We made it!

We completed the London to Brighton Trek!

Here's a photo from the finish line.

That was one tough walk, physically and mentally!

The fundraising page stays open for a little while so please donate to the British Heart Foundation via our JustGiving page http://justgiving.com/2walkto.

Thank you!

In training: Another long walk

As part of our training for the London to Brighton 100K Trek, we have been stepping up the distance walks in preparation for the endurance challenge facing us next month.

It's all in aid of the British Heart Foundation - and this blog is about the walk, the training and the fundraising.

Walking the North Downs Way

The North Downs Way national trail has featured in a few of our training walks already and we previously reached as far as Guildford in the westerly direction. The final length of the trail is about 10 miles farther west to Farnham. This means we've done all of the North Downs Way between Guildford and Hollingbourne, with the Guildford-Farnham part still to finish in the west, and from Hollingbourne-Dover still to cover in the south east.

24 May 2015

We jumped on a train from London Waterloo to Guildford where we followed the River along the route which will be part of the actual London to Brighton Trek on the 27th June. Where this meets the North Downs Way we turned off the river path and headed in the direction of Farnham.

The first 12 miles to Farnham took us through bluebell woods (pictured above) and sandy lanes. At Farnham station we switched from the North Downs Way to a combination of local walks heading for MOD land, eventually ending in Fleet, another 14 miles further.

Danger signs and suspicious objects on MOD land near Aldershot and Farnborough.

When we got to Fleet Pond nature reserve we realised a train from Fleet back to London Waterloo was due in the next 5 minutes so we finished our 26 mile walk with a light jog, followed by a more serious run when we spotted the train was on the other platform and we needed to run over the footbridge to get to it!

Today's walk has almost very nearly coincided with part of the route we walked on our first charity walk adventure from London to Devon, where we followed the Three Castles Path for 3 of the days. We are planning a future walk to join up the end of this walk from Fleet, heading to Winchfield and the Basingstoke canal. But that's for another time!

Here are a few more photos from this walk:

23 mile circular walk in West Sussex

We are in training for a mammoth charity walk for the British Heart Foundation - the LONDON to BRIGHTON TREK 2015. It is 100 km to be completed within 30 hours, walking through the day and night.

We're doing plenty of long walks at the moment to train for this large undertaking!

Here is one to share with you.

If you enjoy walking, this walk is a stunning route through the West Sussex countryside. We did it in May, when the bluebells were out. The walk crosses the appropriately-named Bluebell Railway (a preserved steam railway) a couple of times.

It's a circular walk so it can be started anywhere and you could shorten it if 23 miles is to your taste (if you're not in training for a trek!). We started in the village of West Hoathly, which is not far from the M23 Crawley/Gatwick.

Setting off from West Hoathly, we walked clockwise towards East Grinstead, then followed a straight trailway to Forest Row, before heading south and west to Horsted Keynes, then back round to the start point at West Hoathly.

For the walkers out there, click the map below to view the track we created using Viewranger (a GPS tracking app).

Get in contact if you'd like further information about this incredible walk. It's thoroughly recommended.

Below are some photos from the walk to entice you to go and do it!

The end: LANDS END

We made it!

There was a dramatic finish (more about that in a minute).

Thank you to everyone that has sponsored us and helped us out along the way. The sponsorship page will stay open for the next few months at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

Penzance to Lands End

We made the decision to roll the last two days into one and push onwards to Lands End before the heavy rain and strong wind that was forecast for the next day.

We were also up against the light, as we had to complete before sunset.

It was a 'Challenge Anneka' -style race against the clock, minus the chopper and that 4x4 buggy inside a lorry that she had. 

Right up until the last 2 miles the weather was on our side and we made good time. We had an hour to go until it would be dark. But... Then the rain started.  The rain really started. And the wind was gusting so fiercely that the rain stung as it hit our faces.

We took a bridleway that was not so near the cliff edge to be on the safe side.

When we finally made it to Lands End we just about managed a bedraggled photo at the Lands End sign post, but we didn't hang around for very long. We ran for cover in the nearby Lands End Hotel bar for a celebratory pint!

Day 8: North and South

We left Hayle on the north coast of Cornwall and walked to Marazion on the south coast. It's about 5 miles coast-to-coast across this thinnest part of Cornwall.

At Marazion we saw St Michael's Mount, tide in, so no chance of hopping across the causeway for a look around.

From a perfect blue sky in the morning on the north coast, by the time we'd reached St Michael's Mount just a couple of hours later the clouds had rolled in and the forecast was looking pretty bad for later on.

