Coast to Coast - Tarn Moor to Smardale bridge.

Due to my cancer treatment last year we have not done any more sections of the Coast to Coast walk so decided it was time to remedy this.
On Friday 25th April we set off with the caravan for Green Farm in Shap. We had to wait for the bin men before we could leave bu tonce they had been and the bins brought in, we set off, only for John to not remember whether he had locked the front door, so I had to run back down the road to check it - he had. We had a very good journey with no hold ups and even managed to get into a caravan bay at Charnock Richard for a spot of lunch. Most of the caravan only bays were taken by cars and vans!
We arrived at Shap at about 3 and set up camp. We are staying at Green farm, opposite the Greyhound Inn. We stayed here last time, and although it is close to the road it has good views of the hills and a field of sheep and their lambs to watch. After a cup of tea we went for a walk over the fields to the Gogglby stone, where we found a cache and then walked through the village checking out the shops and pubs.
Saturday 25th April
We were up quite early and after breakfast John went to the butcher to get us some dinner (prize winning cumberland sausage) and I made sandwiches for our walk. We drove to Orton and then along a very narrow lane (a cycle trail really) to Sunbiggin tarn, we went the wrong way first and had to turn round and go back along another very narrow lane - good job we didn't have the caravan behind us! We parked at Sunbiggin tarn and walked back to the point on Tarn moor that we had left on our last Coast to Coast section on July 2007.
We walked down the road following the c2c and turned off onto Ravonstonedale moor. We had a bit of additional exercise here as the wind grabbed the map from my hand and we had to chase it for 50m or so. We walked across the moor and through lots of heather until we came to a bridge over a very wet area. The heather gave way to grass and we enjoyed an easy stroll along a very soft surface -it felt just like carpet. After about a mile we crossed a narrow track and carried on past a reservoir and beside a stone wall until we got to Bents farm. We had good views of the Pennines ahead of us and through the binoculars got our first view of Nine Standards Rigg. As we stopped for a biscuit a walker came towards us. She was from Maine and doing bits of the c2c. We crossed the wall at the stile and contined along past Severals village settlement - an ancient monument where now only lumps in the ground can be seen.
Once past here we walked down a steep bank, round railway cottages and over the disused railway line to work our way down to Smardale bridge. We sat on some stones here to eat our lunch. Two herons flew past as we sat and a wagtail bobbed on the wall.
We enjoyed our break and then set off along the valley bottom towards Friars Bottom farm, playing chicken with the lambs. They always gave in first! We crossed the disused railway and continued to Brownber where we crossed some fields to a lane. We followed the lane to Rig End and then followed a path across Ravonstondale moor. This was not signposted and we went through a rickety gate tied up with string. The path was shown on the map but was not visible on the ground so we followed the gps to keep us on the right path. It started raining here so we stopped to put our coats on. We finally made our way back to the bridge that we crossed on the moor earlier and then retraced our steps back to the car, soaking wet after 14.8km and having done another 4 miles of the c2c.

Another caching day.

Monday 20th April
I had a check-up at the hospital today so as we were halfway to Market Harborough we drove there to do some puzzle caches that we had solved a while ago. We parked in the centre of the town and bought a sandwich which we ate whilst sitting by the corn market. The weather was lovely for a change.We then drove to Great Oxenden for a walk. We started off by finding a cache in the village and then walked along the Jurassic Way for a while. We had problems finding the footpath but a local man told us it went up the side of a house. We had quite a chat with him about walking, farming and sheep dogs. We went on our way following the Jurassic way. We had to cross a field of young cows which were all huddled round the stile we wanted, but we bravely walked through and they ran off. We were looking for a puzzle cache in the next field, I thought I had solved the puzzle and the location looked promising on the map but when we got there the gps was pointing into the middle of a field so was obviously wrong, so we abandoned it and continued our walk. We walked through a farm and came across 2 ladies with prams who had just gone through a field of cows. We decided that if they were happy pushing babies through, the cows must be ok. We shooshed them away from the cattle grid and walked over. They started to follow us but soon lost interest. We got to Clipstone and hoped for a drink but everywhere was closed so we continued back towards Gt Oxendon and the Brampton Valley Way, a disused railway that has been converted into a cycle path. Here we looked for another puzzle cache. We found the right place but had to cross a broken fence so thought we might be trespassing, but after quite a hunt John spotted the cache. We contined along the BVW and back to the car. We had walked 14km.

