This boot garden was a sobering reminder of all the previous people to have attempted the walk and of how tough the walk will be. I really hope that I make it back here in a better state than some of these boots.

The walker’s boot garden at Kirk Yetholm, the end of the Pennine Way

If any of you can afford to donate to CrisisUK to speed me on my way I would be very grateful. This is the link to my Just Giving page

My provisional Pennine Way kit list:

• GG rucksack
• Water bottle
• Harvey maps x 3
• Ortlieb map case
• Silva compass
• Knife (lighter one?)
• Loo stuff & lighter
• First aid kit
• Painkillers, dioralyte, immodium
• 3 rubbish bags.
• Walking pole?
• 2 mini carabiner hooks

W’proofs:

• Gaiters
• W’proof trousers
• Poncho?

Camping:

• Vango Helium Carbon 100 tent
• PHD Minim sleeping bag
• Thermarest Neoair Xlite sleeping mat
• Jet boil Sol stove & gas
• Tent-light
• Green sponge
• Cup
• Titanium spork
• Jetboil coffee press

Tech:

• Phone w’proof case
• Tech-net battery & cable
• Mains phone cable
• Camera battery charger
• Camera spare battery
• Camera spare SD card
• USB charger plug
• Petzl headtorch, spare batteries & pouch
• Headphones

Personal:

• Wallet
• Cash
• Cheques
• Itinerary
• Stamps
• Cards
• Watch
• Phone
• Glasses
• Camera

Clothes:

• 2 pair socks
• Marmot base layer top
• Beanie
• HH leggings
• Underwear

Food:

• 50 sugar
• 30 teabags
• 3 trail-mix
• Bag coffee sealable
• 6 main meals
• 6 breakfasts

Toiletries:

• MSR Towel
• Toilet bag
• Toothbrush & case
• Toothpaste (travel)
• 100 ml biodegradeable liquid soap
• Earplugs
• Sun cream F50
• Insect repellant

Wear:

• Gelert trousers
• Bridgedale socks
• HH base top
• Berghaus fleece top
• Buff
• Jacket ?
• Salomon trail shoes or Lowa Renegade boots

I may also be posting packages of food, clean clothes & maps on to myself at various places along the route to reduce the weight of my pack. Based on the quotes I have had so far, it does not look likely that I will be able to find a courier company which I can afford to use for back up.

The Border Hotel which is the official end of the Pennine Way.

Four seasons in one walk; The St Cuthbert’s Way

I have just returned from some challenging and beautiful walking along the St Cuthbert’s way starting from Melrose in the Scottish borders and finishing 62 miles / 100 km later on Holy Island off the Northumbrian coast. During the walk I had Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter weather but luckily no rain or snow. You can read my write-up about the St Cuthbert’s way here.

Spring:

Some signs of Spring in the fields near Holy Island causeway

Summer:

First views of Holy Island and the coast

Autumn:

Autumn tree near South Hazelrigg

Winter:

Woods south of Eildon Mid Hill in the snow

Happy Easter

A very Happy Easter to those who celebrate it.

A very Happy Easter to those who celebrate it from Rose

5 favourite Northumberland walks.

I am just back from a short walking holiday by car to enable me to visit some of my favourite walks and places which are difficult by public transport. Here is my list:

*Fanfare and drumroll*

1. Best hill-fort award: Yeavering Bell on the Wooler common to Yeavering Bell walk (linear)
2. Most romantic spot award: Hethpool Linn on the Kirknewton to Hethpool Linn walk (circular)
3. Most atmospheric place award: Castle hill fort site on the Thrunton Woods to Long Crags walk (circular)
4. Most magical place award: Dove Crag on the Holystone, Lady’s Well & Dove Crag walk (circular)
5. Most awesome walk award: Hethpool to the border fence (circular)

You can read the full walk reports complete with photos of the winners on my favourite Northumberland walks page.

The College Burn near Westnewton.

Stopping smoking: A 2nd act.

On or about No Smoking day in 1998 I finally gave up smoking with the help of more nicotine patches than I should have used plus bowls of celery with dips to keep my hands busy. I had been cycling in to university each day and began to notice that unfamiliar breathlessness which some smokers may have experienced. Until then I had been smoking without any noticeable side effects so I was still feeling fairly invincible. As I realised that the effects had crept up on me, I made the decision to try to stop. I am not trying to preach about the dangers of smoking because any smoker would be hard pressed to ignore the enormous warnings emblazoned on cigarette boxes now.

