Long Distance Walking

Some of the Ridgeway and Thames Path

2011-08-12T19:50:00.039+02:00

I am just back from a five days stroll along the Ridgeway and the Thames Path.

This was a very special hike in the history of my long distance walking: I had the pleasure to walk with both my daughters (Héloïse 24 and Beatrice 20) and, moreover, the last two days (on flat terrain) with my wife Chantal.

We set out the 3d of August from the East end of the Ridgeway on Beacon Hill (Buckinghamshire). The third day we left the Ridgeway about two kilometers after Watlington (Oxfordshire), and through various footpaths, we arrived at Wallingford where we met my wife (60 km from the beginning of the hike).

The following day we took the Thames Path northwards all the four and, after staying at a B&B in Sutton Courtenay, we got the following day to Oxford (the last few km by bus): the end of our journey.

We had only one day of very bad weather with rather heavy rain all the day long. My Goretex trail shoes (Innov-8 Rocklight 318 GTX), although meant to be waterproof, were soaked after only two hours! I am wondering whether it could be possible to find a lightweight shoe really waterproof!

We enjoyed the Ridgeway: varied landscapes and gorgeous beech woods where we caught sight of squirrels and red kites.

On the contrary, we didn't like so much the Thames Path (at least the stretch we walked). We found it quite monotonous.

GEAR

I can boast to have improved my quest for ultra light walking. My rucksack with food and 1l water was only 4 k.

I learned that, at least in such populated country as Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, I can further reduce the food to a minimum emergency ration.

In this hike I had previously reserved the accommodation for all the legs, so I didn't carry the mattress nor the tent pole and stakes although I brought the tent because it works as a poncho as well. This, saved me a kilo.

One last detail: my Murmur, an ultra light rucksack by Gossamer Gear, has got too long shoulder straps for my size (it is made in only one size). The designer is a tall American while I am a rather short Mediterranean.

So the sternum strap is too low and the weight doesn't distribute perfectly. I will then be obliged to make some modifications.

	Number in	Number	Weight	Total weight	Total weight
Item	Rucksack	Worn	per unit	Worn	in rucksack
Camera		1	121	121	0
Camera battery charger	1		101	0	101
Camera battery spare	1		15		15
Canteen	1		29		29
Cell phone		1	77	77	0
Cell phone battery charger	1		43	0	43
Cleenex	2	1	27	27	54
Cutlery	1		39		39
Documents (maps, accommodation, timetables, etc.)	1		139	0	139
Fleece light (Montane)	1		231		231
Fleece light Active (Montane)		1	257		257
Food (rice cakes, dried fruit, sesame crunch)	1		715		715
Hat		1	107	107	0
Holdall (A.M.K. Bivvy Compression Bag)	1		7		7
Jacket	1		421		421
Medicine	1		56		56
Notebook		1	32	32	0
Orthopaedic insoles	1		90	0	90
Pants	1	1	28	28	28
Pen		1	13	13	0
Poncho-Shelter	1		323	0	323
Power adapter	1		39	0	39
Rucksack (Gossamer Gear – Murmur)	1		202	0	202
Sewing kit	1		8	0	8
Shoes		1	636	636	0
Socks	1	1	78	78	78
T-shirt	0	1	134	134	0
T-shirt (in cotton for sleeping)	1	0	118	0	118
Thermometer-Compass		1	10	10	0
Toilet paper	1		44	0	44
Tooth brush	1		15	0	15
Torch		1	9	9	9
Walking trousers		1	374	374	0
Wallet		1	143	143	0
Water 1 l.	1		1,000	0	1,000
Total (in grams)				1,668	4,061

PROJECTS

I am thinking to embark, at the end of August, on an old project: walking from my home town (Città di Castello in Umbria) to Florence. I am studying the best route: otherwise than UK, Italy is a very poor country in public footpaths (see my very first post on this matter).

A (Sadly) Curtailed Hike along the South West Coast Path

2011-05-31T17:16:00.001+02:00

Being retired since the beginning of this year, I was pretty enthusiastic to be able, at last, to set out on longer hikes than my previous ones, limited to the holidays.
So, last week, I flew to Bristol in order to embark on a 12 days hike along the South West Coast Path, from Padstow (Cornwall) to Minehead (Somerset) (270 km).

Unfortunately, at the end of the third leg, I didn't feel well at all. I don't know if it was due to the effect of the oceanic iodine (I suffer of a light hyperthyroidism) or to the exhaustion (it is a really tough path) or a combination of both or whatever.
I was a bit concerned about the symptoms and, anyway, I didn't feel in the mode to continue the trip any further. Thus I went to Bristol and flew back home.

On the whole I walked a little bit more than 50 km, from Padstow to Crackington Haven, stopping in Port Isaac, Tintagel and Crackington Haven.

I must confess that although the coast was pretty gorgeous, I am afraid that after a few more days I would have found it a bit monotonous.
I found the North Cornish Coast rather similar to Pembrokeshire (I mean the coastal landscape) but more affected by tourism. So, even if Cornish villages are definitely nicer than Welsh ones, I liked better the Pembrokeshire Coast Path: I am keen on unspoilt area.

Mind you, gentle reader, the SWCP is really very tough. The coast is generally high but, at any stream (and there are so many), the path drops abruptly down to sea level and then rises steeply again. But what makes it definitely exhausting is the shape of the path. Very often, instead to go up and down in hairpin way in order to have a more gradual ascent it goes straight on and, moreover, often through very high steps. The knees get hurt going down and the muscles strain quite hard during the ascent.

ABOUT THE GEAR

The main difference between the gear I carried in this last hike and that of the previous one (see Cévennes) concerns mattress and rucksack. I replaced the closed cell foam mat (Z-Lite) with an air mattress (Thermarest Neo Air) which is about the same weight but, being very compact when deflated, has the advantage to fit in a smaller and lighter rucksack. So I replaced the Golite Jam-2 rucksack (51 l. and 700 g.) with Gossamer Gear Murmur (35 l. and 202 g.) which, besides being pretty lighter, is definitely more comfortable because its better weight distribution.
Moreover, in my quest for the ideal ultralight walking, I saved some more weight dropping mug, fuel, lighter and instant coffee: studying the map I realized that even if I had to camp I could soon find a place where to have a coffee in the morning; which for me is sacrosant.
But although I saved some hundreds of grams, eventually, the total weight I carried was nearly the same as that of the previous hike. In fact, having planned to walk many more days I carried much more food.

A doleful remark: my Innov-8 Rocklite 318 GTX trail shoes have once again revealed some flaws.
Firstly one cushion collapsed on the inner side causing a light inflammation to the foot and the ankle.
Secondly, although due to their Goretext membrane they are advertised as waterproof, after about two hours of moderate rain my feet were thoroughly soaked. Luckily, at the inn where I stayed, the heating was working!

So if there is any walker luckier than myself in finding a really waterproof light shoe, I beg him to tell me about it.

PROJECTS

I have already organized for next August a six day hike along part of the Ridgeway and the Thames path with my daughters and my wife.

For the next solos I am considering GR 7 Alpujarras section. I would like to go there when the almond trees are in blossom but I am wondering if in February, at about 1000 m., it is not too cold to camp. So, once again, if some gentle reader has been there, please tell me about.

In Autumn I would like to hike from Città di Castello (where I was born) to Florence (where I have spent the most important part of my life). There is not a well defined trail. One has to design it oneself and there are many choices about the route to follow.
One simple, but tough and probably not the most beautiful route is to climb to the top of the Apennines directly from Città di Castello (about 15 km.) and then follow the ridge up to Florence region where to drop into the city.
An other route, which seems to me more attractive, is to follow the river Tiber up to Monterchi than to pass by Anghiari, Caprese Michelangelo, Badia Prataglia, Vallombrosa. Then drop down to the stream Sieve from where to climb to Settignano. From Settignato it is possible to catch a bus for Florence or follow a large footpath with many steps which goes down to Rovezzano in the outskirts of Florence.

From Velay to Cévennes - Variations on Stevenson's Trail and Régordane Way

2010-10-01T15:29:00.011+02:00

The Régordane Way

INTRO

I am just back from a six days southbound hike over the Eastern side of French Massif Central, from Haute Loire to Gard, through Lozère.
Since I started long distance walking in September 2007, this is the first time I have hiked outside Great Britain. One might wonder why.
Well, among the rational motives, I would only mention that, from abroad, is pretty much easier to plan a long distance walk in Britain than in France; in particular, because there are more and better on line resources (I have already explained why I don't hike in Italy).

The special feeling I have with Old England and the unique and unforgettable experience of my first long hike (Norfolk) can definitely be reckoned among the most relevant inspirations.
It might seem incredible but the only European country which I find quite outlandish is the selfsame England!
Apart from the difference of language, I feel quite familiar in France, Belgium, Germany, etc while, in England, it is almost as I lived in a romance or a novel of old. Probably, there are also other inexplicable reasons.
But, I am going astray, back to the matter!

A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE HIKE

I would have liked to walk the whole Stevenson's Trail (252 km.) or the Régordane Way (240 km.) but I had only one week of vacation available so I made a kind of short melange: some stretches of the above ways mixed with other trails or country lanes or even roads.

The Cathedral of Le Puy

I set out from Le-Puy-en-Velay on Monday, 12 September and walked 19 km. of the GR 430 (GR: grande randonnée i.e. long distance trail) up to Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille in Haute Loire (where I spent the night at the Auberge des Acacias, a small neat and lovely hotel. € 45 en suite b.i.).
In the train from St. Etienne to Le Puy there where a lot of walkers but, probably, most of them were bound to San Iacopo de Compostela: I met very few hikers along my route.
An over-sixty lady takes place in front of me and, as we both carry rucksacks we soon start chatting. She is just retired and she is going to Compostela (1,500 Km.). I feel a tender compassion glancing at her huge and heavy rucksack. She is even wearing sandals, carrying a pair of boots in the rucksack which I reckon to be weighing over 15 Kg.! It is her first long distance walking; I try to give her some advice on the importance to be as light as possible and she says that she will probably ship back home some gear if she realizes to be unessential. I wouldn't seem an ultra-light-backpacking evangelist but, as I read on a French web-site on the topic: "A heavy rucksack is a rucksack crammed with anguish - Freud"

The Loire at Goudet

On Monday, 13 September I walked from Le Monastier-sur-Gazeille to Landos (less than 25 Km.), crossing the Loire at Goudet. I followed the GR 70 (Stevenson's Trail) up to Ussel. Then I got to Landos shortcutting by country roads. Mind you: from Stevenson's booklet A Travel with a Donkey in the Cévennes, we know the places where he went but not the ways he took.
Therefore the official route is a sort of hypothetical reconstruction to which one shouldn't feel obliged to stick too strictly.
So from Ussel I followed the D 491 (D stands for Départementale: numbered local road) where cars passed each quarter of an hour. Eventually, through the D 88 I got to Landos where I stayed at the Gîtes d'étape communal (a sort of youth hostel managed by the town council). For € 12 I had the luxury of a four beds en suite room (with kitchenette) only for me (few people walking in the area in September).
Landos is a small village but there is a nice romanesque church with "comb belfry" (clocher à peigne) typical of the area.

Régordane Gate at Pradelles

On Tuesday, 14 September I set out from Landos and again I took a non canonical route shorter than the Régordane Way. I reached the latter at Les Uffernets and then I sticked to it as far as Langogne (19 Km.). I stopped for a meal at a rather shabby restaurant in Pradelles, a nice though austere mountain stone village. In Langogne I stayed at the "Modest Inn" (the pun should sound familiar to the reader of the mentioned Stevenson's booklet: Modestine being the she donkey who carried the writer's pack). It is a full of books chambre d’hôte (i.e. B&B) run by Philippe, a nice southern Frenchman. I had my breakfast with a couple of French walkers I met again along the route.

Langogne Grain Hall

In Langogne, at last, I could buy a pair of insoles: I had forgotten to insert the original ones in my shoes before leaving home and in the long run it hurt! Actually it went even worse because the insoles I found didn't breathe and I soon got blisters!

