Boxing Day

I'm sat listening to some rather chilled out music while the wife watches Downton Midwives on the telly. It's grey, blustery, but not actually raining at present. Had a lovely day yesterday with family and off to see everyone later on this afternoon. I've seen the flood warnings circulating (AGAIN!!!) and I'm just being extremely thankful that it's not us and extremely sorry that anyone has to go through this even once, never mind 2 or 3 times, as has happened over the last 2-3 weeks.
For those of you who don't know the Lake District, the A591 is still shut, cutting the link between the south Lakes and the north. One alternate route goes through Glenridding - you'll probably have seen that on the News - which has already been subject to 2 bouts of severe flooding. The other alternate route means a detour of about 60 miles via the M6. I appreciate that everyone in the south of England will think that we're getting a bit paranoid up here, but you can't help but think that if something equally disruptive had happened in the south east, vast quantities of money and manpower would have been thrown at the situation to get it fixed ASAP. For Cumbria, however, re-opening this road seems to be a long time off.
Just to add to the paranoia, in the summer a great chunk of Central Lancashire was without water...... for 3-4 WEEKS! When the schools returned after the summer holidays, some had to be supplied with bottled water as the mains supply was contaminated. Cafes, restaurants and hotels had to supply bottled water to guests and householders had to boil all water for consumption, tooth cleaning etc. I wonder what would have happened if this had been in Kent?
And guess what....... it's started raining again. When you're having a moan about crap TV, grotty relatives, endless turkey etc., please spare a thought for those who are cleaing mud, sludge and sewerage from their homes.... some for the second or third time this month and perhaps click HERE to help.

Above is Appleby earlier this month.

It's Christmas!!!!!!! (Quote from Noddy Holder)

We're deep in the throws of Carol Services and stuff and my wife (Methdist local preacher and chaplain to 2 nursing homes) is deeper in it than most non-ordained people. I think by New Year I might get her back!!
The weather has been dreadful for ages. Rain, wind but mild temperatures. There's really no incentive to go out walking and my football team have lost....... AGAIN!
However, its only 22 weeks to el Camino, we're having Christmas dinner with a son, daughter in law and grandson and we've managed to organise everyone for the Christmas present/posh sunday lunch at Northcote Manor for January 3rd. The panto last week was excellent (Oh, yes it was!) and 13 year old grandson was a joy to be with!
Sometimes you just have to sit down and list the good things against the bad and hope the balance is the right way round. And I think it is............. but I still won't be sorry when the wife finishes work on Thursday!

Lake District Floods.

It's only about 6 weeks since we had a wonderfully sunny and warm, autumn week in Keswick but just look at it now:

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Cumbria at this traumatic time. Hope the weather improves soon and then stays improved!

Booking No.2

To you it may just be Nov. 21st, but to us it is the day that Eurostar tickets for May 19th 2016 go on sale. Booked this morning. Next booking day is Feb19th when Virgin trains and TGV tickets go on sale. Looks like we're committed now.

A Sad Day

Sat here on a damp, dreary Saturday with the news full of the Paris atrocities and feeling a bit down despite the fact it's my birthday.
I'm fed up with our governments getting involved in situations in the Middle East that they don't see through to a sensible conclusion. If we're going to encourage Syria's opposition parties to rebel against Assad, the we should help them to achieve their and our stated aim, which is to remove Assad from power, not leave them in the lurch thus creating a power vacuum that Isis can just walk into. If we're not prepared to help them, we shouldn't encourage them.
I'm fed up with extremists of all faiths (and I include Christians) thinking that their way is the only way, and if you don't agree you get blown up or shot. This applies just as much to a family planning clinic in the Bible belt of the USA being attacked as it does a concert hall in Paris.
But most of all I'm fed up with all the garbage that will be spouted about curbing civil liberties to keep the peace, about how all immigrants are terrorists, about how the only answer is for our political parties to lurch even further to the right.
I don't have any answers but I thought the image below summed up pretty much how I feel.

