Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Little John Challenge
I actually did a long walk- for the first time in ages!! I decided on the Little John Challenge walk by John Merrill- 28 miles round Sherwood Forest and area starting and finishing in Edwinstowe. The weather was... changeable! I did get quite a lot of sun, and it was warm, but also quite showery earlier on. I took plenty of water with me- which turned out not to be enough- which made my rucksack heavy.
Although the walk starts from the Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre car park, it finishes by walking right through the village back to the start, so I figured that if I parked just after the railway bridge I would do this at the beginning rather than the end (plus I was too tight to pay for parking! Well- they did get £3 out of me last week...)
I found the path I needed- the bridleway towards Gleadthorpe- without much effort and decided that I would jog when I could. The first part of the walk went right through the forest;
Sherwood Forest
There was a bit of route navigation needed here as I needed to turn off this bridleway onto another one, and then turn left along another track towards Church Warsop. All of the forest paths were very runnable, and actually very well sign posted;
It started to rain here, just as I was about to leave the forest and head across open fields and track into Church Warsop. I had done a lot of the earlier parts of the walk before at some point and remembered that the next bit, to Cuckney, had caused a problem before.
The route crosses the A60 and leaves Church Warsop via a foot path uphill, across field and into Oakfield Plantation. Although the kissing gate entrance to the path was strewn with rubbish the path was pretty clear. It had also stopped raining;
Leaving Church Warsop
It was in the plantation that I had problems before. The path marked on the map past Park House Farm towards Cuckney is not very apparent on the ground. I walked too far (feeling very angry at being passed by a couple of motorbike riders- on a public footpath- leaving deep tracks in the ground. This does make me cross because of the damage they do- parts of the Ridgeway are now almost unwalkable thanks to the deep ruts left by motorbike riders).
I found a path running in the right direction but came out too far to the right. Luckily I came out onto a path which led onto the track I needed. To reach Cuckney there is a funny little track over Mill Hill and down to Cuckney Dam. Cuckney is an attractive little village, although close to the A60 which I had to cross- again.
The path then crosses the River Poulter before heading onto the Welbeck Estate, home of Welbeck Abbey.
Cuckney Church
The next part of the route is a bit of a boring trudge up the road through the deer park. John Merrill suggested that I cut across to the A60 and walk along it for a 100 yards before turning off into Holbeck Woodhouse. I didn't really fancy this though- it is a very busy road although it probably wasn't when John devised the route. I opted to walk along the deer park road a bit further, crossing straight over th A60 (yet again!!) to reach the village. Surprise surprise, it was raining again!!
I knew the path along the fields to Cresswell Crags quite well, a good path had been created through fields of crops. I saw other people walking for the first time although nobody else looked quite as sweaty as me!
Cresswell Village
The crags are quite impressive- a huge limestone gorge, forming the border of Nottinghamhire and Derbyshire with caves which were used as a temporary camp for prehistoric man. It had stopped raining by this point so there were a few more folks around;
The Crags
Swans With Seven Cygnets!
Another View Of The Crags
A brand new visitor's centre has been built, so I took a peek in the shop and used the loo but didn't outstay my welcome as I probably didn't smell too fresh... up to that point I had jogged most of the level/ downhill parts of the route and was very hot!
I knew the next part of the walk very well too- across the fields to South Lodge, and through the woods to Truman's Lodge. I have since found out that the 5th Duke of Portland and heir of Welbeck was rather reclusive and had a network of tunnels constructed, running to various parts of his estate so he could travel without being seen. One of them runs to South Lodge and can actually be seen as the ridge in the middle of the picture below, covered by longer grass;
The Tunnel!
The next part of the route involved running along an easy track through the woods, through a sandstone 'gorge';
It was at this point I started to get a bit worried, as I realised that I was just over half way, but had drank a lot more than half of my water- and felt quite thirsty! The sun had come out and it was now quite hot, plus I had been jogging a lot- it was perhaps a good idea I didn't do this walk last weekend as it was scorching! There are not a lot of facilities on route so I was panicking slightly.
I reached Truman's Lodge and the entrance to Clumber Park;
It soon started to rain again, but I was heading back into the forest through Clumber Park towards the village of Hardwick. The sign pointing towards the village also suggested that refreshments may be available- which was now a necessity as my water was running rather low and I wouldn't have lasted the rest of the day. Unfortunately, when I reached the village, the sign for 'visitor's facilities' pointed in the opposite direction! I was pretty desparate so followed the road down to a car park and ice cream van- salvation!!
