A Whole Series of Firsts!

(The above photo was taken by John in the Lea Valley Park on 22nd April ..... but more of that later!)
On Saturday 16th April, our training walk encompassed several 'firsts'. It was the first time we walked what will be the end part of the sponsored walk route between Stansted Mountfitchet and Saffron Walden and also the first time we have seriously walked with anyone else. We did this last part of the route with Father Stuart and a friend of his. Stuart keeps up a cracking pace! So cracking that taking photos was out of the question!! This section of the route is also the most challenging in my opinion as it covers uneven paths going across fields and a couple of steepish hills and slopes. So, at the end of this walk, I was a little apprehensive about how I will cope with the end, mostly because walking over uneven ground plays havoc with any blisters!

Anyhow, the stats for that walk were:
Distance: 12.5 miles
Total Time: 3 hrs 59 min
Total Time Moving: 3 hrs 46 min
Average Moving speed: 3.4 mph

Still ...... once again I found myself pondering how to deal with the blister problem and I think the only way I am going to do it is by switching to some sandals for the end of the walk since at around the 28 mile spot, I seem to have a blister burst and then I can't really walk in my boots. A friend recommended Karrimor walking sandals and I found a pair on the Internet for a very good price. These arrived last Wednesday and we decided to have a brief walk over the Lea Valley Park in the evening. The sandals are brilliant! Also, what totally made my day ...... another 'first' ...... the first ducklings of this year. They were so tiny that they can only have hatched within the last day I would think. They were darting about catching insects and were just so cute! I couldn't photograph them as the light levels were just too poor and they were moving about too quickly. Also, one other 'first' ...... we heard the first cuckoo in our neighbourhood ...... we jokingly decided this is the 'Cheshunt' cuckoo :)

John's Satmap wasn't playing ball, but I would guess the following for this walk:
Distance: 5 miles
Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins

For Good Friday, we did something we've often talked about doing but never actually got around to. Namely, to get up really early to see what birds and other wildlife we can see over the Lea Valley Park. So, another 'first' for us, we got up at 4am and were out by 5.15am! In truth, the dawn chorus was already well under way, so we should have got out earlier. Still ...... it's a great thing to do! Witness John's atmospheric photo at the top of this blog entry showing the sunrise through the pylons. There was a certain amount of mist around that added to the atmosphere and seeing our first baby Brent Geese through the mist was another magical moment. We continued our walk by going south towards Waltham Cross, just north of the White Water centre built for the Olympics and just north of there, at about 7am in the morning, yet another 'first' ....... a barn owl flew silently across ahead of us. Who would have thought to see a barn owl in Cheshunt! John did try to take a photo, but the light levels were just not good enough. Still, seeing that ghostly form silently gliding past us is not something I will forget in a hurry. We carried on by walking up to Broxbourne Mill. In the meadows by Broxbourne Mill, there were lots of warbler-type birds and one in particular came very close. John took several fantastic photos and the following is the one I like the best.

By carefully looking over my bird books once we got home, we thought it was a Willow Warbler. However, John has already posted this photo on a photographers blog he is active on and someone else thinks it is a Sedge Warbler. So ..... opinions gratefully received! However, although I realise most bird watchers like to categorise what they see, I have to say I really don't care! I just love watching birds and what they get up to and this one was a delight to watch as it flitted up and down the reeds, singing beautifully!!

I did all this walk in the sandals, wondering whether I could do all the sponsored walk in them. However, they really don't provide enough ankle support as I could feel my ankles starting to ache. On the way back home, we did a quick shop in Tesco and were back home by 10.30am ........ and then went back to bed :)

Anyhow, John's Satmap was again not playing ball, so I worked out the distance from the OS maps, giving the following stats:
Distance: 13 miles
Total time: 4 hrs

On Saturday 23rd ...... St George's Day ....... and also our 28th Anniversary ....... once again, off we go walking!! That in itself is a 'first' for us, I guess, walking on our Anniversary :)

We got the train to Harlow Town and then walked almost all of the end part of the sponsored walk. The only difference being that we diverted at the end to Audley End to get the train, rather than walk into Saffron Walden. It was incredibly hot on Saturday! Although we took a lot of drink, we ran out and I think I can say we were getting dehydrated towards the end with nowhere to fill up or buy extra drink, apart from at Audley End station itself.