I Think Martin Luther King has it about right!

Another bit of my life

So, this is the first non walk based blog. I'm a practising (No, I've not got it right yet) Christian and a steward at my local Methodist Church (No, it's not a temperance church and yes I do like a glass of wine/beer/gin/brandy).

As a steward, I'm part of the Leadership Team and we've been taking some flack recently. We've come in for some pretty severe criticism from a small number of church members over how we have encouraged or not volunteers in part of the church's work. It's been pretty hurtful and has had ramifications beyond the area in question. Thankfully, most of the church membership is unaware of the dispute and also, the Leadership Team are happy that they have dealt with the issues correctly and have been supported by the upper echelons of the Church leadership locally. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees!

It would be really easy to say, "Sod it!" and just walk away from this but what message does that send out? We've discussed the situation endlessly, prayed about it and taken advice and we are happy that we have dealt with the situation correctly.

I once heard a speaker in a seminar suggest that we stop worrying after we've made a decision, because if we have prayed about the situation and taken advice from other Christians, why wouldn't it be the correct decision and that really encouraged me.

I dare say some of you guys reading this aren't Christians and are now thinking, see, they're no better than us! They fall out and can't agree over stuff, just like non-Christians. Well, you're right. We are just like you, but have a faith. We're not and never will be perfect, but we strive to be better tomorrow than we are today.

I'm really not sure what effect The Camino will have on me or my faith and I think that is one of the reasons I want to do it. That and the idea of a sort of travelling community of more or less like minded people. I just hope that I don't get involved in any similar disagreements while on pilgrimage because walking away really isn't an answer then, is it. 

Keswick in October

Just back from 4 beautiful days in Keswick. The weather was excellent, the bed & breakfast really nice and the pubs of Keswick very acceptable! We parked the car on Monday afternoon and didn't drive again until Friday morning apart from a ride back from Rosthwaite on the bus.
By the end of 4 days of walking, the old knees were feeling it a bit, but they seemed to recover fairly quickly, so here's hoping that 4 weeks won't be too much!

The scenery in the Lake District really is stunning. We have been lucky enough to travel quite a bit in some beautiful places, but the Lake District is as beautiful as anywhere, and the beer is better than most places.
Both my and Heather's new boots have been great. We can definitely recommend Meindl. They have been really comfortable even when putting them on the morning after a long walk and neither of us have had any blisters.
The picture above was taken from Friars Crag in Keswick and shows the view at sunset looking south down the length of Derwentwater towards Borrowdale. The view below shows Blencathra from St. Johns in the Vale.

Nearly The Lakes

Staveley is a village right on the edge of the Lake District National Park, and is one of those places you mostly drive straight past on your way elsewhere. Yesterday we decided to explore a bit having done a walk a couple of weeks ago on my Walking Weekend.
The River kent flows out of the Kentmere Valley and provides a leisurely stroll in lovely countryside.

followed by a climb up to Potter's Tarn and then up to Gurnal Dubs. By this time the sun had appeared from out of the mist and the views across to the Howgills were beautiful.
We then retraced our steps to Potters Tarn and then descended into the Kentmere valley.

A final stop for a cuppa and a piece of coffee cake at Wilf's in Staveley rounded off a very pleasant day. Not really hardcore training, but never mind. I should say that Wilf's is next door to the Hawkeshead Brewery and Beer Hall so the choice between the two was probably the most difficult task of the day! The coffee cake swung it!!

Fairfield Horseshoe

For those of you unfortunate enough to not know the Lake District, Fairfield Horseshoe is a 12 mile (ish) walk from Rydal Church covering 4 summits in excess of 2500 feet and reaching a high point of 2900 feet or about 885 metres and finishing back in Ambleside on the banks of Windermere. Not much in terms of Himalayas or Alps, but a wonderful walk in majestic scenery.

