Our walking women share experiences with us that may help others
This one from Becky after the tragic loss of her friend and how walking eased some of the pain. We found walking does the same for us. Thank you Becky for sharing …
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I don’t know about you, but for me walking is something that helps centre me
and helps clear my mind. I was raised in the rural counties of Herefordshire and Shropshire and as a child my Sundays were, Sunday lunch followed by an afternoon walk with my mum (Dad has never been much of a walker especially if there is rugby on the TV but that’s fine, he fuelled another passion of mine, sport). Mum and I would head off, whatever the weather, I’d be wrapped up appropriately and we’d head off. She’d show me flora, fauna and tell me a bit of the history about where we were walking, but more importantly we’d talk. We’d talk about everything and anything, things that were occurring now, things she had done as a child, things that were bothering me or questions that I may have, she answered, and we just chatted. I suppose what I am saying, is that walking, in whatever weather in whatever environment has always been a happy and comfortable place for me.
If I have a problem to think through or something is bothering me or I need a ‘reset’, you’ll most likely find me up a hill with my little dog, Branston.
This summer, on June 19th to be precise, my world was wholly rocked
to say it imploded isn’t right but to say my core happiness was shattered is probably more accurate. The reason for this is that my best friend, Sam Young, was killed in a tragic accident. I’d seen her for coffee a couple of days prior to this and thankfully, she was happy. We’d chatted, shared, put the world to rights in the space of a couple of hours as we always did, we parted agreeing to see each other in the next week or so and went on our merry way, I couldn’t have imagined that seeing her drive out of the car park that day would be the last time I ever saw her. Our friendship, for me was a hugely important foundation. I trusted her with everything, and she loved and supported me, unconditionally, for the flawed, imperfect person that I am. To lose her, so suddenly and unexpectedly was a loss I had never imagined nor was I prepared for.
Once the formalities of the funeral were out of the way, the shock had passed and the noise around the incident calmed down I was left with this gaping void, that was desperately painful and to be frank, I didn’t know how to deal with it or make it any better. People kept saying ‘remember the positives’ , ‘ time is a great healer’ ‘ it’ll get easier’ all of which were well intentioned and true, but none were helping, and I needed something more, I needed to ‘do’something.
Sam and I shared a love of walking
A love of walking and a love of dogs. Sam was Scottish and prior to moving south of the border she was invariably out and about at the weekend with her dogs, hiking one of the many glorious trails that Scotland has to offer. She was also a reservist in the army, so understandably our love of the outdoors was a cornerstone of our friendship and as a result the Shropshire countryside is littered with our laughter and conversations. I sat one evening in my flat, trying to make sense of things or simply just trying to function through the fog of grief, when it hit me. You need to go on a walk and a long one at that!
I plumped for the Coast to Coast
So, that is what I started planning. I had some time available to me prior to starting a new job in October, so I started looking for a walk to do., I can’t tell you why I chose that one. Maybe it was because it covers 3 national parks, maybe because it was in the north or maybe it was because I’d not spent a huge amount of time in those counties, I don’t know, but I decided that was what I (and Branston) were going to do.
The route takes you from..
St.Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hoods Bay in Yorkshire, Wainwrights route is 192 miles in length, and it is suggested that you do it in anything from 12-20 days. I said I had time available to me but that was limited so I opted for the 13-day option. I decided that I was carrying my kit, you can pay for your stuff to be transported for each leg, but I thought no, I’ll carry my tent and our equipment and food and go largely off-grid and independent for the trip. I booked my campsites for each night, so I had somewhere to check-in each day, grab a shower etc.
I had set up a sponsorship page to raise a bit of money for two of Sam’s favourite charities, which wasn’t the focus for me it was just a positive add-on to something that I just felt that I needed to do. I won’t lie, I didn’t think much more about it, I just thought that I’d head off.
I was abit daunted I’d called the walk, ‘One foot in front of the other’ because that was what Sam and I used to say to each other whenever things got tough in our lives, just put one foot in front of the other and we’ll get there. So, I just kept thinking as long as I do that, we’ll get there.
