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!

More hills and training

Only one week to go before the walk from Totnes to Land's End begins.  The sponsorship page is now open at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

Training Walk on the North Downs

We have been out in the Surrey countryside exploring another part of the North Downs Way. This time we caught the train from London out to Oxted, just outside the M25.

Here is a map of the route (click on the map to zoom in and view the distance, height, average speed etc if you are into that kind of thing!)

This part of the North Downs Way seems to hug the M25 for quite a long way. The countryside around here is absolutely beautiful (ignoring the 8 lanes of roaring traffic where possible!).

We had to cross the motorway a couple of times during the day, and we were never far from it.

Despite the proximity to the M25, at times it was possible to forget it was there. Combined with a beautiful Spring day we were treated to some great views of Surrey.

Here are a few more photos from the walk:

And no walk would be complete without seeing a quirky road name. We stumbled upon...

Don't forget to follow us next week when we begin the walk from Totnes to Land's End, and if you can sponsor us that would be brilliant.

The sponsorship page is open at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/walklandsend

Day 6: Salisbury to Berwick St John.

Half way to Totnes!

We left Salisbury after a fairly leisurely start. We climbed the hill out of the city and picked up the Shaftesbury Drove. It was virtually a straight line along the ridge from here all the way to Berwick St John.

The pictures don't do it justice, but the views from up there were stunning in many places. The sun was in and out all day - when it was out it was really OUT.

At the end of the walk our fantastic CouchSurfing hosts Roz, Richard and Algy met us and took us to their house and made us a delicious meal. The best part of this trip has been the wonderful people we have met along the way. Everyone has really rallied round and gone out of their way to help us.

If you are not familiar with the CouchSurfing project it is well worth getting involved, either as a "surfer" or as a host - see www.couchsurfing.com for more info.

Next stop, we push onwards into Dorset!