Sunday, May 04, 2008
The Belvoir Witches Walk
There wasn't a LDWA walk available this weekend so thought I'd pick a long route and do it myself. I have quite a lot of John Merrill's books, and had done this one before; a circular 25 mile route round the Vale of Belvoir (looking at my diary I did it nearly 12 years ago!!! Where does the time go??)
The walk starts and finishes in the village of Bottesford; it is usually a quite little place, but not today! As I drove nearer I found myself in a massive queue as they had decided to have a car boot sale just outside the village! I parked up- eventually- in a free car park in the village and set off (immediately going wrong!!)
I ran in a few places but decided to mainly stick to walking as I have got the 40 mile Ridgeway Walk next Saturday and didn't want to make myself too tired for that! A bit of road walking brought me to the Nottingham to Grantham canal, which I was to follow for the next 5 miles. I was lucky with the weather- it had forecast heavy showers but all I had was a few spots every so often. I plugged my music in and plodded onwards along the easy path next to the canal. It occured to me that when I wrote about storing headphones in my cooking tin during the MdS, I might actually want to have them in easy reach whilst I'm walking, derr!!
I tried something else new; skittles and Tutti Fruttis in a resealable bag, and must say they went down very well!
After the canal, the walk doubles back on itself on the other side of the canal before heading off to Denton Reservoir and the village of Denton. I had to walk through a field of horses, but luckily they were the friendly type!
Preparations were underway in Denton for their street party tomorrow, it was really hot and I was sweating like mad. It didn't help that the next bit was uphill. A footpath kept to the edge of the field to avoid using the road; one of the fields had obviously just been sowed with crops, and consisted of a red soil that was just like sand in consistency- so I ran through it for a bit of practice!
The next bit was down a really muddy track, complete with motorcyclists churning it up even worse. I had decided to have lunch at Woolsthorpe as it was roughly half way, it started spitting a bit so I utilised a nearby tree for shelter and stopped for a cheese sarnie.
After 'lunch' there was quite a long climb up to Belvoir Castle, which commands a stunning viewpoint. Judging by the amount of cars in the car park, it was a popular choice for a Bank Holiday trip out, too! There was a bit of road walking here, which wasn't so good as it was quite busy.
The route picks up the Jubilee Way through woods. I had a bit of a panic when I emerged onto the road as it didn't tally with the book, but guessed the way and got it right! The route then plunges steeply off the main track down a bank; there was an amazing carpet of bluebells amongst the trees, I took a photo with my phone but can't email it to my computer, will really have to get a battery for my camera...
Then it was down another muddy, rutted track and through fields of crops (not cows- phew!) before an uphill road walk to Plungar. I had my water with me but was fantasising about ice cold drinks which will most definately not be an option in the desert. I could feel a couple of hot spots on my feet, and the legs were starting to ache a bit but was otherwise ok. When I reach Plungar, I found myself right next to a pub and was faced with the decision as to whether I should make do with my luke warm water and head onwards or stop for a few minutes and grab a cold drink... no contest really! The lime and lemonade went down very well and was only 90p!
The next 4 miles were back along the canal, a rather quieter stretch, I plugged my music in again and let Robbie, Bon Jovi, Abba, Elton John etc help me back towards Bottesford (I have very varied tastes in music!) My calves were aching and I could feel a blister on one of my left toes, and this last stretch seemed a bit endless. I had a flapjack to keep my strength up, and kept plodding on... eventually I reached the road back to Bottesford and the life and death crossing of the A52. The co-op was still open so I grabbed more cold drinks.
I did the 25 miles in 6 hours 45 minutes, which I'm sure was a lot faster than when I last did it, and am quite pleased with that. My pack weighed around 5 kg at the start, but I found I didn't notice the weight after a bit. I do have a blister and my legs are aching slightly, but apart from that, I'm good.
Tomorrow will be really physically tough... me and a mate are driving out to a little village for a lazy lunch...