Easter Break in Kent

It's time to catch up with some of the walking that we have been doing. We had a break in Kent staying with dad and a few walks were taken.

Friday 10th April, Good Friday
We decided on a walk today so drove to Westerham and parked at the NT car-park at Chartwell. We left the car-park and turned onto the footpath following the northern edge of the estate and then walked up quite a steep hill to Hosey Common lane, where we crossed the road and continued on a bridleway, through woodland to French Street hamlet. We were surprised that there was still evidence of the hurricane in 1987, with many fallen trees which were now regenerating and filing in the hedgerows. We turned right onto a footpath and descended steep steps to a stile which we crossed and continued across a field and then climbed another woodland path to a wooden bench where we sat and had a coffee and a hot cross bun.

More woodland was walked through until we got to Emmets gardens. The azaleas and daffodils were lovely but the bluebells were not out yet. We retraced our steps to the woods and followed the path. Unfortunately we took the wrong path here so after about 0.5 mile we had to turn round and retrace our steps. We got onto the right path and followed the path to Chart lane, diverting off for a short walk to find a cache. We then walked to the lane and down to the Fox and Hounds for a drink and bag of crisps.
After our break we crossed the road and followed a wide path to the remains of Weardale Manor. This 145 room manor was left to deteriorate in the 1920's and then the site was bombed in the war. There are lovely views of Kent, Sussex and Srrey from what had been the patio. We continued along the track and back to French Street hamlet. We retraced our outward route and then entered the Chartwell estate. It was raining by the time we got back to the car so we had been very lucky to have such a good day. 9.8km.
Monday 13th April
After just short walks on Saturday and Sunday - (Riverside park and a trip to Savacentre)we were ready for a longer walk. We drove to Shorne country park which had changed a lot since we had last walked here, about 20 years ago. There was now a large visitor centre and it was packed with families setting off for cycle rides.
We walked out of the park, crossed the A2 bridge and entered Ashenbank Wood. This was a lovely ancient woodland but we were surprised that there were no bluebells out yet. We walked through the woodland and followed the path beside orchards and oast houses into Cobham where we stopped to admire the water -pump (and found a very small geocache) and then went into the church to see the brasses. We walked through the churchyard and followed a wide green path beside orchards full of white blossom (cherry I think) towards Henley Street. We stopped for a break and then walked along the bridleway towards Luddesdown. We walked up a short but steep hill and had a brief look around the churchyard and at Luddesdown Court. We admired a field of pigs wallowing in the valley and then followed the path around to arrive at the Golden Lion, where we stopped for a drink and a bag of crisps.
After our break we walked up another steep hill and across a field, where the soil was very white and flinty compared with what we are now used to in Leicestershire. We walked through Cobhambury wood and followed the trail through Cobham park and past the mausoleum. It had been extensively refurbished since we had last seen it, when it had been highly vandalized, graffitied and surrounded by burnt out cars. It was now surrounded by high fencing so it was not easy to see the renovations.
After passing the mausoleum we walked through woodland until we reached Knights Place farm. We passed the farm and continued through the wood to reach the new London to Paris railway line. As we walked beside the line a Eurostar train passed at high speed.
We walked to the road and crossed the A2 bridge to head back through Brewers wood and back to Shorne Country park. It had been a good walk with plenty of wild flowers - anenome's, primroses, violets, blossom but only a few bluebells. We were also surprised to see a yellow frittilary on the bank as we walked back into the park. 15 km