Wednesday, 15 September. Cold (8° C.) but beautiful crispy blue sky. Perfect for walking. I climb from Langogne through pastures, then, I walk mainly through forests on the uplands (over 1,000 m.). Soon I leave the Stevenson's Trail and follow the Régordane Way. A short rest, the time to eat some plums and cheese. Suddenly the air and the flora change; I am now on the Mediterranean side; the ground is dry, more similar to Italy.
At Luc castle I met the couple of this morning breakfast. We take photos and we stop for a coffee at the local café. They move on before me: they want to stay at Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, like Stevenson. I walk leisurely directly to La Bastide where, for € 44,00, I take demi-pension (half-board) at Les Genêts, a basic, neat and functional hotel. The today leg has been of about 23 Km.
The hotel is full of middle-aged walkers, probably doing circular hikes in the area. I chat with a Frenchman from Strasbourg who is walking the whole Stevenson's Trail. He carries a rucksack weighing more than 12 Kg.! He seems a bit puzzled when I tell him that mine is no more than 5,5 Kg. water, food and camping gear included.

La Garde-Guérin

Posing with Savoyard Hikers

Thursday, 16 September. After La Bastide, I walk at last, on the true Régordane Way: a trail excavated on the stone with evident cart tracks which the legend (Le Charroi de Nîmes) ascribes to the passage of Guillaume d'Orange, with a cart full of armed men, directed to reconquer Nîmes (see first picture on this post). I stop for a bite at rustic B&B (Albespeyre) where I share the table with two couples from Savoy. It turns up that the men are two brothers of Italian stock. Descendants of old emigrants from the Italian Alps (near Bergamo). We have a nice and friendly chat and we discuss even the present distracted times of Italian politics. I pose with them for a photo. They start before me but I meet them later at La Garde-Guérin, a lovely medieval walled village.
Eventually, I spend the night in a pretty shabby hotel at Villefort, where I arrive exhausted after 22 Km. of walking manly on loose stones tracks. I am so tired and disheartened because of the pain from blisters ache that I am resolved to finish there and get the train to Nîmes the following morning.

The Cévennes

Friday, 17 September. The arnica ointment has done miracles: nearly no more pain from the blisters! So, I decide to continue the hike. But, instead of following the Régordane - which now runs mainly on a valley - I take the GR 68. I climb the steep ascent to the ridge where wonderful views open over the Cévennes. A sea of mountains and forests as the eye can see!
On the ridge the going is easy: always on tracks but for the peak of Le Bousquillou (1,115 m.) where I have some trouble in finding the path among dense brooms and in scrambling a rocky descent. At the end of the scramble I meet three middle-aged ladies bound to Villefort who ask me information about the difficulties of the route.
Eventually, in the late afternoon, after a very strenuous descent on loose stones mule track, I get to Génolhac: the end of my journey.


Génolhac

The leg (c. 25 Km.) has been particularly hard but worthwhile: probably the best of the whole hike.
I find a room at the at Le Commerce (€ 32 w.b.), a basic hotel where I feel back to the fifties.

All the following day I am excrutiated by a violent headache: too much gluten in French breakfasts? Sadly I cannot enjoy the lovely and lively city of Nîmes where I spend the afternoon before going to catch my flight at Lyon Airport.

LONG DISTANCE WALKING IN FRANCE AND BRITAIN COMPARED

It is probably wrong to compare but I cannot resist to put down some reflections I made on my journal.
The landscape I saw in this French hike is probably more varied (I am starting with the positive aspects) than the average one I saw during my walks in Britain. The weather is definitely drier! Grocer's shops are easier to find and, generally, they are better-stocked.

On the other end, while British villages are almost always well kept and harmonious, in the French area where I have walked the villages are a bit like in Southern Italy: old splendors mixed with buildings of any shape and style.

There are other aspects similar to Italy. During my hike in France I have never walked a path in a meadow among cattle or flocks nor in any evident private land. In Britain, even let alone the special custom of Scotland, one walks mostly on private land. The right of way seems something impossible in France or Italy. Probably, while in Britain there is a consolidated awareness of the citizen's respect for other's property, in France as in Italy there is a sort of mistrust and jealousy of landowners who, at least in the latter country, tend to obstruct even public footpaths (see the relevant topic on old post).

An other difference I have noted concerns wildlife: I have seen in France very few animals; it is like they were scared by humans. Besides, in some area, there were many hunters.
British dogs are different as well: in Britain I have very seldom heard barking while in France, like in Italy, each time I passed near a house or a farm I was welcome by furious barking. I passed even before a farm from whose open gates got out two big nasty looking dogs advancing towards me with threatening mien. Luckily they stopped in front of my aggressive insults!

Public transport is sparser in France than in England. Trains are equally expensive but, in Britain, one has the resource of a dense network of relatively cheap coaches and buses.
The I.G.N. 1:25 000 maps are fine but, apart of named trails (GR, GRP and PR) there isn't any indication of right of way. Ordnance Survey maps trace in green any right of way, even related to the smallest footpath.

In Britain there is such a wealth of on line information that planning a hike goes on so smoothly!
Let alone National Trail web site, one can find descriptions, maps, leaflets, etc for a huge number of other trails; from a couple of hours stroll to a thousand miles hike. Let me only mention The Long Distance Walkers Association which, among other things, allows you to find walk through various queries, combining distance, area, etc.
Nothing comparable exists for French trails. Even planning hikes from scratch it is not that easy. Actually, IGN (Institut Géographique National) allows only text search for its 1:25 000 maps (by town or place or grid reference). Sadly, no visual search on scalable maps is available, as at Ordnance Survey. The only tool that might help is ITINERAIRES DE GRANDES RANDONNEES EN FRANCE, a 1:1 000 000 map showing all the long distance trails of France.

I hope I have not been too biased in my comparison. Anyway it has been a wonderful hike!

THE GEAR

When I look back to the 8 Kg. gear of my first long distance walk, I can appreciate the progress I have made along the way to ultra light backpacking: on this hike I have carried a rucksack a little bit heavier than 5 Kg. but with camping gear included and the luxury of Stevenson's booklet.
For more details you can look at list below and compare it with that of my first long distance walk.
Let me add here just some comments about the lightening process which results from my experience and that of others as well.

Eliminated anything not absolutely indispensable: map case, pedometer, pyjama, shorts, spare glasses, emergency blanket, shirt, dental paste and floss, dried apricots and sesame bars.
Reduced the number of items: 1 t-shirt instead than 2; 2 pants instead of 5; 1 ricecakes packet instead than 2; 2 pairs of socks instead than 6.
Replaced some articles with less heavier ones: Quechua heavy fleece (551 g.) by Montane Prism 2.0 Jacket (420 g. and windproof extra!); Quechua 40 l. rucksack (1,800 g.) by Jam 2 Golite (51 l. 700 g.); Quechua torch (75 g.) by Photon Micro-Light II LED Keychain Flashlight (9 g.).
Replaced two items by one multifunction item: e.g. waterproof jacket and rucksack rain cover by a poncho.

Now, if somebody took pains to calculate the balance between the two configurations he would find more than only 3 kg. The early greater difference, due to the above lightening process, has been reduced by the items I have been obliged to add in order to camp. Beside, the mentioned poncho (wich actually works as a tent as well) now I carry also: tent harness, pole and pegs; metal mug; solid fuel tablets; lighter; mat (which works as rucksack stiffner as well); sleeping bag; towel; an extra fleece for cold nights camp and, finally, thermometer-compass.

For the sake of details eager backpackers or of anybody else, I conclude this post with the list of gear I have carried during this last hike.

Item	Weight per unit	Number worn	Number in rucksack	Total weight worn	Total weight in rucksack
Item	Weight per unit	Number worn	Number in rucksack	Total weight worn	Total weight in rucksack
Camera	121	1		121	0
Camera battery spare	15		3		45
Canteen	29		1		29
Cell phone	77	1		77	0
Cell phone battery charger	43		1		43
Chocolate bar	106		1		106
Cleenex	27	1	1	27	27
Coffee (instant)	2		10		20
Cutlery	39		1		39
Documents (guides, maps, etc.)	424		1	0	424
Fleece light (Montane)	231		1	0	231
Fleece light Active (Montane)	257	1			257
Hat	107	1		107	0
Jacket (Montane Prism 2.0)	421		1		421
Lighter	10		1		10
Mat (Thermarest Z-Lite)	387		1		387
Medicine	120		1		120
Mug (Tibetan Titanium 450)	75		1	0	75
Notebook	32	1		32	0
Pants	28	1	1	28	28
Pen	11	1		11	0
Poncho-Shelter (Gatewood Cape)	323		1	0	323
Rice cakes	124		1	0	124
Rucksack (Golite Jam 2)	700		1	0	700
Sewing kit	8		1	0	8
Shoes (Inov-8 Roclite 318 GTX)	636	1		636
Sleeping Bag (W. Mountan. HighLite)	499		1	0	499
Socks	78	1	1	78	78
Solid Fuel (Esbit)	85		1	0	85
T-shirt	134	1	0	134	0
Tent Harness	20		1	0	20
Tent Pegs	10		6	0	60
Tent Pole	55		1	0	55
Thermometer-Compass (Recta Micro)	10	1		10	0
Tooth brush	15		1	0	15
Torch (Photon Micro-Light II)	9	1		9	9
Towel	48		1	0	48
Walking trousers	374	1		374	0
Wallet	143	1		143	0
Water 1 l.	1,000		1	0	1,000
*Total (in grams)*				*1,666*	*5,286*

Wandering through Cheshire

2010-07-31T17:02:00.071+02:00

Chester - B&W Houses

At last I am back again!

I have been silent for quite a long time. I usually set out for a long distance walk two times a year. Sadly, because various illnesses, I haven't been able to walk since Spring 2009.

A new (for me) way of walking

This last stroll has been quite different from the previous ones (note, by the way, the term "wandering" of the title): I have tried to shift the focus from the goal to the action or, better still, as the father of backpacking says:

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move; to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly; to come down off this feather-bed of civilisation, and find the globe granite underfoot and strewn with cutting flints. [R.L. Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes].

In the previous hikes the end of the trail was my goal and, moreover, I was obliged to stick to the planned legs, being bound to the accommodations booked long time before.

In the end, I have found that that approach spoils somehow the pleasure of walking. So I decided that, first of all, I should get rid of the reservations constraint. Therefore I changed my gear in order to be able to camp anytime I couldn't or wouldn't spend the night at some accommodation.

I was determined, if not to camp out, at least to have the means of camping out in my possession; for there is nothing more harassing to an easy mind than the necessity of reaching shelter by dusk, and the hospitality of a village inn is not always to be reckoned sure by those who trudge on foot. [R.L. Stevenson, Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes].

Apart from the night I arrived from Italy, I didn't book any accommodation at all. So, I was able to change my route or to finish the leg as the whim took me.

In fact, I camped only once; the other ones I found some kind of accommodation.

The Gear

Obviously, this change of method and my quest for lightness, have driven me to modify my gear.

Shelter

Following the multifunctional ultralight approach, I didn't choose a tent (regardless of its lightness) but something that could also work as a waterproof: a cape-tent.

Gatewood Cape set up as a tent

Gatewood Cape set up as a cape

As the photos show I used the Gatewood Cape by Six Moon Designs which works as a tent and a rainproof cape as well, for less than 400 grams, pole and stakes included.
It resisted the rain but a lot of condensation during the night; I need to learn staking the front line for better ventilation.
On the whole I am happy with this gear and I will continue to use it.

Sleeping bag

I wanted to find something lighter than a traditional sleeping bag so I used Thermo-Lite 2.0 Bivy Sack by Adventure Medical Kits.
Very light (190 g.) but too much condensation. At 4 p.m. I was nearly wet.
So, for 265 g. more, I will shift to HighLite Sleeping Bag by Western Mountaineering (already ordered) rated to 2° C.
For summer and not mountain hikes, I will balance the weight dropping the second fleece I carried for sleeping.