Here's a couple of photos from the walk.

A fantastic horse chestnut at Bentfield Green where we stopped to have lunch.

I'm afraid there is an awlful lot of oil seed rape in the fields between Stansted and Saffron Walden. This may look a spectacular colour but it is not particularly pleasant to walk beside!

At one point, my ankles really ached so I swapped to the sandals and felt much better for doing so! A blister on my little toe did subsequently pop and hurt like crazy, causing me to hobble a little. However, unlike with the boots, after about 5 or 10 minutes, this eased off and I could continue walking normally. So ..... the sandals are hopefully going to be my secret to doing this, blisters or no blisters!

Stats for this walk are:
Distance: 26.3 miles
Total time: 9 hrs
Total time moving: 8 hrs 20mins
Average moving speed: 3.2 mph

On Easter Sunday, after Church, we went to our friends in Bicester, Oxfordshire as their younger son was 18 on the 23rd and they were having 'open house' for family and friends. We had a lovely time, not getting home until about 10.30pm ....... at which point John suggested getting up even earlier on Easter Monday to get out before the dawn chorus really got started! I agreed ....... which possibly could indicate that I was still dehydrated and not quite in my right mind :)

Still, it was worth doing as the early morning really is magical! We got out by 4.30am and saw yet more baby ducklings ...... and our final 'first' in the Lea Valley Park as two kestrels swooped round above our heads. We didn't stay out too long, getting back by 6.30am and going back to bed :)

Stats for this walk:
Distance: Approx 5 miles
Total time: 2 hrs

At this point, we will be taking it easy for the rest of this week until the actual sponsored walk this coming Saturday 30th April.

Our First Cuckoo Of The Year

OK ..... the photo isn't of a cuckoo! Afraid I'm not that good a photographer! This pretty little flower was growing on a wall at Broxbourne Mill and I just thought it looked very delicate, although I have no idea what it is :)

As the weather has been getting better, each time we have passed a spot where we saw a kingfisher last year, I have been automatically looking out to see if we can see our first kingfisher of 2011. Unfortunately, we haven't seen one yet.

Still, we actually had two 'firsts' on Saturday. Walking along the Stort navigation, not far from Parndon Lock on the outskirts of Harlow we heard the unmistakable sound of a buzzard calling. In actual fact, it was two buzzards which we could then see wheeling about in the sky. Who would have thought to see buzzards in deepest, darkest Essex :)

Then, further along on our walk, just south of Bishops Stortford, we heard a cuckoo calling - our first for the year.

The photo below is just north of Sawbridgeworth.

So, although we were once again walking from Cheshunt, along the Lea Navigation and then along the Stort Navigation to Bishops Stortford and then across to Stansted, finishing at Elsenham, it isn't boring doing the same walk as every time we do it, we see or hear something new.

Certainly, one very noticeable feature, having not walked the weekend before, was how green and lush everything looks! It is always so amazing how quickly plants start growing once the temperatures start to rise. Also, just two weeks ago I wondered when we might start seeing some baby ducklings ... the 'aaah' factor! Well, you can't really blame me for that, can you? Well ...... no ducklings! However, mallards were conspicuous by their absence! Just the odd drake mallard every now and again, and we only saw about two female mallards during the entire length of our walk. Might they be off someone sitting on eggs?

Of course, Saturday's weather was glorious! However, this meant we felt we aught to take more drinks, so our rucksacks were rather heavy. I also had to be careful not to get sun burnt! Although my red hair may have now gone, the fair skin that goes with red hair is still with me and I burn easily!! So ...... sun hat ....... long sleeved t-shirt ...... but I stupidly forgot a scarf for the back of my neck, so improvised with a clean hanky from John!

The photo below is near to Bishops Stortford. Actually a field full of dandelions! Although possibly everyone hates to see them in their garden, this field looked quite spectacular! Afraid my photo doesn't do it justice.

Of course, I also had to be careful of the new skin on my previously blistered feet! Masses of Compeed plasters (I think I shall get shares in the company at this rate!!), boots laced so tightly that I regretted it later! But ...... I still got blisters and in particular, on both little toes, one of which burst at the same distance as before ..... just over 28 miles. Sigh! I guess this really means that my boots are just not a good fit ....... but how on earth I could have worked this out when I bought them I don't know. My little toe really hurt! It's going to be back to the drawing board to think of some way of stopping my little toes rubbing against the side of the boots.