Watlington, Oxfordshire 26th to 31st March

We set off for our first caravan holiday of the year which was to be at Watlington in Oxfordshire with the Mountain Activity Section of the Camping and Caravanning club. We had a good drive to Watlington in sun, showers and blustery wind. As we drove towards the town a red kite flew in front of the car. We found the rally field without trouble and were greeted by the stewards who were very friendly. The holiday cost us £26.50 for 5 nights! As we pitched the caravan we were amazed at the numbers of kites flying overhead. Dad, who was staying at a B&B in Aston Rowant turnd up as we finished setting up and we set off for a walk into the vilage. Watlington was a pretty village and apparently is used for the filming of Midsomer Murders!
Saturday 28th March
Yesterday was spent visiting friends and so today was our first walking day. We found a parking place near Park Corner and then set off along the Chiltern Way to do the Chiltern Ramble geotrail. Lots of geocaches were found on the figure of eight walk. We first walked past Westwood Manor farm, and then up the hill to a nature reserve which will be lovely in a couple of weeks when the bluebells are out. We continued the walk across fields and through woods to Maidensgrove where we were treated to more views of kites. We continued round to Priors wood where we met another geocacher just as we were putting a cache back. We got back to Park Corner and crossed the road heading down the drive to Park Corner farm and then through more woodland returning to the car after walking 12km and finding 16 geocaches.
Sunday 29th March

We went for a walk with the MAS today. Dad arrived at 9.30 and we all set off at 10am. There were about 35 people in the group. We walked out of the site and started with a walk beside the Mark on Watlington Hill. This was apparently created so that when looking at the hill from the correct angle the local church would appear to have a spire on the top. There was a lot of stopping to admire the view on the way up the hill! Once at the top we walked along the ridge to emerge at Christmas Common. After a short walk on the road we entered Shotridge wood and then passed into Blackmoor wood. We stopped here, with a view of Paul Getty's estate, for a cup of coffee. We then headed into Bowleys wood and past Wellground farm, where there was a cage in the garden containing several boxer puppies. We continued in the woods with the roar of the M40 to our right and then continued onto Bald hill where we stopped for lunch. We were treated to wonderful aerial displays by red kites and also a plane dropping 4 parachuters which we were able to watch floating towards the ground. It was quite cold so after lunch we were pleased to drop down off the top.

We walked through the carpark into Cowleaze woods, where we saw lots of people with radios and Heath Robinson type devices. John asked what they were doing and was told they were radio direction finders. Somebody takes a beacon into the woods and hides and the other members take a bearing and the first team to find the hider wins. A bit like human geocaching!We walked along the sculpture trail and beside Shirburn wood and then walked down a very steep hill onto the Oxfordshire way, the Icknield way and then finally back to the caravan after walking 16 km.

We sat and had tea and cakes and watched about 30 kites exploring our field and taking food thrown out for them.
Monday 30th March
Dad left today and John and I set off for a walk up Watlington hill and then along the ridge towards Christmas Common. We walked along the road and entered a wood via a bridalway. We found a cache - one of the dawn to dusk series and then walked through the wood where we found a nice log to sit on for our lunch. After finding a couple more caches we walked up a hill and decided we had done enough walking so we cut our planned walk short and took a short cut home. We had still walked about 12 km by the time we got back.