Unfortunately I had picked the only ice cream van which didn't sell drinks... the lady serving must have seen the look of despair on my face, as she pointed to a path along the lake and told me that the ladies loos had a water fountain and were only '5 minutes walk away'. I was not impressed as I thought I'd have to retrace my steps to reach Hardwick, but had no choice really so I marched on, found the loos, refilled my water bottles, had a really good drink and then realised the track had by passed Hardwick and connected with the route- so no step retracing necessary.
There is a ford and footbridge over the river;
The next part of the route was completely new to me- crossing the A614 (very busy) and through woodland with plenty of rubbish strewn along the path. I now had glorious sunshine again, and eventually left the woods to walk along a well defined track. I was still managing to run- slowly- at this point!
I thought route finding may be slightly tricky as I had to leave the track and turn onto a bridleway, and then leave the bridleway for a footpath leading to Bothamsall; luckily it was very well signed.
Motte And Bailey Mound
I had actually had enough at this point- I was pretty tired, my legs were aching and there was no more jogging...
The Other Side Of The Motte And Bailey
The next part of the route was through forest, (Conjure Alders and Blackcliffe Hill Plantation) but seemed endless. I met some young lads fishing on a footbridge, who were really polite and insisted on moving their equipment to let me pass easily.
Finally I reached the Walesby Forest and the road. The route John Merrill suggested follows the road to a farm and track to Ollerton but I was a bit worried about this as it is not shown as a right of way on the map. I chose to follow a bridleway following the river, which ran more or less parrallel. I could see the houses of Ollerton from the start of the bridleway but they didn't seem to be getting any closer! Finally I was walking through the village, to find the footpath back to Edwinstowe.
This follows the course of the railway line; I was very worried at first as the path was extremely overgrown and my arms and legs were geeting scratched- I couldn't face another mile of this. Luckily it soon gave way to a proper track through the fields, although to my dismay it did climb quite steeply at one point!
The Track Following The Railway Line- Impending Showers!!
Thoresby Colliery Signal Box
Eventually the houses of Edwinstowe crept close and closer until, to a blast of 'Summer Holiday' from a nearby garden, I reached the village and the car. It took me 9 hours 10 minutes- which to me seems incredibly slow considering I jogged a lot of it and didn't sit down at all (apart from on the loo!) It took John Merrill 9 hours apparently- he must be a pretty fast walker!
Although the walk starts from the Sherwood Forest Visitor's Centre car park, it finishes by walking right through the village back to the start, so I figured that if I parked just after the railway bridge I would do this at the beginning rather than the end (plus I was too tight to pay for parking! Well- they did get £3 out of me last week...)
I found the path I needed- the bridleway towards Gleadthorpe- without much effort and decided that I would jog when I could. The first part of the walk went right through the forest;
There was a bit of route navigation needed here as I needed to turn off this bridleway onto another one, and then turn left along another track towards Church Warsop. All of the forest paths were very runnable, and actually very well sign posted;
It started to rain here, just as I was about to leave the forest and head across open fields and track into Church Warsop. I had done a lot of the earlier parts of the walk before at some point and remembered that the next bit, to Cuckney, had caused a problem before.
The route crosses the A60 and leaves Church Warsop via a foot path uphill, across field and into Oakfield Plantation. Although the kissing gate entrance to the path was strewn with rubbish the path was pretty clear. It had also stopped raining;
It was in the plantation that I had problems before. The path marked on the map past Park House Farm towards Cuckney is not very apparent on the ground. I walked too far (feeling very angry at being passed by a couple of motorbike riders- on a public footpath- leaving deep tracks in the ground. This does make me cross because of the damage they do- parts of the Ridgeway are now almost unwalkable thanks to the deep ruts left by motorbike riders).
I found a path running in the right direction but came out too far to the right. Luckily I came out onto a path which led onto the track I needed. To reach Cuckney there is a funny little track over Mill Hill and down to Cuckney Dam. Cuckney is an attractive little village, although close to the A60 which I had to cross- again.
The path then crosses the River Poulter before heading onto the Welbeck Estate, home of Welbeck Abbey.
The next part of the route is a bit of a boring trudge up the road through the deer park. John Merrill suggested that I cut across to the A60 and walk along it for a 100 yards before turning off into Holbeck Woodhouse. I didn't really fancy this though- it is a very busy road although it probably wasn't when John devised the route. I opted to walk along the deer park road a bit further, crossing straight over th A60 (yet again!!) to reach the village. Surprise surprise, it was raining again!!
I knew the path along the fields to Cresswell Crags quite well, a good path had been created through fields of crops. I saw other people walking for the first time although nobody else looked quite as sweaty as me!