Sleeping mat

I used Z-Lite, a closed-cell foam accordion-plying sleeping mat by Thermarest.
It provided also a back stiffener for JAM 2 rucksack by GoLite, which I had stripped of its back foam.
I am very happy with this mat: comfortable and incredibly isolating (even laid directly on damp forest ground).

Footwear

During the last two hikes (Pennines Way and South Downs Way) I wore mid Lowa Renegade boots. Absolutely waterproof and breathable but a bit too heavy (550 g. each).
So this time I used a lighter footwear (trail runner): Rocklite 318 GTX; very light (318 g. each), comfortable, high cushioning but less waterproof and breathable than Lowa Renegade.
I will nonetheless continue to use them unless hiking very wet tracks like Pennines or Scotland where I will put on Lowa again.

Miscellaneous

Waking up after a night in the cold and damp, one needs some warm beverage in order to get in good mood.
So, I carried a very light mug (Tibetan Titanium), solid fuel tablets and instant coffee. A rewarding weight: never enjoyed a hot coffee so much!

Short description of the hike

16 July 2010

S.U. Canal - Chester

From Chester to Bulkeley Hill, firstly along the Shropshire Union Canal then along the Sandstone Trail (23 km).

17 July 2010

From the Sandstone Trail

From Bulkeley Hill to Whitchurch, along the Sandstone Trail (20,5 km).

18 July 2010

Stuck in hotel (Whitchurch) waiting footwear and garments to dry!
I took a short-cutting footpath from the Sandstone Trail to Whitchrch, that, before getting to the town, ended in man high nettles and other weeds. There I fell head first into a knee deep dark slimy water of a ditch I hadn't seen because the tangle of weeds. I lost my glasses and I got to the town (trespassing a farm) all black smeared; a sort of alarming scarecrow! Luckily I found at once a basic hotel the landlord of which didn't fuss about my look.

19 July 2010

From Nantwhich (got there by train) to Winsford along the Weaver Way (24 km).

20 July 2010

FromWinsford to Northwich via Weaver Way (12 km).
From Northwhich to Delamere by bus.

Delamere Forest

From Delamere to Frodsham along the Sandstone Trail (14 km).

Conclusion

Honestly, the excitement of this hike came especially from the new approach (see above).
Delamere Forest is gorgeous, unfortunately I walked it under unrelenting heavy rain.
Canals are very interesting (locks, manoeuvring, etc.) and often quite lovely but, in the long run, they tend to be slightly monotonous.
Weaver Navigation between Northwich and Winsford is lovely but one must walk some miles in the ugly works area of the latter town.
Chester and Nantwich are pretty nice; the other towns I have seen in the county are colourless and, sometimes, even a little bleak. I think it depends of lack of old history or de-industrialization.
Lastly, with the exception of Chester, accommodation and refreshment along the trails are rather scanty.

South Downs Way

2009-04-28T11:28:00.015+02:00

From the 6th to the 12th of April, I walked the South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne.

The main novelty of this last hike is that I didn't do it solo but with my youngest daughter Beatrice.

Unfortunately, for lack of suitable prior training, we weren't fit enough. So, at the end of the 5th day we were so tired that we skipped the next leg (from Pyecombe to Lewes).

Apart from one whole misty day under heavy rain, we had always fine weather. Fresh but good for walking.

We met nice people and we stayed in beautiful inns and hospitable B&Bs.
As we advanced we were accompanied by the delightful song of skylarks and chaffinches.

I really don't know why but, in the end, I found the South Downs Way the less exciting of all the hikes I've done in Britain.

I took the opportunity of this last walking to improve the reduction of the gear weight.
I have gained 250 g. shifting from Ferrino Cumbre 35 l. rucksack to the Golite Jam2.
I found the latter less comfortable. But being frameless it needs something to stiffen it; e.g. a mattress which I didn't carry.
I gained some more grammes replacing the waterproof jacket and the rucksack cover by a poncho and a very light windproof.

Thus far I have always stayed in B&B or inns. In the future I would like to be more free and not to be bound to legs depending on accommodations booked longtime beforehand.
Therefore I am considering to carry a light camping gear: a poncho-tarp, a foam mattress and sleeping bag.
But, before embarking in a tough trek abroad (e.g. Highlands) I would like to do some experiments near home in order to stop easily in case something should go wrong.
So, next Autumn I would like to walk a section of the Apennines trail (Grande Escursione Appenninica) from the southern border of Tuscany to Florence.

As usually, I have taken some photos which are now available through the relevant links in the Trail Pictures section.

Pennine Way

2008-09-15T12:21:00.066+02:00

I've just finished walking a section of the Pennine Way: about 100 km in 5 days.
My legs are still stiff and aching; I new it would have been tough or, at least, quite tougher than my previous hikes: Peddars Way and Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

It is for that very reason that I decided to do it as soon as possible: being over 62 my strength can but lessen.

Compared to the above mentioned hikes, I found the Pennine Way not only much tougher but pretty more difficult as well: route often hard to find, very boggy and even flooded paths.
I've got to add that, in order to reduce the number of days out, I stretched the legs to an average of 25/26 km; which on hills trails it revealed too tough for me.

Anyway, like the other hikes, I enjoyed this one very much and I'm quite happy to have done it.

Again I took a lot of pictures (more than 500); if you are interested, please, take a look at the gallery top-right. They are arrayed by leg.

In contrast to the other hikes I did, Pennine Way was also more "adventurous". Let me just recount some of the main relevant events.

In the afternoon of the first leg (Hebden Bridge - Cowling), when I was going down Ickornshaw Moor, my knees began to hurt so acutely that I couldn't even ply them and I was obliged to descend the hill walking sideways and quite slowly.
I was so exhausted that I was unable to find the track which, as a matter of fact, was not easy in the least. In that area, as rather often along the Pennine Way, the track is actually unmarked and the rare traces of other walkers were deleted by the water flowing everywhere after the last August heavy rains. The ground was so boggy and wet that one had to mind carefully each step.
The pain to the knees was due particularly to the lack of prior training: August having been too hot at home. The general exhaustion was the result also of a too long first day on the hills (26 km plus 2 more because lost track detours) and of a beginning of dehydratation (I had sweated a lot wearing waterproof vest and trousers because the heavy rain ).

In short, as the day was starting to wear away, I began to fear of passing the night on the moor wrapped up in my safety blanket!

Luckily Mike, an Irish walker living in Scotland, came up and was so kind as to help me walk up to the evening goal.
I am very grateful to Mike whom I met again several times in the following stages and I'm sorry that he couldn't end his journey because a severe blister.

While my other hikes were quite solitary, walking the Pennine Way was a pretty sociable event: I met several walkers some of them I became friend with. Beside Mike, already mentioned, I want to remember Steve and, particularly, Roger and his son Thomas who helped me to find the track I had lost over Malham Cove. Although I usually walked alone because difference of pace, I often met them again at the B&Bs and inns.

Actually, the Pennine Way is partly an "invention". I mean that beside traditional more or less clear trails there are places, especially on the moorlands, where often there is no path at all.
There, one has to track other walkers' traces or relay on points of references (when available) or use a compass.
Sometimes, while the Pennine Way is barely perceivable, one meets secondary paths definitely more distinct which lure astray.
It is just what happened during my first leg, when, climbing towards Clough Head Hill, I loosed the track taking the only visible path on the right which, actually, bears away from the Pennine Way to the parking near the 68 road.
It was my first luck to meet soon a jogger which told me how to get to the Pennine Way again.

On Stonesdale Moor the Pennine Way faded away again and it was only thanks to the road across the dale - the only point of reference - that I didn't totally get lost.
Later on, when the dusk was beginning to fall - making me rather anxious - the thin smoke column of Tan Hill Inn, appearing in the immense and void sea of moorlands, was to me like the shore vision for the seafarer. I think I will never forget that epiphany.

Again, during the last leg, on top of Cotherstone Moor, the Pennine Way vanished. Luckily the weather was clear and I was able to point to the reservoir on the bottom of the dale where, after a careful walking through high tussocky grasses, I rejoined the Pennine Way.

I won't mention the other minor track missing occurred during the trip.

ABOUT THE GEAR

When I gave back the soaking low walking boots I had used on Pembrokeshire I bought, partly with the refund, a pair of Lowa Renegade GTX Mid which I had read many positive reviews about.
I was puzzled whether to use them because their heels were too high for me, making my legs pain. I was almost decided to take the New Balance NB985 I used one year before in Norfolk which, although very comfortable from the point of view of the set, are poorly breathable and low.
I knew that the ground would be very wet and boggy so I rasped the Lowa heels in order to get a better set.
It proved to be a quite sensible choice: after three days of heavy rain and a week of walking on often flooded and very boggy paths, my feet remained always dry! With the New Balance I would have got my feet quite soaked.

On the windy and cold tops of the hills I realized that there is no need of a heavy fleece: in my next trip I will replace it with a second light fleece to wear, in case, over the other one. I will be able thus to spare some more weight and space.

My waterproof vest leaked around the right shoulder and, like the over-trousers, it is not breathable. This makes a lot of moisture climbing the hills: I am going to look for breathable waterproof garments; if they exits.

SOME LEARNED LESSONS

I must not start without a suitable preliminary training.

On hill trails I must limit each leg to a maximum of 20/22 km.

TIMELINE

September 5, 2008. Getting there

Flown from Rome-Cimpino to Liverpool. Got to Manchester by coach. Light lunch at the Soup Kitchen. Reached Hebden Bridge by train in the afternoon. Accommodation at the splendid 17th century old White Lion Hotel Inn.

September 6, 2008. From Hebden Bridge to Cowling 28 km (with detours)
Short visit to Hebden Bridge waiting for breakfast time.
Starded the walk under rain.
Lost track around Green Hill. Found again thanks to a jogger's help. Round 1 km detour.
Exhausted and painful knees (impossible to ply) on the afternoon over Ickorshaw Moor on flooded and boggy undistinguishable track. Got to Cowling thanks to Mike's help (Irish walker from Scotland).
Gone to bed without supper (too exhausted) at Susan & Sandy Black B&B: quite charming people.

September 7, 2008. From Cowling to Malham (by bus)

Need of rest. Got to Malham (planned stage) by busses (3). Warm soup at the local café. Checked-in at Beck Hall; nice B&B in an old building along the beck. Little walking to visit Janet's Foss and Gordon Scar (5 km). Dinner with a plate of vegetables at the local pub.

September 8, 2008. From Malham to Horton-in-Ribblesdale 23 km
Climbed Malham Cove where lost the track; found again thanks to Roger and Thomas. Climbed Fountains Fell (660 m.) under rain. Little trouble with cattle during snack halt. Climbed Pen-y-Ghent (694 m.) with rather fine weather. Got to Horton-in-Ribblesdale tired but not as in the first day. Crown Hotel very nice old inn where I had a drink with the other walkers already met: Mike, Steve, Roger and Thomas.

September 9, 2008. From Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hardraw 24 km

Rain during half day. Climbed Dodd Fell (600 m.). Walked in thick mist during 3 hours: luckily clear track and clear weather again on the moor before Hawes where the way is trackable only looking carefully for recent traces of other walkers. Cake and Coffee in Hawes, nice town. Dinner with a bowl of chips and a bitter at the Dragon Hotel where I stayed: beautiful old inn whith fire in the bar and in breakfast lounge. Long chat with charming customers.

September 10, 2008. From Hardraw to Tan Hill 26 km

Fine weather all day. Climbed Great Shunner Fell (716 m. the highest of my trip). Met a lot of walkers, even a girl on solo. Coffee and cake at Keaton Hotel in Thwaite around 13:00. Very tired. Little anxiety on Stonesdale Moor where the path fades away. Bearing thanks to the road visible on the left. Got to Tan Hill a bit before dusk: quite relieved. Tan Hill Inn very nice old inn with fire and charming landlord; celtic music. Met Roger and Thomas for the last time being their trip end. Roger offerd me a whisky: very nice. I was alone in the bunk house; need to pass by the kitchen in order to get there. Windy and rainy night; little discouraged, almost made up my mind to give up the last leg.