Also ..... I ached by the time we finished, so not walking the Saturday before, although necessary because of my blisters, from a fitness point of view it was not so good.

However, John only got a couple of little blisters and his back ached a bit by the time we finished. However, I think at the moment he's in better shape at the end than I am ....... all because of these blooming blisters!!

One final point, having watched 'Lambing Live' all week on BBC television, I was hoping we'd see some lambs. However, none to be seen in any of the fields alongside the tow paths. Nevertheless, when on the train coming home, we passed a field full of little, pure white gambling lambs. So cute and a delight to see :)

Anyhow ...... stats for this walk:
Total distance: 29.6 miles
Total time: 10 hours 3 minutes
Total time moving: 9 hours 22 minutes
Average moving speed: 3.2mph

You Could Call Me The Compeed Woman!

As an aside, I've been trying to get a really good photo of this pretty flower as at some time or other I think it would make a good embroidery subject. A more appropriate photo would have been of my feet ...... but possibly not for the faint-hearted, so we'll stick with the pretty flower photo!!

Last week, blisters and feet were uppermost on my mind .... and yes, I really need to get out more :)

Both my sister-in-law and Father Stuart recommended Compeed blister plasters but initially I wasn't convinced. After trawling round the Internet to get a better idea of how they work, I found both good and bad comments about them. Uppermost in my mind was that the entire surface of the Compeed plaster is sticky and that you stick it entirely over the spot where you think a blister is going to form or on the blister itself if one has appeared. You leave them to fall off of their own accord, but this conjures an image of a sticky mess ....... and pulling them off is clearly a no-no.

However, the large one on my right foot wasn't going down, so on Wednesday I carefully popped it and also bought some of the Compeed plasters for Saturday, just in case.

So ...... Saturday was a lovely day and we aimed to get up to Stansted and then across to Elsenham so we could get the train back home. It started a bit on the cold side and was quite over-cast all day. However, I think it is better to walk in those conditions rather than the surprising sunshine we had last week. In fact, it was a lovely walking day with another 'first' ....... at Hunsdon Mead near Roydon we heard a skylark singing.

At one point, at Parndon Lock, Harlow, I could feel 'things going on' in my boots. So decided to check ..... and despite the Coolmax socks, I could see that things looked a bit dodgy and that I aught to try the Compeeds. One amusing point ...... a couple walked past with two lovely black labradors, one of which decided to lick one of my feet :)  Obviously a dog with a strong stomach :)

Having decided that one spot needed them, I thought I might as well Compeed up all the spots that looked like they might get a blister. These did the trick and we  made really good progress, averaging a steady 3.5mph all the way to past Bishops Stortford. Unfortunately, about 2 miles from the end at Elsenham, I felt something 'give' on my right foot ....... and then the pain!! Ouch! I didn't dare look! So, the last two miles involved me walking on tip-toes with my right foot as this was the only way I could stop the pain. Not good :(

So, at the end I was walking very much slower which reduced our average moving speed. John luckily only had a couple of small blisters and an aching ankle. But, these blisters are SO annoying! Without the blisters, I certainly thought I could have kept going as everything else felt fine!

When we got home, the blister on my right heel had obviously enlarged under the top edge of the Compeed plaster and then burst. Ouch! Not nice at all. I have now put another Compeed on the top edge to seal it all off ...... not sure if this is wise, but it's done now!!

So, stats for Saturday's walk were:
Total time out: 10 hrs 2mins
Total time moving: 9hrs
Average moving speed: 3.2mph
Distance: 29.3 miles ....... so close to the big 3-0

How Best To Deal With Blisters?

I've re-read the last little bit for the last training walk we did. I think I can safely say I was fibbing by dismissing the acquired blisters as 'That Was All'! In truth, the blister on my left foot was very large. It hadn't burst but there was no way I was going to get my ordinary footwear on ...... so I deliberately (and carefully!) burst it. I'm not entirely sure if this was a good thing to do as it was then tender all week.

The blister on the other heel wasn't so bad and so I left that one and it went down over the week.