The crags are quite impressive- a huge limestone gorge, forming the border of Nottinghamhire and Derbyshire with caves which were used as a temporary camp for prehistoric man. It had stopped raining by this point so there were a few more folks around;
A brand new visitor's centre has been built, so I took a peek in the shop and used the loo but didn't outstay my welcome as I probably didn't smell too fresh... up to that point I had jogged most of the level/ downhill parts of the route and was very hot!
I knew the next part of the walk very well too- across the fields to South Lodge, and through the woods to Truman's Lodge. I have since found out that the 5th Duke of Portland and heir of Welbeck was rather reclusive and had a network of tunnels constructed, running to various parts of his estate so he could travel without being seen. One of them runs to South Lodge and can actually be seen as the ridge in the middle of the picture below, covered by longer grass;
The next part of the route involved running along an easy track through the woods, through a sandstone 'gorge';
It was at this point I started to get a bit worried, as I realised that I was just over half way, but had drank a lot more than half of my water- and felt quite thirsty! The sun had come out and it was now quite hot, plus I had been jogging a lot- it was perhaps a good idea I didn't do this walk last weekend as it was scorching! There are not a lot of facilities on route so I was panicking slightly.
I reached Truman's Lodge and the entrance to Clumber Park;
Unfortunately I had picked the only ice cream van which didn't sell drinks... the lady serving must have seen the look of despair on my face, as she pointed to a path along the lake and told me that the ladies loos had a water fountain and were only '5 minutes walk away'. I was not impressed as I thought I'd have to retrace my steps to reach Hardwick, but had no choice really so I marched on, found the loos, refilled my water bottles, had a really good drink and then realised the track had by passed Hardwick and connected with the route- so no step retracing necessary.
There is a ford and footbridge over the river;
I thought route finding may be slightly tricky as I had to leave the track and turn onto a bridleway, and then leave the bridleway for a footpath leading to Bothamsall; luckily it was very well signed.
I had actually had enough at this point- I was pretty tired, my legs were aching and there was no more jogging...
The next part of the route was through forest, (Conjure Alders and Blackcliffe Hill Plantation) but seemed endless. I met some young lads fishing on a footbridge, who were really polite and insisted on moving their equipment to let me pass easily.
Finally I reached the Walesby Forest and the road. The route John Merrill suggested follows the road to a farm and track to Ollerton but I was a bit worried about this as it is not shown as a right of way on the map. I chose to follow a bridleway following the river, which ran more or less parrallel. I could see the houses of Ollerton from the start of the bridleway but they didn't seem to be getting any closer! Finally I was walking through the village, to find the footpath back to Edwinstowe.
This follows the course of the railway line; I was very worried at first as the path was extremely overgrown and my arms and legs were geeting scratched- I couldn't face another mile of this. Luckily it soon gave way to a proper track through the fields, although to my dismay it did climb quite steeply at one point!
Eventually the houses of Edwinstowe crept close and closer until, to a blast of 'Summer Holiday' from a nearby garden, I reached the village and the car. It took me 9 hours 10 minutes- which to me seems incredibly slow considering I jogged a lot of it and didn't sit down at all (apart from on the loo!) It took John Merrill 9 hours apparently- he must be a pretty fast walker!
Labels: Edwinstowe, Little John Challenge Walk, Sherwood Forest
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Happy New Year!!
The first thought in my head as Big Ben chimed in the New Year was not 'I wonder what this year will bring?' or 'Where's my glass' but- 'Oh my God. I am running the Marathon des Sables THIS year!!!'
I am so worried I haven't done enough. I expected to be running around 50- 60 miles per week at this stage but I am not... mainly because all the advice I have read actually suggests focussing less on mileage and more on quality training sessions...
I am going to have a good think about the kind of plan I will need to make for the final few weeks. Oh, and work out how I am going to cough up the money for the last installment due on the 10th...
I actually had a lovely start to my New Year. Carol contacted me about doing a long walk New Year's Day as she was staying at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs. I have an old route description from the 26 mile 'Major Oak Walk' I took part in around 12 years ago (God that seems a long while!!!) so we met at The Royal Oak in Edwinstowe.
The route went past the Major Oak, and through the forest to Hazel Gap. I had loaded my rucksack to around 7 kg, the heaviest ever, and although I didn't get any shoulder pain, I felt it in my legs. I started off in walking boots as I expected it to be very muddy, but it was surprisingly good underfoot. Although rather grey, the weather was good- cold but dry.