Saturday 14th March 2009
We drove to Billa Bara, a local hill, and parked. It was a nice day but there was a cold wind. We found the Ivanhoe Way and followed the path that we had missed on our last walk. The path went over waste land, then over a disused tramway and finally ran parallel to the road running through Stanton under Bardon. We walked alongside some allotments where every one was starting to get ready for the new season; there were some interesting bird scaring devices on the plots. We crossed a couple of pasture fields which had several rather friendly horses who wanted to investigate the contents of our rucksacks. We had to persuade them to move away from the stile so that we could climb over. We crossed the lane and entered a new section of National Forest called Partings wood, so called because it is midway between Stanton under Bardon and Thornton and was where lovers from the villages parted before returning home.
We walked through more plantations and then along a wide grass path by the side of a large field.
We emerged at the disused railway bridge near to Bagworth. We walked under the bridge and then diagonally across a field and round the bottom of a mound (complete with the first cows we had seen on a walk this year) to emerge at the road in Bagworth. Here we joined the Leicestershire Round. We stopped to search for a geocache in a new plantation and then crossed the railway line. We continued over the bridge at Thornton Mill, which had a lovely display of snowdrops and then walked into Thornton where we stopped for lunch at the Bricklayers Arms.
After lunch we walked along to the reservoir where we searched for another geocache. It was bitterly cold in the wind here. We did a complete lap of the reservoir, stopping to have a cup of coffee in a warm sheltered area. The water appeared to be boiling with the movement of loads of frogs in the water, the ducks were feasting on the spawn. We rejoined the Leicestershire Round for a short distance but left it at Manor plantation and walked through more woodland until we got to Markfield lane. We crossed the lane and crossed more fields until we emerged at the school in Stanton under Bardon. We walked through the village and walked back to the car, passing a big area of gorse giving off a lovely smell of coconut. We had walked 15.5km.

A short walk along the canal

Thursday 12th March 2009
We had planned to do a section of the Ivanhoe way today but as John had chopped down a lot of the hedge yesterday we decided we had better shred it so that it could go into the green bins for tomorrows collection. By the time this was done it was a bit late for doing a long walk.
Instead we drove across Swarkestone bridge and parked by the canal. we normally turn left along the canal when walking here but today we turned right and followed along the Trent and Mersey canal towards Weston on Trent.
It was a quiet afternoon and there were only a few cyclists about but we had a nice stroll watching the ducks, swans and barges.
We walked as far as Shenton lock finding two geocaches on the way and then turned back and headed towards Swarkestone lock.
By the time we got back we found we had walked 10 km, not much short of the walk that we had originally planned.

A day of caching

Friday 27th February 2009
Instead of a planned structured walk today we decided to do some caches. Some of these were very fiendish puzzle caches that we had solved some time ago and then not had the opportunity to find. We drove to Great Borden near Market Harborough and parked near the village green. We first set off to do a short multi-cache called Kiddies Delight, where we had to answer a few questions in the playground and then walk over the railway bridge into pasture where there were about a dozen horses; but they ignored us. We soon found the cache location which was very muddy and thorny, but I managed to get through, find the cache, signed the log book and then continued along the footpath towards Market Harborough. We next found “Where the sun don’t shine” one of the puzzles we had solved last August. We soon found Nasty the Gnome with the logbook placed Where the sun don’t shine! and then continued along the road where we found ourselves at Union Wharf, the location for "Confederate Hideout". The instructions for this one were a bit strange. We sat with our backs to Mr and Mrs Bushby, a bench near the canal basin, the instructions said that “if we pulled the chain it would not empty the canal”. We looked around and noticed a chain hanging from a barge mooring rope. Feeling a bit self conscious, I got up and pulled the chain. It was very long and I kept pulling, eventually a film fixative can emerged, which when opened revealed the log book. We signed the log and returned the cache to the water. We continued into Market Harborough and bought a roll from Subway for our lunch and walked back to the car, unsuccessfully searching for another cache on the way.
After lunch we drove along the A6 and parked in a layby to search for another puzzle cache. This had involved answering questions about 60’s tv detectives. I had managed to do most of them, some with the help of the internet. We found the cache which this time included a cd with clips of 60’s tv theme tunes, which we have to listen to and then answer the questions to find the next cache. We also found the "Hermitage" cache whilst we were here.
We then drove on and parked in Foxton where we found 2 more caches before walking along the canal to do another puzzle cache. Here we found ourselves at a Swing bridge on the canal. As we were trying to work out where the cache was, a barge came along and moored whilst the lady opened the bridge, which involved closing the gates to the road traffic and then swinging a section of the road across. The lady could not manage on her own so John helped. Quite fascinating as we had not seen a feature like this before. After finding the cache we walked along the canal and found another 3 caches. We then walked back to Foxton and the car. We had walked about 14 km and had had quite a fun day finding 11 out of 12 caches.