So, on Saturday we decided to gear the walk up a notch by aiming to get to Stansted (about 25 miles) and come back on the train. There was no way I was going to be able to get up to see Dad, so Mum said she'd go up on her own and I arranged for James to take up the washing later and bring her home. With that sorted, we could concentrate on the walking :)

Saturday was a glorious day! It did start quite frosty but very quickly the sun came out and I think Spring is now here! For the first time, we were really aware of chiff-chaffs calling. These are migratory birds so hearing their singing really does say 'Spring is here!' I really love the song of the chiff-chaffs. They literally sing their name ..... Chiff  ..... Chaff. But if you really listen, some have decided that this is far too boring and have their own variations. There's the 'Chiff-Chiff' who can't be bothered to 'Chaff' :) And another that sings 'Chiff-Chaff-Chaff'. In fact, once you start really listening to them, the variations in the song and the various lengths of pauses in between is quite amusing.

This sculpture was besides one of the locks north of Harlow .... except I can't remember which one! Ooops! I'll have to take more notice next week :) However, I took it before this following one of John at Latton  lock, so it is in that general area.

Unfortunately, I could feel that major damage was going on in my boots, so we stopped several times for me to check my feet. This held us back a bit. Once we got to Bishops Stopford, by then I didn't really want to look at my feet but I could tell I'd blistered badly, so we decided to stop there rather than struggle on to Stansted and do major damage. It was a shame because, just like last week, I didn't feel tired or achey at all which seems totally amazing to me!

Indeed, once I got home, I found the blister on my right heel from the week before had become enormous! This time, I thought I'd leave it alone ...... so since then I've been wearing sandals so there is no pressure on it! This makes for a decidedly odd 'look' ...... winter jacket, skirts and jumpers ..... and summer sandals :P Just as well it doesn't matter all that much at work!

I do actually think I know why this blistering is now happening. I got new boots back at the end of January and was pleasantly surprised by how easily I became used to them. However, about 2 weeks after, when we walked 18 miles, I thought the arch support wasn't adequate as my insteps were really aching. So, I took the insoles from my old boots and put them in the new boots. Big mistake! These insoles must be such that they change how my feet sit in the boots ..... and Bingo ..... blisters! So ..... they will be coming out and I'll see how I get on.

Anyhow, despite the blisters, we still covered a fair distance of 23.1 miles. Total time: 7hrs 22min. Total time moving: 6hrs 40min. Average moving speed: 3.5mph. Added to this is the thing that amazes me ...... nothing aches! Were it not for the blisters, I think we could have comfortably gone much further.

I just need to investigate how to deal with blisters and I think we'll have it cracked :)

PS I have just realised that I have totally failed to even mention how my poor John is fairing! Sorry love! I probably need to emphasise that John has a much greater 'walking background' than I do! He is known for walking everywhere, and at 100 mph, in the normal course of events ........ and in the past, I would normally need to slow him down when generally walking somewhere with him by hanging onto his arm :)

John has had the odd little blister but seems not to have suffered all that much with them. At the moment, he is getting niggley aches in his back which is possibly a posture thing and strangely he is the one who is getting the odd ache or two in his legs.

Nevertheless, he is a great walking companion xxxxx.   :)

A Positive Training Walk

I have to confess that last week I was feeling very despondent. Yes, we had a lovely weekend at Windsor, but my right ankle had been hurting quite a lot and the failure of another body part was getting me down. No sooner had my strained right thigh stopped hurting than my right ankle had decided to hurt instead. Add to that, I was feeling down that on the Sunday, I had begun to feel tired after only walking 4 miles.

And then to cap it all, the day after we got back, on the Monday, a cold sore erupted on my lip. Sigh!! I do tend to get cold sores if I'm feeling under the weather and possibly the bright sunlight over the weekend triggered it off. I hate getting cold sores! They make me feel so wretched!

So, Monday was a day full of negative thoughts. Do I really think I can walk 42 miles in April? How on earth can I do it? Should I just quit now? I am a great believer that goes on in your head has a huge influence on what you do. OK ..... positive thinking alone doesn't enable you to succeed; preparation still needs to happen. But, I do think that no matter how much you plan for something, if you feel negative about it, it does have an impact. At least by the end of Monday I recognised that I had to do something to change my mind set, but what exactly?