September 11, 2008. From Tan Hill to Middleton in Teesdale 26 km

Poor breakfast; no cerals, nor toast, nor butter and jam either; only one mug of lukewarm coffee. But the very dark brew and no forecasted rain cheered me up and set forth.
Got the route alternative to the track along the beck: dangerous in bad wheather. Lot of grouses. Lost the track at Through-Heads; entered a farm court; climbed over a locked gate hurting the knees hopping down. Extremely tired all day long. Lost track on Cotherstone Moor; luckily good visibility so no need of compass: walked through the high grasses of the moor, bearing towards the reservoir in the bootom of the dale. Got to Middleton arond 6 p.m. Went to bed after hot shower, without supper: too tired. Brunswick House quite lovely and refined B&B; forniture and food as well. Middleton looks like a fine town too.

September 12, 2008. Going home

Smooth trip to Newcastle by bus and train. Went to Marks & Spencer to buy pure wool pullover for Chantal. Got to the airport very early: alas, too tired to visit Newcastle which looks like a really alive and charming city.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path

2008-05-04T19:14:00.022+02:00

Well, at last I've been able to realize the "dream" I had been fostering for two years: walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.
In the very beginning of my long distance projects, I was a bit intimidated by the toughness of the path and its remoteness from Heathrow. So, as my first long distance walking experience, I chose the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path which revealed a wonderful trip as I related in previous posts.
Although quite different, I found the Pembrokeshire Coast Path too, a magnificent hike. But more about that below.
In contrast with the previous hike, I won't transcribe here the journal kept during the last trip; I don't consider it of much interest for the reader. So I'm just giving a short summary.
I took more than 900 pictures; if interested, please, take a look at the gallery top-right. They are arrayed by leg.

TIMELINE

April 19-20, 2008. Getting to Wales

Landed to Heathrow (from Rome) in the late evening, just in time to catch the midnight National Express coach bound to Swansea. There - being Sunday - waited from 4 am to 10,30 for the first train to Haverfordwest. Town tour, dinner. Accommodation at College Guest House.

April 21, 2008. From Marloes to Broad Haven 25 km

9,00 Bus from Haverfordwest to Marloes where arrived at 10,05.
Lost a little time in finding the public footpath to the coast.
Started the Coast Path walking at Ragged Rocks (Marloes Sands) around 11 pm.
Half an hour break around 1,30 pm (after Musselwick Sands) for refreshment (water, chocolate, rice cakes, dried apricots and sesame bar).
An other short break 3 miles before the goal.
Reached Broad Haven around 6 pm. Accommodation at Anchor Guest House (nice).
Supper in my room with cheese and apples. Half bitter at the local pub.
Beautiful weather all day.
Very exhausted and knees hurting during the last miles.

April 22, 2008. From Broad Haven to Lower Solva 18 km

Waken up during the night with strong headache (persisting all day long). Drunk juice of 3 lemons bought in the local shop (my favourite remedy for headache due to gluten).
First break around 1,30 pm (with light refreshment as above) plus a second shorter one later.
Got to Solva in the afternoon.
Accommodation at Gamlyn B&B, nice cottage along the River Solva.
Supper with apple and rice cakes.
Beautiful weather all day.
Very tough leg although shorter then the previous one: many steep hills to climb.
Come across an adder coiled in the middle of path.
Met scanty walkers; mostly short distance.
A little trouble with the cows barring the passage after a stile. Not seeming that peaceful, made a dangerous detour passing on the verge of the cliffs.

April 23, 2008. From Lower Solva to St David's 23 km

Headache almost gone.
Start walking around 9 am.
Beautiful weather all day after a bit overcast in the early morning. When sheltered from wind even hot. I got sunburnt on the neck and nose. A sun hat would have been appropriate.
Break half way on the verge of the cliffs with usual refreshment contemplating an astonishing view.
Got to St David's through never ending 2,5 miles of roads.
Accommodation at Y-Gorlan Guest House; very nice and refined.
Pain to a heel tendon. Application of Arnica Heel ointment (vanished overnight; I recommand it as the walker companion!). Started to assume Rhus Toxicodendron against possible tendonitis.
Nice town for Wales standards. Interesting cathedral although very renovated.
Emotion hearing in the cloister a soprano rehearsing a Haendel (?) aria with piano accompanist.
For supper bar food at the local pub a little spoiled by the huge TV broadcasting the match Manchester-Barcelona or whatever.

April 24, 2008. From Whitesands beach to Abercastle 25 km

Got to Whitesands parking by bus. Start walking 9,45 am.
Still exceptionally fine weather. Tough path too, with many steep climbings.
Break about 1 pm with refreshment as usual.
Coffee break around 3 pm in Porthgain.
Garn Isaf B&B room unavailable because delayed works; instead I had the self catering cottage all for myself!
No pubs near: light supper with caffelatte and rice cakes.

April 25, 2008. From Abercastle to Goodwick (Fishguard) 26 km

Bad day: heavy rain all time. Boots and trousers soaked. Many steep hills to climb and often on difficult path.
Short break around 1 pm roughly sheltered in an unfinished sort of building.
Troubles with cows barring the passage: detour by the cliff edge.
Accommodation and dinner at The Ferry Boat Inn. Nice and good quality.
Dried boots and other wet garments over the heating.

April 26, 2008. From Fishguard (Lower Town) to Newport 22 km.

Got to Fishguard from Goodwick by bus.
Bought the only waterproofer available in Fishguard (for my shoes).
Started the walking from Lower Town reached by bus.
Halt about 2 pm in Pwllgwaelod (coffee and carrot cake in the local pub). Very tired: probably accumulated fatigue.
Lovely weather all day.
Accommodation at Golden Lion Inn. Nice place; unfortunately no shower, only bathtub. Supper at same inn bar. Chat with nice customers. Very animated (Saturday night).
Newport is the nicest town seen in Wales (thus far). Stone houses, Gothic church, castle remnants, burial chamber.

April 27, 2008. From Newport to Moylgrove 16 km.

Accommodation at Swn-y-Nant B&B in Moylgrove. Nice and good quality. Supper with cheese and fruit.
The waterproofing of shoes useless: socks damp after a few steps in the dew wet grass.
Luckily fine weather all day.

April 28, 2008. From Moylgrove to St Dogmaels 16 km

God weather.
Coffee break with welsh cakes at Webley Hotel.
Reached Cardigan by bus.
Accommodation at Highbury House. Breakfast not particularly good although nice place and landlady.
Supper in a pub near the bridge on the river Teifi.
Cardigan is a pretty animated town.

April 29, getting back home

9,00 am bus from Cardigan to Carmarthen, then National Express to Swansea and another NE coach service to Heathrow where arrived at 17 pm. 8 pm flight to Rome. Landed 12 pm.

IMPRESSION OF THE TRIP

Very beautiful trail. I was astonished to find a so long stretch of coast quite unspoilt. Impossible to find an equivalent in Italy.
I'm glad to have chosen this time of year because not too hot for walking and especially because the full blossom. Magnificent carpets of gorse, hawthorns, violets and primroses.
Caught sight of a seal (from very far). Many birds and - particularly dear to me - skylarks, whose song was my enchanting companion during the whole hike.
Some troubles with the cows (see above). Seen many horses, wild welsh ponies and, quite unexpected, an adder.
Exceptional fine weather (only one rainy day).
A tough hike on the whole. But, notwithstanding the National Trail Guide, I could have walked the Newport - St Dogmaels leg in one day instead of splitting it in two.
As I couldn't afford to stay away more than 10 days I wasn't able to walk the entire 300 km of the trail. So I chose to start from Marloes, skipping the oil refineries area between Pembroke and Milford Haven and then proceeding northwards.

PEMBROKESHIRE COAST PATH AND PEDDARS WAY - NORFOLK COAST PATH COMPARED

Well, it's hard to compare such different trails.
To begin with I must say that the Norfolk hike had the unique spell of the first time.
It was my first long distance walking experience and everything was magic to me.

Pembrokeshire Coast Path leads one through a long lofty stretch of colourful and almost savage scenery of high cliffs interrupted by secluded coves where crystal brooks flow into the wide Ocean.
You are often up and down on the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, reaching 175 meters over the sea level. What difference with the Norfolk Coast Path which progresses through a flat sea marsh landscape. Or with the almost straight line of the Peddars Way where the highest point is only 75 meters o.s.l.

The Norfolk trail is definitely less spectacular but, at least to me, it has its own spell: wide horizons, huge oaks and limes and dear ash trees, the magic intermingling of earth and water.

While the Pembrokeshire trail offers to the walker the grand feeling of an unspoilt, primeval and solitary landscape, in Norfolk - although in some stretches one might feel secluded - you are always in contact with the history of the Country: the footpath tracing a Roman road, old English villages and towns with beautiful flintstone Gothic churches, remnants of once splendid priories and ancient pubs where, enjoying a delicious local ale after your long stroll, you almost expect to see Tom Jones coming in.
Yes, in my impression, what lacks in Wales (at least in what I've seen of it) are beautiful old villages and tidiness of houses and countryside. Outside the path I've noticed a little shabbiness which unpleasantly reminded me of Italy.

If I had to resume my impressions I would say:

Pembrokeshire "colourful unspoilt savage coastal landscape".
Norfolk "charming Old England villages and countryside".

GEAR

I won't go into details of my equipment. I've already covered the item in a previous post related to the Norfolk trails. I just mention the differences from the latter.

Weight

I've been able to reduce the weight of about 1,5 kg. Lighter backpack: (- 800 g.) less food, dropped hat sun and shorts.

Rucksack

Ferrino Cumbre a 35 l. mountain rucksack revealed better balanced and comfortable than the Decathlon Forclaz 40 air I carried in Norfolk.

Footwear

I wore very light walking shoes: Adidas Response Walk GTX. More comfortable than the New Balance NB985 because lighter (- 200 g.) and more breathable being in Goretex.
Unfortunately they revealed not in the least waterproof. They were soaked after only one hour rain. I can't say whether the New Balance would have been better because it never rained during the Norfolk hike.

Lesson learned

Sun hat indispensable.

Shorts would be much appreciated.

Water repellent mountain trouser Millet not in the least waterproof so next time waterproof overtrousers and light walking trousers convertible into shorts.

Arnica Heel ointment indispensable.

Light, breathable and waterproof footwear still to be found.

The rest is OK, no other changes to the Norfolk gear.

CONCLUSION

The long distance walking didn't fail to reward me once again of a glorious experience definitely worthy the effort it demanded.

Now, in order to console me of the longing for the past adventure, I'm going to consider which trail to choose for the next long distance walk (perhaps next September).

Again on why not long distance walking in Italy

2008-04-10T12:24:00.006+02:00

Well, I should have written this post in January but I've been a bit lazy.
For Christmas, my brother Luca offered me, as a gift, a book remarkably apropos the present topic.
Namely it is "Di buon passo" by Andrea Bocconi; a kind of journal, telling the author's adventures backpacking through Tuscany and Umbria, hitting the springs of the two major Central Italy rivers: Arno and Tevere.
I roughly reckoned he might have walked about 400 km during his 12 days journey.

I can hardly compare his mode of walking with mine: he carried a rather heavy backpack and he often camped while I'm aiming lightness and halting only in b&b or inns.

But I'm not going to review the book which - by the way - is rather nice. What interest me there is that Andrea implicitly confirms some of the aspects which I mentioned in an earlier post where I explained why I won't undertake any journey on foot in Italy.
In particular he often was not able to access the path because illegally blocked off by bordering real estate owners or obstructed by thorns uncut long since for lack of maintenance.
In conclusion, it seems that the journey frequently proceeded on the roads, beside motor vehicles.

That's a pity but who can help? I don't think the situation is going to improve considering the unrelenting spreading of illegality (and concrete) in this country.

I'm consoling myself by the perspective that within two week short I'm starting the Pembrokeshire Coast Path walk.

