Final big practice walk.  Tony joined me again for a stroll to a friends house in Shurlock Row, then up through Castle Royle golf course, returning via Hurst.  We tried to do as much as we could on footpaths.  A few bits of road inevitable but I think we managed well over 80% on paths and bridleways.

Weather was pretty miserable with constant drizzle and frequent showers but we managed everything ok and were still talking to each other at the end 🙂

Just over 20 miles.  Started at 09:00 and were home by 16:30, including an impressive stop for tea and biscuits at Phil and Caroline’s.

Only a week to go now and still so much to do.  Agghhhhhhh !!!

Our sincere thanks to all the customers at Waitrose in Wokingham this weekend.  While the weather was cold you warmed our hearts with incredible stories of your own great adventures and your super generous donations.

What an exciting week but also getting a bit scary with less than 1 month to go.

• Interviewed by Anne Diamond on Radio Berkshire.  Thanks to Anne and the production team for making it so enjoyable.
• Messages of support from 3 cricketing legends; Sir Ian Botham, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott.
• More generous donations from local businesses in Wokingham for the auction at our celebration dinner on July 1st.  Thanks to all.

On Saturday we will be outside Waitrose in Wokingham doing some good old fashioned fundraising with collection tins for Cure Leukaemia and Breast Cancer UK.  Please come and say hello.  Massive thanks to Waitrose for allowing us the opportunity.

Bobby at Cure Leukaemia has put together this great video to go with the Anne Diamond interview.  Enjoy.

We wanted our Land Rover to help publicise the walk and to say “Thanks” to our key supporters.  I think the results are great.  Thanks to the talented folks at Signs Express.

Tony joined me again for a circular walk of just under 25 miles.  Amazing footpath discovered from Tesco in Wokingham all the way to TRL in Crowthorne.  How can you live in a place for 20 years and not know about such things?  Weather was kind with some drizzle but only for an hour.  Still boggy under foot in places but definitely better than on previous outings.  The final part of the walk was a long slog down a road which required us to break the monotony with a pint in The Yorkshire Rose 🙂

Not long to go now.  Exciting.

A double walk to hopefully get a sense of what back-to-back full days will feel like.  On Monday I walked to Froyle to stay with good friends Nigel & Julie.  Distance looked about 20 miles, so perfect.

Weather was good again although the wind got up in the afternoon.  Heavy rain over the weekend had made some of the footpaths impassable without forcing a path through the undergrowth.  Brambles.  Yuk.  My legs are shredded.  Some of the footpaths were also hard to find as the start points were completely overgrown.

In Garmin we trust 🙂

A lovely evening with Nigel and Julie, and their neighbour Jos.  On the walk back on Tuesday I stuck more to roads to avoid the bogs.  Almost no difference to the mileage but much more satisfying and somewhat less tiring.  Weather was blustery and sun and showers.  43 miles covered over the 2 days and almost exactly 7 hours actually spent walking on both days.  Legs are weary and feet are a bit sore but overall not too bad.  Maybe the training is starting to pay off.

The Bad…………

And The Very Lovely.

The Bad……………                      And The Very Lovely

Highlights:  Walking by the Basingstoke canal, and spending time with friends.
Lowlights:  The saturated footpath bogs, and the M3.

We need to practice doing the blog as well as everything else so here goes……….

Third full-on practice walk yesterday.  21 miles carrying everything I expect to carry on the real thing.  My good friend Tony joined me in a southerly loop (home to home) that took in Swallowfield, Farley Hill, Eversley, following the Long River towards Yateley, north towards Finchampstead, and then home via Bearwood.  A nice day for walking; dry all day and max 12 degrees.  Left at 7:30am and home by 3pm.  A good mix of on and off road.  The only downer was that everywhere is still sodden so anything not on a properly laid path was a bog.  Probably good for toning up the muscles but hard work.  Despite my size I am really not a hippopotamus 🙂

Chris, Hazel & Dave.

I can’t believe it has been 4 months since putting up the first blog post, so time for a quick update.

• Planning is just about complete.
  • Detailed route is done.  We had to increase time expectation to 60 days total.  The bit of string we used to calculate the distance says 995 miles.  Will be interesting to see what the actual distance is.
  • Contingency plan is written but not all items have mitigation and actions yet.  To be done soon.
  • Tracker from Yellow Brick is ordered so hopefully folks can follow my journey in real time (well every hour).
  • We have booked guides for the 3 peaks and put target dates on the web site.  Meeting times and places will be added no later than end of February for anyone who would like to join me.
• I did my first full kit walk of 23 miles last Monday and gave the Garmin a good work out.  All ok, but boy was I sore for the next couple of days.
• Fundraising has begun in earnest and people have already been incredibly generous.  My brother, Dave, is an absolute star in taking the lead.  We have decided to host a post-walk celebration dinner on July 1st.  Details on the ‘For Organisations’ page.

A couple of weeks downtime to enjoy Christmas and then it’s full on training and fundraising. All getting very exciting.

Chris, Hazel and Dave.

Target dates for the walk remain as April 15th 2016 to June 12th 2016.  I hope to do the distance in less time but we have included some contingency time, plus we may have the odd day of relaxation, especially the day following each of the 3 peaks.

Planning and training are going well.  I didn’t quite realise how involved this would get but to give you some idea……

• All 151 maps have arrived !!!  We have a general route and are starting detailed daily planning.
• Most of the kit has been purchased.  Massive thanks to Cotswold Outdoor for the advice and support.
• I have met with my chiropodist, Richard Roll.  Glad to report no major foot issues.  Thanks Richard.
• I am managing to stick to my weekly training plan (mostly) comprising 2 gym sessions, 2 swims, a pilates class, 2 games of golf, 5 lengthy dog walks, and 5 sessions on the treadmill.
• We are learning about web sites so expect this one to change appearance on a regular basis as we ‘discover and play’.  2 of the 3 ‘Just Giving’ sites are up and running.
• We have an outline plan for audiences and communication.

More to come as things evolve.

Best wishes,

Chris & Hazel.