To start with ..... the ankle! I'm still not entirely sure why it had started hurting. On the walk in question, I had changed the socks I was wearing and I wondered if they were too thick so that, if the boots were too tight, it was some sort of pressure 'bruise'? However, there was no swelling, no bruising and no blister. I wondered if I'd inflamed the tendons round the ankle, so I decided to take Neurofen for 4 or 5 days to tackle any possible inflammation and see how I got on. Naturally enough, the pain went straight away (being a painkiller!!) but was this just a 'mask' ..... and might there be something more serious? Well, it was worth a try!

When we first started walking last Saturday, I was still feeling a bit down, wondering whether there was any real point in training. But as we started out, it was really quite strange! I found I felt incredibly strong! Possibly it was the lovely sunny day and the blossom out on all the trees. Possibly, stressing the body by walking over the three days we were away followed by resting from Monday to Friday had strengthened my muscles in some way? Not sure! I know nothing about the 'science' of training. However, I very quickly felt different again! Perhaps the NHS aught to run walking clubs as a way of helping people with (some forms of) depression?

We decided that, as it had been dry for some time, we would walk up the tow path along the Lea and then branch off at Fieldes Lock and walk up along the Stort. We hadn't done this since November of last year when the rain had made the tow path very muddy and tough going. However, on Saturday it was lovely.

The two photos below, by the way, were taken at the weir at Fieldes Lock. You walk across the weir on a narrow metal bridge and can look down on the water tumbling over the weir. The white foam and the sparkling water just appealed to me :)

For the first time on one of our longer walks, by the time we got home I didn't have a single muscle ache! The ankle hadn't hurt (although that was probably the Neurofen) and as we finished, I felt amazingly strong! I felt totally astonished and my spirits had lifted from the doldrums I started out in.

The only down side ...... in my efforts to not crush my ankle, I hadn't laced my boots up tightly so I realised once we were home that my feet had been sloping about a little and I had two not so lovely blisters, one on the edge of each foot. Plus a bruised big toe on my right foot from where my foot had obviously been knocking on the front of my boot! However, that was all.

So, we started out at 7:50am on Saturday 12th March. Total time out: 6hrs 39mins. Total time walking: 6hrs 16min. Distance: 21.3miles. Average moving speed: 3.4mph .

And finished feeling so much more positive :)

We Visit The Queen!

Well ...... alright ....... not exactly! For John's Birthday on the 4th March, we had a long weekend in Windsor. We stayed at a hotel called Saville Court which is part of the MacDonald chain (and no ...... not the beefburger people!!) just on the outskirts of Windsor Great Park.

On the Friday we walked into Windsor, through Windsor Great Park. Now, it may be customary to approach a person's home by walking up their garden path, but in the photo above we approached Windsor Castle by walking up The Long Walk. This is a Grand-daddy of a Garden path, I can tell you, at over 2 1/2 miles long!

In some people's front gardens, you may find the odd garden gnome or possibly a little statue, but before you start walking along The Long Walk, you pass this enormous statue known as the Copper Horse which is actually a statue of George III ...... you know, the mad one! Quite an impressive garden gnome don't you think  :)    And, yes, that is Windsor Castle in the distance; it does look a long way off!!

I've never visited Windsor Castle before and it is lovely. I can quite understand why it is the Queen's favourite home.

How about that for impressive detailing! A crown above the lamps!

Also, around the interior castle ramparts are some lovely secluded gardens. Given the time of the year, there was only a limited amount of colour but I'm sure they look stunning later in the year.

The interior of the castle is equally impressive, although you're not allowed to take photos. Of particular note is the Queen Mary's dolls house and the two large dolls given to the Queen and her sister, when they were young princesses, by the people of France. These dolls had a complete wardrobe of the most exquisite couture clothing ........ although I did wonder whether they had ever been allowed to play with them.

After a brief walk round Windsor itself, we did contemplate trying to work out how to get back to the hotel by bus, but decided it was quite easy just to walk back the way we came. I am so glad we did! Once back in Windsor Great Park, we were rewarded by the sight of the herd of deer in the park. What a splendid sight! There must have easily been about 150 deer! We couldn't get too close to them so my little camera couldn't really capture any spectacular shots but they were a marvellous sight.

Although we hadn't really intended our walking to be over the top, in the end we walked 10 miles in total. By the way, don't let all those blue skies fool you! Although we were very lucky to not have any rain, it was perishing cold all day!!