St.Bees is a beautiful little bay; I dipped my boots in the North Sea and picked up a pebble from the beach to carry across the country and set up my tent for the night. I’d planned to get up a 5.45am every morning, drop my tent have something to eat and head off by 7am. This would give me approximately 13 ½ hours of sunlight a day which for on average 20 miles a day should be enough time to get to my destination.
The route from point to point isn’t really signposted, some bits are but on the whole, you have to rely on your own navigation. I had a map and a compass, but I also heavily relied on the Alltrails App which was incredibly useful, so long as I had battery power on your phone.
The start at St.Bees all along the beach head is steep and narrow and I should have probably taken it as a precursor for how tough the whole trek was going to be.
I’m not going to detail each leg of the journey,but here is my route in case you want to do it..
St. Bees – Ennerdale Bridge, Ennerdale Bridge – Rosthwaite, Rosthwaite- Patterdale,
Patterdale – Shap, Shap – Kirkby Stephen, Kirkby Stephen- Keld, Keld-Reeth, Reeth –
Richmond, Richmond-Osmotherley, Osmotherley-Great Broughton, Great Broughton –
Glaisdale, Glaisdale- Robin Hoods Bay.
All the research told me that the Lake District was the hardest part of the journey and boy they weren’t wrong. On a clear sunny day, it would have been a challenge, but sadly our trip through the lakes was dogged by horrendous weather. Constant rain and winds, it was tough going. Scrabbling up Crags with a large backpack on your back in the pouring rain, is neither fun nor sensible. But when we reached the summit it was incredibly satisfying.
As the days went on the weather didn’t abate but we made the progress .We crept across the country, Branston raring to go each morning, me not filled with quite so much gusto as him, but nonetheless each morning we got up and started putting one foot in front of the other and slowly but surely, we made our way.
Crossing the Pennines would mean higher mileage days but I was hopeful that the going would be easier on my sore feet. We had poor weather but somehow we found our way through it, there were a few tears and a few panicked moments, I won’t deny it.
Crossing over into Yorkshire was a real treat
the weather picked up momentarily but also the landscape changed dramatically. It was equally as vast as the Lake District but in a wholly different way. Instead of looking up, I felt that I was looking out for as far as the eye could see. The weather was against us again for the first few days and we did get woefully lost on the Moors, but with the help of others we found our way through it. My feet weren’t getting any better and at times I was moving at a glacial pace but nevertheless we kept plodding on.
it’s amazing how getting up each day and heading off with just one task in mind becomes a routine that you’re very used to. Whilst the trip had been challenging, I seemed to reach my final day with alarming speed and to be honest as I set off that final day, I couldn’t believe that it was coming to an end. I was almost more nervous to finish it than Ihad been too start because it, I was plagued with thoughts of what do I do now, it’ll be back to reality and a reality without my pal. However, what I can tell you is this.
I knew that this walk was never going to ‘fix’ anything, but what it did do is give me time and space.
Usually, I am a fan of walking with podcasts or listening to music when I am on my own, but I didn’t do that at all on this trip. I just had hour upon hour of walking, with myself and with my thoughts which was incredible. I felt Sam with me throughout this journey, I talked to her (in my head)
I laughed about some of the things we’d done, chuckled about what she would have said about some of the predicaments I’d found myself in on the journey and I had time to think about all we had done together and what she had brought to my life for the last decade. I wasn’t wholly melancholy this trip either, there was something hugely liberating knowing that all I had to do that day was get from A to B. The stresses and the strains of my normally busy and overly articulate life were replaced with calm and no background noise at all. So, whilst this trip didn’t ‘fix’ or ‘change’ anything, it afforded me space and perspective, which has been invaluable and is something I am hugely grateful for.
Becky’s Top Tips if you are doing a long distance walk
- Tiger Balm on the soles of my feet at nighttime – top tip
- always carry solar powered battery packs so you have communication capability.
Whatever your journey and whatever your reasons, I hope you find it as rewarding as I did, just remember no matter how challenging it may seem, just put one foot in front of the other.
