Thursday, July 31, 2008
The Ridgeway Revisited
I had a lovely walk last Saturday... Carol, who posts on the MdS Forum and is a fellow 2009 MdS entrant, suggested a walk along the Ridgeway as it's pretty much midway for both of us, so we arranged to meet at the car park where the B4494 out of Wantage meets the Ridgeway. I remembered this being a particularly attractive part of the trail, and we decided to walk out and back again, covering 35 miles as preparation for the Kent 50.
It was a gorgeously hot, sunny day- around 24 degrees- ideal training conditions! As we weren't taking part in an organised event, we needed to carry our own water as, apart from a couple of water taps along this part of the Ridgeway, there's not much else. This meant that my pack was considerably heavier than during the Ridgeway 40, probably around 5 kg.
Typical Ridgeway Scenery Near The Start Of The Walk
I made pretty good time, and met Carol as arranged. It was really good to meet a fellow MdS 'nutter' and we were able to chat all day about everything MdS related!
I wore the Cobber I picked up in Blacks for £3.99- basically it's like a long, narrow scarf filled with crystals, and when soaked in cold water, they swell up until it becomes sausage shaped. It is then tied around the neck, and is supposed to keep cool... I must admit, it worked pretty well, especially when rotated every so often to find a cool spot.
We set off at a good walking pace, and stopped for a breather and a drink on Whitehorse Hill, site of the famous Uffington White Horse. There were quite a few gliders here, and on the way back we saw quite a few paragliders.
View Of The Ridgeway From Whitehorse Hill
Then it was pretty much straight on, past various ancient landmarks such as long barrows and hill forts, to Fox Hill and the road past the Shepherd's Rest pub.
View From The Ridgeway Near The Pub 
Near Liddington Castle Hill Fort 
Approaching Waylands Smithy
It was a gorgeously hot, sunny day- around 24 degrees- ideal training conditions! As we weren't taking part in an organised event, we needed to carry our own water as, apart from a couple of water taps along this part of the Ridgeway, there's not much else. This meant that my pack was considerably heavier than during the Ridgeway 40, probably around 5 kg.
Typical Ridgeway Scenery Near The Start Of The WalkI made pretty good time, and met Carol as arranged. It was really good to meet a fellow MdS 'nutter' and we were able to chat all day about everything MdS related!
I wore the Cobber I picked up in Blacks for £3.99- basically it's like a long, narrow scarf filled with crystals, and when soaked in cold water, they swell up until it becomes sausage shaped. It is then tied around the neck, and is supposed to keep cool... I must admit, it worked pretty well, especially when rotated every so often to find a cool spot.
We set off at a good walking pace, and stopped for a breather and a drink on Whitehorse Hill, site of the famous Uffington White Horse. There were quite a few gliders here, and on the way back we saw quite a few paragliders.
View Of The Ridgeway From Whitehorse HillThen it was pretty much straight on, past various ancient landmarks such as long barrows and hill forts, to Fox Hill and the road past the Shepherd's Rest pub.
View From The Ridgeway Near The PubWe stopped for a cool drink at the pub, and used the facilities- I made the mistake of lookingg in the mirror and realising how stupid I looked sporting my sunglasses, orange baseball cap and Cobber! Carol had some Nuun tablets- one dropped into a bottle of water turns it into an electrolyte drink. She kindly let me try one, I will definately be getting these for the MdS.
After a road walk which crossed over the M4, we climbed back onto the Ridgeway and the spectacular section by Liddington Castle Fort I remembered from the Ridgeway 40.
Near Liddington Castle Hill FortWe stopped for lunch just before the track starts to become badly rutted, and had some lunch, before turning and heading back. It was still very warm and, as usual, I sweated bucket loads all day- maybe this means that my internal cooling systems are in tip top condition!!
Approaching Waylands SmithyJust past Waylands Smithy we passed a group of cyclists looking for Ashbury. I got the map out and pointed them in the right direction- they weren't far off- and had a bit of a chat. They had actually heard of the MdS and were suitably impressed!! Both me and Carol admitted that we don't usually tell folks what we are doing as they expect us to be super athletes and stride off into the distance at a great rate of knotts!!
White Horse Hill 
Strong Evening Light Near The End
White Horse HillWe had a pull back up to White Horse Hill- the only trouble with the Ridgeway being a long, relatively straight route is you can see where you've got to go- as in the above pic!
We had another quick stop on the hill- I hadn't taken any painkillers this time, so my legs were starting to ache a little, although I managed to stay blister free thanks to the multi sports socks I bought in Blacks.
Strong Evening Light Near The EndWe had an uneventful finish apart from me being charged by two black labradors whilst refilling my water bottle (I presume they were owned by somebody out of sight working in the field by the track, as I could hear a disembodied voice yelling ("Come here! Come here! Bloody dogs!!"); my legs were aching by the end but nothing more sinister, and I really enjoyed the day!
Both me, Carol, Rach and Rose, all 2009ers, are undertaking the Kent 50 a week on Sunday- I am really looking forward to this as it will be like a proper weekend away, staying in a Travel Lodge and everything- can't wait!