On the Saturday, we decided to walk round Windsor Great Park and also walk round Virginia Water, a very large lake at one end of the Great Park. At the start, I wasn't sure exactly how far I'd be able to walk. Although I didn't mention it, after the previous Saturday's training walk, my right ankle felt really tender and all week it had been hurting. The walk we did into Windsor was done wearing my usually footwear, not walking boots, and my ankle did not appreciate that at all! When I first put my boots on ...... it hurt!! However, I thought I'd give it a go and see how I got on and it wasn't too bad, providing I kept walking!!

As a total aside, one thing about the Park ...... I have never seen quite so many joggers as we saw over that weekend!!

Whilst walking round Virginia Water we passed this man-made water feature called The Cascade. The wild-life we saw on the Saturday was equally spectacular; several close sightings of buzzards, sightings of the wild parakeets that live in the Windsor area (that was a surprise sight, I can tell you) and, once again, we saw the herd of deer.

I couldn't resist posting the picture below of quite a cheeky little tree we passed on our walk .......

..... well, what does it remind you of :P

Because of my ankle, we were not walking as fast as usual. However, we still covered 13 miles and I thoroughly recommend walking round Windsor Great Park.

On the Sunday, we went to Runnymede and walked round the National Trust pathways, visiting the Runnymede Memorial.

We then walked up quite a steep hill, through woodland to an RAF WWII Memorial to all those RAF and associated personnel that died in the Second World War but have no known grave. It is quite sobering walking round, looking at all the names carved into the walls. For several of them, relatives have placed photographs and other mementos underneath where the person's name is to be found and I find these really sad. I am just grateful that all these people had the courage to give up everything so that we can live in freedom.

The photo below is of the inner courtyard.

You are allowed to walk up to the top, and below is a close-up of the decoration on the top of the tower, followed by just one photo of the spectacular view down to the Thames below.

We actually walked down to the Thames and followed it along to Old Windsor. Sunday was a lovely day and so this was a really pleasant walk. Mind you, I very quickly found I felt very tired. On asking John how far we'd gone, I was disappointed to hear him say that we'd only gone 4 miles! I couldn't believe it! If I can get this tired, this quickly, how on earth am I going to be able to do 42 miles by the end of April?However, we ploughed on and, in the end, covered 8 miles ...... before getting back in the car and heading back home :)

We had a lovely weekend. Our main aim whilst away wasn't really to 'clock up' lots of training miles, although we did feel we aught to do some walking. However, we always have walked quite a lot when we are on holiday so, in the end, all the walking we did was just an extension of what we'd normally do.

So ..... 10 miles on Friday, 13 miles on Saturday and 8 miles on Sunday ..... although I did feel very tired when we did get back home!!

We Didn't Order The Rain!

Although all week the forecast was bad for Saturday, by Friday the BBC forecast suggested otherwise.



However, it was definitely raining on Saturday morning! Mind you ..... it is February so it could have been worse! However, we didn't feel we could miss another weekend's walk as we really need to keep up the miles, so a little bit of rain wasn't going to put us off. In actual fact, the rain was very light and on and off, more like the kind of rain you get in April. It was also surprisingly mild, so not as bad a day for walking as it might sound!

One thing for sure, Spring is definitely on the way. Lots of beautiful yellow forsythia was everywhere and lots of blackbirds were gathering nest material.

I was still a little worried that I might have problems with my strained right thigh. So before we went out, I smothered my leg with Deep Heat! It certainly made my leg feel better although Deep Heat has a very pungent smell so I may have created a certain 'aura' around me :)

Our total distance was 19.7 miles. Total time out was 6hrs and 30mins. Total time moving was 6hrs and 8mins. Average moving speed was 3.2mph.

I ached big time by the time I got home, probably just because of missing last Saturday and not being all that well the week before that. We probably need to add in extra short walks during the week ...... but finding the time is the issue!!

Perhaps Spring Is Coming?

I approached this walk with some trepidation, wondering whether my strained muscle from the previous week would stand up to it. Last Sunday, I looked up on the Internet how you aught to treat a strained muscle .... and apparently you use RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

So ..... I think I failed on all counts. Rest .... don't think the 4.5 walk last Saturday counted, although I've taken it easy the rest of the week. Ice .... oh dear, after the walk I soaked in a hot bath. Compression ..... can't imagine bandaging up my thigh! Elevation ..... apparently the elevation needs to be above the level of your heart and just the thought of the position this would entail is enough to induce a serious fit of the giggles :)

Anyhow, on our walk we met this seriously elegant black swan on the Lea. I've only seen them as part of ornamental collections and he did seem a little out of place on his own. He was trying to accompany a pair of swans but the male swan wasn't impressed!