But more about that in the upcoming posts where my gentle readers will be acquainted with sundry matters like gear improvement, athlete's foot and the journey story.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Going back home - September 13, 2007

2008-01-23T11:21:00.000+01:00

Stansted airport 3 p.m.

In fact the Cromer B&B was good, clean and the bathroom - although not en suite - was actually only for me being the only guest at the floor. Quality breakfast (even cotton napkin) and the landlady very nice.
As I could leave the B&B earlier than scheduled, instead of the XF line (9,15 a.m.) I caught the 44 which took me to Norwich at 10,00. So I could visit the cathedral: magnificent; English Gothic: perpendicular? (have to look at the Pevsner).
I took some photos but "en cachette" (thanks to the extra compact camera).
Then I went into a beautiful bookshop in order to look for something on Norfolk: nothing worthwhile. There was a 2 x 3 discount for the classics so I bought "Tess", "The Mill on the Floss" and "Heart of Darkness". In fact they gave for free the cheaper book of the three: if I had known I'd have bought three books with similar price.
Eventually, lingering in Norwich high street it got late; I hurried (in the mean time it was getting warm) for the coach station where I got only 10 minutes before the departure. Tickets are not sold on board; luckily no queue at the counter. If I've rightly understood all tickets are sold through the system and the drivers gets a list where for every stop there is the number and name of the passengers getting on and off.
I got to the airport 20 minutes late; with the waiting times of Stansted the following coach from Norwich would have been too short.
I'm writing sitting at Ponti's, a self service. Got a fruit salad, an apple cake with custard, water and a coffee (£10)
Ah! I was going to forget: from the coach I saw the crossing between the Peddars Way and the highway which I crossed the very first day. I was moved!

Here ended my journal. In the next posts I'm going to talk about planning the next trip: Penbrokeshire Coast Path probably in April or May.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - The last stage (Day 7th - September 12, 2007)

2008-01-22T13:01:00.000+01:00

From Wiveton to Kromer (22 km c.a)

Weybourne cliffs 12 a.m.

Halt on the cliffs in front of Weybourne (National Grid Reference TG 115 437).
Fantastic weather: shorts and T-shirt only.
Yesterday getting back to the B&B from the pub was a little bit frightful: very dark night, narrow road; couldn't see not even the the road borders (in order to get off in case of cars coming). I sillily forgot my torch!
Very good breakfast at Rosemede B&B.
It's ages since I haven't seen such a bright night sky with so many crisp stars: the Milky Way pretty clear and the Ursa Minor complete!
Still 4 km to Sheringham. In a few minutes I'm going to restart. I'll have a coffee there.

The goal at last: Cromer

I got to Cromer at quarter past 4 p.m. but not by the official trail: in Sheringham I lost the signposts and I found myself on the beach under the cliffs, without any way to go up. When I found a passage it was too farther on; if I had taken it I would have made a big detour: the trail bends inland after Sheringham.
Asked about the tide (high at 8 p.m.) I continued along the beach. The boots revealed providential: many pools 2 or 3 cm deep. But I'm still convinced that these are extreme cases (well there are also boggy tracks) and so a lighter footwear would be better. The choice has to be made also in function of the average kind of the trail.

In Sheringham I had a coffee and a slice of carrot cake: I really needed it. Sadly I couldn't rest: the coffee shop was in the shadow: as soon as one stops and is not in the sun it is quite cold, especially when there is a little wind.

Sheringham looks like the typical seaside town for retired people. I didn't fall in love with it.
Cromer is even worse: the typical seaside resort: bingos and fish and chips. Besides it is a little dismal, shabby houses...and even people.
England is surprising: in many places everything is harmonic while others are squalid.
Besides the weather is magnificent at the moment; what would be with a gray and rainy one.
Nobody at the B&B. I went to the bus station (which is actually a mere bus stop) and a person waiting for a bus told me that tickets are sold by the driver.The stop is within 50 m. from the B&B: I'll be able then to catch 9,15 for Norwich in order to take a look at the cathedral and then catch the coach arriving to the airport at 2,40 p.m. instead than the 4,40 one: too just.
I'm on the seaside; a little sun but when remaining still it's a little fresh.
Now I'll go back to the B&B in order to look whether there is somebody in.
The landlady was back. Nice. Coloured. My room is in the attic. For £2 supplement I asked for an en suite room but none available. It's o.k. as well: there is a basin in the room.
I took a shower at once. Nothing stirring at floor.
It's rather a business B&B; not a family one like in Wiveton yesterday. But quite o.k.: clean and functional. Only the TV is out of order. Maybe I made wrong manouvre. Breakfast is 8,30 but on my request the landlady is kindly willing to anticipate it at 8,00. I'd like to catch the 9,15 bus to Norwich. Luckily the stop is only 50 m.
Washed my shirt: I'll be able to travel back clean. Today I've perspired a lot and I've been wearing the shirt for a good moment (around Sheringham).
After the lunch on the cliffs I lengthened the rucksack shoulder straps (1 mark more than "N"): seems better.
Went out at 8,00 for supper. Not even one pub serving still some food! The only restaurant had already closed the orders as an other shabby pub I came across later. Not that I was that hungry but I didn't want to have a beer without something solid in. Eventually, when I was going to renounce and get back to my room, I had the idea to look for a sandwich in a petrol station. Got to sandwiches with tuna and fresh onions. No sure of the local custom, I didn't dare to bring my food into a pub so I ate it seated on a bench in front of the sea. Then I went to the pub that seemed the most genuine and got 1/2 pint of ale.
The pub too confirms the impression of squalor of this town felt as my first impression.
The pub is decaying and many guest laugh with the typical drunk laugh.
I'm getting asleep; I finish my beer and go to bed.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 6th - September 11, 2007

2008-01-22T08:33:00.000+01:00

From Warham to Wiveton (20 km c.a)

Blackney 1,30 p.m.

Today I've already covered 11,5 km: more than half the daily stretch. Today is the shortest stage: about 20 km.

Yesterday was a tough day; not only I covered 27 km but I walked the last 4 in quick pace because it was getting late and I was afraid to loose my room. I arrived to the inn after 6,30 p.m.
Today, the breakfast was worthy the pub class. Even cotton napkins.
I set out late: half past ten. I've been chatting during breakfast with the other guests: two nice Scots, one from Edinburgh and the other from near Glasgow.
Apropos the quality of the inn, there was even a bathrobe.
Today, beside the blister, even the knees hurt. Probably walking fast with a heavy load.
Still fine weather: clouds and sun; the wind is less strong than yesterday. I took off the waterproof jacket. I'd like to wear the shorts but sometimes the wind blows a little freshly.
Along the coast I'm meeting a lot of walkers; from their gear, they seem circular walkers. The only long distance walker I've met thus far is the yesterday one and, perhaps, another one on the 3rd day along the Peddars Way.
The café where I'm writing at the moment is very nice. Board floor, light yellow walls and withe moulding. They serve food as well. I had a slice of nut cake and a coffee.

Cley next the Seas 8,00 p.m.

I'm in another splendid pub: Three Swallows. The local pub near my B&B in Wiveton was full so I had to walk to Cley (one more mile) but it is far better like this because actually it was a pub aspiring to be a restaurant (candles, etc.).
This is a genuine old pub: plank floor, tables side by side, etc.
Ordered "Venison Casserole" and one pint of bitter "Adams".
Sadly the smoked mackerel was finished.
I'm a little concerned by the return to the B&B in the night: no pavement and all my garments are black. Let's hope the napkin is light coloured: I'll use it as sign for the cars.
The waitress has just brought the casserole: a kind of stew with potatoes, carrots, broccoli and peas. I'm waiting a bit: it's very hot.
Blakney - where I stopped this afternoon and had a coffee - is a very beautiful town.
I climbed up to the hill where there is a fine medieval church.

The venison casserole was good only too much laurel and the vegetables - as a rule - only boiled. The potatoes, at least, take some gravy.
Here dogs seem to be always allowed in the pubs. Even the guests just beside me have got one which - as matter of fact - I had to disturb in order to sit down: the tables are very close and I wanted to stay with my back to the wall in order to look at the pub life; besides, the other way I would have been like secluded.
Before leaving the B&B I met the landlord: nice and handsome man, rather my age but with quite long hair.
I washed shirt and T-shirt, pressed into a towel and suspended outside the window (ah! those Italians!).

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 5th - September 10, 2007

2008-01-21T10:51:00.000+01:00

From Brancaster to Warham (27 km c.a.)

Wells-next-the-Sea 4,00 p.m.

I couldn't go any further: exhausted. I've walked more than 20 km. Still 6 km to the B&B. Let's hope the little train from here (the beginning of The Bank: National Grid Reference TF 915 455) to the city centre is working.
At the beginning (NGR: TF 858 459) of the big dune after Burnham Overy Staithe I lost the track.
No sign post where to turn right. I wandered a little while and then I entered the wood that, spotted on the map, I used as a reference. From the wood I could find the track again.
From Holkham Gap, instead of sticking to the National Trail, following the suggestion of a nice Welsh Walker, I went to Wells along the beach turning around the West Sands and rejoining the official track just here at the parking.

Since I got to the coast, differently than along the Peddars Way - where I encountered very few people, here I'm meeting plenty of them with whom I often stop to chat. All pretty well-disposed towards walkers.
The most amazing meeting was this morning while I was looking for the track at Burnham Deepdale. Suddenly I saw a walker around 70, apparently not that firm in his legs. Wearing ordinary shoes and old garments and carrying an old and queer rucksack slanting on one side.
Holding one banana and a map in one hand and an old hand made staff with a strap in the other one.
He too was walking the Peddars Way and the Coast Path. On his rucksack there were stitched a lot of National Trail Badges. He told me he couldn't remember how many he had walked of. Probably a score. He was from Scarborough. We walked a little while together then I lost him when I stopped to put on something more warm because the sudden North gale.
By the way my Millet Cap revealed providential. The weather is wonderful today as well but a cold and strong gale blows from the North. I've been wearing almost all day trousers, shirt, waterproof jacket and cap.

Warham 8,00 p.m.

I'm sitting at the bar of the Three Horseshoes Inn (National Grid Reference TF 943 416). Fantastic! Everything hundreds of years old. Old wood everywhere. As a matter of fact it is rightly awarded by the National Inventory of Historic Pubs. One believes to be in Fielding times. The bar is even nicer than the restaurant lounge: convivial and charming families; even the dog seems from the 18th century.
The food is traditional English. No search of originality at any cost as it is the norm today.
Such a place is unbelievable in Italy.
It one of the aspects of Britain I love the most: the sticking to the tradition (not in conservative way); I mean not throwing away the good things for new ones at any cost.
It is really the most beautiful and genuine place I've found thus far in Britain and, probably, anywhere else.
The family near me has got a nice hairy light honey coloured dog.
I got a pint of local Norfolk ale and ordered Ham and lentils soup and Local crab salad.
In the restaurant lounge there is a cast iron oven.
My room to is pretty beautiful too: lot of wood; genuine and old. Even the details: knobs, mouldings, and so on.
I need to wait because the soup is burning. By the way I've been served with a brioche shaped bread: delicious!
The today trip seemed endless; it should have been 24/25 km but, because I lost the track, I've actually covered more than 27 km.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 4th - September 9, 2007

2008-01-16T10:50:00.000+01:00

From Sedgeford to Brancaster (22 km c.a.)

Gore Point 1,50 p.m.

It's now one hour since I stopped on the beach opposite Gore Point (National Grid Reference TF 706 448). I installed myself on top of the dune just on the spot where there is a descent to the beach. After my meager lunch I went down to the waterline and walked some time with the water up to the knees. The sea was warm and I could have swum. But nobody was bathing; maybe it's dangerous; undertow?
The weather is splendid; the landscape vast and unspoiled; I was so impressed and moved that my eyes watered.
Mrs. Frost breakfast (Sedgeford) was delicious; the best thus far. Home made jams; fine and complete china breakfast set; and - a touch of refined kindness - a bowl of strawberries and raspberries freshly plucked from Mrs. Frost garden.
As I had imagined, the track I noticed in the map is public (confirmed by Mr. Frost). So, instead of coming back to Fring Cross, I took the road for Ringstead and then the first on the right which, by the way, is a bridleway. So I could rejoin the Peddars Way higher than Sedgeford.
Fresh weather but wonderfully clear. Taken off the shirt. The trail went up and down up to Ringstead. Before entering the village I met a gentleman walking with his dog: a very cheerful and agreeable creature. A female of Labrador which lapped me friendly.
Ringstead is a pretty nice village. I bought some apples and visited the medieval church.