We met a lady in Marazion that told us her story about Macmillan helping her when she had a brain tumour 4 years ago. She has just been for a check up with her specialist who said she didn't need another appointment for a year. A great success story. We've heard so many great stories about the charities that we are walking for, and what they mean to so many people.

Please support the excellent work of Macmillan and RMH Bristol by sponsoring our walk here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

When we reached Penzance we made the decision to push onwards to Land's End and combine the two last days into one. We'd always factored in flexibility with the days in case of delays, bad weather, or any other problems, but so far we were on track and on good form so we thought we would be able to make the last 9 miles before the weather closed in on us and before it got dark.

Did we make it? Was it possible? Find out in the next installment of the blog!

Here are a few photos from the Hayle - Penzance walk:

Day 7: The ups and downs

The general theme with the coast path is up-down-up-down-up. Today was no exception. After every big climb there was a steep drop back to nearly sea level.

Erosion on this stretch of coastline was the other recurring theme. There were lots of diversions away from the previously marked path, often borrowing land from a farmer's field, or sending us down a lane.

As our destination of Hayle got nearer, the landscape changed from dramatic cliffs to more gently undulating sand dunes

We passed seal watchers, surfers, bird spotters, walkers, joggers, kite fliers, and every type of coastal being you can imagine.

Everyone we have met has been so friendly and when they find out we're doing a charity walk they almost always want to donate some money to the fundraising pot. All those spare bits of change add up and it all helps. Thank you to all the people that have donated this way.

Thanks to everyone that has already donated via the Virgin Money Giving page, and got those that haven't here's the link:  http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

We're pushing onwards towards Land's End...

Here are some pictures from Day 7:

Day 6: Clinging to the cliff edge

Dramatic cliffs along the Atlantic coast.

After leaving Newquay we headed west to the estuary of the River Gannel. We had to head upstream to a different bridge because the place we were planning to cross wasn't passable.

This diversion early on meant we found ourselves further inland than planned so we worked out a new route to meet the coast path at Perranporth.

To say the coastline is dramatic is a big understatement. There were a lot of landslips and the narrow rocky coast path is right on the edge of the cliff in places. The south west coast path is a well-managed national trail but it seems like bits of it might be getting eroded faster than alternative routes can be put in place.

The day ended with a stunning sunset. Here are some photos to summarise the day...

Day 5: Moor to Sea

We started today's leg of the walk in Bodmin, and swiftly picked up the Camel Trail, which is another former-railway-line-turned-walk-and-cycle-path. It seems like there are quite a few of these trailways in Cornwall; many railway lines must have been removed.

The next part of the walk followed country lanes through villages and farms. The weather provided us with April Showers (acceptable because it is April and this is what we took on), although a couple of times the showers were more like April Deluges, getting us thoroughly soaked.

We took refuge from one of the heavier downpours under a church gateway porch in small town called St Columb Major. In this unlikely spot we got talking to a local lady also taking shelter from the rain. It's so interesting to get small snippets of the lives of the people we are meeting along the way.

By the time the sea came into view as we approached Newquay, the sun had pushed its way through the clouds and we realised we had kept walking for 20 miles without really sitting down.

We are over half way on the walk, with four more days to go.

To see how we're getting on during the walk, see the 'Track Our Progress' page which shows a live map - http://2walkto.blogspot.co.uk/p/track-live-progress.html

Here are some pictures from today's walk:

Day 2: The end of Devon

Dartmeet to West Gulworthy

Today was hilly and windy but sunny. 

Starting with a big climb from Dartmeet, the first 6 miles took us up the moor to the prison town of Princetown (by 'prison town' that means the place where Dartmoor prison is).

Following the trackbed of a former railway line we left Princetown and headed towards Tavistock and onwards to the overnight stopping point of West Gulworthy.

West Gulworthy is a hamlet which is just about still in Devon but we are a stone's throw from the border with Cornwall. Tomorrow Cornwall begins...

19 miles covered today.

Below are a few photos to sum up our second day.

PS The reason for this walk is to raise some money for two very worthy charities so please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend for more info.

Day 1: Totnes to Dartmeet

Wow, what a day! There were some fairly almighty ascents to contend with. There's nothing like jumping in at the deep end.

It's all for two fantastic causes, Macmillan Cancer Support and RMH Bristol.

Take a look at the sponsorship page and if you are able to donate to the charities we're supporting with this walk please consider sponsoring the walk. There are plenty more days and a lot of hills still to climb!.

http://VirginMoneyGiving.com/walklandsend/

Here are some photos from the first day of the walk...