Still, I think Spring is in the air. We started our walk at 8.15am and all you could hear was the sound of birds singing. Lots of these were blue tits, great tits and robins ..... but many were LBJs ........ Little Brown Jobs! The many little birds that you only see as silhouettes that could be almost anything!! And all the trees and bushes seemed to have a green halo around them ..... the beginnings of buds. Not forgetting this lovely sight; snowdrops.

I deliberately started our walk relatively slowly so as to warm my muscles up slowly. By the end of our walk, my leg did ache a bit but not too badly. We were out for a total of 6hrs and 9minutes and moving for 5hrs and 36 minutes. Our average moving speed was 3.2mph and we covered a distance of 17.7 miles.

Magical Walk In Ashridge Estate, Aldbury

As I said in my last post, on Saturday 5th February, we met up with some friends for a walk. Because they live in Bicester, Oxfordshire, we decided to meet up at a place halfway between us .... and the Ashridge Estate in Albury near Tring seemed the ideal place.

Both of these photos were taken from the ridge above the village .... a bit of a steep climb which my strained leg from the day before could have done without!!

However, what really made the walk magical was that at three different points, we got a very good view of the herd of fallow deer that are on this estate. When we got back home, their website said 'You may be lucky to see our elusive herd of fallow deer', so seeing them three times was amazing! Each time, they could only be glimpsed through the trees and I couldn't get a photo as we weren't close enough and it was too dark under the trees. However, seeing them was pure magic!

In the estate can be found the Bridgewater monument built in honour of Francis the third Duke of Bridgewater "Father of Inland Navigation". It seems appropriate to have visited here given how many times we've been walking along canals in our training walks.

Our walk today was really a gentle stroll by our standards :) ..... a distance of 4.5 miles. I took it reasonably gently as I didn't want to do any more damage to my right leg and, although it ached a little, I coped OK. After our walk, we had lunch in a pub in Aldbury called 'The Valiant Trooper' .... again the name seemed very appropriate, although the 'Trooper' they were referring to was a soldier type!! However, it is a lovely pub in a very picturesque village.

4th February - A Walk Too Far?

Last Friday, we decided to have a day off and try for a much longer walk. This was for two reasons. Firstly, we had a long standing arrangement to go for a walk with some friends on Saturday the 5th February and they are not into really long walks, so John had just planned a short walk of approximately 5 miles. Although we were looking forward to doing this, we are really keen to keep up the momentum of doing long walks to maintain our walking 'level' and Saturday is normally the only day we can do this. Also, we felt so good the Saturday before that we were curious as to how much further we could really go! All week we were keeping an eye on the weather forecast for Friday as a really long walk in wet weather wouldn't have been pleasant but it couldn't make up its mind! In the end, we just decided to go for it!

After doing a quick shop over at Tesco (I just knew I wouldn't want to go later in the evening!), we started out at 8.40am and headed off up the Lea Valley tow path. It was very quiet, especially being a week-day, and almost straight away we were rewarded by a close encounter with the Grey Heron in the photo above. Such an incredible bird.



And, of course, almost every walk has an encounter with swans. They always think we'll have food for them but unfortunately are disappointed every time! In many ways, it is easy to take the bird life in our country for granted as you see such birds so frequently. However, they look so proud when they arch their wings in a territory display and they are totally fearless in seeing off the Canada Geese.

Mind you, our walks are not all 'back to nature' as we are never far from the presence of man! Just before St Margaret's, the tow path goes under the A414 road. This bridge is incredibly noisy and I wouldn't want to live in the homes that are nearby, even though they look like really nice houses. I guess this photo is for any civil engineers out there :)

Also, just past Ware on the way to Hertford, the A10 road passes over on a truely massive flyover/bridge. When you are in the car, you whizz over this part without really paying too much attention, but on the ground you can appreciate just how massive it is. I have no idea when it was built or how long it took but the whole area is a flood plain for the Lea so I could imagine it was a massive undertaking even though it can merely look like a massive concrete monstrosity.