Less than a mile after Ringstead I caught - at last - the first sight of the North Sea; vision that accompanied me up to Holme beach.
The sea, the fine weather and the less hurting blister (thanks to the plaster kindly provided by Mrs. Frost) have contributed to boost my morale.
But now it's about time I set out if I don't want to pass the night on the beach.

4,40 p.m.

Halt in the inland section of the trail (National Grid Reference 745 420): I was exhausted and my back hurts a lot. It's vital to have less load!
After Thornham, on the road to Crosely, I was afraid to have missed the track on the left and got lost: I'm not yet used to the 50,000 maps.
From here to Brancaster (the stage goal) there are exactly 4 km (National Trail signpost).

7,00 p.m.

Got to Brancaster at 5,45 p.m. Waited 6,00 for the Inn's opening.
I'm not quite happy with the Ship Inn; no value for money (£55): lot of shabby details. Its advantages are en suite shower and wc and laying right on the trail.
Made a little washing: 4 sock pairs and one pants. Wrung well and then rolled up in a towel for a quarter of an hour. If it works (dried tomorrow) it shows that it's possible to further reduce the load: instead of 6 socks and 5 pants only 3 of each (one up, one to wash in the evening and one spear for emergency).
Anyway even the rucksack should be probably be replaced. Too heavy and need to take my measures before choosing a new one.
Could try reselling the present one by eBay.
While waiting the inn's opening received an SMS from Chantal which I answered to.

8,20 p.m.

Went down in the dining room. I had just the time to make the last order. Another unpleasant detail: the outside board says until 9,30 on Sundays. Perhaps it refers only to the bar.
Ordered choosing from the board: haddock (don't remember how) and boiled potatoes.
Got one pint of Abbot ale. The best tasted thus far.
After the seaside halt the trip has been pretty hard.
It seems impossible but I got sun burnt on the forearms, neck and legs. I'm feeling like feverish but, as I have never felt cold, it must due to the sun.
I've checked carefully, tomorrow - even cutting after Wells - it's the longest stretch of the whole hike.

9,30 p.m.

The haddock was deep fried; luckily I could remove the batter, dripping nauseating oil as frequently happens in Britain. If I had known I'd have had the plaice fingers, at least cheaper.
It could be a good idea not to dine: an English breakfast values for two meals.
A small snack would be enough: just to not drinking the beer with empty stomach.
The Inn closes at 10,00 even the access to the rooms so I must go to find a telephone for calling my mother.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 3rd - September 8, 2007

2008-01-15T14:59:00.000+01:00

From Castle Acre to Sedgeford (23 km c.a.)

6,30 a.m.

I can't sleep any longer. Anyway I've slept quite well and gone to bed rather early.
I asked to have breakfast at 7,45 so, while I'm waiting, I take the opportunity for writing my journal.
Happily, this morning no headache at all!
The weather is cloudy but, if it's like yesterday, it should clear up and warm up as well. Anyway for walking better cold than hot so long as it doesn't rain.
The shirt and t-shirt I washed yesterday dried up fine notwithstanding the lack of fresh air (extremely tiny window).
I'm opening a new section in my notebook: Lessons learned and how to improve the next hike.

10,45 a.m

First stop of the day (National Grid Reference TF 783 223).
I've covered c.a. 8 km (nearly 1/3rd of the daily stage).
I'm a little worried about the blister; it broke out and it's hurting a lot. Let's hope it won't get infected.
The grass was so wet that the moist entered the shoes which now are quite damp as well as the socks.
Can't understand, during the Cotswold walking last July, they seemed waterproof. One more reason to change them for a lighter footwear (maybe with overshoes).
The rucksack seems more comfortable today. It's a question of adjustment in relation to the barycenter. I moved it up a bit and it works better.
Here the trail is a small grass path bordered by hedges and big trees. On the right there are cultivated fields and on the left meadows with horses.
The weather is cloudy again. Anyway the shorts are perfect for this weather even if on early morning it's a little fresh.

1,00 p.m.

Lunch halt (National Grid Reference TF 762 274).

I've just crossed the higher point of the Peddars Way: 92 m. marked by an Ordnance Survey triangulation point.The wind begins to blow: I had to put on the shirt again.
The emergency blanket is very useful for isolating the dampness when sitting or lay down.
The maps shows 11 km to the goal: so I'm further than half way.

4,00 p.m.

Last stop of the stage (National Grid Reference TF 740 330).
No more than 5 km to Sedgeford.

Sedgeford, 7,15 p.m.

I'm resting a little lying on the bed of my chamber while waiting for dinner time (reserved at the local pub for 8,30 p.m.).
B&B is very nice and fine charming people are its tenants: Mr. and Mrs. Frost (but not cold at all). Typical English house with a lot of objects.
The pain caused by the blister makes one to walk unnaturally and this - in its turn - causes pain to the ankle. I need to take some more Rhus.

Sedgeford, 8,30 p.m.

I'm in the local pub: very nice and typical. Unfortunately, as my place was already reserved by Mrs. Frost, I couldn't take place at the bar which I prefer, being less formal, more genuine and cheaper (not so sure of this: can't see a real separation between the two areas).
The village is very small and scattered; no real center.
Unfortunately the cell phone hasn't got any connection and the only public telephone is out of order. I wouldn't like Chantal worried about my silence.
This evening I've overdone it: got a whole pint instead than half one. Got a Norfolk ale: stronger the the ordinary bitter.
I ordered steak and ale pie: something really typical.
The weather has changed: very damp now; but I don't think because the rain.
I realizing that the beer is stronger than the ordinary bitter!
The waitress didn't look like native. Probably from Eastern Europe. Tall and slender. Quite nice.

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 2nd - September 7, 2007

2008-01-14T10:45:00.000+01:00

From Watton to Castle Acre (25 km c.a)

10,40 a.m.

First break: just a little bit before Houghton Carr (National Grid Reference: TF 861 050).

Woke up with headache and not yet over. Moreover, went to sleep very late because watched, till late, the TV documentary on Pavarotti.
Breakfasted without appetite because headache; didn't have beans nor sausages.
Earlier in the morning the sky was forecast and the air fresh; now the weather is fine.
This first pause (where I'm writing at the moment) comes after 2 hours walk (set out from Watton at 8,37 a.m.).
I've entered a freshly cut field through a broken hedge to find a quiet spot: thus far the trail has run on the very road. Only between Watton and Little Kressingham the trail was partially behind the hedge on the brim of fields and meadows. The traffic was intense and the noise disturbing.
From Kressingam to here one has to walk directly on a narrow road minding the motor vehicles (happily I counted no more than five).
Compared to yesterday the landscape has changed; no more woods but cultivated fields (mostly cereals and hay). But there are still squirrels (crossing the road) and pheasants.
Just now, one is repeating its cry at the bottom of the field before me.
I've started to take Rhus because I'm feeling some pain like inflammation.

1,30 p.m.

Snack stop: (National Grid Reference: TF 849 085).

Here the trail is bordered on both sides by hedges and scattered big trees.
Before North Pickenham it was so warm that I was obliged to take off the shirt and put on the sun hat.
The headache had decreased but now is getting fairly strong again (the food?).
Since this morning I've walked 14,5 km. Now I can slack down: only 9 km left to the stage (Castle Acre).

3,30 p.m.

I've been obliged to stop again for a little rest. I was exhausted. Still 5 km to Castle Acre (National Grid Reference: TF 825 125).
It's really hot. Water finished. Headache almost ceased but don't know whether I will eat at the pub this evening. If I find a grocer I'll get some cucumber, cheese and pear and after eating I'll go to have a beer at the pub.

Castle Acre, evening

Nowhere for buying food so I'm going to dine in one of the two local pubs.
The village is nice. There is a remarkable old gate (in flintstone), a medieval church with its churchyard just facing the B&B. There are also remnants of a castle and a priory.
Before entering the village (by the Peddars Way) one crosses a stream through a wooden foot-bridge. The stream seems quite clean; a child was bathing in.

The B&B (Willow Cottage) - nice and clean - is located in a traditional old flintstone house.

I was afraid to not being able to arrive at Castle Acre. I got a blister to a left foot toe. Let's hope for tomorrow: 26 km stretch!
According to the pedometer today I've walked 25 km.
Tomorrow there is a pretty solitary stretch. There is also the appeal of catching - perhaps - a glimpse of the sea (The Wash).

Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path - Day 1st - September 6, 2007

2007-11-06T10:31:00.000+01:00

From Knettishall Heath to Watton (29 km)

Thetford, 9 a.m.

I'm waiting for the taxi. I've slept quite badly: an upstairs guest - probably with prostate troubles - has been getting up and down the stairs in order to go to the toilet, which is just next my room; I was waken up each time because the noise, particularly strong because the wooden stairs and the thin panelings.
The breakfast, although copious, was low quality. Consistent with the b&b.

Earlier, the weather was totally clear but now it is becoming cloudy; I've worn the shorts anyway; let's try.

9,15 a.m.

Start walking the trail (Knettissham Heath).

11,30 a.m.

First break: Roudham Heath wood (National Grid Reference: TL 931 880).
Pain to the right hip.
The pedometer marks 5.4 miles. I think it is increasing a bit, even if I reduced the pace form 75 to 74 cm. I started the trail at 9,15 so I've walked 2 hours considering the short stops (footwear adjustment, urinations, detour to take a look at Brettenham Heath information board, etc.).
Thus far the environment has been mainly woodland (red pines, birches and beeches) with some openings on meadows, cultivated fields and heathland.
Often a squirrel crosses the path quite close or a pheasant (partridge?) flies away scared. Fens and mushrooms everywhere.
At a certain point the trail skirts an open field pig-breeding. I was amazed to see them free, with plenty of space. Each one has its individual shelter (vaulted corrugated iron) with water pump.
The shorts are perfect for walking in this wather but I need to get polyamide ones for next trip (because the sweat). I'm wearing T-shirt and a shirt; the latter is even superfluous.
At 11 a.m. I put on the shoes and start again.

1,20 p.m.

Snack stop near Woodcock Hill (National Grid Reference: TL 925 923).
I was getting quite tired and, particularly, tormented by hip pain.
The place is a beech and birch wood. While I'm eating, now and then, a squirrel crosses the trail.
All the region is full of flintstones; often cleft pebbles like that used for house building.
Thus far no long distance walker met; only an angler on the river Thet, a local walker with his dog and a biker.
Roughly I should be half way (of daily stretch).

3,50 p.m.

New stop. I can't go any further! Anyway I think that probably there are only 3 km to the goal: I'm just before Home Farm (National Grid Reference: TL 900 994).
Walking with the backpack is totally different than without it!
I've finished the water: it's about time I arrived.
I'm sitting with the back to an immense oak. Ahead a meadow with thickets on the background. The sky is so beautiful with its tiny clouds.

Watton, 6,30 p.m.

Arrived, at last! (5,30 approximately).
Luckily, the hotel (Hare & Barrel) serves dinner (up to 9). For the moment I'm not hungry. Now I'll have a little rest and then I'm going to walk to the town center to buy water and a phone card. I see whether I get hungry before 9.

Watton, 9,00 p.m.

I'm in the hotel bar, waiting for the food (jacked potatoes with cheese). I've just come back from the town center (4 km more) where I bought the water and called my mother. Chantal sent me an SMS which I answered to. I saw more than one person driving very fast; is the police doing something about?