We walked through Clumber Park, where I changed into my running shoes as I could feel some hot spots in my feet. Much more comfortable, we walked back into the forest and then had a break for lunch and coffee (a luxury we are not going to get in the Sahara!) It was good to be walking with someone else, and share the worries about lack of training etc, but came to the conclusion that most folks will be having similar concerns. We also felt that the race is going to be as much about discipline, organisation and getting systems in order as actually completing the distance and I am going to have to do some serious work on this!
After crossing open country, we came to Cresswell Crags, where a massive new visitor's centre is being built. This is a ring of caves surrounding a lake, which were used as shelter by prehistoric man; several artifacts and cave drawings have been found here, most things were shut but it would be a good place to come back to for a better look around.
I had a bit of a heartstopping moment when we entered a field by a sign saying 'Beware bull and cows with calves' but there were no cows! There was quite a bit of road walking after, passing a deer park full of white deer. It started to get dark, and we were gradually heading back towards Hazel Gap; although the route description took us a different way through the forest and back into Edwinstowe, we decided we would retrace our route from here to avoid wandering lost in the forest.
After reaching Hazel Gap vis a rather muddy rutted track, I confidently set off down a track straight opposite. It was now getting very dark, and after a while we realised that the track didn't look at all familiar, and was taking us somewhere completely different! We retraced our steps, put head torches on and found the right path. It was eerie walking through the forest in the dark, and I was so glad I wasn't alone... we missed the path by the Major Oak (my fault again! 'Oh yes, this is definately the right path...) but realised that the path we had taken would take us back into Edwinstowe. In all I'd say we did 24/ 25 miles, so a really good day.
I am going to have a serious think about what I am going to be doing for the next few weeks; I think it will have to involve some long back to back walk/ runs...
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I am so worried I haven't done enough. I expected to be running around 50- 60 miles per week at this stage but I am not... mainly because all the advice I have read actually suggests focussing less on mileage and more on quality training sessions...
I am going to have a good think about the kind of plan I will need to make for the final few weeks. Oh, and work out how I am going to cough up the money for the last installment due on the 10th...
I actually had a lovely start to my New Year. Carol contacted me about doing a long walk New Year's Day as she was staying at the Sherwood Forest Center Parcs. I have an old route description from the 26 mile 'Major Oak Walk' I took part in around 12 years ago (God that seems a long while!!!) so we met at The Royal Oak in Edwinstowe.
The route went past the Major Oak, and through the forest to Hazel Gap. I had loaded my rucksack to around 7 kg, the heaviest ever, and although I didn't get any shoulder pain, I felt it in my legs. I started off in walking boots as I expected it to be very muddy, but it was surprisingly good underfoot. Although rather grey, the weather was good- cold but dry.
We walked through Clumber Park, where I changed into my running shoes as I could feel some hot spots in my feet. Much more comfortable, we walked back into the forest and then had a break for lunch and coffee (a luxury we are not going to get in the Sahara!) It was good to be walking with someone else, and share the worries about lack of training etc, but came to the conclusion that most folks will be having similar concerns. We also felt that the race is going to be as much about discipline, organisation and getting systems in order as actually completing the distance and I am going to have to do some serious work on this!
After crossing open country, we came to Cresswell Crags, where a massive new visitor's centre is being built. This is a ring of caves surrounding a lake, which were used as shelter by prehistoric man; several artifacts and cave drawings have been found here, most things were shut but it would be a good place to come back to for a better look around.
I had a bit of a heartstopping moment when we entered a field by a sign saying 'Beware bull and cows with calves' but there were no cows! There was quite a bit of road walking after, passing a deer park full of white deer. It started to get dark, and we were gradually heading back towards Hazel Gap; although the route description took us a different way through the forest and back into Edwinstowe, we decided we would retrace our route from here to avoid wandering lost in the forest.
After reaching Hazel Gap vis a rather muddy rutted track, I confidently set off down a track straight opposite. It was now getting very dark, and after a while we realised that the track didn't look at all familiar, and was taking us somewhere completely different! We retraced our steps, put head torches on and found the right path. It was eerie walking through the forest in the dark, and I was so glad I wasn't alone... we missed the path by the Major Oak (my fault again! 'Oh yes, this is definately the right path...) but realised that the path we had taken would take us back into Edwinstowe. In all I'd say we did 24/ 25 miles, so a really good day.
I am going to have a serious think about what I am going to be doing for the next few weeks; I think it will have to involve some long back to back walk/ runs...
Labels: Clumber Park, Edwinstowe, major oak, Marathon des Sables, New Year