My rucksack on Hadrian’s wall

I soon realised that I needed to do something active to enable me to feel the benefits of giving up. That, in short, is how I came to start walking when I moved to the Scottish borders. After ten years of day walks with friends and the local Ramblers, I became a complete convert to walking and could feel the rewards of giving up with each small improvement in my speed and stamina. Last year I decided to push my boundaries by doing Hadrian’s wall and the Dales Way for charity. All I needed was a motive and fundraising gave me that.

I treated myself to some new boots after Hadrian’s wall

Since I started walking I have found new friends through the Ramblers, the LDWA and Twitter who have unknowingly changed my life by making me feel like a reasonably normal person without a cigarette in my hand. I may not be the fastest walker or the most agile scrambler but neither of these things matters as much to me as having created a second act in my life which is different from the first. I write this simply to show that it can be done and to show how much can be achieved, for yourself and for others, once you do give up.

My kit for the Dales Way

Happy New Year: 2012 in walks

2012 has been a great year for my walking. In June I completed Hadrian’s wall from Wallsend to Bowness on Solway for the MS Society and in August I did the Dales Way from Ilkley to Bowness on Windermere for the British Lung Foundation. I also had walking weekends throughout the year in Rothbury, Craster, Bamburgh and Wooler in Northumberland, Berwick on Tweed in the borders, and Coniston in Cumbria. As well as completing my first distance trails, I also completed my first three Wainwrights and bought my first tent which will change the way I approach walking.

In 2013 I am planning to walk the Pennine Way for Crisis UK which I am really looking forward to. Realising that I can combine my favourite activity with fundraising is a win win combination. Apart from the Pennine Way, my wishlist for 2013 includes the Cumbria Way, the St. Cuthberts Way, the St. Oswalds Way and a trail in Scotland, if resources allow.

There are so many walks I would like to do and the list seems to grow rather than diminish as I hear other people’s suggestions and read blogs of their distance walks. I would like to thank everyone, especially on Twitter, for reading and for all the suggestions and conversations during the last year. I wish you a very happy new year and hope that 2013 will see you fulfil some of your dreams too.

Seasons Greetings

My Pennine Way walk for Crisis UK

I am planning to walk the Pennine Way for Crisis UK as it is a cause which is important to me and which I think should be addressed with more urgency by the politicians.

A personal audio boo about the walk

You can find out more about my Pennine Way walk here and you can donate on my Just Giving Page here. Any advice or support on any aspect of the walk would be appreciated. I aim to finish by mid July 2013

Living the dream

I am originally from Newcastle and was brought up in a family with no particular country leanings so it is a surprise to find myself becoming such an avid walker. I was taken on my first country walks when I was 18 years old by an ex boyfriend in his decrepit mini van. They included walks along the River Coquet from Rothbury, to Cartington Castle also near Rothbury and around Elsdon in Redesdale, all of which made a huge impression on my young urban sensibilities.

Inner Farne harbour, Farne Islands, Northumberland

In my twenties I moved to London and it was only occasionally, on sleepless nights, that my thoughts would turn to the Cheviots and the wild Northumbrian countryside. Un fortunately I had kept no records of those early Northumbrian walks to look at on those sleepless nights. For years I put these dreams and memories to the back of my mind, never thinking that I would return to the north east.

As fate would have it however, a divorce brought me back up here to be near my family and it was after a couple of years in Newcastle that I moved to the Scottish borders without realising what a big culture shock it would be after living in London. I started walking in north Northumberland and the Scottish borders as and when I could.

Fishing on the River Tweed

During one of my walks I realised that I was now living the dream of those sleepless nights in London. When the penny dropped I felt an urge to record the walks so I will have a record of them instead of the fragmented dreams and images which had stayed in my mind over the years. I don’t have much of a sense of belonging about Newcastle any more but I do still feel it about the countryside up here. My video logs are dedicated to my younger self, or to anybody unable to do the walks for any reason but trying to retain the images of them in the mind.

About me

I have been doing day walks in my spare time since 2000 in Northumberland and the borders starting with friends and then the Ramblers. Realising how much I enjoy walking, I have gradually started doing more independent walking, and attempting distance walks and National Trails, sometimes for charity. I have also recently got a tent to use for distance walks & walking holidays.

Creating videos on my RucksackRose Youtube channel of the walks started as a way of cheering myself up during the cold, dark northern winters but some people might enjoy them. I am still learning about the countryside and about walking so am always ready to listen.