The Start of the Journey

2007-10-26T09:34:00.000+02:00

Introduction

In the previous posts I have been talking about choosing the trail (for my first experience) and the equipment I set up.
From now on I will be narrating the very trip I made. In fact I am merely transcribing (and translating) the diary I kept during the journey.

Going away

September 5, 2007

Airport (Ciampino - Rome) - Morning

The adventure has begun! I'm waiting to board. A bit tense and tired - I haven't slept well.

As a matter of fact, I discovered that I might have brought the rucksack into the cabin but, actually, I couldn't because I've brought a knife.

Next time I won't bring any knife. I'll buy a cheap one on-the-spot which I'll drop before flying home. So I'll be able to carry the rucksack in cabin and save a lot of time after landing.

Thetford (Norfolk) - Afternoon

Boarding and flight regular. I've been even able to catch the 12,40 National Express coach thus getting to Thetford around 2 PM. By the way, as "promised" in the web site, I got the "oversixty" discount. At last an advantage of getting old!

Thetford lies in a nice vast forests area while the Newmarket region, the coach passed before, is very green being one of the most important horse racing, training and breeding center.

As soon as I alighted in Thetford I asked for the nearest supermarket which was along the river quite near the bus station.
Bought water, roquefort cheese, cucumber and a bag of Kent apples, I went to a nice place along the river with banks. Unfortunately I discovered that I had forgotten the rice cakes when I left home. So I had my lunch without any cereal stuff.

I walked a little in the town which I found not particularly nice nor well kept.
I visited St Mary, the oldest church of the town, sadly abandoned and skirted by ugly flats.
On the contrary, the priory remnants are very suggestive. The best preserved part is the Gatehouse.

Actually, now the knapsack with one liter water and the food, seems very heavy. I'm a little concerned for tomorrow.

The camera signalizes already low battery! I'm writing these notes while waiting for the opening of the b&b at 6 PM. I've still one hour ahead. A Canadian goose is repeating its cry.

Thetford (Norfolk) - Evening

The b&b is modest but clean (The Pink Cottage, 43 Magdalen St. - £25,00). Shower and toilet on the landing.
Dinner at Black Horse pub, just opposite the b&b.
Roasted lamb with potatoes (boiled and mashed), vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli and leeks). The gravy is served in an eatable container. Reasonable price: £10.
The b&b lady has kindly booked a taxi for the morning (no public transports to the start of the Peddars Way).
After dinner a short walk in the town. The weather is mild. The traditional houses are built with flint pebbles, most halved. The edges are very sharp. It's the first time I see flint stones; I understand now how they were able to make knives with and why it was so precious.
My mother called me but, sadly, I was obliged to cut short because the high roaming rates. I'll call her tomorrow evening from a public phone.

The Gear

2007-10-09T09:32:00.001+02:00

He took
In his Knapsack
A Book
Full of vowels
And a shirt
With some towels -
A slight cap
For night cap -
A hair brush,
Comb ditto,
New Stockings
For old ones
Would split O!

J. KEATS

Someone might say: "Gear! What for? Is not walking an innate human function?" Indeed it is! But, if you are going to stay a week away from home, walking 6 or 7 hours per day in a weather which might shift from definitely hot to heavy rain or chilling north gale and lunching in the fields, you cannot be attired as though you went for an hour walk in the local park.

As it was my first experience of long distance walking I didn't know how to choose the gear. I learned mainly through Internet though I have realized that nothing is worth as much as personal experience.
Eventually, the gear I set up revealed, in the use, not fully ideal. So, I am now going to deal with the main issues which came up in the long run.

Footwear

I had reached the conviction that, given the considerable length of the daily walking, the footwear should be, above all, comfortable and light.
I knew that Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path is a rather smooth trail without irregular or abrupt stretches as one usually finds in mountain tracks.
Besides, I have always got a "steady foot".
Ankle distortion risks being rather limited, I deemed I could manage without high boots gaining thus in comfort and lightness.

I had discovered that New Balance made a line of boots expressly for "country walking", often sold in orthopedic items stores. So I imagined they should be a good choice for my purpose.
In the beginning I couldn't find in my home area any NB985: the waterproof model of the "Country walking" line.
Later, I found a pair of NB643: a light model of the "Country walking" line. As they were on cut-rate sale I bought them even though non-waterproof (suede and mesh upper). I wanted to try the line and, besides, they would be useful in hot climate like Italy.
Even in the long run, they actually proved to be so comfortable that I have been wearing them almost everyday since.
So, I got convinced that the waterproof model would be OK. Eventually, in the late spring of this year I got a pair of NB985. After a little use I realized that, even though they had the same soles of the NB643, they were not in the least so comfortable.
And, sadly, during the 150 km hike, the NB985 boots proved to be even worse than they had firstly appeared:

top of foot pain (particularly due to thick tongue seams and to the eyelets and hooks);

heaviness;

poor breathability;

blistering.

To avoid the pain to the top of the feet I was obliged to lace very loosely and when I stopped for resting my first impulse was to take off shoes and socks for relieving my feet from a constant oppressing sensation.

Moreover, I soon got a toe blister which tormented me during all the trip. Unfortunately I had forgotten the plaster and I could get one only the fourth day, when the blister was now too inflamed for getting a benefit quickly enough.

Planning the next long distance walk in England, I am wondering whether light common outdoor shoes - provided they were waterproof - could fit.
Of course, I could have some troubles in crossing marshy stretches but I think the trade-off would be worthwhile.

Rucksack

Beside the footwear, this is the other vital item for the long distance walker.
I must confess that I was too hasty in choosing the rucksack. I bought "Forclaz 40 air" from Decathlon, a 42 liters rucksack, with adjustable shoulder straps, high ventilation back and integrated rain cover.
It is a rather cheap (€ 50) item but, in the long run, I am not happy with it. Firstly it is too heavy (1,8 kg) and, anyway, I don't feel comfortable with. Probably it doesn't fit my size so, the weight is not aligned with my barycenter.
I am weighing whether to by another one. But firstly I have to try how it works with less weight.
But, see next section.

Other items

The following table displays all the items I carried in the rucksack and in my pockets as well.

Gear table
Item	N. in rucksack	N. in pockets	Weight	Total weight in pockets	Total weight in rucksack
Accommodation guide	1		98		98
Accommodation sheet	1		5		5
Bus timetables	1		10		10
Camera		1	105	105
Camera battery charger	1		144		144
Canteen + 1l water	1		1031		1031
Cap	1		42		42
Cell phone		1	79	79
Cell phone battery charger	1		63		63
Dried apricots	2		260		520
Emergency blanket	1		201		201
Heavy fleece	1		551		551
Knife	1		29		29
Light fleece	1		318		318
Map sleeve		1	15	15
Maps	2	1	79	79	158
Notebook	1		139		139
Pants	4	1	50	50	200
Pedometer		1	31	31
Pen		1	29	29
Power adapter	1		39		39
Pyjama	1		200		200
Rice cakes	2		159		318
Rucksack	1		1800		1800
Sesame bars	4		120		480
Sewing kit	1		4		4
Shirt		1	222	222	0
Short	1		219	0	219
Socks	5	1	42	42	210
Spare spectacles	1		67		67
Sun hat	1		69		69
T-shirt	1	1	134	134	134
Tooth brush, paste and floss	1		109
Torch	1		75		75
Walking trousers	1		374		374
Wallet		1	143	143
Waterproof jacket	1		560		560
Whistle	1		7		7
Total (in grams)				929	8065

As you can see from the previous table, I walked the trail backpacking about 8 kg.

Although, before setting out, that seemed to me a rather easy weight to carry through, in the long run, it revealed by far too heavy for me.

It could partly depend on the rucksack (see above) but, at least given my age and my fitness, I need to further reduce the weight, if I want that my next hike should be pleasanter.

As a matter of a fact, stimulated by the burden of my backpack and relying on the lessons lerned, I have carefully weighed which items are absolutely necessary. So, I have made up my mind to suppress the following items or reduce their quantity.

Food

As a novice, I silly started the journey carrying the food for all the seven lunches I had before me. The experience taught me that this weight can be spared. In fact it is not necessary to bring the food for all the journey days - at least in most trails. Given the richness of English brekfasts, even if a daily stretch doesn't touch any village, actually, a very light snack is largely sufficient and, usually, in most overnight stay places there is a shop where a sandwich or whatever can be got before setting out in the morning.

So, if you look to the table above, dropping the food saves roughly 1 kg (1.318 kg minus the daily lunch weight, i.e. a sandwich or whatever).

Underwear

I brought a quantity of socks and pants sufficient for a daily change. During the trip I learned that, even in accomodations without drying facility, it is always possible to get the wash (in one's room lavabo) dried overnight if one uses the trick of wringing it out in a towel.

So, even the underwear weight can be reduced. In the next trip I am going to bring only 3 pair of socks and pants - one put on, one to be washed in the evening and a spare one. This can save about 200 grams.

Miscellanea

An other item I am going to drop in the next trip is the pedometer. Actually, with good maps one can calculate the covered distance even more precisely than by a pedometer. So, 30 additional grams can be spared.

A last item I am still considering whether to drop is the pyjama. Why not to sleep with the clean underwear?

Conclusion

I may resume what precedes by saying that, in the next trip, I am going to spare more than 1 kg. It might seem derisory but, at least for me, it will boost the comfort. Furthermore, I am going to search for a lighter and confortable footwear.

I beg my gentle reader's pardon fo this rather boring post but, I think that it might be of some interest for long distance walkers.

In the next post I am going to start recounting the very journey.

Why Peddars Way

2007-10-08T11:18:00.000+02:00

In my last post I told why I made my first long distance walk in England.
In the present one I am going to explain how I chose the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path among the numerous trails of Britain.

Being at my first experience I focused on the National Trails because, as I explained in the previous post, I could get a great help from the official web site and the related guide books.

The National Trail offers a set of 14 trails, actually covering almost the whole of England and Wales. From Cornwall to the Border.

Although in the beginning I was a little puzzled by such a wide choice, my fascination for the Ocean and the Celtic world lured me toward the Penbrokeshire Coast Path and the (Cornwall section of the) South West Coast Path. So I bought the relevant (National Trail) guides and I started to plan the adventure.

I intended to set out in the late spring of 2006 but, unfortunately, I was obliged to defer because my full mobility was impaired by a sudden attack of periarthritis which lasted until the beginning of the present year.

In the mean time I had the opportunity to better evaluate the options. I realized that the Ocean trails were probably a too challenging choice for a beginner: length, climate, gradient, distance from London airports, etc.

So I got back to the other trails and, after many cogitations, in the end I made up my mind and chose the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path.

What features were determinant? Well, there were many of them:

Length: 150 km may be easily covered in 7 days at the rate of an average 22 km per stage. For my first experience I didn't want to stay more than one week nor exceed 25 km per stage.
Accommodation: available within 25 km from each stage.
Climate: East Anglia is relatively dry. I was a little scared by the frequent rains and strong winds of the western coasts.
Gradient: I wasn't quite sure to be capable to walk 25 km per day with a rucksack on steep paths. Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path are rather flat.
How to get there: the trail is easily reachable from Stansted Airport.

Furthermore, beside the previous practical issues, the image of the Peddars Way - as it had crystallized in my mind - radiated a mysterious atmosphere of timelessness and secludedness which enchanted me.

So, during the summer I planned the trip (for the second week of September) and - at last - I booked the flight and reserved the accommodations.

In the next post I am going to bore my gentle reader with the details about the gear I was equipped with when I set out for the hike.

Why England - Conclusion

2007-10-03T13:54:00.000+02:00

To see no other verdure than its own;
To feel no other breezes than are blown
Through its tall woods with high romances blent

J. KEATS

In the last post I tried to explain why I didn't choose my home country (Italy) for my first long distance walking experience.
Today I am going to tell wherefore I preferred England to other nearer countries.

Probably there are many fine long distance walks in other European countries but, as far a I could understand exploring Internet, no other country offers like England (and Wales) such a rich choice of trails managed by an official organization (National Trail) providing - through a dedicated website and guide-books - a comprehensive support to walkers for planning their trips: maps, distances, accommodation, photo galleries, etc.