The turning point for our walk was a place we've walked to before - where the New River meets the Lea just before Hertford. It was incredibly windy! I also don't know why I'm smiling! My right leg had started to complain a little by this point!



Below is a quirky photo I thought to include :)

Along some of the Lea at various points, some clearance work had been carried out on vegetation along the banks. For some reason, some of the tree stumps have had this criss-cross pattern sawn into them. John suggested this is possibly to encourage them to rot but the pattern appealed as an abstract image. 

The walk back, especially the last 3 or 4 miles, I found incredibly tough! Not only was it really windy but my right leg started to seriously complain! I think I strained it and, after thinking about it, I think I may have set off today a little too strongly and didn't give my muscles time to warm up enough. I do hope this was 'all' it was! I did find myself thinking ....... if I can't do 24 miles, how on earth can I do 42? However, this is where I am thankful for doing this training with John. He has a far more sensible outlook! 'Just think ..... only a short while ago, we never thought we'd walk 14 miles and yet we did that easily the week before and some more! In no time, 18-20 will seem easy'. He is right of course :)

Back at home, I hobbled up the stairs quite a few times despite a long soak in the bath! Also, if I sat in a chair for too long, it would feel very stiff when I got up. Perhaps not quite a Walk Too Far ..... but one where warming up first needs to be seriously thought about!

Still, the total walk was 23.8 miles. Total time taken was 8 hours and 13 Minutes. Time moving was 7 hours and 22 minutes. Our average moving speed was 3.2 mph.

Another Very Cold Walk!

Here's a beautiful swan, one of many water fowl we saw yesterday, that seem to be completely oblivious to the cold! It has always amazed me how their feet don't get over cold!

Still, we started at 8.15am on the same sort of route we've done before round the Lea Valley Park. To extend it a little, we did branch northwards up to Broxbourne, our aim being to get a good number of miles covered! However, despite going over the same ground, it is not at all boring. Far from it! Quite early on our walk we got very close to a superb grey heron ..... although not close enough for a photo unfortunately. We had swans flying over us on a couple of occasions. As they fly past, it's the sound their wings make that first alerts you to their passage. They are quite magnificent to watch fly overhead.

We later watched a fox on the other side of the canal. Then on one of our stops to have a drink and a cereal bar, a little robin started to get quite close to see if we had anything. He (or she!) couldn't make up its mind whether we were safe enough ...... but we left the robin a few crumbs :)

Yesterday was a very cold day! When I used my car later, its thermometer was telling me it was only 1 deg C and we could well believe it! Add in a cold northerly wind and I'm sure the temperature was less. Still, we got back home at 1.15pm, having covered 15.7 miles in 5 hours at an average moving speed of 3.3 mph. This is the longest walk we've done so far and, what is even better, we both felt we could have probably gone further.

Walking In My New Boots!

So, having decided that I needed new boots, with some trepidation I had a look round on the Internet for reasonably local places that sell walking boots. This is one purchase that I would have to do by trying them on in a shop!

Our nearest outdoor shop is Milletts in Enfield Town. Having looked at the various boots on their website, I phoned to see if they had what I wanted and they couldn't have been more helpful. They did have the boots I liked the look of and they were quite happy to put by a pair of size 6 and 7 for when I managed to get to the shop, as I wasn't sure what size I would need. I left work a little early last Friday to get down to the shop ...... and here they are!!

Now ..... what you have to realise is that my feet and new footwear do not get on! In the resulting battle, my feet always lose out! The damage? Blisters! Always!!

Once again it was going to be very important not to go too far away from home, but this time, just in case my feet hurt so badly that I couldn't go on. So, we almost did the same walk as last week but in reverse!

The Lea Valley Park is a great place for spotting wildlife and there is always lots of different birds to see.
Although the weather was still rather cold, in walking past a spot we walked past last week, dare I tentatively say that we saw possibly the first sign that Spring is on the way ....... catkins delicately dangling from the trees alongside the canal.

A welcome sight indeed!

So, how did my feet fare? Well, surprisingly, the boots were amazlingly comfortable! We covered a distance of 13.1 miles in 4 hours and 1 minute (oh the precision of John's SatNav!) and averaged a speed of 3.4mph. When we got home, I actually thought my feet had escaped blister-free ...... but closer examination found just one small blister on the side of one foot, but I could only just see it! Amazing!