The walk starts and finishes in the village of Bottesford; it is usually a quite little place, but not today! As I drove nearer I found myself in a massive queue as they had decided to have a car boot sale just outside the village! I parked up- eventually- in a free car park in the village and set off (immediately going wrong!!)
I ran in a few places but decided to mainly stick to walking as I have got the 40 mile Ridgeway Walk next Saturday and didn't want to make myself too tired for that! A bit of road walking brought me to the Nottingham to Grantham canal, which I was to follow for the next 5 miles. I was lucky with the weather- it had forecast heavy showers but all I had was a few spots every so often. I plugged my music in and plodded onwards along the easy path next to the canal. It occured to me that when I wrote about storing headphones in my cooking tin during the MdS, I might actually want to have them in easy reach whilst I'm walking, derr!!
I tried something else new; skittles and Tutti Fruttis in a resealable bag, and must say they went down very well!
After the canal, the walk doubles back on itself on the other side of the canal before heading off to Denton Reservoir and the village of Denton. I had to walk through a field of horses, but luckily they were the friendly type!
Preparations were underway in Denton for their street party tomorrow, it was really hot and I was sweating like mad. It didn't help that the next bit was uphill. A footpath kept to the edge of the field to avoid using the road; one of the fields had obviously just been sowed with crops, and consisted of a red soil that was just like sand in consistency- so I ran through it for a bit of practice!
The next bit was down a really muddy track, complete with motorcyclists churning it up even worse. I had decided to have lunch at Woolsthorpe as it was roughly half way, it started spitting a bit so I utilised a nearby tree for shelter and stopped for a cheese sarnie.
After 'lunch' there was quite a long climb up to Belvoir Castle, which commands a stunning viewpoint. Judging by the amount of cars in the car park, it was a popular choice for a Bank Holiday trip out, too! There was a bit of road walking here, which wasn't so good as it was quite busy.
The route picks up the Jubilee Way through woods. I had a bit of a panic when I emerged onto the road as it didn't tally with the book, but guessed the way and got it right! The route then plunges steeply off the main track down a bank; there was an amazing carpet of bluebells amongst the trees, I took a photo with my phone but can't email it to my computer, will really have to get a battery for my camera...
Then it was down another muddy, rutted track and through fields of crops (not cows- phew!) before an uphill road walk to Plungar. I had my water with me but was fantasising about ice cold drinks which will most definately not be an option in the desert. I could feel a couple of hot spots on my feet, and the legs were starting to ache a bit but was otherwise ok. When I reach Plungar, I found myself right next to a pub and was faced with the decision as to whether I should make do with my luke warm water and head onwards or stop for a few minutes and grab a cold drink... no contest really! The lime and lemonade went down very well and was only 90p!
The next 4 miles were back along the canal, a rather quieter stretch, I plugged my music in again and let Robbie, Bon Jovi, Abba, Elton John etc help me back towards Bottesford (I have very varied tastes in music!) My calves were aching and I could feel a blister on one of my left toes, and this last stretch seemed a bit endless. I had a flapjack to keep my strength up, and kept plodding on... eventually I reached the road back to Bottesford and the life and death crossing of the A52. The co-op was still open so I grabbed more cold drinks.
I did the 25 miles in 6 hours 45 minutes, which I'm sure was a lot faster than when I last did it, and am quite pleased with that. My pack weighed around 5 kg at the start, but I found I didn't notice the weight after a bit. I do have a blister and my legs are aching slightly, but apart from that, I'm good.
Tomorrow will be really physically tough... me and a mate are driving out to a little village for a lazy lunch...
Labels: Belvoir Witches Walk, John Merrill
Comments:
<< Home
Well done on the walk yesterday Steph. Sounds good! I'm suffering after just 10 miles today - bloody blisters and sore toes. I really don't know where I'm going wrong!! I think I'll probably end up buying 10 pairs of trainers before I get it right! Hope you enjoyed the lazy lunch - well deserved I'd say! I'm not going anywhere now to prepare for the Ridgeway. I like your taste in music by the way, sounds very similar to mine (especially Bon Jovi!). Rach x
Post a Comment
<< Home