Nowhere else I have been able to find such a help which allowed me - absolute beginner - to choose the best fit trail and smoothly organize my trip.

Moreover what pleasant surprise when - perusing some maps of England - I discovered that, beside the 4,000 km covered by the 14 national trails, the whole country is reticulated by a grid of public footpaths allowing to actually go everywhere on foot.

Thus, practical motives were determinant in choosing England but this choice matched a preexistent inner inclination.

It is not that I don't like France or Germany but England has something undefinable which strikes a chord with me.

Well, how to say?

One almost magic aspect deals with the relative intactness of England: since medieval times - excepted some bombings in World War II - she has scarcely suffered from war destructions not in the least comparable to Germany or Italy. Actually it is the fire which has been the main ravager.
This aspect is also due to her inhabitants who generally don't throw away things just because they are out of fashion.
I have been fascinated by pubs where one expects to suddenly behold Tom Jones or Falstaff.
Even the very fences or signposts are quite discreet in this country, barely impacting on the landscape.

I could resume my feelings saying that, walking in England, I rarely get a clashing sensation. My sharp aesthetic sensibility is seldom upset and I feel at peace.

In the next post I going to tell why I chose the Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path among the 14 national trails.

Why England continued

2007-10-02T17:09:00.000+02:00

Why not Italy (continued)

Environment

Another essential issue is the state of the environment which sadly is rather blighted in Italy.
Of course this cannot be generalized. There are still some unspoiled areas in this country but they are not situated as to form a system which one can walk a long distance across without interruptions.

The first destroyers of the Italian environment (here I don't take in consideration the pollution) are the real estate developers.
The concrete is unrelentingly spreading everywhere. The most aggressed area is the seaside: hundreds - if not even thousands - kilometers of coasts are no more than long rows of concrete.
But nothing seems to resist the concrete: countryside, Alps, Apennines, archaeological sites, national and regional parks.

An other cause of nature and landscape spoiling is the unrelenting tracing of roads. The Apennines are particularly stricken by this fever: roads everywhere; for hunting, for second homes, for skying, for gas pipes maintenance, etc.

Last but not least the damage done to the environment by the citizens themselves. Sadly, the average Italian - regardless of his assertions, is often disrespectful of the environment.
One cannot walk - even in the woods - without stumbling across illegal buildings or rubbish of any type (even old fridges, gas stoves, toilet bowls, etc.).

Luckily this situation is not absolute: there are still scattered areas of excellence although things get worse as one moves southwards.

Let me give some real life examples.

I live just near a volcanic lake bordered by a primeval wood with some remnants of Roman works. Two footpaths make the circuit of the lake: through the wood and along the shore.
When I moved in this area 16 years ago, I eagerly tried to walk those paths but I gave it up soon: rubbish, stray dogs, mountain bikers at full speed, etc.
Mind you, it is a "Regional Park"!

Later I tried some trails described in a regional (Lazio) footpaths guide hoping that - away from urban areas - things might be better: unfortunately I found the same situation.

Somebody could say this is not true for the whole country. I already said above that it must not be generalized but even in the very refined Tuscany (where I lived for 30 years), although the situation was far better than here in Lazio, I had unpleasant experiences.

For instance, when after a 4 hours mountain trekking, I reached the source of Arno, the first thing watered by the rivulet springing from the rock was a Coca Cola can!
Of course I don't think it was dropped by somebody who, like me, had walked so many hours. Unfortunately, a freshly opened road, allowed people to come by car a few yards from the source.

I want to conclude this post with an anthropological consideration: I think that Mediterranean peoples have a problematic relationship to Nature!
When the average Mediterranean moves from the sweetish fake imagery into the true real life Nature he feels it as a threatening entity.
How to explain otherwise the customary violence he inflicts to Nature. I mean gratuitously not for gain which is an universal behaviour.
I finish this post with a challenge proposed to my gentle reader:

How to interpret that the average Mediterranean (or at least Italian) scarcely goes out into Nature (countryside, seaside, woods, etc.) without his panoply of gadgets (branded garments, I-Pods, etc.) and, when possible, motor vehicles he hardly parts from (how often I have seen people picnicking beside their car on the very border of a road skirting a wood or meadow).

I could go on a great deal with such sad stories but it would be very gloomy. So, enough with this topic.
I promise to be positive in the next post: I am going to tell, at last, why I chose England for long distance walking.

Why England?

2007-09-24T12:21:00.000+02:00

This precious stone set in a silver sea

One could wonder why I went to a foreign and relatively distant country to undertake a long distance walk.
As a matter of fact, it is the very question my wife Chantal was put to, whenever a friend or some other acquaintance knew that I was walking in Norfolk: "Why going so far?! Couldn't he walk here?".

This question must be answered following two implicated approaches:

Why not Italy
Why England

Why not Italy

Public Rights of Way

Excepted Alps and other mountains, it is actually impossible to walk a long distance in Italy.
I mean that it is not possible to walk long distance trails forbidden to motor vehicles. Obviously, if you want, you can - at your own risk - travel on foot on any road not expressly forbidden (like motorways) to walkers.
Of course, there are footpaths even outside mountains but they are short and not interlinked as to cover hundreds of kilometers.
Italian trekkers would probably protest in reading this. But what I am intending here is that in this country - outside mountains - there are no trails not even in the least comparable to such as e.g. England's Offa's Dyke Path (285 km) or South West Coast Path (1,014 km).
Mind you, length is not the only aspect weighed here; what makes the difference is that England's trails - such as those above mentioned - allow people to travel across the country on ways reserved to walkers!
That is, without being disturbed (and threatened) by motor vehicles (even though some stretches may be shared with horse or bike riders) and, at the same time, never losing contact with the main aspects of the genuine country: towns, villages, monuments, etc. Although, of course, many sections may be retreated and amid woods, heathlands, meadows, farmlands, etc.

Why this lack of long distance trails in Italy?
Well, in my opinion this results from the combination of several causes.

One reason is probably the very lack of demand: citizens do not put enough pressure on the government (local and central) to preserve public rights of way, reinstate illegally obstructed ones and negotiate new passages with owners.

A second reason - partially related to the latter - is the endemic "culture of illegality": frequently public ways are obstructed by bordering real estate owners.

I will never forget the first (and last) time I went to Monte Argentario (a circular headland in south Tuscany) with the rosy expectation to swim in one of its beautiful coves (such appeared to me from photos, films and guides). Well, although - riding a scooter - I had a very distinct perception of the ground, I made the whole tour of the headland (c.a 30 km) without finding any access to the sea. They had been all obstructed by the villa owners.
Consider that this is not an exception in this country!

What difference with the 1,014 km of public footpath of the South West Coast Path (UK) or - known by personal experience - the 75 km of the Norfolk Coast Path where one is never shut off from the sea.
Or, giving an other example directly experienced: Concarneau in Brittany (FR), where the local gevernment has managed to set free access to the whole spectacular coast path.

Beside the above "objective" impediments to long distance walking in Italy I would like to tell about personal motives as well.

I already mentioned that in Italy it is still possible to undertake long journeys on foot in the mountains but it is more like climbing than walking (probably - although there are no standard terms - one might say "trekking"). This is rather hard (especially for over-sixties like me); landscape and environment are very particular; accommodation is mainly on shelters (no sharing everyday life with local people). Of course, this is a question of personal taste. I won't contest the pleasure and the beauty of mountain trekking but, I insist, it is a quite different experience than the long distance walk I had in England (the very object of this blog, whose gentle reader I pray to have some more patience).

But look! This post is becoming too long. So I publish it as it is, promising to continue - in the next one - the story about why I didn't choose Italy for hiking.

Why long distance walking

2007-09-22T13:51:00.000+02:00

Now as I was young and easy under the apple boughs
About the lilting house and happy as the grass was green,

DYLAN THOMAS

Since I was a boy I have been fascinated by travels and explorations.
My first "travel" was to "explore" the source of Scatorbia (a quite small brook near home).
I was about ten. I packed an egg, a pan, some oil, bread and water and forth I set on foot upstream along the creek.
Actually, I never succeeded to get to the source but, when far away from any human presence I was frying the egg over a fire of sticks, I felt like a true explorer.
In the following years I climbed the mountains of south east Tuscany - where my family used to spend the summer holiday - and, in autumn, I walked the hills around my hometown (Città di Castello), collecting wild mushrooms and observing plants and animals.
Then, when the adolescence crisis broke out, I used to wander alone over the hills and, sitting under some huge oak, read aloud my then favourite poets: Petrarca, Cavalcanti and, the most imprinting one: Baudelaire's Petits poèmes en prose.
No sooner I got my first motorcycle (at sixteen) than I planned a long trip to France (1,000 km). But, as many Italians would be, my friends were scared by the discomfort of such a travel.
So, in October 1962 I set out alone for Nice where I had some relatives which - by their invitation - had convinced my parents to let me go abroad.
I had a very minimalist gear: a sweater, a windproof (but not waterproof) jacket, a sleeping bag, an old US Army single place tent (with many holes and no dual roof), some pans and a stove.
My first stage was near Genoa where I pitched the tent in a deserted (because the late season) camp site.
While cooking a dried soup I felt an unforgettable sensation of liberty and space, being alone in an unknown place 500 km from home.
The following day reserved an other deep and strong sensation: crossing the border and being abroad for the first time. The foreign language, the different styles of signposts and the police uniforms. The place names and all the things producing dépaysement.
Nice was a nice place but it couldn't satisfy the vision of the ville tentaculaire which haunted me since my feverish reading of French authors - such as Rimbaud, Verlaine and Baudelaire - had crystallized an image of Paris far more vivid than the reality itself.
So, collected some money from my kind relatives, I set out for my coveted goal.
I won't bore further my gentle reader with the details of my solitary and slow journey through the vast countryside of France. The rain which soaked me through and the cold nights spent into my small and damp tent, pitched in fat meadows under some regularly cattle trimmed ancient oak.
But when the cold mornings dawned after a sleepless night I didn't feel tired, exalted as I was by that unutterable feeling of traveling alone through a totally unknown country.

I won't tell anything about all the other travels I made in the following years, riding a motorcycle or itch hiking.

With age, marriage and children, travelling became less and less brave but still, under the ashes, the "adventurous" travel has been still dormant and any poem or book referring to wandering or journeying continues to thrill me.

About two years ago, one night I dreamt that I walked Ireland coast to coast. It was a wonderful sensation! Freedom but also a feeling of being deeply and intimately connected to the very essence of the country.

This last impression matched with my experience: places known while journeying at slow pace are best known. Their memory remain more vivid.

So I started to explore the possibility to actually undertake a journey on foot and, thanks to Internet, I discovered that it was feasible.

But that is matter for the next post.

Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path - Incipit

2007-09-17T11:57:00.000+02:00

I'm just back from my first experience of long distance walking.

From September the 6th to the 12th I hiked solo the 150 km of the Peddars Way and the Norfolk Coast Path.

The experience was unique, overwhelming. I came back home changed, happy, contented. Feeling an immense sensation of achievement.

So, I have decided to share this experience, the lessons learned, the practical or technical aspects and the hundreds of pictures taken.

This post is only the start. In the days to come I will be posting photos, excerpts of my journey log and sundry afterthoughts.

POST SCRIPTUM

One might wonder why an Italian is writing in English.
Well, the answer is: audience extent.

Although Italian language can boast such ultimate masterpieces as Dante's Commedia, Bruno's De l'infinito, universo e mondi, Vico's Scienza Nuova, Leopardi's Canti and Montale's Ossi di seppia, it is unquestionable that the number of Italian readers is fairly limited.

On the contrary, English - being the lingua franca of these globalised times - is a mandatory choice if one wants to potentially communicate with the largest number of people.

CAPTATIO BENEVOLENTIAE

English is not my native language and I am essentially self-taught. But, as above told, I want to use it for the sake of openness. So:

your humble patience pray,
Gently to heare, kindly to iudge