London to Brighton 100K Trek (in photos)

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!

One week to go!

After the months of (trying to fit in) training walks, the time has come for the real thing!

Next weekend, 27-28 June, is the 100km Trek from London to Brighton.

We have less than 30 hours to complete the epic walk!

It is all in aid of The British Heart Foundation.

We've opened a Team 2WalkTo sponsorship page at https://www.justgiving.com/2walkto/

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!

Training begins for 2015 challenge

Hello blog readers!

A couple of weeks ago we got back out walking again and began our training for this year's charity walk challenge. 

We've gradually been doing day-long sections of the North Downs Way in Kent and Surrey. 

This time the section was an 18 mile walk in the snow, wind and rain from Betchworth to Guildford, another section of the North Downs Way.  Soon we will have connected up from Strood in the East with Farnham (and beyond, to join the route of our 2013 London to Devon walk).

Betchworth to Guildford - Track map and stats | Click to see it on a map.

It's all in preparation for a big challenge of a walk later in the year. More about that soon!

Here are some photos from the walk:

Snow topped trees on the North Downs Way

Boots!

Approaching Guildford

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!