I suspect that few if any of the days on the Camino will be as extreme as this in terms of steepness of slope ( particularly on the descent) so the fact that a) I managed it and b) went out in the evening for a meal and a few drinks and c) did another 5 miles or so on  the following day was particularly pleaseing.
Thanks to Cotswold outdoor shop in Preston for taking a lot of money off me for my Meindl boots which were superb. No blisters, no sore feet and putting them on again on the second day was great.
Looking forward now to 5 days in Keswick next month with the wife.

We stayed at the Youth Hostel in Ambleside which has the best views from the bar of any place I've ever stayed. Although when the one below was taken, it was a bit early for a pint!

Training Weekend!

Yes, it's time for the second annual Leyland Road Methodist Church Walking Weekend! 2 nights at the luxurious Ambleside YHA, right on the banks of Windermere with bar and restaurant. The view from the lawn in front of the bar is shown below.

Stroll round Ambleside tomorrow aftrnoon, Fairfield Horseshoe on Saturday and, weather permitting, another walk Sunday. Possibly a pint or two in between the walking.
Fairfield will be harder than any of the Camino days, so should be a good test. Hope to get a good walk on Sunday as well just to see if I can do 2 days walking together! Should be a good test for the boots too. My main problem may be trying to have a conversation while walking uphill.

Stocks Reservoir

Got out yesterday in the Forest of Bowland. Beautiful countryside and we took a well loved walk around Stocks Reservoir from Slaidburn.

Slaidburn is festooned with signs warning of the passage of the Tour of Britain bike race on Monday. I'd really love to get up there to watch but, sadly it can't be done.
My boots are wearing in nicely, and I'm getting more used to their weight.
The scone at the end of this walk was really nice, but they offered it me with whipped cream not clotted cream! I mean, come on! As far as I'm concerned, they could have added another £1 to the price if it had come with about 30p worth of clotted cream. On the other hand it was a proper MUG of tea!!!

Training Run/Walk

Just back from 14.6 mile (23.5km) training walk. A local one, so a bit flat, but enjoyable all the same. Both our new boots seem to be shaping up OK, although we're both feeling the increased weight of the boots towards the end of the walk.

Heather discovered while reading a book or forum or something, that part of the training was knowing when to take on calories to keep ones energy levels at the optimum. We decided therefore, that we needed to practice that too. I might shortly practice drinking a gin & tonic as well!

First Booking..... and it's only August!!

We've pretty much decided that we are going to travel to t he beginning of our Camino by train. Southport - London
London - Paris
Paris - Irun (N. Spain)
Irun - Logrono or Burgos
So last night I was looking at hotels near the Gare Montparnasse in Paris as we will overnight there before catching the TGV. Imagine my shock when I found that only 2 of the hotels near the station had vacancies for the night we need!!! So I've booked it.

Heather got new boots last weekend, so we are now both kitted out with Meindl boots. Cotswold in Preston were a great help, measuring feet and giving us loads of advice. Can't recommend them too highly. My boots (also from Cotswold) got their first serious workout the weekend before last and feel great. They actually feel better when walking than when standing still which is odd!

Hoping to get out locally this weekend. We have a nice 14 mile circular walk in mind which has several pubs and at least one tea shop on the route

P.S. If any member of the Eccleston branch of the family is reading this, could you tell my grandson that I managed to hard boil 2 eggs today without burning them!

In the beginning........

Having talked about it for months, seemingly, Heather and I have committed ourselves to doing a large portion (NOT all!) of El Camino de Santiago de Compostela in May next year. The exact starting point is still to be decided but, if we start in Burgos, which is the furthest point along the route from which we might start, the walk will be a mere 304.7 miles!!!! We have just over 4 weeks to do it.Why? You may well ask.

• A spiritual challenge 
• A physical challenge
• A chance to step out of normality
• A nice walk
• Or, according to Joos from Amsterdam, a radical weight loss regime

The blog will follow the trials and tribulations of preparation, training (Ha!) and the actual walk, as well as taking in anything else that I feel like commenting on.

If you feel like commenting or encouraging, please do. Try not to be too critical or insulting and hopefully we will all get through this together.

Peter